Re: smart plugs???

On 1/16/25 3:07 PM, Rich wrote:

In comp.os.linux.misc D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

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On Thu, 16 Jan 2025, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
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On 16/01/2025 09:33, Mike Scott wrote:

On 15/01/2025 20:31, Pancho wrote:

I think you have to be careful that they are not controlled by a
cloud service.  If you have a cloud service you need a working wan
connection and you are exposed to the cloud service provider
disappearing.

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(Thanks to all for replying)
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This is the rub.  tp-link clearly /want/ the consumer to use their
"cloud" service - which is usually just a fancy codeword for 'we
want your data'.  There's no actual /need/ that I can see in this
case.
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Actually there is.
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It is the simple way to solve 'remote access' to your 'behind NAS'
network connected gadgets
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Now *we* can organise that because we are geeks, but te average
coinsumer?  Doan mak me larf!

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I use tor to give me a globally unique name where I can access my
stuff behind NAT as a Tor hidden service.

 99.1% of the total users would be incapable of achieving what you are
doing with Tor, even if given infinite time to set it all up.

I don't disagree that most users are not likely to be able to set up complex things, but realistically, companies should always make it possible to bypass their cloud service. The ruse is "people are too stupid to do this" as an excuse for cloud services being obligatory. Even though, they actually aren't. Just give users the option to bypass it. And honestly, most things now can be set up with a local app that doesn't use any cloud service at all. I mean, apps can even autodiscover their respective devices over bluetooth without the user actually doing anything other then opening the app, and the user can add their wi-fi, etc. There is never a reason to demand a user create a cloud account ever. Users don't actually need one. This is nothing more then a scam.
Offer users the option, if they want it. But never force it or make it mandatory. Philip's Hue does not require an account at all to use their smart hub and lights/devices. In fact, their app can operate without any internet connection at all. (You can disconnect your internet cable from your router and turn off data on your phone and set the entire thing up locally with the app, without any internet or online account creation.)
This is how it should be. And for users that want all that cloud stuff, it can be optional available to them.
Anyone that thinks these things should be forced is just perpetuating an abusive system or just lacks knowledge on how these things work.
--
Phillip
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