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Interest in the Internet of Things is beginning to heat up in a big way. The Internet of Things, if you are unfamiliar with the term, is the slang term for connecting everyday items like appliances and home electronics to the internet. Other names that you will see used are "smart home" and IoT. At CES 2014, the CEO of Cisco, John Chambers predicted that the IoT is a $19 trillion opportunity. That's trillion dollars as in million million. And Google just paid $3.2 billion for a smart home company called Nest. These recent events are just two of many that show that the technocrats are betting big on IoT.
The people who will be making a profit from the Internet of Things are quick to point out the intended benefits. They say that your refrigerator will send you a text if you are running out of essentials such as milk and eggs. That refrigerators can send messages became very clear recently when hackers used compromised connected devices (including a refrigerator) and sent 750,000 malicious emails to distribute a virus. They also say that you will be able to remotely contact your home to adjust the thermostat. Your pill bottles could contact your doctor or pharmacist for a refill. Implants in your body or wearable tech could monitor your blood pressure, sugar level or many other physical indicators of health.
Most of this technology already exists and is being used on a relatively small scale. There is no question that there have been benefits. But as this tech becomes more mainstream, the question of privacy is always raised. Do you want this kind of personal information on the internet? Do you want your insurance company to know what you are eating and drinking? Would you be happy with a rate increase because they think you eat too much meat or drink to much alcohol? Do you want them to know how fast you drive? With the hysteria over global warming, do you want anyone to know where you set your thermostat or that you like to take long showers? Do you really want Google to know where you are - all the time?
As social media has become more prevalent, many people have adapted to the loss of privacy. Others have backed off the amount of information that they are willing to share after finding that their personal information is being used to create a profile. Others have been stalked online. Employers have demanded access to accounts. And various government entities troll social media for information. The Internet of Things is predicted to be very profitable for high tech companies whose product lines are maturing and are desperately seeking a way to maintain their high profit margins. So it is coming, and will be heavily promoted. For those who use it, there will be a loss of privacy and there will be a further enslavement to technology. Those who do not use it will need to do these little chores they way they always have.
Do I really need this stuff?
The article attached below will give you a brief overview of this technology.
You can’t avoid the ‘Internet of things’ hype, so you might as well understand it
For pretty much anyone in the Western
world, the Internet is not only ubiquitous, it’s practically
inescapable. Between phones, tablets, PCs, game consoles, televisions
and set-top boxes, the Internet exists in every corner of our lives.
Almost. In the wake of this year’s CES, we’re hearing louder than
ever that the future is “The Internet of Things,” everyday
devices equipped with sensors and connectivity to work together,
understand what we’re doing, and operate automatically to make our
lives easier. And, of course, we’ll be able to control and
configure it all, likely with our tablets and smartphones, or by
speaking. After all, Siri and Google Now have taken voice recognition
mainstream.
But beyond a well-meaning concept that
promises to deliver us all to an even higher state of connectivity,
what does the Internet of Things mean? When will it finally arrive?
How will it change our daily lives? What happens when it goes wrong?
The phrase “Internet of Things” is
widely credited to Kevin Ashton; he’s indicated he coined the term
in 1999 while at Proctor & Gamble, but it didn’t take off until
2009 with an article in RFID Journal. At a very basic level,
“Internet of Things” means devices that can sense aspects of the
real world – like temperature, lighting, the presence or absence of
people or objects, etc. – and report that real-world data, or act
on it. Instead of most data on the Internet being produced and
consumed by people (text, audio, video), more and more information
would be produced and consumed by machines, communicating between
themselves to (hopefully) improve the quality of our lives.
Smart devices use Internet technologies
like Wi-Fi to communicate with each other, your laptop, and sometimes
directly with the cloud. Some also talk to a central hub that serves
as control point for many different devices, like the Revolv.
Ideally, owners can use that central access point from their
smartphones and tablets, either at home or when they’re out and
about.
That’s all pretty abstract, so let’s
bring it down to Earth. The classic example is a smart refrigerator
that can read RFID tags on grocery items as they’re put inside,
then look up those tags via the Internet to identify milk, eggs,
butter, and those four frozen pizzas you just bought. The fridge
tracks usage, then – cue trumpets! – alerts owners when they’re
running out of groceries, or need more food since people are coming
over to watch the game this weekend. (The fridge can tap into your
calendar, of course). The refrigerator could even place a grocery
order automatically (perhaps delivered via Amazon Fresh). Similarly,
that smart fridge could warn about products nearing (or past) their
expiration dates.
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