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The Internet: Your Next Remote Control
Posted by
timothy
on Sat Nov 23, 2002 01:33 PM
from the well-named-company dept.
from the well-named-company dept.
Makarand writes "According to this article on NewsFactor, a Hungarian company, Timothy Technologies, wants to turn the Internet into a pervasive Remote Control. This device, called
FlatStack, allows users to operate home appliances using the web. The FlatStack is an entire web server on a tiny circuit board which can be connected to the Internet and wired to the device needing remote control. Later versions of FlatStack will connect to appliances wirelessly. The FlatStack, with a variety of applications at home, can also be adapted in offices, factories and agricultural settings. It is expected to sell for around $75."
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My control is... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:My control is... (Score:2)
Re:My control is... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:My control is... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:My control is... (Score:2)
Worried... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Worried... (Score:4, Interesting)
This technology is much better for ovens, heating systems, VCRs/PVRs, pet food dispensers or whatever. Not that I'd trust an remote control connected to the net to control any of these things. It can all be achieved with a timer.
And no, I'm not humor impaired. But it seems that every time an article gets posted on slashdot, the only posts that get moderated up are the +1 Funny.
Parent
Re:Worried... (Score:3, Insightful)
OK-- This one scares the hell out of me-- After all, not only could an attacker do a DoS attack against the appliances you use for your own livelihood, but could conceivably burn your house down!
It is possible to have sufficient security for things like this, those measures would be intrusive enough that it would probably kill the market.
Re:Worried... (Score:5, Funny)
Just what it would try to do with a toaster or microwave to ENLARGE YOUR PENIS is too scary to think about.
Parent
Already invented at Viola systems (Score:5, Informative)
Also already invented for XXX (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Also already invented for XXX (Score:2)
So if I use this... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:So if I use this... (Score:2)
Imagine the day when people will be able to post links to Cowboy Neal's toaster [foo.bar] for posting redundant articles!
Hammer / Nail (Score:5, Insightful)
Ugh.. (Score:4, Funny)
But imagine if someone's robbing your house and you happen to switch on the lights or something from the web or turn on the music or the tv. If the robbers won't have a heart attack, your house will forever be free of any disturbances.
"Hey, that house looks good, look at that TV! Let's take it!"
"Are you crazy? Haven't you heard? it's the 'haunted' house!"
Re:Ugh.. (Score:2)
Hmmmm.. (Score:2, Funny)
a Hungarian company, Timothy Technologies
Draw your own conclusions about
Re:Hmmmm.. (Score:2)
from the well-named-company dept.
You're very perceptive..
Better excuses (Score:3, Funny)
Reason for eating out:
"Someone hacked into my fridge...."
DriveMeInsane.com (Score:5, Interesting)
A rather cool site that has been setup so you can control a good number of devices and cams in this guy's home. Even his lawn sprinkler. He has had a remote control car with a video cam on it and soforth that you can drive around his house. Definately a must see.
-- AcquaCow
Re:DriveMeInsane.com (Score:2, Funny)
i dont find it that usefull except ... (Score:2, Interesting)
Screw that (Score:4, Interesting)
I carry the thing with me everywhere anyway.
Bluetooth anyone?
??? Do we really NEED this? (Score:4, Insightful)
If it was made for local control, this might not be such a problem, since a central regulating computer could work with it. However, if it's using a web server, this screams 'inefficient' for that kind of use, and would be much better using something along the lines of UPSd or even some kind of peek-poke method, like we used for IO address manipulation. Otherwise, it wouldn't even work very well for home automation.
Re:??? Do we really NEED this? (Score:2)
Not to be a skeptic, but I'm not sure it's even appropriate for most "home automation" applications: For most tasks like laundry and cooking, a human already needs to be there to do a lot of the prep work (carrying the clothes to the appliance, preparing the ingredients, etc.). If no one's in a room, then the lights should probably not be on anyway, so remote light-switches seem almost wretchedly excessive to me.
The only thing I think "home automation" is good for is directed climate control with a centralized appliance (i.e., furnace, but this would require a lot of manual override ability in the event that the automation mechanism failed), and home entertainment (centrally-located media store with streaming media to all viewing centers in the house).
Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I always thought a house was fer livin' in. Seems if yer already livin' in it, remote activation of them thar lights an' things would be kinda superfluous....
Re:??? Do we really NEED this? (Score:2)
The only other way that such a complex system could seemingly be useful is if voice control matured to a point where you would want a central computer listening to what you said when you're in the house, to let you begin to preheat the oven, or to lower the temperature on the freezer if you're coming home with a large supply of food to put in it, etc, but beyond that, I'm not really sure.
hi-tech self sabotage (Score:3, Funny)
Husband: "Hi honey, I'm going to be home around 5:00, what's for dinner?"
Wife: "My special meatloaf."
Husband: "Mmm. I can't wait!"
(husband goes to remote admin webpage and turns off the fridge)
Re:hi-tech self sabotage (Score:2)
Bells and whistles... (Score:2, Funny)
What are the Microsoft bells and whistles? BSOD, the ability to tell Microsoft who raids the fridge in th middle of the night, also who watches the p0rn channels.
nothing new (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.siteplayer.com/ [siteplayer.com]
Do we really want this? (Score:2, Interesting)
I can do that for a fraction of the cost...... (Score:5, Interesting)
LonWorks/Echelon does it better (Score:2)
LonWorks was supposed to be the mainstream system for home control, with backing from some big companies. It never made it. It's become popular in some niche markets, like controlling lights, HVAC, and signs in railroad passenger cars, subways, and such. (The noise immunity is quite good, so it will work in subways.) It's used in industrial control. But it's gone nowhere in home automation.
Excellent Xmas gift.. (Score:5, Funny)
.. for my ex-wife, I hope it's programmable.
if $ExWife in $Bathtub {
drop $HairDryer in $Bathtub;
power 1 $HairDryer;
sleep 120;
};
Hackers: How to get a house cheap (Score:3, Funny)
"Hello? Hi Jim, how are you? Well, it's pretty bad here. The lights keep switching on and off and the coffee maker won't shut off. The washing machine keeps overflowing. Every time we turn the oven off, it comes on again. When we turn the thermostat up, it gets colder in here. Last month's electric bill was $15,000.00. We think the place is haunted and just decided that we're going to sell it to the first person to make an offer, no matter how low it is.
(Ding dong...)
"Jim, I've got to go. There's someone at the door."
I believe no-one has noted... (Score:2)
Not a big deal... (Score:2)
I think people are affraid of the term web server because it combines two strong buzz words.
A pure and simple text web server is actually very easy to implement. It's an 'ask a question, get text back' protocol...
Unless they plan to stream out MPG feeds from your toasters, creating such a circuit might be just as simple as the circuitry in a fancy watch.
(It's not a novel concept either)
I can see it now... (Score:2, Funny)
***click***
---Flush---
***click click click***
---Flush flush flush---
My Wife (in the shower): That's it! I'm divorcing you!
----
The difficulty of a system is only comparable to the ingnorance of the end-user.
Egads! (Score:3, Insightful)
Uh... (Score:5, Informative)
Residential War Driving... (Score:2)
> appliances wirelessly.
It's been done more than once - TINI (Score:2, Informative)
lost remote? (Score:3, Funny)
is nobody else worried what happens when one of those bratty kids misplaces the remote?
This is just what I've always wanted! (Score:3, Funny)
Cool, but... (Score:2)
Why would I buy this version if the next version's gonna be easier to integrate with wireless?
Reminds me of Adam Osborne's Famous Blunder [denbeste.nu].
Lord, just make sure MS doesn't get ahold of it (Score:2)
I shudder to think of the senseless violence I would cause when my coffee pot BSOD'd.
HERE IS WHY THIS IS GREAT!!!! (Score:4, Interesting)
AND THIS IS THE KICKER!!! Once people are using stuff like this, then cable companies must be forced to change their policies to allow servers. Think about it! If the middle-class masses all want to use this to control home security, lights, etc, then the cable company would have to allow a major desire of millions of people to be allowed. Well, not "forced" to, but it's a shot. So anything that needs servers running in the house over broadband gets a vote "yes" from me.
And the article (Score:2, Informative)
The FlatStack is a tiny circuit board with an embedded operating system that functions as a Web server. The device connects to the Internet and, in turn, can receive commands through an ordinary Web page. The user logs on to the Internet, opens the Web page and is presented with various options. For example, on a hot day, one can log on to the Web page, check the current temperature at home and turn on the air conditioner remotely, so that the area will be cool by the time the user arrives home. Likewise, the user can switch on a coffee maker, TV, lights or any other home appliance to which the FlatSstack device is connected.
Vast Universe of Uses
And while uses are nearly unlimited for consumers, the FlatStack is also applicable in industrial settings, including offices, factories and agricultural arenas. Wherever there is an electronically controlled device, the FlatStack can be used.
Still, the sophisticated technology that powers FlatStack will remain outside of the user's view, as in nearly all other embedded systems. "You, as a user, will never be able to see it," Meta Group vice president Steve Kleynhans told NewsFactor recently when commenting on similar Smart Home devices. "The only thing you'll ever see is the interface they [graft] onto it." For FlatStack users, this is good news, as the Web interface is particularly simple and easy to use.
Timothy Not Home Alone
Timothy Technologies, however, is not the only high-tech company with the vision of extending the power of computing to the home. At the recent Comdex trade show, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) chairman Bill Gates announced, "Today, the home environment is one where the PC is starting to play a bigger role."
To that end, a new class of computers equipped with the upcoming Microsoft XP Media Center Edition will be able to remotely control televisions, DVD players and display digital images. The new version of Windows XP will make its debut on PCs produced by Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) that carry a price tag of several thousand dollars. By contrast, the FlatStack offers similar remote capabilities and retails for somewhere between US$75 and $100, while offering a key benefit that the Microsoft/HP system does not.
Fitting into the palm of a hand, FlatStack can remain mostly unseen and does not take up space in the home. The Microsoft/HP system, on the other hand, is relatively large and obtrusive in comparison, though it does offer some bells and whistles not offered by FlatStack.
Re:A script kiddies dream! (Score:2, Funny)
alternatively, spend twelve bucks on a couple of timers to turn lights on and off when you're gone, about the only conceivable use that is actually worth something...