Internet Of Household Things: Convince Me

My washer needs to speak to my grill? I'm talking back to IoT devices that talk behind my back.

Junko Yoshida, Contributor

July 14, 2014

1 Min Read

MADISON, Wis. — At the risk of sounding a bit curmudgeonly, I have to confess one thing. While there's certainly something positive to be said about the Internet of Things (IoT), I can’t help feeling suspicious, weary, and a bit turned off by the whole idea.

Aside from big-number projections (i.e., Cisco predicts 50 billion IoT devices by 2020), which would tempt anyone into becoming an IoT cheerleader, I haven’t seen a single credible-use scenario that might lure the average consumer onto the IoT bandwagon.

Honestly, it creeps me out to think about my devices at home talking to one another, doing stuff without my involvement, and talking about my habits -- good and bad -- to total strangers (advertisers, service providers, or just more machines) behind my back. There’s nothing warm and fuzzy about this. At all.

Smart LED lightbulbs hacked
I’m sure you’ve all heard about an incident, reported last week, in which smart LED lightbulbs leaked WiFi passwords.

Read the rest of this story on EE Times.

About the Author(s)

Junko Yoshida

Contributor

Former beat reporter, bureau chief, and editor in chief of EE Times, Junko Yoshida now spends a lot of her time covering the global electronics industry with a particular focus on China. Her beat has always been emerging technologies and business models that enable a new generation of consumer electronics. She is now adding the coverage of China's semiconductor manufacturers, writing about machinations of fabs and fabless manufacturers. In addition, she covers automotive, Internet of Things, and wireless/networking for EE Times' Designlines. She has been writing for EE Times since 1990.

Never Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights