Techdirt Podcast Episode 103: Is The Internet Of Things The Future, A Total Mess, Or Both?

from the listen-and-learn dept

Tue, Dec 20th 2016 1:00pm — Leigh Beadon

The internet of things has been taking plenty of flak ever since the first time someone floated the idea of a connected fridge or some-such in the 90s — but despite the knee-jerk instinct to scoff at such things, the truth is there are all sorts of interesting possibilities emerging from all these "pointless" connected devices. Of course, there are also some serious security concerns... This week, we discuss the IoT and what the ever-increasing presence of such devices means for the future.

Follow the Techdirt Podcast on Soundcloud, subscribe via iTunes or Google Play, or grab the RSS feed. You can also keep up with all the latest episodes right here on Techdirt. If you're a fan, consider supporting us on Patreon to access special bonus episodes.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: internet of things, iot, podcast

3 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2016 @ 5:34pm

Yes, it is a mess. And as a taxpayer, I will be pissed if I am asked to pay for the cleanup.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 21 Dec 2016 @ 6:39am

It's a mess because it was designed to be that way. Everything connected to the internet means people will more surveilled and, therefore, controlled. What the establishment forgets is that "internet of shit" can also be used against them.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Groaker (profile), 21 Dec 2016 @ 11:59am

The mess ship has sailed. At least one company that will go unnamed has blatantly refused to fix known bugs in a lighting system that leaves other systems in the residence wide open to crackers.

I certainly have strong beliefs about never sending a person where you can send an electron (paraphrased from J Edgar Hoover.) But just how much loss of security is voice control worth in the turning on a light? Especially when there are other, safe ways of doing this than by means which expose your digital life?
[ link to this | view in thread ]