Posted on 12/16/2020 3:28:04 PM PST by blam
By now, Monday’s massive Google outage is history for most people. While it was a minor inconvenience for some, with most Google services being down for hours on end, it was a much larger pain in the electronic ass for the tragically hip who have surrendered their “smart” homes to Google.
In fact, of the services that went down, it was Google Home users who were literally left in the dark during the outage on Monday, RT notes. As a result, “smart home” users were complaining about not being able to perform once-simple tasks at their homes – like turning on the lights.
“I’m sitting here in the dark in my toddler’s room because the light is controlled by @Google Drive Home. Rethinking… a lot right now,” one Twitter user tweeted in the midst of the “blackout”. Another user from the U.K. said that connecting his lights to Google Home now “feels like a fatal error.”
ABC News producer Erwin Renaldi quipped: “Thanks Google, now I can’t turn my bedroom light on.”
The outage on Monday morning lasted “less than an hour”. But quickly, social media was flooded with Tweets that looked like these:
is there somethinh wrong with google home? my house suddenly become stupid
— heiakim. (@harrycitradi) December 14, 2020
OH DAMNNIT. I was watching others struggling with the work disruption unaffected because I’m on Microsoft 365.
Only to realize I couldn’t turn on the light because my smart home runs on Google Assistant. pic.twitter.com/K0sSl99G5V
— Abhishek Baxi (@baxiabhishek) December 14, 2020
Recall, back in August, we wrote about why “smart homes” may not be all they’re cracked up to be. We highlighted over the summer that police would routinely request access to people’s “smart speakers” during the course of investigations.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at ussanews.com ...
What does a lot of technology do? A lot of technology makes people NOT learn, many things, and become mentally dependent on technology
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True statement. Think about phone numbers. Do you remember any? I used to know virtually all important numbers. Now just look into the “smart” (smart = stupid) phone. I have been a victim of this bull-jive as well - but I do have a hard copy list of anyone that matters to me.
“anyone who turns their home over to google is a complete idiot.”
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As far as I’m concerned they’ve also placed their entire family in danger.
Every discussion can be overheard.
Children can be watched and recorded both audibly and visually. All without the parent/s even knowing.
I used to remember dozens of friends and family members phone numbers, even ones I rarely called in any given year - from my 20s through my 50s. Which I do not think most 20-30 year olds can do today.
In my 70s now, and like you, the regular ones - talk to them 1- 5 times a week, I sill always remember, but the ones used more rarely I have to look up in my “contacts” on the cell phone, the house phone, or the PC.
But when traveling I will look up my route on my Rand McNally map before I leave, memorize it, and that’s it. No GPS needed. Sometimes when I am riding with younger relatives who are using a GPS app, I wind up correcting the GPS for them when the GPS seems to have erred and they have no idea how to correct our path.
The house we bought has an apple smart thermostat.
I think it time to talk to mr. mm about other options.
I am fairly tech challenged and prefer it that way.
I like basic internet connections, but prefer books over kindle and maps over a gps.
“Alexa, tell faucet to fill dog bowl”.
What could possibly go wrong?
You just found out.
And when there is serious Chinese hacking..
I have a garmin in my vehicle and I also have paper maps {which I use with regularity}.
There is comfort in being able to plot a route and read a map.
There are times when electronics are useful, but not to the point of surrender of your brain.
Bump to the top!
Any “smart” system that requires an internet connection to turn on your lights isn’t smart at all.
Nothing wrong with a system that can do all of that, stuff, but the need to go out on the wire to do so is either bad engineering or nefariously designed.
“I have a smart frig and a smart dishwasher that we “forgot” to hook up to the Internet.”
Hopefully they also forgot.
An EMP that strong? As the late, great Art Bell used to say, the “Kill Shot.”
If I understand you correctly, you were upset about not being able to get to FR.
I really think most of us would feel the same way.
It’s more than just a website. FR is a community. You have friends here.
So don’t feel bad. I would be upset too, especially because I wouldn’t know when it would come back.
I saw a “This Old House” show where they installed a electronic front door lock that you open or lock thru the internet. Dumb dumb and dumb. A simple key always works and will down thru the decades. Who will support a electronic lock over the years plus you know it will fail again and again like the electronic gizmo running the washer and dryer.
Unless one of these “smart assistants” can go to the bathroom for me every half-hour so I don’t have to get up to do it, then there’s no service they can provide me.
I don’t have a dick.
I will not own a home that is all electric. Propane for cooking—heat—hot water.
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