The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

PasturesNew

News this morning was whittering on about devices in the home being connected .... and I wasn't really listening as I have none .... then I was staggered to see them post the figure that apparently the govt says we all have 10.

Now, like all averages, it's flawed.... I, to my knowledge, have none. And, to be honest, I couldn't even think of 10!

How many things do NPs have that the news were on about? They mentioned stuff like CCTV, fridges, fitness thingies, baby monitors, etc.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

News this morning was whittering on about devices in the home being connected .... and I wasn't really listening as I have none .... then I was staggered to see them post the figure that apparently the govt says we all have 10.

Now, like all averages, it's flawed.... I, to my knowledge, have none. And, to be honest, I couldn't even think of 10!

How many things do NPs have that the news were on about? They mentioned stuff like CCTV, fridges, fitness thingies, baby monitors, etc.

Let's see......... I have two iPads.
They are both connected by wifi to my printer.

I have a Sonos bluetooth speaker, but I haven't used it for ages. Another bluetooth mini-speaker which I only use occasionally now, but used to use a lot.
A pair of bluetooth headphones, used only occasionally.
A wifi keyboard but I don't really use it. Probably will at some point, though.

My televisions are capable of Internet connection, but I don't have them connected. I had a problem connecting them to the router, and then decided I didn't really need them to be connected. Then I thought I wouldn't want to be spied on, anyway!!

I think that's it.
So, excluding the TVs, that's 7 things, of which only 3 are permanently connected and used regularly, really.


(No, I haven't forgotten my mobile! It's still my old one and isn't connected to anything!)





Edit.... oops! I forgot the electric toothbrush which is connected to a wall thing showing how long you've been brushing your teeth for!
I'm not using it at the moment, though, (but the wall thing is useful as it's a clock, too!)
So am not counting that.

silvercar

PasturesNew wrote: »

News this morning was whittering on about devices in the home being connected .... and I wasn't really listening as I have none .... then I was staggered to see them post the figure that apparently the govt says we all have 10.

Now, like all averages, it's flawed.... I, to my knowledge, have none. And, to be honest, I couldn't even think of 10!

How many things do NPs have that the news were on about? They mentioned stuff like CCTV, fridges, fitness thingies, baby monitors, etc.

2 TVs.

3 Virgin boxes

Hive heating programmer

wifi printer

laptop

2 iPads (only 1 is mine)

2 iPhones (again only 1 is mine)

So that is 12. Haven't yet succumbed to a smart meter or to Alexa.

chris_m

PasturesNew wrote: »

News this morning was whittering on about devices in the home being connected .... and I wasn't really listening as I have none .... then I was staggered to see them post the figure that apparently the govt says we all have 10.

Now, like all averages, it's flawed.... I, to my knowledge, have none. And, to be honest, I couldn't even think of 10!

How many things do NPs have that the news were on about? They mentioned stuff like CCTV, fridges, fitness thingies, baby monitors, etc.

Other than computers/printers/scanners connected via wired LAN and, should I choose, my mobile phone via WiFi I have nothing. Personally, I cannot see the point of "connected" fridges, etc - how hard is it to open the door and see what's inside?

My view is that most of these "connected devices" are really solutions desperately in search of a problem - and, due to poor design/impementation, they have certainly found problems albeit not those that the manufacturers had intended, e.g. unauthorised leaks of data or, worse, the ability for criminals to connect to them and use them (without the owner's permission or, even, knowledge) for their nefarious activities.

PasturesNew

Starting to get a list of stuff that could be .... handy for us Luddites who had no idea this stuff was going on

From two posts:

Sonos bluetooth speaker
bluetooth headphones
wifi keyboard
electric toothbrush
TVs.
Virgin boxes
Hive heating programmer
wifi printer
laptop
iPads
iPhones
Smart meter
Alexa.

You can still put me down for 0 as I've none of those.

chris_m

Bluetooth things don't really count - unless whatever they are connected to is also connected to the internet, they aren't IYSWIM. They use a pretty short range radio signal which, because it's so short, means they are not really worth anyone trying to hack.

PasturesNew

I struggle to get my remote to change the TV channel... many's the evening when I'm straining forward, with my arm fully outstretched, nearly falling off the sofa, pressing the button hoping it'll change channel 8' away ... it's laughable that somebody sitting in a comfier chair on the other side of the world could control something

chris_m

PasturesNew wrote: »

I struggle to get my remote to change the TV channel..

My Dad had trouble with that - the problem was that, to see which button(s) he wanted to press, he tilted the remote rather than his head.
He'd have been OK if we'd stuck the telly up on the ceiling :rotfl:

Pyxis

chris_m wrote: »

Bluetooth things don't really count - unless whatever they are connected to is also connected to the internet, they aren't IYSWIM. They use a pretty short range radio signal which, because it's so short, means they are not really worth anyone trying to hack.

Well, the speakers and headphones are connected to my iPads, but I turn the Bluetooth off when I'm not using them.

The toothbrush isn't on the internet, but I suppose that's only a matter of time! :rotfl:

I suppose things like the fridges, Hive, and Alex etc, would be incredibly useful for people with limited mobility, though.







Pastures, it might sound silly, but could it be the battery is running down?
My own remote is starting to go slow, and it's probably time to change the battery, but I keep forgetting.

Either that, or if the remote is very old, it just might be wearing out. The buttons that get used the most seem to go funny after a while. I don't suppose they're made to last more than a couple of years.

If it's not the battery, you might be able to get a universal remote that is compatible. Or the manufacturer might be able to suggest one.

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

Pastures, it might sound silly, but could it be the battery is running down?

I've thought that for months .... but it's one of those things that you only think to get round to when it's happening .... and then you CBA and think "I'll get round to that one day".

I might even have some batteries round here that fit .... somewhere.


It's not a biggie until I'm either stuck watching things for sale at 3am, or I fall off the sofa and it hurts.