All things related to technology hardware, with a focus on computing hardware.
Rules (Click to Expand):
Follow the Lemmy.world Rules - https://mastodon.world/about
Be kind. No bullying, harassment, racism, sexism etc. against other users.
No Spam, illegal content, or NSFW content.
Please stay on topic, adjacent topics (e.g. software) are fine if they are strongly relevant to technology hardware. Another example would be business news for hardware-focused companies.
Please try and post original sources when possible (as opposed to summaries).
If posting an archived version of the article, please include a URL link to the original article in the body of the post.
Some other hardware communities across Lemmy:
Icon by "icon lauk" under CC BY 3.0
They should be legally required to flesh out a local API with the same functionality.
yet another reason why "smart" tech is stupid as fuck.
Such a fucking con.
Yep. Officially done buying anything that needs a web service to operate.
Look for the Home Assistant logo and Matter.
Back in I think 2016, Google announced that Nest thermostat owners would soon no longer have access to the Nest app because they were migrating to Google Home. Well that sack of shit app couldn't perform half of the functions. Users complained, and we still have the Nest app that still has additional functionality to this day.
Just a Google story that came to my mind
Such a typical Google story.
They really are a trash level company.
A significant number of companies that lasts longer than a few years release a new product and puts another product to rest. Google has a lot of folks reliant on their technology.
Microsoft has a problem shutting down projects long past their usefulness for an example of the opposite.
You should see how uppity folks got about Ms access being sunset.
This is your friendly reminder to use the open source Home Assistant with local-only devices. For example this beautiful Honeywell that uses Z-Wave radio to talk to Home Assistant.
You can now even buy prebuilt Home Assistant hubs straight from HA themselves.
I've been using a Home Assistant Yellow for about 4 years now with mostly ZigBee and Z-Wave lights, switches, thermostats and others and I've yet to have a system problem. It's been invisible.
Wow never heard of this! Super excited to move my shit over
What lights if you don’t mind? I will probably get that honeywell now that Google is throwing my nest in the garbage.
Some 1100lm Hue (white), 1600lm Hue (white), and Philips Ultra Definition (high CRI) dumb bulbs on Leviton Z-Wave dimmers. DO NOT BUY 1600lm (white) Hue. They overheat and eventually stop working. The Philips dumb bulbs have a tiny bit of buzzing with these dimmers but nothing out of the ordinary.
Note that you'd need a Z-Wave radio for that thermostat. You can easily have both a ZigBee and a Z-Wave radios on the same device. You can do this with a Raspberry Pi and a couple of USB dongles, or with Home Assistant Yellow and the ZooZ GPIO Z-Wave add-on module for it. Everything I mentioned is plug and play.
Interesting. I have some hues but having issues with the bridge, might try the dimmer switches.
What Hue do you have and what are the symptoms?
I believe they are the warm white ones not sure exact model rn. When I try to add them to the Hue app they simply dont appear no matter what I do with the bridge. Maybe I can add them direct to HA or something without the bridge?
Have you tried resetting them?
Yes you can add them directly to HA with a ZigBee radio but the fact that you can't connect them to the Hie bridgeeads me to think there might be a problem with the bulbs themselves.
This makes my decision to get Hive instead much easier. Thanks Google!
We're ending support, that may or may not have significant security implications for you. Solve this by buying this product again!
That’s a very solid argument not to buy from them again.
Actually, I never bought from them to begin with. I bought from Nest, and then Google acquired them and started in on the enshittification right away.
Nest was towards the bottom of my degoogle list. I guess they are doing it for me. We hardly used the app anyways. I'll just disconnect it from the network.
I remember when my age old Honeywell thermostat went out of support - oh wait no I don't because it's a fucking thermostat.
Seriously if you ever needed a reason not to smartify your home, here is a pretty damn good one.
The lesson I think is only buy devices with local apis and avoid google services entirely. I have tons of smart devices in my house now but I require local control and they all sit on an isolated VLAN with no internet. The nest is the last remaining device that I haven't switched over yet. Its 8 years old, I didn't think about any of those things 8 years ago. Live and learn I guess.
Smartifying the home is awesome. Just make sure everything runs locally in addition to self hosting Homeassistant - and you're golden.
"Yeah sorry the AC doesn't work, I need to upgrade my thermostat." "Oh yeah sorry the lights don't work, I forgot to update the light switch." "Oh right I forgot to mention the toilet doesn't work, my subscription ran out."
Technology really was a mistake.
It's not technology, it's share holder capitalism
It's the principle that short-term shareholders have priority above all else--which is a fallacy--that drives these behaviors, start-ups have also always been dependent on VC who require more onerous terms and the growth of tech has almost blended these two as to be inseparable this point.
Companies are required to act in the best interest of shareholders legally--but this does not define they must enshittify their product or service no matter what in the short term as it destroys in in the long run, from Boeing to Google. There is a clear case waiting a public company willing to be brave enough to fight it, that the long-term interest of shareholders should be equally(it not more heavily) weighted in decision-making. It would remove so much awfulness that companies approach the world with--from not caring about compliance, safety, quality,etc.
I’ll never buy another Nest, we all hated it. The only thing I liked was the weather report that came up when you walked past it.
IoT held such promise back when it was first talked about. It's disappointing that once again, capitalism ruined it, like everything else it touches.
There are a lot of IoT devices that integrates with Home Assistant, but it is not plug and play.
The reality is that a vast majority of people don't want to mess around with their IoT devices, so it opens up the space for walled proprietary devices and software.
FOSS IoT is still alive and well, but it takes a little bit of elbow grease to setup.
That's fair. And when people don't want to put in any effort and "just want it to work" right out of the box, that opens the door for corporations to take advantage. Although I understand the desire to just "have it work".
They need a law that open sources the code if a device is no longer supported.
Before releasing a product, an audit must show they are prepared to open anything at anytime, without the need for prep.
Better for the environment, better for the consumers. And thr company that released the product doesn't really lose anything.
I use Drayton Wiser products. In UK it’s a direct wiring for the old boiler control.
check your utility for rebates on your replacement. i saved $75 on my ecobee.
When it comes to house infrastructure we expect that it will keep working for decades. I don't think smart tech that requires the internet is at all a good idea and why I don't use anything that does, but there is bound to be issues with bluetooth and wifi connected devices generally if they don't have updates and support for the coming decades.
Companies need to be thinking about the length of support more for house installed devices because the cost of the device often pales compared to the installation costs and replacing them is often a big job.
To those who know the product, is if possible to extend the connected functionnalities with selfhosting?
You're probably better off just getting something that connects your HVAC system to home assistant locally, and when you've done that it's pretty much future proof for whatever integration you decide to use in the future. With phones and smartwatches and automations you don't really need a physical device on your wall, really.
Agreed... some Nest competitor thermostats will function without the wifi connection.
What is a good nest outdoor and indoor camera replacement that works with home assistant ?