Google smart home hub

[happnatious1]

Yet another smart home hub. No zwave and a little zigbee?

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/...mart-home-hub/

[rmasonjr]

meh - not interested. I sometimes wonder if the people creating these devices have the 'pulse' of real consumers or are they building it in hopes they will come?

[Pete]

Unrelated to Google's smart home hub was a little Google news blurb today

Google loses data as lightning strikes



Google says data has been wiped from discs at one of its data centres in Belgium - after it was struck by lightning four times.

Some people have permanently lost access to their files as a result.

A number of disks damaged following the lightning strikes did, however, later became accessible.

Generally, data centres require more lightning protection than most other buildings.

While four successive strikes might sound highly unlikely, lightning does not need to repeatedly strike a building in exactly the same spot to cause additional damage.

Justin Gale, project manager for the lightning protection service Orion, said lightning could strike power or telecommunications cables connected to a building at a distance and still cause disruptions.

"The cabling alone can be struck anything up to a kilometre away, bring [the shock] back to the data centre and fuse everything that's in it," he said.

Unlucky strike

The Google Computer Engine (GCE) service allows Google's clients to store data and run virtual computers in the cloud. It's not known which clients were affected, or what type of data was lost.

In an online statement, Google said that data on just 0.000001% of disk space was permanently affected.

"Although automatic auxiliary systems restored power quickly, and the storage systems are designed with battery backup, some recently written data was located on storage systems which were more susceptible to power failure from extended or repeated battery drain," it said.

The company added it would continue to upgrade hardware and improve its response procedures to make future losses less likely.

A spokesman for data centre consultants Future-Tech, commented that while data centres were designed to withstand lightning strikes via a network of conductive lightning rods, it was not impossible for strikes to get through.

"Everything in the data centre is connected one way or another," said James Wilman, engineering sales director. "If you get four large strikes it wouldn't surprise me that it has affected the facility."

Although the chances of data being wiped by lightning strikes are incredibly low, users do have the option of being able to back things up locally as a safety measure.

[IanIreland]

One to watch. If they include other protocols such as Insteon I would look at it.

[LeoS]

Everyone is Google's customer. If they can sell this thing to just 1% of their whole customer base, i bet they've already surpassed z-wave's market.

Unfortunately Google has made a lot of flops too, outside of their search engine...

[TechHA]

The biggest thing I see with this is that it's the means of using Google's new IoT protocol Weave. Will have to wait and see the price points for the new Weave devices but at least the hub is ready.

Looks like it's one heck of a router too, the specs are crazy, dual-core, 1.4GHz Qualcomm Atheros IPQ8064 with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage.

[Pete]

It was said somewhere a while ago that the best automation "hubs" sit at the router and edge of the home. It is easier to manage that way.

Geez CC is using one AP radio in all of the provided leased combo's for free internet to the surrounding communities. The firmware / management of said AP free connection is now built in and not changeable by the owner or lessee of said combo box.

Many ISP's now provide (lease) the combination edge router, firewall, switch, VOIP and access point devices and are wholly managed by them. It is a win win for them.

Here just did a quickie search in our small subdivision and see 6 XFinity free WiFi hotspots. Well too though you have to use your XFinity account to use them anywhere though.

Adding automation is really the next step. Many newbie automation folks will naturally gravitate towards ISP provided automation because it will be easy.

Such that the ISP will provide Internet, VOIP, Television, cellular phones, security and automation under one umbrella price; how easy is that?

And all for an introduction price of $9.99 per month for 6 months then maybe $199.99 per month with a 5 year no exit contract.

Kind of similar should that smart electric meter (that you the user/client pay for) be checking on your electrical appliance electrical usage.

I was involved a while ago (2000's) in the creation of software (banking stuff) called the Matix. I honestly never knew who came up with that name. That said once you really get immersed in the automated software; you will never leave. While superficially it looked very nice and very customer oriented; deep down it's primary purpose was to make monies and geez who is going to argue with a computer program that just works buy itself anyways. The logic when it was created was related mostly to ROI. The best way to sell it on the customer side was charging the customer for the ability to utilize a self service...a win win for the bank....

Personally maybe the ISP service (and television and automation) will be better coming from Google or Microsoft or Amazon versus current legacy (living in the past) cable/telco companies?

I mean many if not most of the old telco companies are still mostly stuck in making money via bucket/metering usage charges (well like cellular internet usage).

It's been a few years that I saw a demonstration of Microsoft Television via fiber optics to the home.

Verizon utilizes FIOS. ATT Uverse almost does it with and CC (still trying get the most from old cable though) is doing it already.

Geez the infrastructure upgrades were on our dime and not theirs anyways.

Some (shame shame) though did squander the public money for their nefarious needs anyways.

Once they finish (well if they finish) their infrastructure updates Google (with a bigger stick and more money) just has to step in and take over.

IE: just put the wires in and get out of way of - let us (bigger sticks) manage the transport ; easy peasy stuff; telco's won't even know what happened.

[Steve Q]

Pete, great synopsis and comments. I will be one of the first to get rid of Comcast. I hate it! Google will be more customer focused.

Steve Q


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[jetkit]

"has promised frequent software updates for the device."

That kills it for me.
This "Agile" approach is the worse thing ever

Remember the time when software had to be fully tested in every possible configuration before being released?