Apple and Amazon Adopt Opposing Strategies as Smart Home War Heats Up

[truthertech]

All those IoT devices you've heard about getting hacked, were exposed on the internet where they could be discovered by anyone, and they still had their default logins. They also all ran Linux and had not downloaded a security update that mitigated risks.

E.g. cable DVRs. Internet facing cameras. Baby monitors that open a forwarding port through your router's firewall.

Home automation devices will normally only be inside your home's LAN or Z-Wave network. Your internet router should by default keep outside malware probes away, and if you do some checking, you can ensure you use Z-devices with their standard 128-bit encryption turned on (all door locks come that way).

So if you secure your router and any other internet-facing devices with a decent password, and install updates, you should be in good shape.

It goes beyond that unfortunately, since, as was recently highlighted and conceded by Amazon. There is a whole world of difference in privacy and security depending on a company's approach. It costs time, money and effort to ensure privacy and security and most companies have shown they will skimp, and in many cases, completely ignore those expenditures because they want to save money and effort and rush products to market. Amazon's eco-system encourages that as Amazon is most concerned with grabbing mind share as quickly as possible. The net result is


"Amazon acknowledges that unlike Apple, it can't guarantee the security of third-party devices."

"To be Homekit-certified, gadget makers must include special chips to work with Apple’s system. ... Manufacturers also have to send product samples to Cupertino, where Apple tests them extensively for compatibility. The whole process can take three to five months." Amazon completes its "review" in less than 10 days!

"Alexa, by contrast, only requires smart home companies to write software code and submit it to Amazon for the ten day or less review. There are no special chips."

"Some developers say Apple's approach is worth it. "They found issues with our product before we released it that we didn't find in our testing," said Gimmy Chu, CEO of Nanoleaf, a smart lighting system. "We know that after we have the certification that it's rock solid."

So, yes companies have to spend more time and money and wait much longer to get their device to be part of the Apple's ecosystem, but thankfully in our free market companies and consumers get to decide if they want to be part of the wild, wild west, or the HomeKit ecosystem where:

"Apple's approach has some clear advantages when it comes to privacy, security and ease-of-use. (HomeKit gadgets, for example, can operate without being connected to the Internet.)
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Yes, I'm sure the primary reason Apple has fallen behind in home devices, desktop computing, laptop computing, dropped wireless hardware development, stopped making monitors, havnt updated their imacs in nearly 500 days, and headphones being their most exciting product is because their 66,000 employees cant figure out network security.

And dismal old Siri, that must be a security issue too, right?

Lots of myths there, but let me deal with just one

Actually, Siri has fared very well in al the head to head match ups with Google, Cortana, etc. I have used both extensively and give the edge to Google in more consistent understanding of voice, but there are areas where Siri out performs Google with certain tasks, and overall Siri is as good. Echo pales in comparison to both in terms of capacity, e.g., number of languages, tasks, etc. Echo has great voice understanding with a stand alone device with multiple microphones and there a a lot of scripts that have been written for it.

From AndroidPit- "Both personal assistant tools are still very much works in progress, but both already yield impressive results. Google Now seems to have the edge in accuracy, but Siri beats it on speed."

From Yahoo Tech review, "For now, Siri leads the pack, with Google Now millimeters behind. Cortana and Alexa have richer, more realistic voices and many more hand-tailored responses—but because they’re so new, they’re not nearly as capable. https://www.yahoo.com/tech/battle-of-the-voice-assistants-siri-cortana-211625975.html

Here's a Youtube by Marcus Brownlee that shows how close Siri and Google are from the end of 2016.

In summary, both have a long way to go, but for now are very close. I'd also choose Siri over Google if your privacy and security is important to you as Google concedes they are storing everything you say and linking it according to your master file number that links everything you do across the web

PS. If you want to get excited about what we are likely to see from the Next Gen of Siri this year, take a look at this technology that they now own from VocalIQ

https://9to5mac.com/2016/05/30/vocaliq-siri-intelligent-assistants-war/

 

[marty11]

PS. If you want to get excited about what we are likely to see from the Next Gen of Siri this year, take a look at this technology that they now own from VocalIQ

Yeah, yeah, I know. The next big thing is always on the horizon with Apple.

 

[truthertech]

Yeah, yeah, I know. The next big thing is always on the horizon with Apple.

And they keep hitting it. Airpods, Apple Pay, Smart Watch, Apple Music, Touch Bar, Duo Cameras, etc., all recent stuff that has been terrific sellers. That's how they keep setting records for revenue. Their biggest problem with so many hits is that there is now a serious argument that it isn't fair for one company to be so much more successful than everybody else and maybe they need to split their executive team up and send them to their competitors. Hope it doesn't happen because they are so close, but when they keep making products that are swamping the other industry giants, something has to change.

Their second biggest problem is that they now have so much cash that the foreign banks are complaining they have run out of room to store it and employees to count it. Again, not fair to their competitors if Apple is tying up all the vault space at banks. Hopefully, the new administration will pass law to get that money repatriated bank home as we can put people to work counting it and writing bank checks for investments in new factories. Keep those fingers crossed

 

[kdarling]

Their biggest problem with so many hits is that there is now a serious argument that it isn't fair for one company to be so much more successful than everybody else and maybe they need to split their executive team up and send them to their competitors.

*beginning of a chuckle*

Their second biggest problem is that they now have so much cash that the foreign banks are complaining they have run out of room to store it and employees to count it.

**outright rolling on the floor with laughter**

Yeah, all those one Euro bills really make a huge pile!!

Gets my vote for funniest post ever made on this forum. Thanks!

 

[marty11]

And they keep hitting it. Airpods, Apple Pay, Smart Watch, Apple Music, Touch Bar, Duo Cameras, etc., all recent stuff that has been terrific sellers. That's how they keep setting records for revenue. Their biggest problem with so many hits is that there is now a serious argument that it isn't fair for one company to be so much more successful than everybody else and maybe they need to split their executive team up and send them to their competitors. Hope it doesn't happen because they are so close, but when they keep making products that are swamping the other industry giants, something has to change.

Their second biggest problem is that they now have so much cash that the foreign banks are complaining they have run out of room to store it and employees to count it. Again, not fair to their competitors if Apple is tying up all the vault space at banks. Hopefully, the new administration will pass law to get that money repatriated bank home as we can put people to work counting it and writing bank checks for investments in new factories. Keep those fingers crossed

Man, you are seriously drinking that Tim Cook coolaid. You are even communicating in Apple speak "terrific seller". Lol.

They make a great phone and some decent headphones. That's Apple in 2017 in a nutshell.

 

[truthertech]

Man, you are seriously drinking that Tim Cook coolaid. You are even communicating in Apple speak "terrific seller". Lol.

They make a great phone and some decent headphones. That's Apple in 2017 in a nutshell.

Drinking it?? Man, I am the straw that stirs that drink. If you only knew.

 

[huperniketes]

Drinking it?? Man, I am the straw that stirs that drink. If you only knew.

Terrific. So instead of getting Apple to improve internally in their support of those who've been loyal customers for years, you're now attempting to sell us this swill that Apple's pandering to mindless fashion-conscious noobs is actually better for us than the lemonade we used to get.

You might have sold your soul, but you can't sell that swill.

 

[truthertech]

Terrific. So instead of getting Apple to improve internally in their support of those who've been loyal customers for years, you're now attempting to sell us this swill that Apple's pandering to mindless fashion-conscious noobs is actually better for us than the lemonade we used to get.

You might have sold your soul, but you can't sell that swill.

Come on. Don't take yourself so seriously. Don't personalize some corporation's decision about when they update a processor. Life's too short. The fact that you can't recognize a joke should cause you to sit down and reflect for your own good.

 

[huperniketes]

Come on. Don't take yourself so seriously. Don't personalize some corporation's decision about when they update a processor. Life's too short. The fact that you can't recognize a joke should cause you to sit down and reflect for your own good.

If you're aware of the political situation in the US, you'd know many people are protesting against political changes which will have no direct effect on them: immigration, travel bans, public education, etc. Why do people care? Because it changes the political environment and social norms.

Changes to the development of Apple's product lines aren't important just for those buying Apple hardware, but those of us who've invested in the ecosystem around those products. Businesses that have aging equipment must determine whether Apple's directions will be helpful to their own direction. App developers who've invested time and effort learning Apple's frameworks, toolsets and the market, and developed products for those markets must weigh the return on that investment, and whether Apple's directions are attracting or alienating their existing customer base and which markets to pursue going forward. The support industries, eg, user-oriented bloggers, web sites, indie Mac resellers, etc. must also weigh what services and markets they must offer to remain competitive.

The fact you can't see past your own needs and understand how communities work should cause you to sit down and realize the joke is on you.