Drones Are a Thing

It's time we talked about drones.  GoPro is launching the Karma, the new registration rules have gone in affect and I got the opportunity last weekend to fly some.  With all that going on, it's a criminal shame that I have not tapped in my hot take on these things any earlier.

Are UAV's 'Things'?

(courtesy The Verge)

But before we get rolling, a point of order: drones/quadcopters/hexi-copters/UAVs/whatever are things, but are they 'things' for the 'internet' to be 'of'?  After all, most of them are not directly connected to the internet or even to a network.  Having said that, I do not believe that I need to use my 'because it's my blog and I say so' trump.  The starting point of the Internet of Things is the rise of  the smartphone, cheap chips, sensors and connectivity.  Drones take advantage of that same paradigm.  Most are controlled through a smartphone, often with little input from the purported pilot.  They use various wireless networking protocols for that control and to send the video feed back.  So, while not directly connected to the internet, they are a product of the same culture.  From that view point, they are subject to my keyboard.

Tackling Cordcutting

To this ol' Schmoid, one of the essential tasks in the modern, Smart, home is to cut the cord.  Finding alternative ways to watch/listen/consume content other than the traditional cable/satellite company and, thereby, reducing your bills and time watching advertising is smart.  It just is.

Streaming Downs

Of course there are challenges.  Football in the US right now being a big one.  There are contracts between the league and the networks.  There are black out dates.  There are advertising revenues and player endorsements and usage rights and 'express written consent'.  Somewhere in there are the fans, but they don't matter as long as they watch and buy.

Given the start of the NFL season and the recent attempts by Tom Wheeler (hallowed be thy name) to change how the cable box works, it seems time to revisit this topic since I last touched on it in June, 2016.  Follow along, intrepid explorers, and lets see where my typing fingers take us.

Internet of Philosophy: Consumer

Over the past two weeks I've been throwing words at the internet about how I think certain IoT systems should be implemented.  Specifically, Municipal (Government) and Enterprise (Business).  But really, all of that blah-blah-blah is just an introduction to this post: the Consumer (Home) side of it all.  After all, I'm not a government official nor am I employed in any way by a business.  However, I do own a home and I do consume.

The not-so-old adage that 'If you're not paying, you're the product' is what got me thinking about all of this in the first place.  Whether that saying is a complaint, a compliment or just a bunch of extruded male bovine waste is up for some debate.  However, is a decade that has seen the rise of Software-as-a-Service and attempts to add subscription models to everything (thanks Obama Amazon), it is worth taking a some time to analyze how it might apply to the SmartHome space.

Internet of Philosophy: Enterprise

Last week I started in on a series of articles around three implementations of the Internet of Things: Municipal, Enterprise and Consumer.  I covered off on the Municipal side of things within that opening article and this week I want to dive into what Enterprise or Commercial IoT is all about.

Enterprise Internet of Things

The Basics

When the government is installing an IoT system, they are doing it under the auspices of better serving their constituency.  Business installations are different.  They are all about maximizing return, whether that is for the business owners or for the shareholders.  While there is certainly a cost saving side to governmental IoT, that's all that there is for businesses.  If it won't increase profits, why do it?

Profits, then: the difference between expenditures and earnings.  IoT can help the businesses increase profits in two ways: lower costs per unit produced and lower liability.