- Joined
- May 19, 2017
- Messages
- 1,829
...A different paradigm is really needed for ongoing support and bugfixes of IoT devices. Paying up front doesn't seem to work too well...The reason Syno and QNAP can afford to keep coming out with updates for their devices appears to be primarily because they continue to crank out new hardware on what is effectively the same software platform...
Bingo. Smart companies come up with a platform that allows them to re-use code and leverage new work with minimal issue. To me, it was hilarious how Apple switched from one hardware platform to the next throughout it's Airport base station development cycle (486x, RISC, etc.) while Ubiquiti single-mindedly brought out a whole family of gateways, bridges, etc. that all seem to leverage the same processors / hardware architectures, allowing UBNT to support past product on the basis of current sales.
That likely is a regulatory issue more than anything. Vizio only saw the light because the Obama administration sued them successfully. CA may become a model for the rest of the country re: implementing privacy protections, but I am not holding my breath.But vendors seem to be trying to monetize the information that they can gather. I wonder at what point someone is going to CFAA them. I mean, it's nice that they try to cloak themselves in EULA's, but if I give you my old already-activated TV, you aren't a party to that agreement, and there is effectively a malicious actor doing unauthorized things on your device.
Just as DOE explicitly has zero funding to enforce energy efficiency mandates for light bulbs (so lovers of high-wattage filament bulbs can still buy them) there are many ways for industry to subvert the writing, application, and enforcement of laws.