
AT&T Introduces IP-Based Home Automation And Security System - nikunjk
http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/06/att-introduces-digital-life-ip-based-home-automation-and-security-system-with-247-monitoring-centers/
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Cieplak
Given AT&T's track record on issues of privacy, I wonder what sorts of easter
eggs will be hiding in Digital Life's terms of service.

~~~
rollypolly
That's a good point. I wonder what future law enforcement potential this will
have.

"House too warm? Must be a grow operation."

~~~
evoxed
Depends on how data-nuts they can actually go. If they wanted to get really
nuts and they actually stored all the data they can track, from your house,
car, phone calls, etc... think what any extremely intelligent and powerful
(i.e. resources– ATT or NSA, doesn't matter) could do with that kind of
information. If enough people subscribed and they could start plugging in
external data such as sex offender registrars, it would only be a matter of
time before they found a decent model for pattern behaviors. When there's a
crime in the area or someone is suspected of X, they could simply compare
their base model to John Doe's log, timestamps and all, and determine that
hey, those 5 phone calls and 3 garage exits in one hour do seem fishy to us!
*knock knock

The good: That's a lot of work for anything that isn't "major" crime. I can't
imagine it would help them any more for cybercrime either. BUT, it would be
super interesting to see such a system implemented if you're never on the
receiving end...

The bad: Everything else. Regardless of how advanced it is, how they use it is
everything. And given their track record (sourced above), privacy/trust
doesn't seem to be their forte.

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christiangenco
That navigation system shown in the video is just atrocious. It took a full 20
seconds just to render the map interface, and (as far as I can hear) gave no
confirmation that it'd actually heard his over-annunciated (and practically
yelled) query.

My 4 year old iPhone 3G is a better navigator than this. What's the deal with
built-in car navigation systems?

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rdl
Very long product cycles is one thing.

My 2006 Audi, and up to 2008 Audi A4 models, has a nav system (RNS-E) which
was essentially unchanged since introduction in MY 2002 (so, developed around
1999-2000). Hence, 4GB SD card (no SDHC) limitation, DVD based, slow, etc.

It's better than any smartphone or pda developed in 1999, as a navigation
device, at least.

Electronics should rev a whole lot faster than the rest of the car -- there
are plenty of cars from the 1990s which are relatively modern in drivetrain
technology, and certainly cars from ~2000 (Honda S2000, for instance).

~~~
wlesieutre
And honestly, in some ways it's in their best interests to keep the
electronics from developing quickly. If car electronics were open to external
access, we'd have third party software running on iPads in no time. The slow
pace lets them make incremental improvements at whatever pace they think is
appropriate to selling cars.

I'm reminded of a story from The Daily WTF where someone made a tenfold
increase in speed by rewriting something, and their boss had them add a
deliberate delay so they could let the improvements out over several releases.
To improve it too much would be admitting that their previous version was
poor, and they'd rather milk more modest speed bumps over several years of
releases.

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pasbesoin
On the boob tube the other day, I saw for the first time an add for a Comcast
-- err... Xfinity -- home security system. Apparently, this is a "new" market
for competition for these behemoth entrenched ISP's.

Given my experience with Comcast's pricing, I might sarcastically suppose it
would be cheaper just to let the burglars break in.

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loverobots
Thanks, but I'll skip: _"AT &T has been named a defendant in a class action
lawsuit that claims the telecommunications company illegally cooperated with
the National Security Agency's secret eavesdropping program.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in San Francisco's federal district court, charges
that AT&T has opened its telecommunications facilities up to the NSA and
continues to "to assist the government in its secret surveillance of millions
of ordinary Americans."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which filed the suit, says AT&T's alleged
cooperation violates free speech and privacy rights found in the U.S.
Constitution and also contravenes federal wiretapping law, which prohibits
electronic surveillance "except as authorized by statute"
[http://news.cnet.com/ATT-sued-over-NSA-spy-
program/2100-1028...](http://news.cnet.com/ATT-sued-over-NSA-spy-
program/2100-1028_3-6033501.html) "_

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danssig
Yea, my first thought when I saw this title: "who on earth would _pay_ to have
AT&T involved in their _home_ security. May as well just hook up a web cam
pointed to your shower and be done with it.

