I have security cameras installed at work and at home that I can access from my phone. I was a bit late to the game on this technology, but I finally bit the bullet and made the purchases. The instructions were short, as was my patience while waiting for the firmware to update, but I eventually made my way through the QR codes, usernames and password resets.
I had a doorbell camera on a previous house I owned, but I became annoyed by the constant notifications it sent each time the wind blew or a bug crawled in front of the camera. I discovered better camera positioning this time around, and I have been surprised to see how many people are snooping around in my yard.
While recently waiting to download yet another app on my phone, I decided to count how many total apps I have that manage smart devices. I had to take a sock off.
I remember when having an electric garage door opener was a big deal. Now, I don’t need any openers, as I have an app on my phone to open and close the door. It works great… until it doesn’t. A reboot usually does the trick, but I can’t help but wonder what I will do when the power goes out for an extended time.
I have some of those smart plugs connected to my phone, too. I even hooked up the Christmas tree to one this year. These would work really great if my wife would use the app instead of physically unplugging the devices and making my app worthless.
Our daughter, Samantha, lives with her husband and child in a nearby community, but she still shares our app she set up when she lived at home that runs the smart plugs. So, I can access her devices at her home, and she can access mine. It makes for some fun pranks when I turn her lights on and off at her house. Since she is the one who bought me the smart plugs to begin with, it serves her right.
I realize there are ways to manage many of these devices with a single app from one company. I am just not sure I want to do that, despite my smart TV continually reminding me how it can “help” if I give it access to other devices in the house. I don’t trust Big Tech, and allowing any of them to have all my eggs in their basket makes me, well… chicken.
Like many of you, I do use a password manager, but it makes me uncomfortable as well. Somehow that piece of paper with passwords that I used to keep in my desk drawer at work seems a whole lot safer than posting anything in the cloud. But, I keep trying to be high tech.
So, I will continue with this smorgasbord of apps and usernames and passwords for now, and I will keep chuckling to myself whenever I turn my daughter’s lamps on and off — at least until I realize she is watching me do it on one of the cameras I installed.
Have a futuristic Friday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707