So i have a pi5 8gb sorta collecting dust, ive mess with it a little but i have a laptop and im not sure what use to give the pi 5? i wanted to explore ai stuff but ai requires a powerhouse of a device? Im also thought about nas but i feel i dont need nas right now?
What would you advise i do with my pi?
I have a better assistant for my home. It’s called me.
When I get home from work, I don’t rely on some app to open my door. I use my hands, and unlock the door with my keys.
When I want to know how much juice is left in the fridge, I walk my ass to the fridge and check myself.
When I want to set the house on fire to committ insurance fraud, I walk down to the gas station, fill my cannister myself, and come back home and pour it everywhere myself. No app needed!
People are SO dependant on technology these days! Jeez!
The typical advice (from anyone who hasn’t outright drank the kool-aid) is to avoid automating things like locks or doors. If your shit gets hacked, you don’t want it to allow physical access. And automating door unlocks is an easy way to accidentally allow people into your house.
Instead, most try to focus on automation for things like lights turning off when you leave home, automatically dimming the lights when you start a movie, automatically stealing from billionaires when a new movie hits streaming services, blocking ads, self-hosting your own smart speakers to divest from Google/Amazon/etc, meal planning, etc…
Leave the locks dumb, because you can’t hack a pin and tumbler system. Leave building molotov cocktails dumb, because it can be a fun family activity.
The pie itself probably uses more power than turning off leds in an average apartment
I always like to think: what happens if some random hacker (either a bored teenager or hostile state) was able to control this thing?
Operating locks? Hell no. Controlling my thermostat/furnace? Hell no.
Monitoring locks? Like, having a sensor that indicates that a door or window is locked or unlocked and can notify you when it changes? Well, personally I still don’t do that because broadcasting to the internet that my window is unlocked seems dangerous, but I could also understand how that could be helpful, especially for people with OCD.
Controlling my window-mounted AC units? Mild inconvenience at worse. I could go without them in the summer and just be a bit uncomfortable (and some years I do to save money). They aren’t powerful enough to be dangerously cold. I could always unplug them or kick them off my wi-fi if I had to. Worst-case scenario is that someone runs up my electric bill if in away from home for a bit. The ability to change the settings, set automation, and monitor room temperatures remotely is convenient enough to be worth the risk.
Lights? No problem at all, especially because I still have dumb lights in some fixtures that I just don’t use often. So the worst-case scenario is that someone turns them on/off when I don’t want, and the solution is just… Unscrew the bulb, unplug the fixture, or flip the switch to cut the power. Or turn on a dumb light. LED’s are so efficient that I probably wouldn’t notice a difference on my electric bill if all of my lights were on vs off for a full billing period. In exchange, I’m able to use light turning on as a much gentler alarm in the morning, or turn everything off from bed when I’m ready to sleep, or if I’m out at a friend’s house it’s nice to have lights on before I go home.
Each piece of automation is its own evaluation. What could go wrong, and how much damage would that cause? What information do I care about potentially being leaked? How much efficiency and convenience am I getting in return?
Me, disabled and using smart tech to improve a shitty situation, while reading your total lack of understanding or imagination of anyone’s situation but themselves: 🙄
Well I don’t know if dependent is the right word. I’m fully aware that Home Assistant is something I play with for fun.
I can check the app and see how much power my solar has generated today, how hot my water heater is, or see what temperature it is inside or outside. None of that is helpful for anything other than for fun.
Though I can do thinks like bump up the target temperature of my hot water when the solar is making too much power in order to store that energy as heat, which is pretty cool.
What can I say, this is some people’s idea of fun. I got security cameras (that I can view through home assistant) and put them not pointed at entryways or windows because I don’t care about security, I pointed them at areas where the dog is and the kids play so I can play with object and facial recognition, all locally processed.
It’s ok to not think it’s your idea of fun, but if anyone uses home assistant in a way that they rely on rather than just for the fun of playing with the technology then I’d love to hear what that use is!
But… Fraudzoid’s app looks so nice… and my Fraudzoid Blaze subscription practically pays for itself!
I have a little person I feed drugs to do all this stuff for me.
Unclear if you’re holding a midget hostage, or are a parent. In either case, the drugs are problematic. Although for entirely different reasons depending on the answer.
They’re a big fan of drugs so it’s not problematic or any of your business.