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Thanasis Kinias

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 19:07:17

Massachusetts HS can’t turn off lights <arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/0>. Basically, they installed a ‘smart’ lighting system relying on proprietary software that the vendor no longer supports. The system failed and the lights are stuck permanently on.

And this, friends, is the problem with unfree software.

Eric Beckman

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 19:40:42

@tkinias why physical books will outlast most ebooks

jjjjeeppyyaanngg 🧝‍♀️

Föderation EN Mi 25.01.2023 19:18:25

@ERBeckman @tkinias nah I’ve seen how high schoolers treat books

Jim Bodie

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 21:28:53

@tkinias that's awesome. It's also easily worked around. They have a circuit breaker, yes? Want the lights out? Start tripping breakers until you get the desired level of darkness.

Thanasis Kinias

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 22:39:19

@jimbodie
I can well imagine needing something in between “no power in the classroom” and “100% LED illumination” if, say, I wanted to use the digital projector

Jim Bodie

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 22:48:48

@tkinias oh. In that case you need to talk to solution provider. My smart ass solutions do fix the initial problem, but often they cause more problems.

EdB

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 22:56:01

@jimbodie @tkinias
Lighting and wall outlets most certainly should be on separate circuits/breakers.

But yeah I get the point; someone didn't think this through when they arranged for the installation of this technological wonder.

Jim Bodie

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 23:05:25

@edb @tkinias most certainly there are separate breakers and the school can easily and immediately, but maybe not cheaply, replace the lighting controls. They can do it, but whoever approved the current system is going to look quite bad here.

Thanasis Kinias

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 22:57:37

@jimbodie
joking aside, I really am astounded at how much tech gets installed without any thought to what happens when it fails – e.g., we have toilets on campus with motion-detection lights, and when the motion detector fails (which happens not infrequently) there is no way to turn on the lights in the toilet

Jim Bodie

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 23:03:01

@tkinias indeed. Even when someone raise a concern, they are often dismissed by some manager type that has an agenda to see something get implemented a certain way or by a certain time. It's not often as bad as the cold weather issues with the O-Rings on the Challenger vs. the launch schedule, but often problems arise. Why listen to the engineers and other staff when it is easier in the short run to ignore them.

Paul Coen

Föderation EN Mo 23.01.2023 14:57:27

@tkinias @jimbodie School districts frequently lack knowledge. May fall back on “state approved vendor” as a justification. I saw a district tout UL listings for air purifiers that were the “doesn’t catch on fire” standards and not at all related to effectiveness or ozone release. IT is frequently minimally staffed, and the facilities folks may not understand the long term issues around something like smart lighting.

Nicholas Sushkin

Föderation EN So 22.01.2023 23:31:40

@tkinias More like unfree hardware

Leszek Karlik

Föderation EN Mo 23.01.2023 09:46:48

@tkinias

Well, a "smart lighting" using open source software but with no physical switches would still be a shitty thing, so it's not just the issue of closed software but also of bad design. :⁠-⁠)

Tamar Yellin

Föderation EN Mo 23.01.2023 16:35:23

@tkinias In a sane world this would be satire, but I'm not sure these days...

kittyclimpo

Föderation EN Mo 23.01.2023 21:49:41

@tkinias yep, but also this is the problem with people thinking they need software to switch the lights on and off

Thanasis Kinias

Föderation EN Mo 23.01.2023 22:04:45

@kittyc
I’ll admit that I also have a kind of similar “Why do we have to overcomplicate this?!” reaction to the idea—but I suspect that there’s power savings to be had if it’s done properly.

(Related, though: I am *very* pleased that the office I moved into last year has an actual physical lightswitch rather than one of those cursed-by-God motion detectors.)

jjjjeeppyyaanngg 🧝‍♀️

Föderation EN Mi 25.01.2023 19:16:48

@tkinias
> what's left of 5th Light no longer has access to the old proprietary software to fix anything, so "fixing" the system means replacing it with new hardware. The problem with new parts is that this has all been in the middle of the pandemic and a huge chip shortage

Hear me out: call a regular fucking electrician?