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Re:Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests e... by xnyan on Thursday October 17, 2019 @12:52PM (#21283938)
I have a cheaper thermostat with wifi, a few months ago it alerted me that the temperature had been more than 5 degrees over setpoint for half an hour and something was probably broken. I was able to remotely shut off the unit and after I came home from work, sure enough the coils had iced over due to a refrigerant leak.

It was only hot enough for this to happen at the peak of the heat when I was at work. I was able to catch the problem early and fix it cheaply all for the cost of a thermostat (Emerson Sensi) about $40 more than a non wifi model.

Re:Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests e... by icebraining on Saturday October 19, 2019 @09:20AM (#21298321)
Is there any advantage in involving you in the loop, though? Couldn't it just shutdown upon detecting the problem and turn on a warning light for you to see when you got home?