The recent Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage is a powerful reminder about the detriments of “smart” technology, which is gone in an instant once the “cloud” goes down.
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One wonders how many thousands (millions?) of people out there were left without working doorbells, Roomba vacuum cleaners and even refrigerators that normally run on AWS but no longer could during the outage.
According to reports, the disruption began at around 10am EST on December 7. It left many packages unable to be delivered, many streaming media services were down, and patrons of Walt Disney Co. theme parks were unable to enter due to the automation involved with ticket processing and scanning.
Anything that runs on the Amazon “Alexa” system was also disabled, as were people’s Ring smart-doorbell units and other cloud-driven appliances and tech tools.
Sure, these things seem cool in theory. But the reality is that linking to the cloud means that you are also dependent on the cloud. And if the cloud goes away, then suddenly the “smart” life you set up for yourself is over in an instant.
“Irate device users tweeted their frustrations to Ring’s official account, with many complaining that they spent time rebooting or reinstalling their apps and devices before finding out on Twitter that there was a general Amazon Web Services outage,” reported Bloomberg Quint.
“Multiple Ring users even said they weren’t able to get into their homes without access to the phone app, which was down.”
Do you really want Big Tech controlling your life and deciding whether you can go inside your own house?
Hilariously, Christmas was cancelled for many that day as the Amazon cloud refused to turn on their Christmas lights. Others were unable to turn on the lights in their own house because smart lightbulbs stopped responding to voice commands.
It was probably just an excuse, but many people also reported that performing basic household chores also became “impossible” because all of their smart appliances just stopped working.
“The outage prompted people to reflect on the pitfalls of having a ‘smart’ home that’s overly dependent on not only the internet, but one company in particular – while those with ‘dumb’ homes gloated that their fridges and light switches were working just fine,” Bloomberg Quint further reported.
“Several of the affected AWS operations were on the East Coast. AWS said about nine hours later that it has resolved the network device issues that led to the outage.”
Hopefully this little fiasco was enough to wake at least some people up as to the true nature of smart living. Is it really smart to give total control of your life over to the likes of Jeff Bezos, whose cloud services now decide whether or not certain people can live their lives?
What happens when AWS potentially goes down for good? Then what? Do people really want to live under the control of the tech hive? Would it not be more prudent to take back control of your own life, even at the risk of being called “dumb” as opposed to smart?
“I have no idea why anyone would ever have this in their house!” wrote one Natural News commenter on an article about how “smart” Alexa devices are always listening and could be used by the evil ones to blackmail someone.
“My son got an Amazon Alexa. He’s turned into a sheep,” wrote another. “I have warned him that these corrupted things listen in but to no avail. He will have to learn the hard way.”
More of the latest news about the pitfalls of the “internet of things” can be found at Collapse.news.
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Hear, hear. Best to be separated from the Cloud.
Yes, I pay my bills online, but other than that, all my information is locally stored, there is NOTHING in the cloud that I have to worry about. I do not trust the Internet!
Hate to burst your bubble, but the cloud is deeper than that. It has your name, number, physical and email addresses and computer ip address. If you use a smart phone with updated software, then the cloud also contains the names, numbers and maybe addresses of your friends and other contacts. If you use that device to take pictures, they are all stored in the cloud as well. Don’t forget your doctors office. Medical instutions often ask for (but should never recieve from us) your social security number… along with DOB, mother’s madien name, medical procedures you endured and whatever chemicals they have prescribed for you to ingest daily.
I also don’t trust the Internet, but that’s the reality of life today.
I believe Papabear was talking about relying on the cloud for normal operations of gadgets, & storage for things that a person relies on, for their daily life. I don’t use any cloud services, either. I turn all that stuff off, & backup, locally. I know that doesn’t mean that my info is not “in the cloud”. But I don’t use my phone for anything important, like banking, or to pay for things. I use a wired desktop pc.
I betcha that one day all of those of the wrong political persuasion will be having lots of “accidents.”
Much ado about very little. Aluminum foil hat day at the rodeo. Most people don’t rely on, or even use, cloud based gadgets. I don’t want anyone to be dependent on, or beholden to, tech. But why creep people out by telling them that it’s some kind of cosmic plot? Reminds me of the ancient argument against automobiles, warning people against them because they would forget how to walk.
Always think the worst. You will very rarely get disappointed. People are evil by nature, INCLUDING YOU!
I have warned people since DOS not to overdue dependency on computers. But as usual, no one listened. I think it’s hysterical. Is this also the reason Tesla cars wouldn’t unlock or start?