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Today's Topics:
1. Is it smarter to have a dumb home? ?We?ve seen clients unable
to flush toilets? (Kim Holburn)
2. Re: Credit cards cancelled, Google accounts closed: ICC
judges on life under Trump sanctions (Tom Worthington)
3. Re: Is it smarter to have a dumb home? ?We?ve seen clients
unable to flush toilets? (Tom Worthington)
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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:13:51 +1100
From: Kim Holburn <[email protected]>
To: Link mailing list <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] Is it smarter to have a dumb home? ?We?ve seen clients
unable to flush toilets?
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/18/smart-home-v-dumb-home-technology-system
Australia experienced a boom in smart-home technology at the start of the
2020s. Years on, some early adopters are experiencing
buyer?s remorse
?Technology is brilliant ? until it isn?t,? says Georgina Wilson, an architect
in Sydney who learned this the hard way when her
husband pressure-hosed the front of the house and accidentally watered their
smart keypad unit.
She says some of her clients have had similar, or worse, experiences. ?We?ve
seen clients unable to flush toilets, lock front doors,
or exit garages during power outages.?
Since smart home technology uptake spiked during Covid lockdowns, Daniel
Vasilevski, an electrician in Sydney, says he has seen many
smart tech horror stories. One client in Maroubra got locked out of their house
for two days. Others have ended up with no working
lights. Subscription complaints are also rife, with even some relatively simple
devices such as smart doorbells and thermostats
requiring monthly fees. Vasilevski estimates 15 to 20% of his callouts these
days are for problems with smart tech ? some are simple
repair jobs, while others want their smart systems demolished altogether.
There can be a more sinister side, too. Experts say smart homes are prime
targets for cybercriminals. More than 120,000 smart home
cameras were hacked in South Korea last year and the Australian Signals
Directorate recently warned that Chinese hackers are
exploiting people?s home routers and smart devices.
?The scariest things I?ve heard are about loss of privacy, where ex-partners
have still had access to their partner?s home and made
changes either locking them out, letting themselves in or watching their every
move,? she says.
Renters, too, have privacy concerns, as smart locks can allow landlords to keep
tabs on their every move.
--
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
+61 404072753
mailto:[email protected] aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:13:27 +1100
From: Tom Worthington <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [LINK] Credit cards cancelled, Google accounts closed:
ICC judges on life under Trump sanctions
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
On 2/19/26 09:59, Kim Holburn wrote:
> Credit cards cancelled, Google accounts closed: ICC judges on life under
> Trump sanctions ...
Article 70 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (17
July 1998) sets out a penalty of up to five years in jail for
intimidating or retaliating against an official of the Court.
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/pt/ihl-treaties/icc-statute-1998/article-70
--
Tom Worthington http://www.tomw.net.au
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2026 08:51:18 +1100
From: Tom Worthington <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [LINK] Is it smarter to have a dumb home? ?We?ve seen
clients unable to flush toilets?
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
On 2/19/26 15:13, Kim Holburn wrote:
> Australia experienced a boom in smart-home technology at the start of
> the 2020s ...
I got in early with buyer?s remorse:
"The house of the future still has keys and light switches. It's not
that this apartment's owner couldn't afford computer controlled lights
and biometric door locks, its just that they are not worth the trouble."
The Smart Apartment, The Digital Home of Today, 6 May 2003:
https://www.tomw.net.au/2001/sa/rt.html
More recently I have been coming to terms with my new smart car. This
was one of the cheapest available, but even so it came with adaptive
cruse control, lane centering, auto braking, and engine start/stop. I
avoided the next model up, as that had even more things which beep. At
present I am trying to make the start/stop less enthusiastic, as it
turns off the air-conditioner at traffic lights, making the car hot.
--
Tom Worthington http://www.tomw.net.au
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