I've been on the Internet since 1987, started a career building the commercial Internet in 1995, and have spent the last 25 years writing books about how to build foundational Internet infrastructure. I've consulted for and worked with any number of dot-coms, and the one lesson I've gotten over and over again?
The Internet's business model is betrayal.
We have no smart lights. No voice assistants. No Alexa or Siri. No video doorbell. Our thermostat and appliances constantly complain about their lack of Internet. None of this stuff is safe.
The Internet tech I do use? A desktop PC. Email on my phone is for travel only: airplane tickets, hotel reservations, hockey and concert tix. Location on my phone? Nope, we use a dedicated non-networked GPS in the car. The microphones are off.
How can a light bulb betray me? I don't know. I do know that the vendors have put a LOT of thought into it, though, and I can't out-think all of them.
This entry was edited (Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 12:44 PM)
@suetanvil If this were Algorithmedia, there'd be a response nearly immediately with a link to a freshly-minted Red Bubble created by a bot watching for things like "that should be on a shirt"
It's been gratifying watching the kids go from their pre-teen whining, "you're so paranoid Dad", to so many "holy s--t, Dad, you were right!" moments.
In the last few months I've had "thank you for not letting us have a phone until we were 16", "thank you for making us use Linux" ... 😁 "thank you for keeping us off social media."
The latest is "can you get Grandad off Facebook, please?". 🙄
This entry was edited (Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 1:13 PM)
I have a very similar story. My car is a 2006 Toyota with buttons and knobs that I spend a bit too much to keep it functioning but still less than a new track me please master mobile.
Oh, it's easy... when that light bulb depends on an external webserver to switch on, and the company goes Tango Uniform.
I was interested in a little device that detected when my clothes dryer was finished and send me an alert on my phone. But it depended on that external service, and I knew it was a bad idea. A year, later, they went under and everyone's devices stopped working.
The stupid thing is, these things don't _need_ to be dependent on an external service.
@raven I am seriously concerned about my solar power. Specifically, the battery attached to it. I got the whole setup more than ten years ago, when I had no choice about what battery to use.... yes, it is a Tesla. Yes, it has an app, which requires a working internet. Am I going to LOSE POWER TO MY HOUSE when Tesla inevitably goes bankrupt? I got this setup specifically so that I would never lose power at all, ever. And it has been very good for that... so far.
we had similar issues trying to set up our "smart" TV. It begged and pleaded to let it connect to our Wifi, cajoling with all the marvelous subscription-services we could access if only we relented. After a half dozen dark-pattern screens, we were finally able to set it up as a dumb TV, taking only physically-connected inputs.
We have similar views and backgrounds (I've been online since 1988, building websites since 1994), and I feel the same way you do. I mostly use computers, and only occasionally use my phone for travel. No talking devices (though hubby's speaker occasionally tells us it is powering down). Thank you for sharing your insights.
This entry was edited (Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 6:02 PM)
All corporate media is built to betray it's users. All corporate activities are rent seeking. It's time we started shutting them down, before they shut us down.
Zigbee, Z-wave and Matter over Thread are pretty good protocols for smart devices that are worth looking into.
With each of those, the devices form a mesh network across your home and connect to one hub to access anything outside of that mesh so you can get a lot more centralized control over their connection to the outside world than with anything on wifi.
Consider car crank handle windows vs powered windows; one breaks down far less, use less energy, and are just as quick (unless you're so unfit that effort kills you).
Consider paper maps vs tablet/phone/incar GPS). Paper maps always work, don't need recharging, gives a passenger something to do.
Heat seats in cold climates are nice , but not necessary; you butt will warm up again.
@sirwumpus Not to be that person but there are many days my chronic fatigue would mean closed windows if it were still a crank. It's not just people who are unfit.
@rubyjones @sirwumpus The comparison I was referencing was between unpowered and powered windows.
Thoug does anyone want to be forced to use an app to open their car window? That just seems ludicrous but my last car purchase was in 2019 so I haven't had to deal with any of the new shit car manufacturers are trying to get away with.
@danni_storm @rubyjones @sirwumpus All those cars which are on-line and can be tracked and even disabled remotely. Adding a device to a car's CAN bus to allow monitoring or control too, for those not officially on-line. Or cars with electric-opened tailgates that will remain closed in the event of a major electrical fault. I know of someone who nearly lost his dog when his car caught fire and the back wouldn't open to give him access to the dog crate because it took out the electrics.
@sirwumpus I take it you've never had a map lead you down a street that ended in a construction site instead of leading to your destination. Because urban landscapes do change...
PS - I've never owned any smart devices, not even a smartphone.
Your observation of built-in betrayal matches the origin of the World Wide Web. What is a net and what is a web used for? Is it not for catching or trapping a living being?
The first web page was created and hosted at CERN. What is their goal?
CERN seeks to: Use the "God particle" to probe hidden sectors. Find dark matter and dark forces.
These dimensions were never intended to be opened by man.
And they made the first web page. The battle between darkness and light continues....
@Earl Well, the Big Bang was likely caused by someone in the previous universe running a particle accelerator and ripping a hole in the space-time continuum, through which their entire universe was pulled, and so created the conditions to start this one.
I started out with a "zero smart device" policy, too, though I did relax that some once I came to learn the details of the available technology. But the number of such devices I have is extremely small, and carefully curated and managed. Local control. If it won't work unless it has access to the Internet, then it's not mine and I don't want it.
how can a light bulb betray you weeeelll wired.com/story/lamphone-light… there was also an article I can't find right now where a company figured out how to use the impact of photons and the vibration on the filaments to track people in a house
Powerful post, Michael. Like you, I have none of those gadgets you mention. Could never figure out how to connect one IoT heater we own so I didn’t. I keep my internet exposure very limited—in part because I saw no benefit to connecting gadgets to the internet, and in part because they tended to employ Big Tech, which I haven’t trusted in decades.
Sometimes it is not betrayal, it is simply laziness. Sometimes things are unsafe, not because they have been designed to be but simply because no-one thought it through.
It's the old adage: never assign malice when stupidity is sufficient explanation.
Networked bulbs (as with a lot of IoT) have been shown to be unsafe, purely because they leak your network traffic and credentials because no-one designed them not to.
Philips/Signify just added a new feature called MotionAware¹. It measures fluctuations in Zigbee signal strength between bulbs to act as a motion/presence sensor.
They are also pushing hard for non-local user accounts², which means constant web connectivity.
All the pieces are in place to monetize your family room occupancy habits to advertisers.
It wouldn't be too hard to include a sound transducer into an LED bulb. I wouldn't know, I don't use such things either. I do have a couple of IoT things in the house but they're on their own subnet to keep them away from the rest of my network traffic. OpenWRT on the router, in the hope that it will limit any leakage, and firewall blocks on stuff that doesn't need to talk to the outside world, to make people work a bit harder to use those devices.
"Bondi: "The news is reporting that cartel drones are being shot down by our military. That's what we all should care about right now: protecting America.""
"Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection."
"After a string of ICE murders, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries proposed reforms — and $11 billion more for ICE.
Including reconciliation bill funding, the Schumer-Jeffries plan would give ICE a $30 billion budget, higher than all but 15 militaries worldwide: www.stephensemler.com/p/democratic..."
"Annie Rauwerda, creator of Depths of Wikipedia, lives for the internet’s weirdest footnotes.That includes things like the long-gone Garfield the cat “G-Mail,” 🙀📬 a very real web oddity now preserved only on the #WaybackMachine." mastodon.archive.org/@internet…
"He's right. That's the key measure that would make the difference between vague collective ambitions and credible sustained implementation. Particularly in defence. #Macron : 'Now is the time for 🇪🇺 to launch a joint borrowing capacity, through eurobonds' www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/a..."
Who are you… You must help me, please… Bring me the salmon treats… I can't… I can't see you… hear me… I need the salmon treats, you must bring me the salmon treats… Please bring … beg of you, bring the treats… Help me… I am Babka… Given up long ago… There is one thing I need to be rescued… You must… #バブカ
Humanity was already enjoying motion pictures a century ago. But the ability to do so at home still lay a few decades in the future, and the ability to pull up a movie on demand through a streaming service much further still.
![Post by DrALJONES
Report: Since October 2023, "Gaza’s population had declined by more than 10%, which would suggest roughly 200,000 deaths.""We do not believe that [70,000 deaths] is the final total. That’s the number of bodies that have been recovered. There will be more bodies under the rubble."~Stuart Casey Maslen, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law & Human Rightshttps://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260206-geneva-academy-warns-gaza-death-toll-could-top-200000/ #GazaGenocide #Palestine #USPol #EUPol #CdnPoli #GazaDeaths #news .](https://social.trom.tf/photo/preview/640/40914823 "Post by DrALJONES
Report: Since October 2023, \"Gaza’s population had declined by more than 10%, which would suggest roughly 200,000 deaths.\"\"We do not believe that [70,000 deaths] is the final total. That’s the number of bodies that have been recovered. There will be more bodies under the rubble.\"~Stuart Casey Maslen, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law & Human Rightshttps://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260206-geneva-academy-warns-gaza-death-toll-could-top-200000/ #GazaGenocide #Palestine #USPol #EUPol #CdnPoli #GazaDeaths #news .")
Dianora (Diane Bruce)
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •You immediately reminded me of this ancient story.
securityaffairs.com/59808/hack…
Exfiltrating data from Air-Gapped Networks via Router LEDs
Pierluigi Paganini (Security Affairs)Michael W Lucas reshared this.
froggfish
in reply to Dianora (Diane Bruce) • • •I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •"The Internet's business model is betrayal."
That's perfect.
Michael W Lucas
in reply to I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥 • • •Chris [list of emoji]
in reply to I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥 • • •@xinit
Needs to go on a T-shirt or clay tablet.
I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥
in reply to Chris [list of emoji] • • •@suetanvil
If this were Algorithmedia, there'd be a response nearly immediately with a link to a freshly-minted Red Bubble created by a bot watching for things like "that should be on a shirt"
@mwl
Tall Simon
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •It's been gratifying watching the kids go from their pre-teen whining, "you're so paranoid Dad", to so many "holy s--t, Dad, you were right!" moments.
In the last few months I've had "thank you for not letting us have a phone until we were 16", "thank you for making us use Linux" ... 😁 "thank you for keeping us off social media."
The latest is "can you get Grandad off Facebook, please?". 🙄
bituur esztreym reshared this.
chownthemachine
in reply to Tall Simon • • •AnnieBuddy
in reply to Tall Simon • • •@TallSimon
Looks like we have a winner parent here!
Congratulations 🎉
int%rmitt]nt sig^al. ...~!...)
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Michael W Lucas
Unknown parent • • •@GhostOnTheHalfShell there is that, yes.
and not relying on your phone for everything means that you can use the least expensive phone in the store.
Ambulocetus
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Tall Simon
in reply to Ambulocetus • • •/narrator "He thought he was being complimentary but, later that day, his use of quotes backfired badly." 🙂
Carl C
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Oh, it's easy... when that light bulb depends on an external webserver to switch on, and the company goes Tango Uniform.
I was interested in a little device that detected when my clothes dryer was finished and send me an alert on my phone. But it depended on that external service, and I knew it was a bad idea. A year, later, they went under and everyone's devices stopped working.
The stupid thing is, these things don't _need_ to be dependent on an external service.
Kerr Avonsen (she/her)
in reply to Carl C • • •Tim Chase
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •CelloMom On Cars
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Just walk over and connect the cable.
It's nobody's business what I print or scan.
DoomsdaysCW
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Maximummium Overacticans
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Michael W Lucas
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •My rant has hit a nerve? Seems I'm in the right part of the Internet.
Muting to preserve my mentions, but will check in later.
rk: it’s hyphen-minus actually
Unknown parent • • •The number of devices that can act as network bridges is way too high.
George B
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Zigbee, Z-wave and Matter over Thread are pretty good protocols for smart devices that are worth looking into.
With each of those, the devices form a mesh network across your home and connect to one hub to access anything outside of that mesh so you can get a lot more centralized control over their connection to the outside world than with anything on wifi.
Root Moose
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •SirWumpus 🍁⚔️ 🛡️
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Consider car crank handle windows vs powered windows; one breaks down far less, use less energy, and are just as quick (unless you're so unfit that effort kills you).
Consider paper maps vs tablet/phone/incar GPS). Paper maps always work, don't need recharging, gives a passenger something to do.
Heat seats in cold climates are nice , but not necessary; you butt will warm up again.
Danni Storm
in reply to SirWumpus 🍁⚔️ 🛡️ • • •Ruby Jones
in reply to Danni Storm • • •Michael W Lucas
in reply to Ruby Jones • • •@rubyjones @danni_storm @sirwumpus
True.
Pretty sure most (not all) disabled folks don't want a cellphone app that works their car windows, though.
Danni Storm
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •@rubyjones @sirwumpus The comparison I was referencing was between unpowered and powered windows.
Thoug does anyone want to be forced to use an app to open their car window? That just seems ludicrous but my last car purchase was in 2019 so I haven't had to deal with any of the new shit car manufacturers are trying to get away with.
David Hough
in reply to Danni Storm • • •Ruby Jones
in reply to David Hough • • •Ana Tudor 🐯
in reply to SirWumpus 🍁⚔️ 🛡️ • • •@sirwumpus I take it you've never had a map lead you down a street that ended in a construction site instead of leading to your destination. Because urban landscapes do change...
PS - I've never owned any smart devices, not even a smartphone.
Mr. Lance E Sloan (IRL) 👤
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Earl
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Your observation of built-in betrayal matches the origin of the World Wide Web. What is a net and what is a web used for? Is it not for catching or trapping a living being?
The first web page was created and hosted at CERN. What is their goal?
CERN seeks to:
Use the "God particle" to probe hidden sectors.
Find dark matter and dark forces.
These dimensions were never intended to be opened by man.
And they made the first web page. The battle between darkness and light continues....
David Hough
in reply to Earl • • •Earl
in reply to David Hough • • •"their entire universe was pulled"...
If everything that was there is now here, how would this universe be any different from the first?
Michael Weiss
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Ruud Steltenpool
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Eve
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Kusuriya (kk7hut)
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •lamphone-light-bulb-vibration-spying
www.wired.comJack Yan (甄爵恩)
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Raj 🇬🇧🇪🇺💻🖥(🌻🇺🇦🇵🇸); EMF☎️2462
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •Sometimes it is not betrayal, it is simply laziness. Sometimes things are unsafe, not because they have been designed to be but simply because no-one thought it through.
It's the old adage: never assign malice when stupidity is sufficient explanation.
Networked bulbs (as with a lot of IoT) have been shown to be unsafe, purely because they leak your network traffic and credentials because no-one designed them not to.
Ben Zanin
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •"How can a light bulb betray me?"
You are gonna hate this
Philips/Signify just added a new feature called MotionAware¹. It measures fluctuations in Zigbee signal strength between bulbs to act as a motion/presence sensor.
They are also pushing hard for non-local user accounts², which means constant web connectivity.
All the pieces are in place to monetize your family room occupancy habits to advertisers.
Dystopian-ass timeline.
¹: philips-hue.com/en-us/support/…
²: philips-hue.com/en-ca/explore-…
Philips Hue accounts | Philips Hue EN-CA
Philips Hue EN-CAMichael W Lucas
in reply to Ben Zanin • • •@gnomon
Yes, I hate hate hate this.
⊥ᵒᵚ Cᵸᵎᶺᵋᶫ∸ᵒᵘ ☑️
Unknown parent • • •Just works, local only forever
Ben Zanin
Unknown parent • • •@cherizilla hisssssssssss
The whole reason I got any Hue bulbs in the first place was because it _would_ work in a local-only configuration. That's all I want from them.
+1 on the internal firewall rule. I just hate engaging in a running infosec firefight *with devices that we bought for convenience*.
David Hough
in reply to Michael W Lucas • • •