This is how you reset a lightbulb.
No, really, this is the video GE has made to show you how to reset your lightbulb. You know, one of these smart things. You know, the smart things that only the truly dim would ever buy? Given that we did get the light switch about right some century back,
That’s for firmware 2.8 or later. If it’s earlier, well, over to El Reg:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]OFF (minimum 5 seconds)It would appear that the engineers at GE have never met any actual human beings. For the correct reaction to that is a hatchet. On the bulb, perhaps GE and possibly upon GE’s stock price.
As a matter of interest I used to supply GE, indirectly, with the scandium they used in their light bulbs. Not this technology, thankfully….
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Regardless of whether you should or shouldn't need to factory-reset a lightbulb, that's a 47-second procedure.
For those of us who are so deprived that they have never made a radio-controlled model....
The 'Internet of Things' (IoT) refers to the idea that soon, every small household item will have a microprocessor in it. This will enable all these items to communicate and to operate themselves depending on circumstances - for a lightbulb example, turning on an of autonomously, dimming and brightening as required, etc...
For humans to influence this, they will have to have some way to talk to the item. There are various possibilities, but for resilience, it's a good idea to be able to talk to the item directly rather than via the household network.
This is where radio-controlled models come in. Because modern model aircraft and boats make extensive use of 'brushless motors', which have a very good power/weight ration, and have a microchip in their controllers. In that way they are very similar to the IoT household items. And the brushless motors need to be set up - just like the IoT items will.
Without more complex control equipment, there is only one way to convey information into a consumer item - via the on-off switch. Modellers are now required to turn their motors on and off in a long sequence to set things like the low voltage cut-off. It is easy to make a mistake! (Actually, they need to turn the Electronic Speed Controller on and off - but it's easier to say 'motor'...)
So most model motor manufactures nowadays provide a little 'programming card' which the motor can be connected into to set the various required features. I anticipate that the IoT manufactures will soon need to follow suit.....
I fell in love with LED light bulbs when Poundland started selling them for ... £1, they don't do brighter than 470 lumens, but I find that adequate for most purposes. Replacing 30 bulbs in my mother's house suddenly became manageable.