Bad comparison. Lambos are regularly plowing fields and they're quite good at it. https://www.lamborghini-tractors.com/en-eu/

I remembered that labos used to make tractors after I posted the comment. Nice catch!

Did the new Leaf get dumber? I have an old 2019 model and it’s connected. In the mobile app I see its location, turn on AC etc.

What are global alternatives? Every company is connected to some country, there are no global alternatives. I live in EU and want to use EU services mainly because I want this part of the world to prosper. I want to leave my money and incentivise innovation in this part of the world because this is where I live and I want a better life here for me and my kids. And alternatives are always good, especially that they’re not closed. People in the US can use services from EU companies as well :) why not?

Theoretically possible in a distributed way, though usually inefficient. IPFS is a good example.

Not calling other software engineers 'losers' is not about political correctness. They're "losers" because they take their product on a path you don't like? Come on. Linus can be emotional in his posts because Linux is his "child".

The same way they're at version 26 of iOS and MacOS

Yes and no. Performancewise, the iconic Ferrari Testarossa from 80s/90s does 0-62mph in 5.8sec. That's in the ballpark of today's family SUV EV, like the Tesla Model Y (standard version, 'Performance' does 3.3sec) or Hyundai Ioniq 5 (again standard version, performance 'N' does 3.4sec).

But I'm sure the "fun factor" in a Ferrari is much greater and of course there's a nostalgia factor as well... it was "THE" supercar when I was a kid. I would love to drive one today and it would be much cooler than a Tesla Y or Ioniq 5 :-)

It's even funnier when you realize all of the V6 Camrys built in the last 10 years also have a 0-60 of 5.8 seconds or less, and with the right tires and some suspension tweaks probably handle about as well as an 80s Ferrari.

The last Testarossa I saw in the wild was around 2010 parked in Hoxton London. None of the upholstery was holding up and it looked like it might not be driveable. But it got there somehow.

Also, 80s/90s Ferraris weren't very reliable... :P

I don’t think this has changed much.

and perhaps you've never used a good motorized screwdriver with torque control.

Needless complexity! /s An excellent example.

You just need a Thread border router and Matter devices connect to your HA without problems. I use Apple TV as a border router.

That is my sticking point - every border router I can find has a bunch of other things I don't want. I don't want my lights available from the internet, I just want to turn on the shed outside light from inside the house when I have guests. (since they are likely to park by the shed and walk to the house)

That is I don't want google/amazon/samsung/apple to control my house. Most border routers are also connect to our smart home system. (there are exceptions but it isn't clear if they are better)

While not a proper product, you can buy a small ESP32C6 devboard for up-to-5 USD/EUR and flash an example from esp-idf. This is paired with some software that runs on posix systems (think your HA host) that together form the necessary commissioning and border routing functionality. Its ends up being a relatively simple device that just takes IP packets off the radio and puts then somewhere else, so I've no doubt somebody will shortly make one (I've been working on one such for myself as an experiment.)

For what you're looking to do in principle you don't really need any of this after the initial commissioning. So long as the radio waves can reach the devices they will be able to talk to each other.

Just checked again, those ideas have started to mature to something that is possible now (vs 6 months ago when I last looked). I have kids and many other things in my life, so I'm don't have much time to work on projects like this. That might be what I end up doing, for now I just have a light that hasn't worked for months because I don't want to figure this out (the manual switch is broken. Since the switch is both rarely used and one I'd want remotely controlled anyway I've been hesitating)

SMLight also do their PoE sticks that can be flashed to either talk Zigbee or Thread (but you'll need a border router, such as the OpenThread border router).

Their latest one has two radios so you can do both Zigbee and Thread from a single device.

I've found however, that Thread prefers several border routers around my house to operate well.

What stops you from adding a Thread border router and adding new Matter devices to Home Assistant? It works.

I mean... I have an Aqara Matter over Thread smart lock that connects via AppleTV (which is a Thread border router) to Home Assistant. And I can control the lock both with HA and Apple HomeKit. And this whole thing works flawlessly. Aqara, Apple, open source HA. Never thought this would be so smooth.

I think the whole point of Matter is that the devices are manufacturer independent and you can use any device with any hub.

I have an Aqara Thread over Matter smart lock too. The only thing I can do with it via Home Assistant is remote unlock/lock and get the battery %. I can't do user management or the million other features that require me to use the Aqara app.

Yes, that's true. I think Matter doesn't support yet many of additional configuration stuff. Hopefully that will change as the technology matures. As I use it with HomeKit as well I can do some user management through Apple Home. However, full config with all options only through BT and Aqara app, as you say. At least for now.