I like looking for great definitions for concepts that people have a lot of confusion or disagreement on. The Internet of Things is definitely one of those terms that qualifies.
I like this definition based on the switching role of the computer and the functionality.
- The Internet of Things
- The transition from things with functionality having computers in them, to things being computers that are able to perform functions.
So in the past we had cars with computers in them. But now a car is a computer that takes you places. We used to have phones with computers in them, but now your phone is a computer that makes phone calls.
In an IoT world, everything is a computer—the question is just one of form factor and purpose.