Silicon Valley has a bad habit of “inventing” things that already exist

Although unlikely to be representative of SV, does anyone know of other examples than those mentioned?

from the article:

The “Internet of Things” is a marketing gimmick whereby tech companies put wi-fi chips in everday objects like appliances and toasters and fridges, and then create an overcomplicated and vulnerable system to manage them through your smartphone or computer.

Seems like an incrimination of what people are willing to invest in than some flaw in inventing. Yeah, they mostly sound like silly (and not new) ideas. But then why are they getting money?

History is full of people who have been good at talking and presenting, but not as good when it comes to inventing. So I'm not that surprised that they get money, even if the ideas are somewhat pointless. I'd be more surprised if they ended up becoming successful.

Agreed. But the article seems to misplace the root cause / blame. I was just wanting to point that out.