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How long, as a practical manner, is google required to run these servers? Until all the devices die? 3 years? 5 years? Don't get me wrong, I'm with you. I

by x0x0 11y ago

How long, as a practical manner, is google required to run these servers? Until all the devices die? 3 years? 5 years? Don't get me wrong, I'm with you. I think 4 years from sale is reasonable though. Whatever the commitment is, it should be on the packaging, and it would be nice if the various state and federal consumer protection laws were applied here.

maxaf 11y ago
There should be something on the box or in the associated paperwork. Think "frustration-free service terms", similar to Amazon's frustration-free packaging. I shouldn't have to dive face-first into reams of legalese just in order to figure the half-life of my newly purchased gadget. "Forever" is definitely not the answer I'm looking for here, but there should be a date, and preferably a DIY way forward for those of us who're technically inclined and have stocked up on sufficient amounts of elbow grease. This could be accomplished similarly to the Parse sunset: the service won't run anymore, but here's all the stuff you need to get it going, good luck! I'll take that over the seemingly imminent paperweightization of my camera.
nostrademons 11y ago
I think the business model of "selling things" may be out-of-date at this point, and instead we'll see companies giving away hardware that requires that you subscribe to a monthly service to use it. A number of old-economy businesses already do this, eg. razors, printers, car leases, apartments. Kinda ironic that this comes on the heels of the "ownership society" though.
- specialist 11y ago
  Long time coming. I read The Goal and its sequels in the early 90s. The struggling fictional businesses were turned around by transitioning from production towards service oriented business models. Very out of the box thinking at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goal_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goal_(novel) I really enjoyed the books at the time. Not great literature. But very thought provoking.
unics 11y ago
If I remember correctly Federal regulations require hardware manufacturers to support their product for 7 years after production end.
kalleboo 11y ago
EU consumer protection laws give you an implied 3 year warranty, so I that's a good start a suppose. To align business interests, I'd probably like to see something like "3 years free service included, after that a subscription is required" so that customers are an asset rather than a liability. In addition, everything should have some kind of use without a cloud mode, even if it's not fully featured. E.g. Dropcam should revert to a basic USB webcam in lieu of a cloud service, if only to reduce the amount of electrical waste we're producing. Ideally firmware signing keys should be released when a product is EOL'd, so the open source community can pick up the torch.

by x0x0 11y ago

maxaf 11y ago

There should be something on the box or in the associated paperwork. Think "frustration-free service terms", similar to Amazon's frustration-free packaging. I shouldn't have to dive face-first into reams of legalese just in order to figure the half-life of my newly purchased gadget. "Forever" is definitely not the answer I'm looking for here, but there should be a date, and preferably a DIY way forward for those of us who're technically inclined and have stocked up on sufficient amounts of elbow grease. This could be accomplished similarly to the Parse sunset: the service won't run anymore, but here's all the stuff you need to get it going, good luck! I'll take that over the seemingly imminent paperweightization of my camera.

nostrademons 11y ago

I think the business model of "selling things" may be out-of-date at this point, and instead we'll see companies giving away hardware that requires that you subscribe to a monthly service to use it. A number of old-economy businesses already do this, eg. razors, printers, car leases, apartments. Kinda ironic that this comes on the heels of the "ownership society" though.

specialist 11y ago
Long time coming. I read The Goal and its sequels in the early 90s. The struggling fictional businesses were turned around by transitioning from production towards service oriented business models. Very out of the box thinking at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goal_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goal_(novel) I really enjoyed the books at the time. Not great literature. But very thought provoking.

unics 11y ago

If I remember correctly Federal regulations require hardware manufacturers to support their product for 7 years after production end.

kalleboo 11y ago

EU consumer protection laws give you an implied 3 year warranty, so I that's a good start a suppose. To align business interests, I'd probably like to see something like "3 years free service included, after that a subscription is required" so that customers are an asset rather than a liability. In addition, everything should have some kind of use without a cloud mode, even if it's not fully featured. E.g. Dropcam should revert to a basic USB webcam in lieu of a cloud service, if only to reduce the amount of electrical waste we're producing. Ideally firmware signing keys should be released when a product is EOL'd, so the open source community can pick up the torch.