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Honestly Google's rep for discontinuing support for stuff is why I'm not interested in such a connected device. Will it continue getting updates after Google dr

Honestly Google's rep for discontinuing support for stuff is why I'm not interested in such a connected device. Will it continue getting updates after Google drops it in 0-5 years? Who knows. Will the open-source community be able to put OpenWRT on it or something to give it life after it can no longer receive firmware updates? Not sure. I do know that my current Ubiquiti and Apple network infrastructure devices will still work if I plug them in in 10 years. I can't say the same for this. $200 seems reasonable for what it does, but less so if it's knocked down to dumb router mode if Google pulls the plug some day.

narrowrail 11y ago
As an aside: I'm in the OpenWRT camp right now, and minimizing my exposure to large companies, but I find this constant drum beat about "Google shutting products down" to be tiring. It also derails from the topic at hand. I think it's great what they're doing with OnHub, and hope we can have iOS/Android apps for managing OpenWRT installs too. I wouldn't personally recommend buying one unless you can at least install ddWRT, but I haven't even bothered to learn what CPU they are using.
- alphapapa 11y ago
  Yes, it is tiring when Google does this. I'm so tired of it that I'm not willing to invest my time, data, or processes into new Google services or products. If you are also tired of this drumbeat, please ask Google to stop beating the marching-products-to-their-doom drum.
dannyr 11y ago
You're not over Google Reader yet?
- exhilaration 11y ago
  Well that and the Nest Smart Home hub they decided to kill off a few weeks ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11423411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11423411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11435245 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11435245
  - deelowe 11y ago
    I keep saying this. People keep ignoring me, but it really does matter in this case. This only happened AFTER nest was no longer a Google property. To me the timing seems somewhat suspicious and I believe Nest pushed for more autonomy. They were never really integrated into Google proper. Their stuff runs on their on servers & software stack and their HQ isn't on the Google campus.
    - ceejayoz 11y ago
      > This only happened AFTER nest was no longer a Google property. Huh? Nest is still a Google property.
      - deelowe 11y ago
        Nest is an Alphabet property: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nest_Labs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nest_Labs
        eli 11y ago
        That seems like an odd distinction. Isn't everything Google owns also owned by Alphabet? Is the consumer supposed to perceive a difference?
        Natanael_L 11y ago
        Google is now a subsidiary to Alphabet. So no.
        on_and_off 11y ago
        Well, it seems that it is going to to make a difference in how Nest is managed. Google has just created a hardware division that will handle most of its efforts in that area : Nexus, Pixel, OnHub, ATAP, Chromecast, consumer hardware, ... they are all going to be integrated in this division instead of being scattered throughout the company. Glass will also become a part of that division (Nest has been handling it since the end of the explorer program). Nest will continue to operate independently.
untog 11y ago
What reassurance does Apple give that Google do not?
- asendra 11y ago
  History?
- potatolicious 11y ago
  I have an OnHub, but even then I'm a little wary of Google's track record when it comes to "sunsetting" products. There is no explicit foolproof assurance from either Apple or Google, but in Apple's case they haven't been known for introducing products and then dropping all support for it when it fails to live up to sales/strategic expectations. In fact Apple's modern track record is pretty impressive - the latest iOS runs on a phone introduced in 2011. Google's "throw everything at the wall and keep the stuff that sticks" approach is IMO one that only makes sense when you discount brand value completely and assume nobody will remember the stuff that didn't stick, and their unceremonial shutdowns. It's a theoretically appealing approach but IMO impractical because people remember. Even when Google compensates people for the shutdowns - see the Nexus Q - it still leaves a bad taste, and makes people wonder if they're buying a real honest product in a particular space or an experiment to be cut lose at a moment's notice.
  - alphapapa 11y ago
    Wow, what kind of bias would lead this comment to be downvoted into grayness?
    - deprave 11y ago
      A positive bias towards anything coming from Google. Just look at the number of Google employees on this thread... The "let's see what sticks" approach might work well for software, especially the Google kind: ad-supported "free" cloud-based software services. Complaints trigger the knee-jerk reaction of "you never paid." It doesn't work for hardware, and I don't know why Google would risk its reputation for what must barely move the needle on their income statements. Apple's approach of providing SDKs that work with their existing devices, thereby testing the waters and seeing what products get built, what consumers like, etc. before entering it themselves seems like a much more sensible move.
fucking_tragedy 11y ago
Plug in an Apple Airport Express from ~2008 and see how supported it is in El Capitan. I had to use Wine on Linux to use an older Windows application to do the initialization.

narrowrail 11y ago

As an aside: I'm in the OpenWRT camp right now, and minimizing my exposure to large companies, but I find this constant drum beat about "Google shutting products down" to be tiring. It also derails from the topic at hand. I think it's great what they're doing with OnHub, and hope we can have iOS/Android apps for managing OpenWRT installs too. I wouldn't personally recommend buying one unless you can at least install ddWRT, but I haven't even bothered to learn what CPU they are using.

alphapapa 11y ago
Yes, it is tiring when Google does this. I'm so tired of it that I'm not willing to invest my time, data, or processes into new Google services or products. If you are also tired of this drumbeat, please ask Google to stop beating the marching-products-to-their-doom drum.

dannyr 11y ago

You're not over Google Reader yet?

exhilaration 11y ago
Well that and the Nest Smart Home hub they decided to kill off a few weeks ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11423411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11423411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11435245 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11435245
- deelowe 11y ago
  I keep saying this. People keep ignoring me, but it really does matter in this case. This only happened AFTER nest was no longer a Google property. To me the timing seems somewhat suspicious and I believe Nest pushed for more autonomy. They were never really integrated into Google proper. Their stuff runs on their on servers & software stack and their HQ isn't on the Google campus.
  - ceejayoz 11y ago
    > This only happened AFTER nest was no longer a Google property. Huh? Nest is still a Google property.
    - deelowe 11y ago
      Nest is an Alphabet property: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nest_Labs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nest_Labs
      - eli 11y ago
        That seems like an odd distinction. Isn't everything Google owns also owned by Alphabet? Is the consumer supposed to perceive a difference?
        Natanael_L 11y ago
        Google is now a subsidiary to Alphabet. So no.
        on_and_off 11y ago
        Well, it seems that it is going to to make a difference in how Nest is managed. Google has just created a hardware division that will handle most of its efforts in that area : Nexus, Pixel, OnHub, ATAP, Chromecast, consumer hardware, ... they are all going to be integrated in this division instead of being scattered throughout the company. Glass will also become a part of that division (Nest has been handling it since the end of the explorer program). Nest will continue to operate independently.

untog 11y ago

What reassurance does Apple give that Google do not?

asendra 11y ago
History?
potatolicious 11y ago
I have an OnHub, but even then I'm a little wary of Google's track record when it comes to "sunsetting" products. There is no explicit foolproof assurance from either Apple or Google, but in Apple's case they haven't been known for introducing products and then dropping all support for it when it fails to live up to sales/strategic expectations. In fact Apple's modern track record is pretty impressive - the latest iOS runs on a phone introduced in 2011. Google's "throw everything at the wall and keep the stuff that sticks" approach is IMO one that only makes sense when you discount brand value completely and assume nobody will remember the stuff that didn't stick, and their unceremonial shutdowns. It's a theoretically appealing approach but IMO impractical because people remember. Even when Google compensates people for the shutdowns - see the Nexus Q - it still leaves a bad taste, and makes people wonder if they're buying a real honest product in a particular space or an experiment to be cut lose at a moment's notice.
- alphapapa 11y ago
  Wow, what kind of bias would lead this comment to be downvoted into grayness?
  - deprave 11y ago
    A positive bias towards anything coming from Google. Just look at the number of Google employees on this thread... The "let's see what sticks" approach might work well for software, especially the Google kind: ad-supported "free" cloud-based software services. Complaints trigger the knee-jerk reaction of "you never paid." It doesn't work for hardware, and I don't know why Google would risk its reputation for what must barely move the needle on their income statements. Apple's approach of providing SDKs that work with their existing devices, thereby testing the waters and seeing what products get built, what consumers like, etc. before entering it themselves seems like a much more sensible move.

fucking_tragedy 11y ago

Plug in an Apple Airport Express from ~2008 and see how supported it is in El Capitan. I had to use Wine on Linux to use an older Windows application to do the initialization.