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I don't understand this. So just because Logitech doesn't see it as feasible to renew a technology certificate with some company, they have to step on their con

I don't understand this. So just because Logitech doesn't see it as feasible to renew a technology certificate with some company, they have to step on their consumers who've already spent their money on Logitech's product? That's just horrid, and a bad look (and bad consumer relations). I might he stating the obvious, but if a company is going to temporarily license a technology and then develop a product for consumer markets they would do well to continually renew their certs. To do otherwise and act how they did seeds doubt: are we simply buying into a temporarily functioning product that can cease functioning at any time at the whim of the manufacturer? If so why are we buying from them at all if the product we get isn't truly ours?

sbarre 9y ago
> are we simply buying into a temporarily functioning product that can cease functioning at any time at the whim of the manufacturer? This happens a lot. I own several software/hardware products that no longer function because the ecosystem moved on and the company stopped updating the software (either for business reasons or because they simply went out of business).. The hardware itself is totally fine, I just can't use it anymore because the closed-sourced software is not available or not compatible with my operating system(s). And it is a bad look for sure. I'm definitely not buying any products from any of those companies anymore.. The ones that still exist at least.
- jl6 9y ago
  Happened to me with a Samsung “Smart” TV which used to have Skype on it, but Samsung removed that app for no reason that benefitted me. And I have a perfectly functional Epson printer/scanner whose only drivers no longer work on Windows 10. I could go on and on. That’s just what came to mind with 5 seconds thinking about it.
  - smnrchrds 9y ago
    > Samsung removed that app for no reason that benefited me I think it was Microsoft who decided to stop supporting Skype for TV, not Samsung [1]. Did you find a replacement? Perhaps a third-party device that could be connected to TV? I am in the marker for a living room Skype system and I can't find anything suitable. [1] https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/8/11178976/microsoft-skype-for-tv-support https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/8/11178976/microsoft-skype-f...
deleted 9y ago
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mustacheemperor 9y ago
>I don't understand this Severe security vulnerability that they'd rather keep under wraps than admit to and patch? Hard to imagine what else would be worth the ill will from consumers, I'd characterize Harmony is one of Logitech's flagship consumer product lines. Is this a Galaxy Gear type situation, but with something that would be a poison pill for IoT and is maybe even effectively unfixable/compromised at the hardware level? March 2018 seems like a long time to wait in that case, though. Edit: According to a user on Reddit, Logitech's had the Link products on "fire sale" a number of times over the last 6 months, with a 3 month warranty. So they've run the inventory out, with warranty terms that exclude the buyers from the replacement program. It seems like the most plausible reason is greed.
- sbarre 9y ago
  They claim it has to do with third-party tech licensed in the product that Logitech has decided they don't want to renew. The fire-sale stuff is pure garbage though.. They had to know they were selling customers soon-to-be-dead products.
  - crankylinuxuser 9y ago
    An old town I lived in had a massage parlor that did something similar (and no, this isnt an euphemism - they were a legit massage place). They sold gift certificates at a sale: You would buy $50 certificate, and then get $25 to use next month. They got a load of people to buy them, cause it's a pretty good deal. Then within 2 weeks, they closed up shop. The local county prosecutor said that "knowingly selling gift certificates they did not plan on intending to honor was fraud-like, and would be investigated." And, it was more than investigated. They hauled their asses in court, and came to a settlement that all funds were to be returned. Evidently, there was a fraud charge mentioned for each certificate... Make them come to their senses. Too bad we can't do similar for bigger actors that violate the public trust, or engage in fraudulent behaviors. Cause I see a pretty straight-forward "Knowingly selling hardware that we will remotely kill just outside of the <cough> warranty period" sure seems to smell like fraud.
Zenbit_UX 9y ago
This is a fairly new problem which is caused by the device you buy having a subscription like link to some central server. Older and normal gadgets like a Bluetooth headphone simply don't check-in with a central server to see if they should turn on. I received a similar email from Scanadu Scout this year (an Indiegogo product that allowed you to scan your body for heart rate, bp and a few other metrics). However, in their corporate greed they decided that the Bluetooth device you bought should connect to your phone only as a router to their server. If they had stored their algorithms in the app there's no problem if they decide to shutdown analytics servers one day... They branded it as 'end of beta test' or something like that. I can post the full email if someone wants. Too bad, very useful little device that could have worked for years to come.
mywittyname 9y ago
My suspicion is they can't afford to or are no longer able to license some technology behind the scenes anymore. Probably the TV show feeds. When a piece of software we used (local install) was bought out by a big company, they refused to renew our license and gave us a hard date after which we could no longer have it operational. Our response was exactly this, "Sorry Customer, as of Date, Service will no longer be available." Customers were pissed, they just could not understand that just because the software could still run, we didn't have the rights to run it anymore.
maxerickson 9y ago
Pretty much yes, they do it because they think they can get away with it (and I would say they do get away with it for the most part).

sbarre 9y ago

> are we simply buying into a temporarily functioning product that can cease functioning at any time at the whim of the manufacturer? This happens a lot. I own several software/hardware products that no longer function because the ecosystem moved on and the company stopped updating the software (either for business reasons or because they simply went out of business).. The hardware itself is totally fine, I just can't use it anymore because the closed-sourced software is not available or not compatible with my operating system(s). And it is a bad look for sure. I'm definitely not buying any products from any of those companies anymore.. The ones that still exist at least.

jl6 9y ago
Happened to me with a Samsung “Smart” TV which used to have Skype on it, but Samsung removed that app for no reason that benefitted me. And I have a perfectly functional Epson printer/scanner whose only drivers no longer work on Windows 10. I could go on and on. That’s just what came to mind with 5 seconds thinking about it.
- smnrchrds 9y ago
  > Samsung removed that app for no reason that benefited me I think it was Microsoft who decided to stop supporting Skype for TV, not Samsung [1]. Did you find a replacement? Perhaps a third-party device that could be connected to TV? I am in the marker for a living room Skype system and I can't find anything suitable. [1] https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/8/11178976/microsoft-skype-for-tv-support https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/8/11178976/microsoft-skype-f...

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

mustacheemperor 9y ago

>I don't understand this Severe security vulnerability that they'd rather keep under wraps than admit to and patch? Hard to imagine what else would be worth the ill will from consumers, I'd characterize Harmony is one of Logitech's flagship consumer product lines. Is this a Galaxy Gear type situation, but with something that would be a poison pill for IoT and is maybe even effectively unfixable/compromised at the hardware level? March 2018 seems like a long time to wait in that case, though. Edit: According to a user on Reddit, Logitech's had the Link products on "fire sale" a number of times over the last 6 months, with a 3 month warranty. So they've run the inventory out, with warranty terms that exclude the buyers from the replacement program. It seems like the most plausible reason is greed.

sbarre 9y ago
They claim it has to do with third-party tech licensed in the product that Logitech has decided they don't want to renew. The fire-sale stuff is pure garbage though.. They had to know they were selling customers soon-to-be-dead products.
- crankylinuxuser 9y ago
  An old town I lived in had a massage parlor that did something similar (and no, this isnt an euphemism - they were a legit massage place). They sold gift certificates at a sale: You would buy $50 certificate, and then get $25 to use next month. They got a load of people to buy them, cause it's a pretty good deal. Then within 2 weeks, they closed up shop. The local county prosecutor said that "knowingly selling gift certificates they did not plan on intending to honor was fraud-like, and would be investigated." And, it was more than investigated. They hauled their asses in court, and came to a settlement that all funds were to be returned. Evidently, there was a fraud charge mentioned for each certificate... Make them come to their senses. Too bad we can't do similar for bigger actors that violate the public trust, or engage in fraudulent behaviors. Cause I see a pretty straight-forward "Knowingly selling hardware that we will remotely kill just outside of the <cough> warranty period" sure seems to smell like fraud.

Zenbit_UX 9y ago

This is a fairly new problem which is caused by the device you buy having a subscription like link to some central server. Older and normal gadgets like a Bluetooth headphone simply don't check-in with a central server to see if they should turn on. I received a similar email from Scanadu Scout this year (an Indiegogo product that allowed you to scan your body for heart rate, bp and a few other metrics). However, in their corporate greed they decided that the Bluetooth device you bought should connect to your phone only as a router to their server. If they had stored their algorithms in the app there's no problem if they decide to shutdown analytics servers one day... They branded it as 'end of beta test' or something like that. I can post the full email if someone wants. Too bad, very useful little device that could have worked for years to come.

mywittyname 9y ago

My suspicion is they can't afford to or are no longer able to license some technology behind the scenes anymore. Probably the TV show feeds. When a piece of software we used (local install) was bought out by a big company, they refused to renew our license and gave us a hard date after which we could no longer have it operational. Our response was exactly this, "Sorry Customer, as of Date, Service will no longer be available." Customers were pissed, they just could not understand that just because the software could still run, we didn't have the rights to run it anymore.

maxerickson 9y ago

Pretty much yes, they do it because they think they can get away with it (and I would say they do get away with it for the most part).