2 ms·

That's the world we're moving towards. I was recently looking at the Opal C1. Looks great. $300 is a bit rich, but the kicker was they want $4/month for the s

That's the world we're moving towards. I was recently looking at the Opal C1. Looks great. $300 is a bit rich, but the kicker was they want $4/month for the software! Now, maybe the camera will function without it? I dunno, I kinda stopped right there and didn't look further because that turned me off.

iratewizard 5y ago
Key fobs, cameras, and everything else wrapped up with a subscription service. Appliances built to fail so that you won't mind renting every major purchase in your house. Single family homes being bought up by REITs like Blackrock, so a larger proportion of the population has to rent for life. Endless printing of money to devalue what you have and enrich the architects of the broken system. Useless idiots fighting to empower said architects, entranced by the promise of endless charity bringing them to prosperity. It's a creative form of slavery at least.
- betterunix2 5y ago
  It is not that simple. If you are willing to shell out more money for "professional" products, you can get products that standalone or you can buy a standalone system (e.g. security cameras with an NVR etc.). What we are getting is a two-tiered society where people with more money have the option to "completely" own their appliances/electronics/homes, while the majority of people cannot afford to do so.
alistairSH 5y ago
Ugh. Subscriptions for things that don't require updates or continued support/infrastructure from the vendor drive me crazy. The Opal C1 is a prime example. It's a webcam. If the feature-set at sale is acceptable to the consumer, there's no additional cost to Opal (no servers to maintain etc) to necessitate a subscription. It's been posted many times, but it's a good one, so... The door refused to open. It said, “Five cents, please.” He searched his pockets. No more coins; nothing. “I’ll pay you tomorrow,” he told the door. Again he tried the knob. Again it remained locked tight. “What I pay you,” he informed it, “is in the nature of a gratuity; I don’t have to pay you.” “I think otherwise,” the door said. “Look in the purchase contract you signed when you bought this conapt.” In his desk drawer he found the contract; since signing it he had found it necessary to refer to the document many times. Sure enough; payment to his door for opening and shutting constituted a mandatory fee. Not a tip. “You discover I’m right,” the door said. It sounded smug. From the drawer beside the sink Joe Chip got a stainless steel knife; with it he began systematically to unscrew the bolt assembly of his apt’s money-gulping door. “I’ll sue you,” the door said as the first screw fell out. Joe Chip said, “I’ve never been sued by a door. But I guess I can live through it." ― Philip K. Dick, Ubik
- dreamcompiler 5y ago
  > there's no additional cost to Opal (no servers to maintain etc) to necessitate a subscription This is where you might be wrong. I know nothing about the Opal company, but it seems increasingly true that you cannot get VC for a startup without a business model that shows a continuing revenue stream. Business models where the consumer only pays for the product once are dead in the water. So you may be right that there's no additional cost to Opal, but a subscription might be required by their funders for them to be in business in the first place. It's still ridiculous and I refuse to buy such products.

iratewizard 5y ago

Key fobs, cameras, and everything else wrapped up with a subscription service. Appliances built to fail so that you won't mind renting every major purchase in your house. Single family homes being bought up by REITs like Blackrock, so a larger proportion of the population has to rent for life. Endless printing of money to devalue what you have and enrich the architects of the broken system. Useless idiots fighting to empower said architects, entranced by the promise of endless charity bringing them to prosperity. It's a creative form of slavery at least.

betterunix2 5y ago
It is not that simple. If you are willing to shell out more money for "professional" products, you can get products that standalone or you can buy a standalone system (e.g. security cameras with an NVR etc.). What we are getting is a two-tiered society where people with more money have the option to "completely" own their appliances/electronics/homes, while the majority of people cannot afford to do so.

alistairSH 5y ago

Ugh. Subscriptions for things that don't require updates or continued support/infrastructure from the vendor drive me crazy. The Opal C1 is a prime example. It's a webcam. If the feature-set at sale is acceptable to the consumer, there's no additional cost to Opal (no servers to maintain etc) to necessitate a subscription. It's been posted many times, but it's a good one, so... The door refused to open. It said, “Five cents, please.” He searched his pockets. No more coins; nothing. “I’ll pay you tomorrow,” he told the door. Again he tried the knob. Again it remained locked tight. “What I pay you,” he informed it, “is in the nature of a gratuity; I don’t have to pay you.” “I think otherwise,” the door said. “Look in the purchase contract you signed when you bought this conapt.” In his desk drawer he found the contract; since signing it he had found it necessary to refer to the document many times. Sure enough; payment to his door for opening and shutting constituted a mandatory fee. Not a tip. “You discover I’m right,” the door said. It sounded smug. From the drawer beside the sink Joe Chip got a stainless steel knife; with it he began systematically to unscrew the bolt assembly of his apt’s money-gulping door. “I’ll sue you,” the door said as the first screw fell out. Joe Chip said, “I’ve never been sued by a door. But I guess I can live through it." ― Philip K. Dick, Ubik

dreamcompiler 5y ago
> there's no additional cost to Opal (no servers to maintain etc) to necessitate a subscription This is where you might be wrong. I know nothing about the Opal company, but it seems increasingly true that you cannot get VC for a startup without a business model that shows a continuing revenue stream. Business models where the consumer only pays for the product once are dead in the water. So you may be right that there's no additional cost to Opal, but a subscription might be required by their funders for them to be in business in the first place. It's still ridiculous and I refuse to buy such products.