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No Longer Evil – new life for dead/outdated Nest Generation 1 and 2 thermostats

80 points by pabs3 10mo ago

gnabgib 10mo ago
Discussion (385 points, 2 months ago, 141 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45813343 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45813343
founderofnest 10mo ago
Should Nest have allowed itself to be acquired by Google? Why did Google add internet connection and internet server dependencies to thermostats?
- founderofnest 10mo ago
  Why did Google add internet connection and internet server dependencies to thermostats? Should we have trusted their closed-source thermostat code given the way they've just canceled 1st and 2nd gen devices? Google Home now has a 3 yr retention policy on everything; whereas Gemini API customers have already negotiated a no retention policy. And they're cancelling Google Assistant, so that's their only option now.
  - pfannkuchen 10mo ago
    It seems like you don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. There are lots of areas where I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I tend not to confidently interject in those areas. I’m curious what makes you feel differently?
- NetMageSCW 10mo ago
  Google didn’t, Nest did before Google purchased them.
- fragmede 10mo ago
  Do you have any connection to Tony Fadell or Matt Rogers, or is your username just some happy accident?
  - culopatin 10mo ago
    This looks like an account created just to answer in this post with whatever garbage content
- pfannkuchen 10mo ago
  Probably not, but at the time Google had a better reputation than it does today and I’m guessing Tony had gotten bored by that point. I don’t have firsthand knowledge regarding the timeline, but I believe the entire product concept for nest required an internet connection and internet server dependencies, didn’t it? Like a fallback mode makes sense and I’m pretty sure there was one, but a lot of the capabilities they were targeting needed internet capabilities. For example could you control the thermostat with your phone only after the acquisition? I think that happened before, and I think it was a foundational part of the concept?

80 points by pabs3 10mo ago

Discussion (385 points, 2 months ago, 141 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45813343 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45813343

founderofnest 10mo ago

Should Nest have allowed itself to be acquired by Google? Why did Google add internet connection and internet server dependencies to thermostats?

founderofnest 10mo ago
Why did Google add internet connection and internet server dependencies to thermostats? Should we have trusted their closed-source thermostat code given the way they've just canceled 1st and 2nd gen devices? Google Home now has a 3 yr retention policy on everything; whereas Gemini API customers have already negotiated a no retention policy. And they're cancelling Google Assistant, so that's their only option now.
- pfannkuchen 10mo ago
  It seems like you don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. There are lots of areas where I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I tend not to confidently interject in those areas. I’m curious what makes you feel differently?
NetMageSCW 10mo ago
Google didn’t, Nest did before Google purchased them.
fragmede 10mo ago
Do you have any connection to Tony Fadell or Matt Rogers, or is your username just some happy accident?
- culopatin 10mo ago
  This looks like an account created just to answer in this post with whatever garbage content
pfannkuchen 10mo ago
Probably not, but at the time Google had a better reputation than it does today and I’m guessing Tony had gotten bored by that point. I don’t have firsthand knowledge regarding the timeline, but I believe the entire product concept for nest required an internet connection and internet server dependencies, didn’t it? Like a fallback mode makes sense and I’m pretty sure there was one, but a lot of the capabilities they were targeting needed internet capabilities. For example could you control the thermostat with your phone only after the acquisition? I think that happened before, and I think it was a foundational part of the concept?