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At one point I almost went crazy researching mattresses. I like to know what I am buying, but the industry is non-transparent. The same product can have differe

by cmbaus 13y ago

At one point I almost went crazy researching mattresses. I like to know what I am buying, but the industry is non-transparent. The same product can have different names depending on where it is sold. BTW, another product like this is range hoods. I'm impressed that you tried to break into this business. I thought the existing companies would have it tied up because of their distribution channels. I did look at latex mattresses at the time, but they were an expensive niche. About the only viable alternative to the traditional mattress industry were the foam mattresses being produced overseas.

jedrek 13y ago
Over the past 3-4 years I've bought two products that were a LOT more complicated than they have any right to be. One was a flashlight (who the hell knew flashlights could have firmware?), the other was my mattress. To this day, I'm not sure what the hell I'm sleeping on.
- beagle3 13y ago
  Do you have a link to a description of that firmwared flashlight?
  - eichin 13y ago
    They're probably talking about the "hexbright" (usb-rechargable, arduino-programmable, so you can implement UI experiments like "shake it to make it brighter" - it's also a really bright light.) Will it impact the market for boring "dead-battery storage" D-cell lights? Of course not. But if you've ever wanted to say "even my flashlight is open source..."
    - makomk 13y ago
      It's not just the Hexbright that has firmware; even a lot of the cheap Chinese-made LED torches are microprocessor-controlled these days.
  - jedrek 13y ago
    I did most of my research while buying in Polish, but just check out this flashlight wiki: http://flashlightwiki.com/Main_Page http://flashlightwiki.com/Main_Page
mindslight 13y ago
> same product can have different names No, the same product will have different names and feature descriptions, to hinder your comparison shopping. Frankly, this kind of behavior should invalidate one's trademarks.

by cmbaus 13y ago

jedrek 13y ago

Over the past 3-4 years I've bought two products that were a LOT more complicated than they have any right to be. One was a flashlight (who the hell knew flashlights could have firmware?), the other was my mattress. To this day, I'm not sure what the hell I'm sleeping on.

beagle3 13y ago
Do you have a link to a description of that firmwared flashlight?
- eichin 13y ago
  They're probably talking about the "hexbright" (usb-rechargable, arduino-programmable, so you can implement UI experiments like "shake it to make it brighter" - it's also a really bright light.) Will it impact the market for boring "dead-battery storage" D-cell lights? Of course not. But if you've ever wanted to say "even my flashlight is open source..."
  - makomk 13y ago
    It's not just the Hexbright that has firmware; even a lot of the cheap Chinese-made LED torches are microprocessor-controlled these days.
- jedrek 13y ago
  I did most of my research while buying in Polish, but just check out this flashlight wiki: http://flashlightwiki.com/Main_Page http://flashlightwiki.com/Main_Page

mindslight 13y ago

> same product can have different names No, the same product will have different names and feature descriptions, to hinder your comparison shopping. Frankly, this kind of behavior should invalidate one's trademarks.