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I think that this is a really cool project. But I think that the problem here is still fundamentally the same as the one faced by the nest. The thesis of spark

by batoure 13y ago

I think that this is a really cool project. But I think that the problem here is still fundamentally the same as the one faced by the nest. The thesis of spark.io is "you can trust us with your data" not you have control of your data. The spark is built on a cloud connected platform. even if you can see and control outputs from your board you still exist as part of their ecosystem. Which is basically the functional equivalent of using the dropbox api to build something instead of google drive. I won't be excited about home automation until someone goes the way of an open protocol for these types of devices that doesn't require a centralized pass through. Because if history has been any kind of teacher, it shows us that spark.io will probably get sucked up by google or somebody in the near future.

jedahan 13y ago
You can connect to the core without it going through the spark cloud, as documented on their website. http://docs.spark.io/#/examples/local-communication http://docs.spark.io/#/examples/local-communication Eventually they promised to open source their entire cloud stack. Eagerly awaiting when they do.
enjo 13y ago
This simply isn't a big concern for the vast majority of users. Nest has $3.2 Billion dollars as testimony to that.
- amirmc 13y ago
  Perhaps not when it was Nest as opposed to Google. I'd have quite liked the Nest Protect but I don't want to have even more of my life depending on Google. Diversification is a good thing. Of course, I might be wrong and had Nest actually been a Google product from day 1, then it might have been even bigger. Who knows.
- batoure 13y ago
  First I would say that nest certainly has a good user base. Keep in mind 3.2 Billion is just what google was willing to pay for the company this is in no way a metric for the success of the product. Liberal estimates give the company a potential revenue of 111 million a year based the amount of units they claim to produce, but this is a maximum sales number. Also the argument that most users don't care about this issue has been clearly shown to be incorrect. http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-sync-hits-1-million-users-30-petabytes-transfered-131105/ http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-sync-hits-1-million-users... Spark is still like nest a company, and THEIR argument is that their product is great because of the control it gives you over making your own solution. I am not saying that nest isn't a valid product for the market I am simply saying that sparks thesis isn't really valid because they claim to put the user fully in control when really they are still the gatekeepers.
  - maxerickson 13y ago
    The current messaging on the Spark.io website is that you can do everything locally. From the "Common questions" section at the bottom of https://www.spark.io/ https://www.spark.io/: If you want the simplicity of the Cloud but you want it on your own server, we'll be releasing an open source version of the Cloud designed for quick and easy deployment. (They also don't seem to restrict the device very much)
    - batoure 13y ago
      yeah once the open source cloud release happens I think that my view would change. But as it stands you do currently need to use their cloud to connect to the device.

by batoure 13y ago

jedahan 13y ago

You can connect to the core without it going through the spark cloud, as documented on their website. http://docs.spark.io/#/examples/local-communication http://docs.spark.io/#/examples/local-communication Eventually they promised to open source their entire cloud stack. Eagerly awaiting when they do.

enjo 13y ago

This simply isn't a big concern for the vast majority of users. Nest has $3.2 Billion dollars as testimony to that.

amirmc 13y ago
Perhaps not when it was Nest as opposed to Google. I'd have quite liked the Nest Protect but I don't want to have even more of my life depending on Google. Diversification is a good thing. Of course, I might be wrong and had Nest actually been a Google product from day 1, then it might have been even bigger. Who knows.
batoure 13y ago
First I would say that nest certainly has a good user base. Keep in mind 3.2 Billion is just what google was willing to pay for the company this is in no way a metric for the success of the product. Liberal estimates give the company a potential revenue of 111 million a year based the amount of units they claim to produce, but this is a maximum sales number. Also the argument that most users don't care about this issue has been clearly shown to be incorrect. http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-sync-hits-1-million-users-30-petabytes-transfered-131105/ http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-sync-hits-1-million-users... Spark is still like nest a company, and THEIR argument is that their product is great because of the control it gives you over making your own solution. I am not saying that nest isn't a valid product for the market I am simply saying that sparks thesis isn't really valid because they claim to put the user fully in control when really they are still the gatekeepers.
- maxerickson 13y ago
  The current messaging on the Spark.io website is that you can do everything locally. From the "Common questions" section at the bottom of https://www.spark.io/ https://www.spark.io/: If you want the simplicity of the Cloud but you want it on your own server, we'll be releasing an open source version of the Cloud designed for quick and easy deployment. (They also don't seem to restrict the device very much)
  - batoure 13y ago
    yeah once the open source cloud release happens I think that my view would change. But as it stands you do currently need to use their cloud to connect to the device.