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[Brian H]

Looks like another Cloud thing being dumped.
https://www.365news.com/2019/09/best-buy-is-stripping-the-smarts-from-insignia-smart-home-gadgets-on-nov-6th/

https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/6/20853671/best-buy-connect-insignia-smart-plug-wifi-freezer-mobile-app-shutdown-november-6

Can't say I would ever want a freezer with Wi-Fi access. 

[dave w]

Remember back in the '90s when you could buy groceries over the internet from a company in California or New York, and pay 50 bucks for FedEx to deliver them the next day...until the dot com crash?
Maybe we are headed for a cloud burst. 

[petera]

The whole Cloud concept was predicated on the fact adopters would eventually pay for the service. Feed me the drug free, get me hooked and I'll pay anything to feed the habit. I don't think their model is working. The mere mention of payment has users running for the hills. Expect to see a lot more cloud providers fold their tents.

[bkenobi]

They missed the fact that another startup would offer a similar service as soon as they tried to ask for money.  Instead, companies have decided that users are not willing to pay for the service, but are willing to have their information sold to advertisers or ads included in their apps.  While the platforms are technically free, the user would be MUCH better off paying a small fee than the cost they do for the "free" service.

I watched a documentary a while back that suggested that if we all decided to pay for Google on day 1 (could have been Facebook, I can't remember), we would have owed ~$13 (I don't remember if that was per year or for life).  But, that was assuming Google/Facebook was more or less a zero value entity.  In either case, the sale of users data is a multi-billion dollar industry for both of these guys.

[HA Dave]

Of course competition naturally reduces the number of players/vendors. But I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that the Internet is failing... or that the sky is falling. 

[bkenobi]

Nope, just that once again a company banked on the cloud becoming their cash cow and found that consumers are not willing to part with their money in that way.  Since they didn't adapt to selling personal information to advertisers or make their app unusable by clogging it with ads, they failed and shuttered the doors.  TBF, the other option (selling data/ad revenue) doesn't generally make users happy either based on reviews on the Play store of vendors going that way.  In most cases, it doesn't work, but hey maybe it will for somebody?   

[dave w]

But I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that the Internet is failing... or that the sky is falling.

Cloud burst Dave, cloud burst. Not sky fall. 
My thought was just like the internet grocery stores, there are dozens (and dozens) of cheap, cloud served, WiFi switches and dimmers and cameras, each with their own app. I don't think the market is big enough to support them all. I am waiting for iSecurity to either turn off my three Kodak cameras or tell me I must now subscribe to their paid service.

[HA Dave]

But I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that the Internet is failing... or that the sky is falling.

Cloud burst Dave, cloud burst. Not sky fall.
I don't think the market is big enough to support them all.

I really hope your joking about the "cloud burst".... even the 15th century German's (and Henny Penny) knew that wasn't true.

Of course the market isn't big enough.... YET. But all investors know, if your not in on the ground floor, you don't profit. There will be MANY failures.... but the sky (cloud) will be fine.

[bkenobi]

If you mean that there will always be some kind of cloud service available going forward...maybe.  But, if you mean that even though a consumer purchases a device that only works with a specific cloud service and when that service goes away then everything is fine...nope, not really.  If the devices that connect to these cloud services were to be an open standard such that they could then move over to a different cloud option I would agree.  Or, if they were fully functional without the cloud, that's fine too.  But, if Nest were to go under, how useful are all of those fancy thermostats?  In fact, they are a safety hazard at worst and a major financial issue at best (people die when the temp drops and they can't control it (I'm refering to special needs people, bed ridden, infants, etc).  If the camera I spent money on were to stop working because of a network issue and nothing else, it would certainly not be fine but it wouldn't be life altering.

[HA Dave]

If you mean that there will always be some kind of cloud service available going forward...maybe. 

Maybe? Maybe?? You've got to be kidding. Really you think Internet servers have a chance of being a "MAYBE"?

But, if you mean that even though a consumer purchases a device that only works with a specific cloud service and when that service goes away then everything is fine...nope, not really.......... if Nest were to go under, how useful are all of those fancy thermostats?  In fact, they are a safety hazard at worst and a major financial issue....

"IF Nest was to go under"? You mean like General Motors that... went under? Or maybe X10... who went under?
Every business eventually goes under, closes, become obsolete, or just plain fails to generate profit. Even Big Blue (IBM) the giant of the computer industry (in the days of old) wanes and staggers (as has MS).... even the Ma Bells are mere remnants of the former tech giant it once was. Of course Nest will go under.... or just break. After all... even the furnace has a lifespan. Things break all the time. Then they get replaced.

Nothing and no one that is here today..... will be here tomorrow. And THAT... is why we have to remember to set aside our fears and enjoy the day. There is a BUNCH of wonderful amazing Home Automation available today. And it's a darn shame to let your fear of what will happen in the future to ruin your enjoyment.... today.

P.S. My Nest thermostat has already paid for itself a couple times via the energy saved. So.... if I have to replace it... I still won.

[bkenobi]

If you can't understand an example and want to take your version as fact, you win I guess.  I'm just trying to point out what others have stated as well, so I guess the majority on this board are now in the fringe and require tin foil hats.

The point was simply that the cloud (as we are now calling it today thanks to rebranding rather than the internet) will likely be available for a long time.  I say maybe because who knows what the future holds.  Even big companies fail as I hear, so maybe those things that we assume will survive won't always be around.  Good thing you said it because when I said it, it was ridiculous sounding!   

Again, my point was that when consumers purchase a device on the assumption that they will get a certain amount of use out of it, that when a mandatory service turns off it may upset those users.  This has happened for a long time and will continue to happen.  Yes, we all know that.  Oh, and FWIW, using bold fonts and all those periods and italics doesn't make your point any more valid than anyone else here.  But no worries, I was about to go get fitted for another thicker tin ... foil hat anyway...

[petera]

@bkenobi speaking of hats this one fits nicely on the Raspberrry Pi but I'm damned if I can get it to cover my head. Not much use for blocking all that interference but very useful for driving servos https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/automation-hat 

[dave w]

Nothing and no one that is here today..... will be here tomorrow. And THAT... is why we have to remember to set aside our fears and enjoy the day. There is a BUNCH of wonderful amazing Home Automation available today. And it's a darn shame to let your fear of what will happen in the future to ruin your enjoyment.... today.

Hark! I do believe I hear music playing...my goodness, it sounds like the GE Carousel of Progress! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD6nPlBCTVU

[HA Dave]

Hark! I do believe I hear music playing...my goodness, it sounds like the GE Carousel of Progress! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD6nPlBCTVU

OMG... I remember that. I was at Disney World not long after their opening (which was in 1965). And I visited Disney-LAND years before that too (1956).

Your references (thoughts?) are very, very old.

[dave w]

OMG... I remember that. I was at Disney World not long after their opening (which was in 1965).
Your references (thoughts?) are very, very old.

They are old because I am.
BTW WDW opened in 1971. I had just moved to Florida.