Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights • Hacker News Board

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#151

Post by jfoutz » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:14 PM UTC

paulannesley wrote: post #69

jfoutz wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the hue bulbs use zigbee, so way less than, say, wifi, but it looks like about .4W/bulb/day 2.8W for the starter kit (base has to be on as well) http://greenmonk.net/2014/02/20/internet-things-connected-ph...

Watts already express energy over time, so the /day is redundant. The article you linked to gives a good comparison: > [three bulbs + bridge] is the equivalent of leaving a 60W bulb on for a little over an hour and seven minutes per day

Yeah, but it's billed in kilowatt hours, because you buy power. Power is energy supplied over a time.

But, you're right, i should have used better units, and the x/y/z is right but confusing. your quote from the article is the right way to explain it.

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#152

Post by balls187 » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:14 PM UTC

soperj wrote: post #83

balls187 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And yet, lots of people don't avoid Apple. On one hand, having to use Apple's proprietary Lightning connector sucks. On the other, having Apple be heavy handed with iOS App Store submissions means I have a higher confidence with my iOS Apps behaving compared to those I install on my Android Device.

The thing that deters me from ever writing something for iOS is that you have to own a Mac to do it.

Being pedantic, you can actually get iOS Dev machines hosted in the cloud, so technically you wouldn't have to own a mac.

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#153

Post by endgame » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:15 PM UTC

josho wrote: post #33

orionblastar wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

DRM is defective by design. I first saw the Hue lightbulbs on SyFy with the 12 Monkeys show. It syncs up lighting to your show. I knew I didn't need that and it would be trouble later on. Now I know the devices lock out third party bulbs.

Let's start redefining DRM as what it truly is: Digital *Restrictions* Management

It's about the only renaming that the FSF has ever got to catch on. It's more accurate than the original and doesn't sound like a playground taunt.

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#154

Post by wvenable » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:15 PM UTC

chkuendig wrote: post #41

wvenable wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The slippery slope of "intellectual property" is so steep that even building interface-compatible products is now considered ripping something off. We've come a long way from the age of IBM compatibles and the PC revolution.

On the other hand you could argue that while the pc revolution fueled on DOS licensing and IBM compatible BIOS was a a massive leap for the economy overall, it wasnt the best move for IBM in either the short nor the long term. Now they do the no-scales business of services and consulting...

IBM made several pretty serious mistakes that lead to Microsoft's dominance on software licensing. But even on the hardware side they could have seen huge success but instead wasted time and mindshare creating the failed Microchannel architecture in order to regain control over the PC platform.

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#155

Post by egypturnash » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:16 PM UTC

xutopia wrote: post #2

So what would you recommend we use instead?

LIFX. $60/bulb, just like the Hues, but they connect via wi-fi so there's no hub needed. Better blues and greens than the Hues, as well.

I've tried them and the Hues. I gave the Hues away to my ex. I've got eight LIFX bulbs in my apartment, and would happily buy more if I was in a bigger place that needed more lighting.

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#156

Post by TeMPOraL » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:19 PM UTC

marcosdumay wrote: post #126

dperfect wrote: post #105

This problem isn't unique to Philips Hue, and I'm not sure Philips is necessarily a bad actor here. They are, after all, just acting in their best interest (and contrary to common belief, companies are self-interested; the customer's interests are important only so much as they serve the company's interests - for better or for worse). Perhaps the problem is more related to the ZigBee standard, or more specifically, w…

> and contrary to common belief, companies are self-interested; the customer's interests are important only so much as they serve the company's interests - for better or for worse The idea used to be that companies served the consumer interest, and then billed some money in exchange. When was it that companies become some self sustaining beings, with their own interest to be served? (Yeah, surely when they discovered…

I don't know if that idea was ever true. Maybe it worked back in the times when customers and sellers knew each other personally, but that must have been way before we first invented cities. The idea is certainly being taught to kids though, and it's also used to argue that the market can solve everything in a nice way.

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#157

Post by Sanddancer » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:22 PM UTC

dmritard96 wrote: post #147

We are building some related home control products and have forgone radio level integrations instead favoring integrating with anyone over http, providing an open api, and shortly after launch an sdk. Radio integrations in theory are fine but in practice it's a matter of picking sides, allowing third party devices to dictate your access to the Internet and interop, for a few features, offline (local http should be an…

This is a device using an open standard though. Philips could conceivably do the same thing over http by checking MAC addresses.

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#158

Post by on_and_off » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:22 PM UTC

xutopia wrote: post #2

So what would you recommend we use instead?

I can only recommend you not to buy LIFX bulbs.

I have one and it has been widely unreliable from day one.

It does not default to on when you use the light switch, so you always have to use the app to interact with it. Half the time, the app fails to detect it. The rest of the time, it can take random amounts of time for it to respond.

It also likes to randomly light up red in the middle of the night or to flicker very rapidly (absolutely unbearable).

I have just removed it and replaced with a dumb light.

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#159

Post by ultimoo » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:23 PM UTC

I have been consistently disappointed by Philips Hue ever since I purchased the $200 starter kit a year and a half ago. Numerous iOS app updates have rendered the system useless (lack of basic QA), slow to adopt HomeKit and price gouging for it (they want users to buy an entirely new Hub for $60).

Re: Philips Hue blocks 3rd party lights

#160

Post by TeMPOraL » Mon, Dec 14, 2015, 11:26 PM UTC

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #145

detaro wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All electrical work in the unit has to be done by someone legally qualified to do so (I'm not) and it is not worth getting a bill for a "proper" electrician to fix it for. Also only work for one lamp per room (that already has a light switch) and doesn't do any fancy new color-control features. Everything else needs additional modules and wireless controls anyways, so why do it differently for this one case? Exchangi…

I kinda wanna know how many people actually get asked to show proof the electrical work of shutting off the power, unscrewing wires from a light switch, and screwing them back onto a new light switch, was done by a licensed professional. I get you probably don't want someone running new wiring around a place who doesn't know what they're doing, but changing out light switches isn't substantially more difficult than c…

In case of renting an apartment, you risk getting in trouble with your landlord. Given how hostile landlord-tenant relationships can be, non-invasive solutions may be desirable to some.