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Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

developers.meethue.com

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Re: Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

#141

Post by simoncion »

fastball wrote: post #55
TeMPOraL wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they'd still get mad at Philips when a third-party bulb breaks. Would they? Wouldn't they blame their bulb first? It's like complaining to your PC manufacturer that a program you downloaded doesn't work. Most people would blame the program and look for another one. I'm sure there are some who have it backwards, and they probably will be calling support, but I can't imagine there's enough of them for a company to ac…

Here is the scenario I'm imagining: You are a typical consumer. You buy a HUE system because it has the best reviews. Then you realize you need lightbulbs as well. You go on amazon, look at your options. You can get the Phillips ones, but they're too expensive, so you buy the other ones. You pair the bulbs. It's complicated, but you just follow a guide on the internet word-for-word to get through it. A few months lat…

So, given that it seems that neither you nor I have used these things, lemmy float you a hypothetical:

> A few months later, your system starts acting wonky.

What if "your system starts acting wonky" means "Only the non-Phillips bulbs stop behaving correctly."?

Growing up, I knew of many, many people who would only stick with brand-name things because of quality or compatibility concerns. I would expect that many affected users would be able to recognize that their non-Phillips bulbs were acting up and their Phillips bulbs were not.

Re: Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

#142

Post by tomlongson »

I wonder if this had anything to do with the flood of negative comments to their Amazon product pages?

3/5 stars: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-455303-White-Starter-Generatio...

4/5 stars (previously 4.5/5): http://www.amazon.com/Philips-456210-Ambiance-Starter-Genera...

Re: Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

#144

Post by uremog »

revelation wrote: post #66

Not sure why people are screaming "boycott". Philips never advertised their system as being compatible with third-party lights. The fact that they use an open protocol to communicate with their own lights doesn't change this. It's like connecting to your office chat with an IRC client because you figured out that's what they are using under the hood. Why would you scream bloody murder when one day your IRC client sto…

The people who complained suggest otherwise.

Re: Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

#145

Post by CaptSpify »

HarryHirsch wrote: post #43

Compare this with Ethernet. You plug it in - and it just works. No 3com/Realtek/Intel certification required. As a user I may be shielded, but I believe there are no interoperability issues between Cisco/Juniper/Brocade switchgear either. With this as the background, it's surprising to see a large crowd defending the equivalent of Ford-branded gasoline.

Networking has also been around for a looong time and ran through those issues back in the day. Some open-standard will end up winning, but it'll take a while for the dust to settle.

Re: Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

#146

Post by ars »

gmac wrote: post #82
jads wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've worked in tech support for many years, and the vast majority of people would blame the PC manufacturer or the operating system for the problems. I spent many years on the Genius Bar (back in the PowerPC and early Intel days) and, in almost, every interaction, the device was to blame - as far as the customer was concerned. In some cases, they were right, in others it was due to outdated software, buggy third-part…

On the printer point, I once bought a 3rd-party cartridge for a Dell laser printer that not only didn't work but actually broke the printer (it stopped recognising all cartridges in that slot). The first question they asked on the phone was whether I'd used a 3rd-party cartridge. I said yes. The second question was where I'd like the free replacement printer delivered (now with added WiFi, and a full set of cartridge…

Your post makes we wonder if the printer broke on purpose with that 3rd party cartridge, and that's why they sent you a new one.

Re: Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

#147

Post by Brian-Puccio »

Gracana wrote: post #17
sneak wrote: post #3

The funny part is that they claim to have broken their customers' previously working functionality in good faith. Who writes these things, and why do their supervisors allow them to keep working there?!?

It could be worse: "Some customers were involved in a darkness-related incident."

I'm not sure if this is a specific reference to something like McSweeney's Interactive Guide to Ambiguous Grammar [0], to something else, or just a comment in general. (But I agree.)

[0] http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-interactive-guide-to-a...

Re: Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

#148

Post by Duhck »

mdip wrote: post #24

A point brought up in the replies to their forum post warrants repeating: They claim that they were concerned about the quality of their brand being eroded by third-party bulbs that didn't reproduce the same quality experience that first-party/certified bulbs did. They had the solution available to them from day one. Since they can clearly identify third-party bulbs, they could have simply presented a warning along t…

FWIW the "third party integration support" is the biggest problem with smart home products today. Wink, Iris, Hue, SmartThings are all plagued by numbers of low quality integrations and as a result it's up to those companies to handle support for other peoples crappy products, API's or Apps. (edit: to drive the point home, search for "philips hue" or "lifx" in the app store)

It's awful and frankly its why my company -- Twist -- is not offering any third party integration support.

Until the industry can focus on quality over number of integrations and interoperability, the only customers buying these products will be DIY'ers and professional installers.

Re: Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

#149

Post by michaelmrose »

yourapostasy wrote: post #125
jads wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've worked in tech support for many years, and the vast majority of people would blame the PC manufacturer or the operating system for the problems. I spent many years on the Genius Bar (back in the PowerPC and early Intel days) and, in almost, every interaction, the device was to blame - as far as the customer was concerned. In some cases, they were right, in others it was due to outdated software, buggy third-part…

Speak with tech support for other vendors enough, and the same picture emerges. As computers and software take on a greater utility role with more users, this is likely to be expected. Steve Jobs' early instinct to deliver a walled garden experience to consumers was correct. My guess is we'll see a widening bifurcation of the market, where consumers go ever-deeper into a walled garden, while professionals/commercial…

The reverse seems to be true now with the closed gear commanding outsized prices I see no particular reason why this should be reversed.

Factually I think we should forbid selling devices we are forbidden to touch and avoid the whole issue.

Re: Philips reverses decision to close the Hue Platform

#150

Post by seanp2k2 »

Duhck wrote: post #148
mdip wrote: post #24

A point brought up in the replies to their forum post warrants repeating: They claim that they were concerned about the quality of their brand being eroded by third-party bulbs that didn't reproduce the same quality experience that first-party/certified bulbs did. They had the solution available to them from day one. Since they can clearly identify third-party bulbs, they could have simply presented a warning along t…

FWIW the "third party integration support" is the biggest problem with smart home products today. Wink, Iris, Hue, SmartThings are all plagued by numbers of low quality integrations and as a result it's up to those companies to handle support for other peoples crappy products, API's or Apps. (edit: to drive the point home, search for "philips hue" or "lifx" in the app store) It's awful and frankly its why my company…

Integration is the biggest blocker I see to having the smart homes we fantasized about 60 years ago. Right now, it's a big mess, and another company doing lock-in isn't likely to fix it. I'd love to see more companies commit to implementing and improving the standards so everything can play together.
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