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Google rolls out “If This Then That” support for its $200 OnHub router

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Re: Google rolls out “If This Then That” support for its $200 OnHub router

#51

Post by seanp2k2 »

rdegges wrote: post #3

OnHub is one of the best routers I've ever owned. I've been buying custom router hardware for years -- I even went as far as building my own OpenBSD / PFsense router way back when, but nothing I've ever built (or bought!) has given me the same reliability / stability / speed as the OnHub. I'm seriously impressed with it. Also: the OnHub management app for mobile is AMAZING. It is so cool. Awesome product. Really grea…

Interesting. I was running pfsense since 2006 on a P4 box with PCI Intel pro NICs + WRT54G on DD-WRT, then on an AMD Geode-based HP thin client with an expansion board to give it PCI-E to use a Pro1000/MT card + Cisco Aironet 1200 from eBay that someone flashed LWAP FW onto and couldn't fix so they sold it as parts/not working ($50 IIRC, had to track down the right firmware, took a day of messing with it), and finally now an ERLite + Airport Express + Ubiquiti AP AC Pro.

Power usage on the P4 sucked (>100w idle). The eBay thin clients did much better, usually around 20-40w, and the ERLite is lowest (and it's fanless). I ran a Cisco 2651XM for a while before any of this, but it maxed out doing NAT slower than my home connection was. Honestly though, I was just super excited to get something off-the-shelf for $100 that was stable, supported, low-power, and didn't require much administration. Messing with this stuff was a fun hobby and I learned a lot, but now I don't have as much time and it just needs to work.

Re: Google rolls out “If This Then That” support for its $200 OnHub router

#52

Post by shiftpgdn »

awesomerobot wrote: post #20
deprave wrote: post #11

I cannot understand why anyone would buy hardware from Google. Chromecast for $35 a pop is as much as I'd be willing to pay from something that they could arbitrarily shut down.

The "can be shutoff at any moment" problem is a huge problem for just about all hardware startups these days. Such huge reliances on cloud services. It's ridiculous.

Yes but most hardware startups have a single product and will put their entire companies effort towards keeping things going. If Google gets bored with a project you can kiss it goodbye.

Re: Google rolls out “If This Then That” support for its $200 OnHub router

#54

Post by mod »

nathancahill wrote: post #38
davidu wrote: post #34

How does IFTTT make money? I can't figure it out.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11378278

I read quite a bit of that and I'm not sure where it mentioned their revenue source.

I did see some mention of funding, and of very small fees (relative to operating a company) for having your integration on their platform.

Re: Google rolls out “If This Then That” support for its $200 OnHub router

#55

Post by seanp2k2 »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #15
untog wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious: what do you do with the management app? I have an Apple Airport thing and had a similar experience - years of buying cheap routers then suddenly I had one that "just works". To the point that I haven't had to open/use the administration panel in an absolute age.

The app also gives you insights into what's happening with your OnHub -- per device traffic sums, speed tests, alerts, etc. And we're constantly improving it. IMHO that's the real win with the OnHub; the router itself is constantly upgraded with up to date firmware with security updates and new features. And the mobile app that administrates it is constantly getting new features. Maybe I should transfer to marketing.

Honestly Google's rep for discontinuing support for stuff is why I'm not interested in such a connected device. Will it continue getting updates after Google drops it in 0-5 years? Who knows. Will the open-source community be able to put OpenWRT on it or something to give it life after it can no longer receive firmware updates? Not sure.

I do know that my current Ubiquiti and Apple network infrastructure devices will still work if I plug them in in 10 years. I can't say the same for this. $200 seems reasonable for what it does, but less so if it's knocked down to dumb router mode if Google pulls the plug some day.

Re: Google rolls out “If This Then That” support for its $200 OnHub router

#57

Post by seanp2k2 »

guyzero wrote: post #21
deprave wrote: post #11

I cannot understand why anyone would buy hardware from Google. Chromecast for $35 a pop is as much as I'd be willing to pay from something that they could arbitrarily shut down.

Like how I get a popup notice on my Samsung TV every few days about they're shutting off various apps like Skype on their smart platform? $35 is about the right amount of money a smart TV enabler.

I really wish TV mfgs still offered dumb TVs, even for like $20 less. The features on the many I've played with (access to a lab with hundreds of smart TVs) range from "unbearable delay changing the volume + UI crashes randomly trying to switch set off" (yes this seriously happens on a newer production Samsung with the little click stick selector on the back as the ONLY physical button; turning it off requires clicking then scrolling to "power" and clicking again) to "noticeably slower but not unbearable when changing volume".

I really preferred my TVs to be as dumb and as responsive as possible, but I know that many people won't buy a dongle for the "smart" functionality of their TV has it built in, even if the experience is awful, upgrades are few and far between, support ends after a year, and the internals powering the smartness are non-upgradeable low-to-midrange smartphone boards on their new >$1000 set. Also, getting a >$10,000 TV doesn't get you much better software or much better smart guts, which surprised me at first, but I guess it makes sense; they're not going to spend millions in R&D for the products that sell in small numbers.

Re: Google rolls out “If This Then That” support for its $200 OnHub router

#58

Post by narrowrail »

seanp2k2 wrote: post #55
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The app also gives you insights into what's happening with your OnHub -- per device traffic sums, speed tests, alerts, etc. And we're constantly improving it. IMHO that's the real win with the OnHub; the router itself is constantly upgraded with up to date firmware with security updates and new features. And the mobile app that administrates it is constantly getting new features. Maybe I should transfer to marketing.

Honestly Google's rep for discontinuing support for stuff is why I'm not interested in such a connected device. Will it continue getting updates after Google drops it in 0-5 years? Who knows. Will the open-source community be able to put OpenWRT on it or something to give it life after it can no longer receive firmware updates? Not sure. I do know that my current Ubiquiti and Apple network infrastructure devices will…

As an aside: I'm in the OpenWRT camp right now, and minimizing my exposure to large companies, but I find this constant drum beat about "Google shutting products down" to be tiring. It also derails from the topic at hand.

I think it's great what they're doing with OnHub, and hope we can have iOS/Android apps for managing OpenWRT installs too. I wouldn't personally recommend buying one unless you can at least install ddWRT, but I haven't even bothered to learn what CPU they are using.

Re: Google rolls out “If This Then That” support for its $200 OnHub router

#59

Post by nl »

googlryas wrote: post #39
zyxley wrote: post #5

I just wish more of these companies would add support for a locally runnable IFTTT equivalent, or at least something like MQTT support so you can bake your own.

Yeah - I bought some belkin wemo devices, thinking that I could use their "smart" light switch to control an outlet on the other side of the room which it wasn't wired for. It ended up working, but because the comms had to go through IFTTT servers, the lag was something like 10-15 seconds, which is awful when you want to just turn on a light.

The Wemo mobile app works on the local network and doesn't require IFTTT (?)

Re: Google rolls out “If This Then That” support for its $200 OnHub router

#60

Post by semi-extrinsic »

jhoechtl wrote: post #50
thrownaway2424 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't seen my OnHub since I turned it on last year. This puts it well ahead of all other wifi access points I have owned.

I haven't seen my Asus ac68 ever since. Reading these comments all the way down leaves the impression as the hefty overpriced OnHub is the only reliable wifi router on earth.

I haven't seen my $50 Buffalo N300 since I bought it, flashed and configured dd-wrt on it about 2 years ago.
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