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Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

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Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#291
post #48

So now all Nest accounts have to go through Google. Can’t wait for the first time some Android developer gets their Google account locked and suddenly can’t change the temperature on their HVAC unit.

Or that people using Gsuite wont be able to perform certain actions because ... reasons? My Google home hub is still pretty useless since they don't allow some features.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#292

For those who see this as Google turning off an unused service: no, just no. This is Google cutting off a massive interop ecosystem to try to parlay the success of Nest into higher adoption of Google Home. That’s vastly different than shutting down G+, Wave, Orkut, Reader, etc. It would be as if they announced tomorrow that the only way to read GMail is in Chrome browser or on an Android phone.

I think it’s very similar to shutting down Reader, which I’ve long believed was killed in a vain attempt to force adoption of G+.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have Wemo smart plugs that I have plugged in all sorts of stuff like Heater, Lamps, and TV, etc connected to my Google Home and Home Mini. And I'd advise anyone to think twice before buying smart plugs or smart devices. There are so many bugs creating so many complications that I feel they are not worth using. You'd need to reconnect them with WEMO app time and again, restart these frequently if they just stop work…

> And I'd advise anyone to think twice before buying smart plugs or smart devices. Not all smart devices are created alike. Research your purchases. So far the one I’ve been most happy with is IKEA Trådfri. It costs roughly half of the comparable Phillips hue offering, but still delivers on any aspect I care about. Works 100% locally, uses standard Zigbee (non-WiFi) networking. No cloud required. Supports HomeKit, Al…

I have also voted with my money for IKEA Trådfri and am quite happy with it. Light bulbs, motion sensors, remote controls. Everything connected to zigbee coordinator and controlled with simple node red flows. And good thing is that list of supported devices is longer than any other single vendor with option to expand it by your self.

Baby starts moving in bedroom, light bulb flashes in kitchen.

Sonos stopped supporting remote control, no problem, map IKEA remote controller to start/stop Sonos playback.

https://nodered.org

https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io

https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/information/supported_devices.htm...

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/lighting/smart-lighting/

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#294

This seems to include all of us using them in open-source "hobbyist" environments, like Home Assistant and Node-Red. I'm quite frustrated by this; I'll never buy another Nest product again, and I now regret my purchase of the Nest Thermostat. All the rest of my IoT stuff is either open-source hardware/software, or at the least local-only with known protocol interfaces. This was the one exception I made for IoT "cloud…

Woah, I was really considering a Nest (I use Hass.io for many things, lighting at sunset, reading energy meter and my home energy usage), I'm very glad I didn't purchase one yet.

One more reason to go for a completely-in-my-lan solution.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#295
post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are assuming they will retain imap functionality. Ask the xmpp/jabber folks about hangouts.

Yeah I fully expect imap to disappear in the next few years. I've started migrating to domains I own for this reason. I can see them keeping it around for enterprise for a bit longer, though.

I think it will stick around as long as it is the way the iOS Mail app connects

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#296
post #190
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sad thing is it's not rocket science. It's just terrible, barely working, shoehorned in buggy drivers, "shipped as soon as it can appear functional" code. You could take a microcontroller, write something simple, and have something that worked to a few 9s. Instead, IoT vendors spend their time optimizing their data collection and monetization platforms. "You had one job..." would be a good epitaph for the entire…

s/a few nines/more nines than the cloud/

Not really, my power from PG&E in the Bay Area has fewer nines than even the cheapest cloud providers.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have Wemo smart plugs that I have plugged in all sorts of stuff like Heater, Lamps, and TV, etc connected to my Google Home and Home Mini. And I'd advise anyone to think twice before buying smart plugs or smart devices. There are so many bugs creating so many complications that I feel they are not worth using. You'd need to reconnect them with WEMO app time and again, restart these frequently if they just stop work…

> And I'd advise anyone to think twice before buying smart plugs or smart devices. Not all smart devices are created alike. Research your purchases. So far the one I’ve been most happy with is IKEA Trådfri. It costs roughly half of the comparable Phillips hue offering, but still delivers on any aspect I care about. Works 100% locally, uses standard Zigbee (non-WiFi) networking. No cloud required. Supports HomeKit, Al…

i’m also pretty happy with my ikea trådfri bulbs and outlets. works with homekit via the trådfri hub (which i got for half price in the as-is section) so i can create scenes and automations easily. it’s still early and limited, and new features are slow to come by, but i’m not trying to do anything fancy yet anyway.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh didn’t realize YouTube annotations was killed off. Gotta say, most annoying thing to me was discontinuing support for the Nexus 6p after only 2 years. Made me switch to iPhone for ever.

YouTube annotations unfortunately were misused for spamming purposes. It is one of the few cases where you can say good riddance.

Annotations were also used to correct errors in educational videos after the videos were published. The errors are still there, but the corrections are gone. They replaced annotations with "cards" which are 100% spam.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been considering pasting this: https://killedbygoogle.com/ every time the argument comes up. Maybe Google proponents will make one for other companies notorious for killing services, but at least for now, the Google Graveyard grows.

I don't quite get what people expect... do they think that once google creates something, they are obligated to continue it indefinitely? That seems like an unreasonable expectation.

If they choose to make it dependent on an external service then yes, I expect them to keep that service available indefinitely, for free.

Consider it an incentive to avoid dependencies on external services.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#300
post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No company is, and expecting any company to continue spending money on maintaining a service even if they've decided it isn't profitable is pollyannaish. To that end, I'm not sure I see the value in framing this specifically as a Google thing. Google is maybe the most visible because of how many products it has, and how popular many of them are. But really, this sort of thing is a problem that's inherent to any IoT d…

I expect a company to continue a service for the foreseeable future (lets say the normal duration of the warranty on the product) if it is necessary to use a product i just bought. Otherwise I expect a refund or it feels very much like fraud to me. Legislators should get involved here sooner then later.

There is a huge difference between the product naturally breaking a while after the warranty expires, and the product deliberately self-destructing as soon as it's no longer the manufacturer's problem.
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