Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API • Hacker News Board

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

#591

Post by zmonkeyz » Fri, May 10, 2019, 12:40 PM UTC

dehrmann wrote: post #302

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The month Google originally bought Nest, I sold my thermostat to someone else and picked up an Insteon thermostat instead. My Insteon thermostat's been a reliable partner since, and doesn't send my data to anyone. I actually turned a profit on it, since I got rebate credit from my electric company originally for buying it.

My gripe is the design is nowhere near as good. It's like going from an iPhone to a feature phone. I wish there were an open-source Nest firmware, or at least an open-source backend. Google doesn't need to know when I'm home.

Google Nest Kin

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

#592

Post by Tsiklon » Fri, May 10, 2019, 7:07 PM UTC

ralfd wrote: post #496

gaius_baltar wrote: post #460

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Every semi-successful feature had to get G+ integration to maximize the adoption of G+. Also, forced Youtube integration and G+ accounts being required even to rate Android apps.

Funny that G+ was still ignored despite this effort.

I'd be inclined to believe it was ignored because of this effort.

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

#593

Post by otakucode » Fri, May 10, 2019, 8:48 PM UTC

rtkwe wrote: post #587

otakucode wrote: post #537

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My group of friends tried to. It could have been quite successful, since it basically offered what Discord is now.

How? I guess you could use it like a chat room just putting new messages at the bottom of the document but seems like a crazy kludge to use Wave as a chat.

I thought that was its intended primary purpose. We could chat and inline media, pictures, etc. It was a big upgrade from IRC. There were issues with sharing files larger than just images and whatnot, but it easily could have been polished a bit into something better. If Discord added the ability to have 'threads', it would basically be what we used Wave for. For a few weeks anyway until Google decided it wasn't catching on enough or whatever justification they gave for giving up on it.

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

#594

Post by rtkwe » Sat, May 11, 2019, 12:47 AM UTC

otakucode wrote: post #593

rtkwe wrote: post #587

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How? I guess you could use it like a chat room just putting new messages at the bottom of the document but seems like a crazy kludge to use Wave as a chat.

I thought that was its intended primary purpose. We could chat and inline media, pictures, etc. It was a big upgrade from IRC. There were issues with sharing files larger than just images and whatnot, but it easily could have been polished a bit into something better. If Discord added the ability to have 'threads', it would basically be what we used Wave for. For a few weeks anyway until Google decided it wasn't catc…

I don't think I ever heard of it being pitched that way just as a collaborative editing room for editing an actual document not just for using the comments etc as a chat.

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

#595

Post by Joky » Sat, May 11, 2019, 4:54 AM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #254

Joky wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are the physical devices not working after this change, or rather some of the applications developed for these devices need to switch to another API?

There is no other API to switch to, as Google controls the protocol, no open standard exists to replicate the Nest API server, and Nest devices don’t support targeting a self hosted API. If you as a user or third party provider integrated with this API and rely on it for functionality, you have no alternative nor recourse.

Isn't "Works with Google Assistant" supposed to become the replacement API? It seems like they don't offer direct access to the data or the device but plan to allow "some" level of control? (I don't know the space, apologize if my questions are naive...)

> As a Works with Nest developer and partner, you will not be able to access or control Nest devices once the Works with Nest APIs are turned off on August 31, 2019. Moving forward, our team will focus on making Works with Google Assistant the most helpful and intelligent ecosystem for the home, enabling all of the products in your users’ homes to work together. We encourage all smart home developers to visit the Actions on Google Smart Home developer site to learn how to integrate your devices or services with the Google Assistant.

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

#596

Post by CaptainMarvel » Sat, May 11, 2019, 10:45 AM UTC

XaoDaoCaoCao wrote: post #588

j03m1 wrote: post #448

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That ending tho. Unforgivable.

I will always be mad about the ME3 ending. If reincarnation is something that happens, my reincarnated self will be mad about the ME3 ending from birth. What a godamn waste.

As someone who never played the games but has a rough idea of story and characters, what was wrong with the ending(s)?

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

#597

Post by feanaro » Sat, May 11, 2019, 1:41 PM UTC

pm90 wrote: post #196

_jal wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you build on someone else's platform, the best case is you get to be a sharecropper and can make money as long as you don't make so much that your platform-betters get jealous. The more typical case is this, where you get to spend your time and money doing real-world R&D and discovery of what works for them, for free. If you're going to dance with a vampire, don't be surprised when it bites you.

> If you build on someone else's platform, But isn't that the height of specialization? What does a platform mean anyways if its only used for one thing and not by others? It it somewhat unfortunate that things like this make it abundantly clear that such a reality is not possible.

It is possible. We just have to prioritize open standards much more than we have been doing in the last decade.

History really repeats itself in this regard. First we get ourselves in a tight situation with lots of closed platforms, which is bad for everyone. Then someone comes along, spouting a new philosophy of openness (Stallman comes to mind). The philosophy takes hold and open technology flourishes for a while.

But then a huge corporation appears, offering to contribute to this new abundant ecosystem with great new things. By now, people are too relaxed and optimistic, so they readily accept this. Yet, little by little, the corporation exploits this, seizing more and more control, until we get right back where we started.

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

#598

Post by ascagnel_ » Mon, May 13, 2019, 1:22 PM UTC

ppeetteerr wrote: post #546

FerretFred wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The big problem here is that there are a lot of people that have spent a lot of money in buying quality hardware that isn't just for leisure, it's for protection. I'll cite my 4 Nest Protects and an outdoor camera as an example. If somehow they get "sunsetted" due to some Google whim, fad or Because They Can, then I'm going to be pretty p*ssed to say the least. Based on past experience I don't trust Google to act in…

Google is notorious for abandoning past projects. They are of the "try everything and fail fast" variety, and I wouldn't trust my money with their hardware. Not even software, except for Docs and Gmail.

This is why I feel like Stadia is doomed to failure from the start. It took Microsoft failing for an entire generation, even when they brought some new technology to the table, to start seeing real mindshare in the video game industry.

I don't see Google running a service at a loss for half a decade.

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

#599

Post by ZeikJT » Tue, May 14, 2019, 2:17 PM UTC

CaptainMarvel wrote: post #596

XaoDaoCaoCao wrote: post #588

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will always be mad about the ME3 ending. If reincarnation is something that happens, my reincarnated self will be mad about the ME3 ending from birth. What a godamn waste.

As someone who never played the games but has a rough idea of story and characters, what was wrong with the ending(s)?

The endings didn't take into account any of the choices you'd made up until that point. The endings were also a bit brief before the ending patch. I think those were people's biggest complaints, I could be misremembering.

Highly recommend the trilogy! Great story, amazing characters, pretty great gameplay (especially after #1), and overall an immersive journey. I wasn't bothered at all by the ending, personally.

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

#600

Post by ZeikJT » Tue, May 14, 2019, 2:22 PM UTC

shrimp_emoji wrote: post #548

zimablue wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[Spoiler alert, Hyperion series] That sounds totally lifted from the Hyperion series, but maybe the idea is earlier than that, does anyone have a proposed source for that idea that's earlier than 1989?

The Reapers definitely fill a similar role as the Hegemony's TechnoCore, but the idea is so general: bigger, smarter entities leverage their natural advantage over smoller, dumber ones (who are sympathetic and protagonistic and somehow win love powers the universe shh it's ok).

Slightly different if you play renegade :)