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The patent office hands them out like candy... "Rounded corners" anyone?
The "rounded corners" narrative needs to die. It wasn't just rounded corners. It was a combination of design features for a specific device that, among other things, included rounded corners.
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One the relevant patents [1] does just appear to be describing connecting speakers in a group. [1]: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8588949B2/en
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If given the typical job of implementing this coarse desire of a spec to 100 engineers and 90 can implement it with no problem then its just work, nothing original about it. This company was only the first to actually want to sell 2+ speakers and implement the app control with it instead of an IR remote.
The basic problem I see here is that you don't own the speakers you have bought. My moral point of view is: I bought the thing so I own it. I must be allowed to understand how it works and I decide what it does. I should be able to change the thing's behavior (if I have the skills) and no one else can do that without my order. Buying locked black boxes is bad (for the customers). Buying locked black boxes that change…
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If the patent didn't cover adjusting the volume for a group of speakers, why did Google have to disable it? While the patent portfolio did include other things, Google is being forced to disable the basic, obvious feature.
The patents did cover controlling volume across the group, but there was more to it (see the 5 patents linked elsewhere in this discussion).
For example, these changes mean you'll no longer be able to control the volume of a group of speakers. Instead, you'll have to change the volume on each individually. It also means you'll no longer be able to use the volume buttons on your phone to control a speaker group. Not here to defend Google, but how can something trivial like that even be patentable?
Well, it's not like Google speakers make any sense even with this behavior. I keep mine generally ungrouped because I have one speaker per room. When I broadcast "Okay Google, broadcast: Hey, son, what do you want on your burger?" it's not exactly a stellar experience... It usually goes 1st speaker: Hey, Son wh 2nd speaker: Hey, Son, what do you wan 3,4,5 in overlap: Hey, son, what do you want on your burger while my…
For example, these changes mean you'll no longer be able to control the volume of a group of speakers. Instead, you'll have to change the volume on each individually. It also means you'll no longer be able to use the volume buttons on your phone to control a speaker group. Not here to defend Google, but how can something trivial like that even be patentable?
Kinda crappy but i'm sure google has tons of patents on things we would find trivial as well, as far as i'm concerned, let shitty mega corps duke it out.
There's a reason orgs like the Alliance for Open Media -- a Google-led initiative -- use licensing that explicitly grants you use of the patents owned by member orgs, but also explicitly revoke those if you sue any of them over a patent claim.
For example, these changes mean you'll no longer be able to control the volume of a group of speakers. Instead, you'll have to change the volume on each individually. It also means you'll no longer be able to use the volume buttons on your phone to control a speaker group. Not here to defend Google, but how can something trivial like that even be patentable?
Kinda crappy but i'm sure google has tons of patents on things we would find trivial as well, as far as i'm concerned, let shitty mega corps duke it out.
The problem with that is that we the customers end up as collateral damage.
If anyone is interested, this article lists five patents: https://www.usitc.gov/system/files/secretary/fed_reg_notices... They’re located here (the source is kind of funny): https://patents.google.com/patent/US9748647?oq=9%2c195%2c258 https://patents.google.com/patent/US10209953B2/en?oq=10%2c20... https://patents.google.com/patent/US9219959B2/en?oq=9%2c219%... https://patents.google.com/patent/US8588949B2/en?oq=8%2c5…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
One the relevant patents [1] does just appear to be describing connecting speakers in a group. [1]: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8588949B2/en
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