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Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

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Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#141

Post by pzlarsson »

noamchomsky1 wrote: post #129
grumblez wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fortunately all of their lights work over a standard Zigbee connection. No need for a Hue Hub or App at all. I was already transitioning my lights from using the Hue Hub/App to directly connecting via Zigbee/HomeAssistant before this was announced.

you still need a hub for zigbee connectivity right?

You need a coordinator talking to the zigbee bulbs, in most cases this is a usb-dongle for $20-50. Zigbee2mqtt has a great list of different dongles and their pros/cons. The other functionality of a propriatary hub will be fulfilled by home assistant or Zigbee2mqtt+nodered.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#142

Post by menacingly »

rchaud wrote: post #135
karaterobot wrote: post #131

I'm surprised they didn't already require this, but I think it's probably safe to say it was a likely and foreseeable outcome in any case. That, combined with a dearth of use cases that made sense (for my life) is what's kept me from using these products. About the only reason I could think of to buy smart lightbulbs would be to suddenly turn all the lights in the house red, and yell "torpedoes in the water, brace fo…

These products are mostly targeted at the the Youtuber/streamer market that need to add variety to their backdrops.

This is not in any way the case

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#143

Post by ender341341 »

cassianoleal wrote: post #48
zeisch wrote: post #10

Time and time again It takes just one MBA trying to boost numbers to turn a good product into a data collection nightmare. Honestly is there any IoT brand that we can trust long-term? Maybe IKEA stuff?

Shelly [0] seems trustworthy enough. In any case, if they ever go full-on enshittified, as long as you don't update the firmware you should be able to keep using your stuff. Anything you can flash Tasmota [1] on should be good to go as well. I believe that includes all or most Shelly devices as well. IKEA so far seems like a decent bet as well. [0] https://shellystore.co.uk/ [1] https://tasmota.github.io/docs/

my ikea stuff is pretty reliable, they seem conservative on adding features, but if you don't care about those specific features (which you probably don't) they've been pretty great, if not always the nicest design for the buttons/controllers.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#144

Post by hef19898 »

coldtea wrote: post #138
rchaud wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice try, but this is the IoT wet dream pioneered by Nest Labs and a ton of other grizzled ex-SV hardware engineers.

Those engineers have been MBA-types in developer clothing for over 2 decades now. The engineer as hacker hasn't been anywhere close to leadership roles for quite a while. Perhaps ever since the 90s. I don't see a passion for computing and hacking with such people, just for making money and VCs. That's why the end product doesn't even matter to them.

Yeah, no true scotsman, I mean no true software developer, would ever do anything like that.

Except Google, Meta and the like do exist.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#145

Post by coldtea »

rchaud wrote: post #135
karaterobot wrote: post #131

I'm surprised they didn't already require this, but I think it's probably safe to say it was a likely and foreseeable outcome in any case. That, combined with a dearth of use cases that made sense (for my life) is what's kept me from using these products. About the only reason I could think of to buy smart lightbulbs would be to suddenly turn all the lights in the house red, and yell "torpedoes in the water, brace fo…

These products are mostly targeted at the the Youtuber/streamer market that need to add variety to their backdrops.

Not even close.

There do exist products made for for a variety of Youtube/video/streaming needs, including lighting, and they are niche.

You might think "but there are many many Youtubers/streamers" but in comparison with the overall market for such lamps, they're insignificant in number.

Hue and co (from Amazon, IKEA, etc) are mass market products.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#146

Post by bigstrat2003 »

ender341341 wrote: post #139
guitarlimeo wrote: post #62

This is frustrating. I have invested a lot in the Hue ecosystem and have also recommended it to my friends based on the facts that you don't need an account to control it, it integrates easily with HA, and you can block it from the internet. Now after one announcement it's something I want to get rid of fast and am ashamed of recommending it to my friends. I already block my Hue Bridge from accessing the internet, so…

you basically need to recreate the scenes in home assistant and use the hue bridge as as dumb of a bridge as you can. There should be little to no things that home assistant scenes can't do that hue scenes can. I'll still probably recommend hue light bulbs with the caveat that I don't recommend their bridge/app, compared to the other bulbs I've used they are much more reliable and handle color changes much more smoot…

I haven't used anything but Hue, but I've been looking to get off them because they're so unreliable. Like clockwork, one or two bulbs go bad every year and will still be dimly lit even when "off", or worse still they will start flickering constantly when "off". It's kind of depressing if something with such poor quality is the most reliable option out there. :(

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#147

Post by anabab »

grumblez wrote: post #120
krisoft wrote: post #9

I have noticed the announcement of the change too. This materially changes the product for me. I was a happy user so far, and was thinking about buying more bulbs in fact, but not anymore. Is there a way to force the company to return the money I have paid for my bulbs and hub so far? Even if it is arduous and cost me more money than I'm able to gain back I would be inclined to do it to signal my displeasure with thi…

Fortunately all of their lights work over a standard Zigbee connection. No need for a Hue Hub or App at all. I was already transitioning my lights from using the Hue Hub/App to directly connecting via Zigbee/HomeAssistant before this was announced.

can you still set up direct connection between a switch and a light which would work even if the hub is down?

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#148

Post by FredPret »

And next you'll have a subscription to indoor lighting.

What can be turned into a subscription next! I can't wait to find out.

Maybe I'll become a survivalist who builds his own lightbulbs, computers, etc.

Once I figure the off-grid lifestyle out, maybe I can launch a paid newsletter about it...

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#149

Post by coldtea »

hef19898 wrote: post #144
coldtea wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those engineers have been MBA-types in developer clothing for over 2 decades now. The engineer as hacker hasn't been anywhere close to leadership roles for quite a while. Perhaps ever since the 90s. I don't see a passion for computing and hacking with such people, just for making money and VCs. That's why the end product doesn't even matter to them.

Yeah, no true scotsman, I mean no true software developer, would ever do anything like that. Except Google, Meta and the like do exist.

That's neither here, nor there.

I didn't say they're not engineers or developers. I said they're not engineers/developers in the old hacker sense. They don't have a passion for computing and for making something, but for the money and VC schemes.

If you think Google and Meta is run with a passion for computing and hacking in mind, and that their products and actions reflect that, then I have a bridge to sell you.

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