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Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

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Re: Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

#201

Post by nwiswell »

zelo wrote: post #172
semi-extrinsic wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Logitech seem to be crazy about user support somehow. I had one of their old Harmony IR remote controls, and when they discontinued the software used for programming the older generations of remotes, they sent me a brand new remote free of charge .

I put my Logitech MX keyboard in the bag with few other things and one of the keycap broke off. Completely my fault. Since the key mechanism was intact I have told their support what happened and asked if they sell replacement keycaps and got completely new keyboard for free. Great support but I was left with mixed feelings since I still had almost completely working keyboard and I think the experience would be bette…

It's probably not feasible to stock every piece part for every legacy product. Imagine how many parts that is just for one keyboard.

Maybe that could be subcontracted out but I can see why it's just simpler to replace the whole thing.

Re: Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

#202

Post by zelo »

nwiswell wrote: post #201
zelo wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I put my Logitech MX keyboard in the bag with few other things and one of the keycap broke off. Completely my fault. Since the key mechanism was intact I have told their support what happened and asked if they sell replacement keycaps and got completely new keyboard for free. Great support but I was left with mixed feelings since I still had almost completely working keyboard and I think the experience would be bette…

It's probably not feasible to stock every piece part for every legacy product. Imagine how many parts that is just for one keyboard. Maybe that could be subcontracted out but I can see why it's just simpler to replace the whole thing.

Although it happened in 2020 It's still their current flagship 140 usd keyboard, not legacy product.

But I understand that it could make support logistic harder to offer parts that shouldn't need to be replaced.

Re: Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

#204

Post by [deleted] »

neilv wrote: post #117

Doesn't Spotify already know which Car Thing devices have been used, by which people, and the contact/billing info of most of those people? If so, then why making people contact them? And also bumping people away from normal customer support, to "specialty advisors"? This isn't looking like good faith. Is Spotify's market position now strong enough that they don't have to care what people think of them?

[deleted]

Re: Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

#205

Post by rstat1 »

squigz wrote: post #196
al_borland wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stories like this will make me more comfortable trying Logitech products in the future (I say as I look around the room at the 3 Logitech nice within 10ft of me). I’ve been hesitant to buy things like smart remotes, or other things in similar categories, because so many companies have poor track records around support. Good support does more than advertising ever could for me.

A counter story: The battery in a Logitech wireless headset I had died under warranty. To send a replacement, Logitech would have had me "destroy" my existing headset and send pictures as proof. Given that interaction, and how quickly the wireless headset died, I am very wary of buying Logitech products, personally.

This may be a thing they started doing after yours, but for the Logitech wireless headset I have they actually sell replacement parts for all the bits you could either wear out or lose.

Like they had replacement headbands, the side padding where it fits over your ears, and batteries, and even a replacement for the little USB receiver it uses.

Re: Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

#206

Post by meatmanek »

sahila wrote: post #192
flerchin wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Over the past 10 years I've recycled all of my large appliances. My (texas) city comes and picks them up at no charge, and I don't feel that's an unusual situation.

I'm a bit skeptical about them actually being recycled though. How many of the appliances are recyclable? What parts of them are vs what ends up in the dump? Everything I've heard - and admittedly I haven't looked too deep - is that recycling is mostly a sham and mostly just ends up as waste either here or shipped overseas for someone else to deal with.

I would expect appliances to be fairly recyclable. They're mostly made of metal, which can be sold for scrap. Parts can be stripped out and sold to appliance repair shops.

Plus, appliances with refrigerants need special handling to prevent the release of the refrigerants to the atmosphere -- better to have one organization handling that than leaving citizens to their own devices.

Re: Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

#207

Post by sgerenser »

Philip-J-Fry wrote: post #9

Are they just banking on people not caring enough or knowing about the refund process? Clearly it can't be better off for them to refund hundreds of thousands maybe even 1m+ people. We need laws that step in to make this impossible. Hardware should be designed so that it can be reused. Make it so that people can just reflash the memory at a minimum. There's no reason for something like this to become e-waste. And the…

Did they actually sell 1m+ of these things? I think the reason they’re killing it is they hardly sold any.

Re: Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

#208

Post by samatman »

theturtletalks wrote: post #199
tombert wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the person you responded to, but I would totally be onboard taxing companies in a way that more accurately reflects their environmental impact. As it stands products are artificially cheap because we're not factoring in environmental sustainability.

Wireless earbuds are going to be filling landfills soon. They have become near unrepairable as of late and once the batteries inside barely last 15 min, people will just trash them and get new ones. At least wired headphones could be used for decades without issue.

How much use out of something is enough?

AirPods weigh 10.4 grams for the pair. Let's say two hours per charge, and 400 charges, before they're no good.

That's 1.3 milligrams of e-waste per hour. After 77 hours you have one aspirin pill's worth of e-waste on your conscience.

Filling a landfill? With the case, I get about 1.5 million per shipping container. How big are landfills where you live?

Re: Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

#209

Post by sokoloff »

Rinzler89 wrote: post #152
tzs wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd have thought that most people getting rid of a an old fridge or washing machine are replacing it with a new fridge or washing machine. The same vehicle and trailer and gym-bro that is bringing the new machine can then be used to haul away the old one. That's how it typically works in the US. The appliance dealer offers delivery and for an extra charge will haul away the old unit.

Not all retailers here offer e-waste takeaway with their delivery though. Online ones like Amazon or small discounters do not AFAIk. Only the big brick and mortar ones do since they have their own delivery vehicles and employees.

Most appliance stores use an outsource provider for appliance deliveries. (A few local furniture stores have their own vehicles and employees, and Home Depot made the switch last-year to in-house appliance delivery, but most appliances are delivered/setup by a 3PL/4PL provider.)

Re: Spotify won't open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

#210

Post by sokoloff »

AzzyHN wrote: post #155
djc6 wrote: post #3

I reached out to them to get a refund for my Car Thing - and they actually sent me an email asking for my checking account number and routing number to be sent to them VIA EMAIL. And presumably into their ticket system where future hackers will find a nice collection of financial info. I wonder if their CISO or security team is aware of this, I reached out to address found in https://www.spotify.com/.well-known/secur…

That's insane. If anybody told me to send them my bank account number and routing number, I'd assume they're a scammer.

It's printed on the bottom of every check you've ever written to someone. It's not particularly secret information.
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