With all the data google already has on me, as a new homeowner, I think I'm terrified of buying this product. What kind of profile would this allow Google to build on individuals?
Google to Acquire Nest
81–90 of 590 posts
Re: Google to Acquire Nest
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Am I the only one that doesn't get chills up their spine whenever Google breaks into some new market? I see very little possible misuse of temperature preference (of all things...) and very great possible gains. The more intimately a service knows you, the more personalized and relevant data it can bring. And another thing, I am really sick and tired of tempering or being told to temper my enthusiasm for some new tec…
What about the ability to know when someone is in your home and when someone is not? If Google records that data (say, to be able to provide you with a handy chart of your energy use and some ways to improve it), the potential I am more worried about is the fact that the data exists makes it possible to subpoena.
I'm not really worried about subpoena of my data- if the courts want it, they will get it. I'd be more concerned about what private companies are going to do with it. I know the gov't is the big bogeyman in most people's minds, but sometimes I swear private corps. have even less accountability than the gov't.
Re: Google to Acquire Nest
#83Am I the only one who thought "well, good for the Nest guys" followed by "too bad, it looked like a good product"?
So you are saying that Google bought the Nest guys, not the Nest product?
Re: Google to Acquire Nest
#84Re: Google to Acquire Nest
#85For once I can understand the pricing and think its in fact cheap.
1) Nest has a realistic potential to be in "every" home if not the actual hardware then the underlying intelligence.
2) Nest has a business model that works. People are paing for it and they love it.
3) Combining Google data with Nest access points I can only imagine the awesome things they can come up with and improve. Perhaps the first glimpse at an intelligent grid system.
4) 3.2 is a steal and given that its cash its a good sale.
Re: Google to Acquire Nest
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
The "bad guys" (I assume we're talking about government types) can park outside your house or just lean on the electric/gas company for that info already. Or considering how some people broadcast their location with Twitter/Foursquare/Facebook/Etc, just watch that.
Parking outside your house requires that they have enough interest in you to dedicate resources to the task. The electric/gas meter in your house is not literally designed to detect when there is a human home and when there is not.
Nest really isn't great for that either, aside from what I'd call an adaptive timer based on how you adjust it.
But if you have access to someone's live power usage, you probably have a good idea of their schedule. On top of that, your phone makes a much better tracker than your thermostat.
Re: Google to Acquire Nest
#87Re: Google to Acquire Nest
#88Seriously not trying to troll, but could someone help explain where Google might see 3.2 billion dollars of value in a company that pretty much just sells a successful thermostat?
The next and obvious step for Nest is home security devices. They clearly have a fairly capable design team, and have already achieved surprising namespace for home electronic devices.
Google does not base their future on ads. They deal in technology and connectivity, and the automation of the home entirely fits within that vision.
Re: Google to Acquire Nest
#89"Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to buy Nest Labs, Inc. for $3.2 billion in cash." Can that be right? $3.2 billion? That's a crazy huge sum.
They have paying customers. It matters.
Helen of Troy which owns Kaz, which owns Honeywell (one of the largest businesses specific to Nest's thermostat space) has a market cap of $1.7bil - http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=HELE - that's why this sounds crazy.
On the flip side, P&G is a $217bil business - so, not that crazy how big the market is and can be.
EDIT: As larrys points out, Honeywell is a $70bil biz.
Re: Google to Acquire Nest
#90Am I the only one who thought "well, good for the Nest guys" followed by "too bad, it looked like a good product"?
Damn, I really liked my Nest.