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Google to Acquire Nest

investor.google.com

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Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#271

Post by maxerickson »

mikegreen wrote: post #15

$3.2b makes me think there has to be some awesome technology that they own or pipeline, as I can't get excited about the thermostat. It is a great idea, and played with one a bit, but it isn't solving any large HVAC issues - the thermostat is simply an on/off switch for the real working hardware in your basement/outside. So, what else do they do that makes Google want to pay $3+ billion (pinkie to lip) for Nest?

They have figured out how to do marketable home automation devices and how to navigate getting them certified by UL and the like.

Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#272

Post by the_watcher »

nostromo wrote: post #93

I'm happy for Nest but sad for myself, given the smoke detector was my Christmas gift last year. Previously I would look to YouTube as an acquisition done right. But after the kerfuffle around G+ integration, I no longer feel that way. If I have to sign in with my G+ account to manage my smoke alarm, it's going directly into the rubbish bin. If Apple had bought Nest, on the other hand, I'd feel very differently.

I'd still look at YouTube as an acquisition done right. How long has it taken for Google to introduce something that you don't love re: YouTube? At this point, all Google decisions related to YouTube have to be considered independent of the acquisition.

Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#273

Post by malnourish »

caprad wrote: post #246
MartinCron wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see the YouTube acquisition as being harmful. Pixar is still making (some) good movies under Disney. I'm sure there are more examples.

> Pixar is still making (some) good movies under Disney. Pixar movie quality seems to have dropped, while Disney's have gone up after the acquisition. http://i.imgur.com/H2s4hVL.jpg Cars 2 was clearly a release for money (they make more money of Cars merchandise than they do from films), but the other films?

I think what helps explain this image is that it's likely everything before Cars 2 was already in development prior to the acquisition. Pixar seems to have lost some of their magic, however Disney is certainly stepping up their game. The aesthetic divide between them is shrinking. I did not like Wreck It Ralph though. Not at all.

Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#274

Post by potatolicious »

mikegreen wrote: post #25
lotso wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

connected devices

Do they have anything else other than the thermostat and smoke detector?

Not yet, but bear in mind that "microcontroller thermostat" is not a new concept, nor are "connected thermostats", "connected blinds", or "connected lights".

Nest is in a unique position as basically the only player out of many who have successfully made home automation devices that people actually want, and don't look like they came out of a backyard plastic mould cast in the late 60s.

Search around for home automation solutions - the hardware is universally clunky, the software atrocious. Only the most dedicated of DIY geeks need apply (or people who can pay contractors to make the ugliness go away).

Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#275

Post by noonespecial »

In a not-so-strange way this fits well with their recent robotics acquisitions. It really feels like lightning could strike a second time for google so long as they don't middle manage themselves out of it.

Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#276

Post by belgianguy »

MartinCron wrote: post #209
belgianguy wrote: post #170

smart phone > smart car > smart house > ... ? ... > smart human I for one see great areas of improvement and possibilities inside the common house. Not that I'd wire up every appliance with a Wi-Fi sensor, but some data can be useful, if only for safety (falling asleep with the oven on: here a sensor could cut the power at a certain condition, or trigger the fire alarm, or ring up the firefighters). Or you left the h…

I know this makes me sound like a terrible luddite or hipster or both, but I've been thinking about all of these smart devices and services and how they may have a somewhat infantalizing impact on people. I recently met with some people behind a startup built entirely around generating meal plans for you. I understand that it's a useful service (for some types of people). But I worry about the implication that we are…

Well, that depends on your point of view. In your case, we let outside factors start having a majority say in decisions we used to make ourselves. In essence, you're fearing that we're handing away control of our lives to data models and analyzing algorithms. Go figure that I often use Google to check the spelling/usage of words/idioms, rather than learning it by heart.

Or in a more poetic form: We're all turning into computers, a bit each day.

But in my view, I see it more as an enrichment of the status quo, meaning making optimal use of (useful, not NSA-like) data-gathering sensors we have at our disposal and the data points we could glean from them. As the data was always there, we (until shortly) never showed interest in it. And a lot of it might very well be uninteresting, but if some of it enriches or simplifies a certain task in our daily lives in a meaningful way, it'd be well worth it in my opinion.

Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#277

Post by matt-attack »

nate_meurer wrote: post #157
Fasebook wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? $200 for a predictive thermostat, with a lame excuse to stream energy usage data and proximity data (Nest detects humans) out of your home? Id rather pay $99 to tell health insurance companies how often I exercise, live. You could get the same benefit from a device for $30 of electronics. It's an overpriced gimmick to justify another selling off of your personal data forever in exchange for nothing but some m…

The price makes me choke as well. But I think Nest's real value is as a market distruptor, the evidence being Honeywell's lawsuit and furious attempts to update their own products with comparable features.

You're certainly right that they kicked Honeywell in the rear. After years of making the same damned device, they finally released an actually nice thermostat. In fact, I was recently in the market for a new thermostat which I could control on my drive home, or from bed, or whatever. After researching thoroughly, and I opted for Honeywell's latest touchscreen device (over the Nest v2 which has apparently been having a lot of problems).

I must say it's actually quite nice to use. I can put it in a mode where it does precisely what I want. Hold a temperature until told otherwise, and let me choose that temperature from my desktop or iPhone from anywhere.

Such a mode so simple that the Nest refuses to allow it.

Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#278

Post by cabbeer »

psbp wrote: post #66
MrZongle2 wrote: post #11

Am I the only one who thought "well, good for the Nest guys" followed by "too bad, it looked like a good product"?

Yeah, motorola products have completely gone down the toilet after that acquisition. They were so great before with fast updates and a wonderful skin of android, and now they're either non-innovative or way too overpriced for the value.

Please, no more sarcasm. you've filled this thread with confusion.

Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#279

Post by jgeorge »

MrZongle2 wrote: post #11

Am I the only one who thought "well, good for the Nest guys" followed by "too bad, it looked like a good product"?

Sadly, my exact thinking. I love my Nest. I do not love Google collecting statistical information from it. Which I am certain they will do, regardless of what they say to the contrary.

Re: Google to Acquire Nest

#280

Post by MartinCron »

caprad wrote: post #246
MartinCron wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see the YouTube acquisition as being harmful. Pixar is still making (some) good movies under Disney. I'm sure there are more examples.

> Pixar is still making (some) good movies under Disney. Pixar movie quality seems to have dropped, while Disney's have gone up after the acquisition. http://i.imgur.com/H2s4hVL.jpg Cars 2 was clearly a release for money (they make more money of Cars merchandise than they do from films), but the other films?

Even with a handful of merely good movies, we still have four outstanding Pixar films post-Disney.

Also, I'm really enjoying the increase in quality of Disney movies post-Pixar. Just saw Frozen last week and loved it.

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