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Berg is shutting down

blog.bergcloud.com

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Re: Berg is shutting down

#11

Post by zizzer »

I wondered when this might happen. You can't really rely on any of these devices with a 'cloud' based backend to work a couple of years after you've bought them (As anyone with a Nabaztag gathering dust in a corner will tell you).

I made my own version of the little printer based on the open source plans here: https://github.com/exciting-io/printer/wiki/Making-your-own-...

It's really easy to get up and running and interfacing with it is simple. I have mine print out reminders for when to plant seeds for the garden and it also notifies me when automated downloads via FlexGet have finished.

Re: Berg is shutting down

#12

Post by benoliver999 »

One of those things I always convinced myself I really wanted, but the fear of the cloud service going down put me off dropping the cash. £200 for a device that's useless if the business went under was not my cup of tea.

Re: Berg is shutting down

#13

Post by tomahony »

I'm not surprised. I was really excited when I heard about this device and although it seemed like a bit of a novelty, I really wanted to try it out. Then I saw the price - $260. I understand you are paying for added value and well thought out design, but $260 was an insane price for a niche product like this

Re: Berg is shutting down

#14

Post by userbinator »

zizzer wrote: post #11

I wondered when this might happen. You can't really rely on any of these devices with a 'cloud' based backend to work a couple of years after you've bought them (As anyone with a Nabaztag gathering dust in a corner will tell you). I made my own version of the little printer based on the open source plans here: https://github.com/exciting-io/printer/wiki/Making-your-own-... It's really easy to get up and running and i…

Beyond the issues of relinquishing control over a service to a third party, I think another disturbing aspect is all the waste this causes: perfectly good electronics get thrown out just because some company goes out of business. The fact that these "cloud connected" devices are often proprietary and locked-down (for "security reasons") makes it worse.

Re: Berg is shutting down

#15

Post by rjbwork »

benoliver999 wrote: post #12

One of those things I always convinced myself I really wanted, but the fear of the cloud service going down put me off dropping the cash. £200 for a device that's useless if the business went under was not my cup of tea.

Ironically this mindset contributed to them going under. Not criticizing you, just a funny observation.

Re: Berg is shutting down

#16

Post by jbergstroem »

Square or similar should pick this stuff up. The personality the Little Printer exhibited was a refreshing (and for me, important) distinction. Not saying that they should put it out there 1:1, but there's a lot to learn in how this thing was made, branded and communicated.

For me, this wouldn't then just be a receipt printer -- you could just as well have it push the "opposite" direction. It's essentially a straight tunnel to a specific business or person from its maker. "Here's your daily summary", "Sara from London just asked about shipment costs". Push notifications to phones does that too, but sans this - for the lack of a better word - bond. For the right business, it feels like a very interesting point of difference.

Re: Berg is shutting down

#18

Post by JasonFruit »

jbergstroem wrote: post #16

Square or similar should pick this stuff up. The personality the Little Printer exhibited was a refreshing (and for me, important) distinction. Not saying that they should put it out there 1:1, but there's a lot to learn in how this thing was made, branded and communicated. For me, this wouldn't then just be a receipt printer -- you could just as well have it push the "opposite" direction. It's essentially a straight…

Maybe I don't quite get it, but how does "a straight tunnel to a specific business or person" differ from e-mail?

Re: Berg is shutting down

#19

Post by mseebach »

rjbwork wrote: post #15
benoliver999 wrote: post #12

One of those things I always convinced myself I really wanted, but the fear of the cloud service going down put me off dropping the cash. £200 for a device that's useless if the business went under was not my cup of tea.

Ironically this mindset contributed to them going under. Not criticizing you, just a funny observation.

I'd like to think that charging £200 for a device that has little better use case than being cute and quirky played a part as well.

Especially considering that you can buy a professional POS thermal receipt printer for the same price for any viable projects requiring printing in that general form factor.

Re: Berg is shutting down

#20

Post by sleepybrett »

userbinator wrote: post #14
zizzer wrote: post #11

I wondered when this might happen. You can't really rely on any of these devices with a 'cloud' based backend to work a couple of years after you've bought them (As anyone with a Nabaztag gathering dust in a corner will tell you). I made my own version of the little printer based on the open source plans here: https://github.com/exciting-io/printer/wiki/Making-your-own-... It's really easy to get up and running and i…

Beyond the issues of relinquishing control over a service to a third party, I think another disturbing aspect is all the waste this causes: perfectly good electronics get thrown out just because some company goes out of business. The fact that these "cloud connected" devices are often proprietary and locked-down (for "security reasons") makes it worse.

Except the email I just got says if they can't find a way to keep the service running, they will open source it and open source the firmware on the cloud device.
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