Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

news.bloomberglaw.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

831–839 of 839 posts

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#831

Post by nullc »

dylan604 wrote: post #566
nullc wrote: post #546

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/12/19/1065306/roomba-i...

Yes, that's deliberately missing the point of what was said though. We know the vacuum is using the camera (when equipped) while the unit is running. Go back and re-read what I wrote to see why this is not the same thing.

The article discusses it photographing people exposed on the toilet, and employees sharing the images for lulz. I think that does refute your position that people wouldn't be in compromising positions in front of their vacuum.

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#832

Post by [deleted] »

embedding-shape wrote: post #247
goodpoint wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck proving that changing the firmware is not voiding a warranty.

> Good luck proving that changing the firmware is not voiding a warranty. You're thinking about it the wrong way around. The manufacturer has to prove that the custom firmware is the reason it broke, you don't have to prove anything. Username not accurate.

[deleted]

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#833

Post by port11 »

prmoustache wrote: post #827
port11 wrote: post #809

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Easy counter: people with children. We vacuum the dining area daily because of the kid. We also have building ventilation that is sadly unfiltered, so we have more dust than normal coming in. We don't vacuum everything daily but a robot would really help us, we just won't buy an internet connected one or something that's very pricey. Our existing vacuum is crazy efficient and quiet.

I also vacuum my dining/kitchen area daily, I actually sweep de re vacuuming, and it only takes me a couple of minutes to do it and this is part of the many things I wouldn't even want to get rid of as it is one among many other things thay allows my body to be active. Some people install domotic, always choose escalators and elevators over stairs, do everything they need to not move their ass during the day only to…

I empathise, but vacuuming is super boring. I'd give up 3 months of life to never have to vacuum again. I think…

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#834

Post by okanat »

mlrtime wrote: post #215
rerx wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BSH (Bosch, Siemens, Neff brands) have their main production sites in Europe, a lot in Germany still. But of course China as well. https://www.bsh-group.com/about-bsh/bsh-worldwide/ Miele (at a more premium price point) production is even more concentrated in Germany. https://m.miele.com/en/com/production-sites-2157.htm (Edit: No replies after 8 hours, but of course they then came in quickly after Europe woke up..)

These are competitive on quality, but are they on price and scale? How many US homes have a Bosch/Miele washer/dryer vs LG/Samsung? (Outside of NYC).

Germany has a strong preference with its local brands. It is still easier to find local repair shops that handle BSH and Miele machines than cheaper Asian brands.

You do pay premium for the quality. It is worth it though. My parents' Siemens Washer-Dryer combo is still strong after 15 years. A couple parts needed to be changed last year but after the replacement the machine works very well now.

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#835

Post by okanat »

pbmonster wrote: post #102
makeitdouble wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many general public appliance makers out there have a competitive production line outside of China ? As I understand the only countries where one could barely pull that off would be Korea or Japan, and the local makers are mostly giving up as they lose too much on cost.

The German luxury brands have made the "made in Germany" shtick a core part of their marketing. So Miele, Gaggenau, Vorwerk, ect. Bosch/Siemens are far larger than those, but they outsourced a lot. But even here, significant parts of the higher-end stuff is still made outside China.

I don't know about individual parts but all of my home appliances are BSH and they are all made in Germany. Some of them actually has the factory location in the nameplate.

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#836

Post by Hnrobert42 »

sfjailbird wrote: post #704
Hnrobert42 wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is unfortunate given China's abysmal stance on human rights, freedom of information, and pollution.

Fortunately, China is not strongarming or invading the rest of the world.

You mean like Taiwan?

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#837

Post by AndrewKemendo »

fredfilz wrote: post #820
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine non snarky question: Did you weigh data collection, persistence and transferability before purchase and then conclude that the risk/benefit was there?

Lol was thinking the same. Btw if you're into sensors, keen to chat. I'm the founder of crewline.ai, just raised our seed and are bringing on a couple key founding engineering hires.

Send me a note andrew@gambit.us

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#838

Post by anymouse123456 »

daveguy wrote: post #527
chipotle_coyote wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a connection between Tim Ferriss and Roomba, or is this just a joke about Brooks having a 4-hour workweek?

They were saying that whoever was running things at Roomba must have been duped by the 4 hour work week bs because nothing was getting done. Specifically whoever took over operations, planning, and product improvements from Brooks.

Couldn't have said it better!

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#839

Post by anymouse123456 »

jasonkester wrote: post #502
anymouse123456 wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This! I was a very early customer of Roomba and loved them when they came out. I had pets at the time, and the machine would consistently fail in about 14 months. I finally figured out that I needed to buy them from Costco, so that I could get them replaced. Rather than taking their lead and improving the product, they just sat there with the exact same product for like 10+ years. It was outrageous. I guess Rodney Br…

Rather than taking their lead and improving the product, they just sat there with the exact same product for like 10+ years. It was outrageous. I think that this is actually the only viable strategy for a hardware product company in the current world. As soon as your product is successful, it will be cloned by dozens of Chinese companies and dumped on the market everywhere. Any update you make from there on out will…

This is the worst possible strategy. Innovate something of real value, sit on it for years and then blame everyone but yourself when competitors finally figure out how to exceed the performance of your now-outdated bullshit.

I remember when Apple finally cracked the idea that consumers would be willing to pay a premium for a more attractive computer. At the time, I thought they had a 2-5 year lead at best. Turns out they just kept making more and more high quality devices and not one organization has figured out how to compete with them, even now that they’re starting to lose sight of the values made them so great.

Post reply on HN