Logitech Once Again Shows That In The Modern Era, You Don't Really Own What You Buy
from the sorry,-I-can't-do-that-Dave dept
Time and time again we've highlighted how in the modern era you don't really own the hardware you buy. In the broadband-connected era, firmware updates can often eliminate functionality promised to you at launch, as we saw with the Sony Playstation 3. And with everything now relying on internet-connectivity, companies can often give up on supporting devices entirely, often leaving users with very expensive paperweights as we saw after Google acquired Revolv.
The latest example of this phenomenon is courtesy of Logitech, which annoyed consumers this week by announcing that it would be shutting down all support for the company's Harmony Link hub. Released in 2011, the Link hub provided smartphone and tablet owners the ability to use these devices as universal remotes for thousands of devices. But users over at the Logitech forums say they've been receiving e-mails informing them these devices will be effectively bricked in the new year:
"This is an important update regarding your Harmony Link. On March 16, 2018, Logitech will discontinue service and support for Harmony Link. Your Harmony Link will no longer function after this date...There is a technology certificate license that will expire next March. The certificate will not be renewed as we are focusing resources on our current app-based remote, the Harmony Hub."
Again there's no monthly subscription fee for the service, and Logitech is compounding the problem by not really clearly communicating why it's deciding to completely brick Link units. On the plus side, Logitech says it's giving Link owners under warranty a Logitech Hub for free, and providing out-of-warranty Link owners a one-time, 35-percent discount on the Hub. But many users in the company's forums and over at Reddit are questioning why the hardware needs to be crippled entirely (instead of just, say, ending formal support):
"This exact situation right here is why Ive always said “if it requires a cloud service to function, I dont want it” hosting things locally on my own network is where its at.
Indeed. While this entire fracas was unfolding, several Reddit users discovered that the company was banning users from using the phrase "class action lawsuit," which unsurprisingly is only making frustrated Link owners more annoyed.
Update: After some notable backlash, Logitech has announced that all existing Harmony Link owners will be upgraded to the company's Harmony Hub, for free. Which is nice, but doesn't really change the reality that you no longer actually own what you buy.
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Filed Under: cloud, drm, harmony link hub, hub, iot, ownership
Companies: logitech
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One more time, for the slow learners
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Re: One more time, for the slow learners
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Re: Re: One more time, for the slow learners
If its not connected, then it wont need security updates.
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On the other hand, unless we come across a paradigm change in the software/firmware/hardware interaction model (which may or may not be possible), this is also a necessary part of the process of "securing the internet of things," another problem that Techdirt talks about a lot.
Because the reality is that devices we own have security holes. Probably all of them, but certainly most of them. And patching those holes requires a continuous level of development support. So given that we can't require that all companies provide eternal security support for their products (it's simply unrealistic to do so without the above paradigm change), we will have to make a choice.
We will either have an ever increasing number of insecure, internet connected devices that can be used by bad actors to cause any number of problems. Or we can routinely experience loss of functionality in older products.
And while certainly broader support of various open source firmware/software can provide some relief to this for tech-savvy consumers... it's not the tech-savvy consumers whose devices are a major issue here.
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The choice is easy:
I have a keyboard and mouse that are older than most still-functioning laptops (more than 10 years, maybe longer). They were built to last, and they have lasted well. Of course, the manufacturer at the time had no option to stupidly make them "Internet of Things" devices, so they're classic "dumb" devices that cannot be remotely disabled at the manufacturer's whim. Nothing in this announcement says that they needed to halt this line because of unfixable security vulnerabilities. It looks to me like they simply got tired of running the cloud server it required, didn't want to let anyone else run the cloud server, and so decided to scuttle the whole project.
Non-savvy iPhone users loved using jailbreaks on their phone to enable installing third-party enhancements written by savvy non-Apple-approved developers. There's no requirement that all customers be tech-savvy for this, only that there are some who are tech-savvy, willing to share, and that the device doesn't make it unnecessarily difficult for the non-savvy to benefit from that sharing.
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Obviously not a Logitech mouse. Don't buy Logitech mice. There's no internet-enabled bullshit, just crappy microswitches that will be glitching in a couple of years.
Not true. The CueCat, released 17 years ago (late 2000 during the dotcom boom), is the prototype of uselessly-internet-enabled things. They used cryptography to make sure nobody could use it without the service. The service, of course, had a security breach that exposed the private details of 140000 users. And it was all shut down in January 2002, which gives it a lifetime of less than 18 months. All devices were then bricks, except to a few techies who could mod them... liquidators were offering them for 30¢ each but I doubt people would've paid for shipping if they were free.
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Add in the push to make apps and programs cloud/server based will only further that.
And that sucks.
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Or we can decide that maybe a universal remote control doesn't require internet access. It might be nice to make it compatible with newer hardware (though it's a problem entirely caused by AV-equipment companies' refusal to use standards)... but we could have people insert an SD card to load new codes. Unless by "universal remote" they mean something that allows me to control all the devices of the universe from my couch, and that's why internet access is needed...
Or as was already stated, they could drop support but release enough information for the community to take over. It's Logitech that decided to keep all this stuff secret so far. PCs from 20 years ago can still get on the internet as securely as any other, as long as you find a recent and supported OS.
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The general security problems with these sorts of devices are that they are IoT for no readily discernible reason in the first place (other than slurping your information and behavioral data), so one can secure them by not making them internet-connected. If someone really needs to turn on their TV while they are 500 miles away, give them that as an extra option instead of a main functionality, and don't require the traffic go to a company server - there is zero need for that.
Another problem is that the code and settings should not be so laughably poor that a ridiculous little device could ever require so many software patches in the first place.
But the thing is, the number of IoT devices receiving security patches is laughably small, so claiming that as a reason for product EOL (literally, EOL), requires some evidence first and reasons why a patch or other fix is impossible next.
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People are
And people wonder why no one takes the experts seriously or believe them when they "bust out that science".
It is just too easy to sell you cardboard and call it something else.
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It used to be that if someone at your cloud service even hinted at withdrawing support, they would be fired.
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Thanks for the link - I'll be looking into this story.
If you're not familiar with this, look into the story of one of my long-time heroes: Stanislav Petrov.
People should know his name by heart.
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Yup!
Sadly, Petrov died in May. And that item on Petrov's resume isn't unique.
There was also the 1995 Norwegian rocket incident. The first and only known incident where any nuclear weapons state had its nuclear briefcase activated and prepared for launching an attack.
And over on the American side...
The New Yorker: Nukes of Hazard
Other sources:
Wikipedia: List of nuclear close calls
Union of Concerend Scientists: Close Calls with Nuclear Weapons (PDF)
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Quite fitting, I'd say.
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Not buying logitech.
I wonder how many other customers they're about to lose over this.
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Silver
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I think everyone is ignoring part of their announcement
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It's clearly another example on how the private sector can't adhere to good practices by itself and needs to be regulated.
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(Ideally the absence of such a clause would even be treated as sufficient to invalidate the agreement and require the refund of the purchase price, but it's a bit unlikely that courts would take it that far.)
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You Do Really Own What You Buy: If you buy a horse, the previous owner has no right to drop by an shoot it to force you to buy another one!
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/20/supreme-court-sides-against-textbook-publishers- resale-imported-works
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Re: You Do Really Own What You Buy: If you buy a horse, the previous owner has no right to drop by an shoot it to force you to buy another one!
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Re: Re: You Do Really Own What You Buy: If you buy a horse, the previous owner has no right to drop by an shoot it to force you to buy another one!
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Re: You Do Really Own What You Buy: If you buy a horse, the previous owner has no right to drop by an shoot it to force you to buy another one!
How does that disagree with Logitech? The owners could use their hardware as a doorstop, melt it down for recycling, whatever. It sucks that the hardware is basically useless without the service they're going to shut down... but "you don't own what you buy" is a figurative statement, not a literal one. In your example, the horse-breeders have no post-sale responsibility to the purchasers; is there any case law saying Logitech does? (I think we're likely to see some, but based around false advertising rather than first sale--when Logitech says their thing will let you control all your devices, do they announce the caveat "as long as we feel like running the servers"?)
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Ownership
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Re: Ownership
That is not a Bug, it's a Feature!
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I got a logitech squeezebox loved it
till they dropped supporting it .
Thank goodness for Amazon echo and line in inputs
So I can still use it for internet radio
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Encryption is Fools Gold
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