Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:59pm
Re: Re: Yeah, after all, someone else's music is only 90% of the draw...
If you are doing anything more than working, sleeping, eating, and producing new future workers (the minimal possible amount of those last three, please), you are a drain on society
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 7:52am
Re: Re: Go all CC-PD.
Not to mention costly.... funny how the burden of proof is squarely on the little guy least likely to be able to afford to persue it isn't it? Don't you just love the "justice" system?
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 7 Nov 2012 @ 1:42pm
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Good idea and thanks for the link. Historically the answer your question would be: "because the IR transmitter in a phone sucks compared to a purpose-built remote" for this I'd guess at "That's an awful lot of faffing about if you're not technical and it looks ugly too".
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 7 Nov 2012 @ 12:33pm
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
My last post on this bit too.... I agree with almost everything you said. The Harmony remote is basically a good bit of kit and works well once set up and yes you don't really need to change it that often, BUT (and here's where I disagree) the key point is not how intrusive the requirement is, but that it is a requirement at all when it does not have to be.
Like the Razer, the Harmony does not work as it should unless you have an internet connection, which makes it a valid conparison. There's no reason for that no matter how you slice it. Like the Harmony it appears that you can't use the Razer "offline" mode (for remote read using the remote once programmed) without an initial internet connection and there's no good reason for that on the Harmony unless you happen to have a device newer than the last production run - operating systems seem to manage just fine for example including "default drivers" for most devices. The remote ships with a CD - how hard would it be to include the latest DB at time of production run on it and update that with the internet connection?
Is it as intrusive? No, I agree with you there, but it's the same principle. Bottom line is that I got the remote as a gift and in operation I love it, but if I were spending my own money on it they wouldn't have a customer because of this feature, which was the point of the article.
This kind of control strikes me as a general corporate disease of imagined control and my guess is that if wireless/cell networking were a ubiquitous "given", that the Logitec requirement would be just as intrusive as the Razer. The "user convenience" arguments ring hollow when there are easy ways to do it without the always on connection and when "user choice" is removed.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 7 Nov 2012 @ 11:55am
Re: Re:
You obviously never used a Sony-branded USB drive.
Not unless held at gunpoint and forced to. In fact, the pointless "exactly the same as everyone else but slightly tweaked so it's proprietary" (or in marketing-speak "enhanced functionality) nature of most Sony products means I avoid them all whenever possible.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 7 Nov 2012 @ 11:02am
Re: What does this tell you about DRM?
I think that's the most concise and to the point comment I've seen on TD for a looonngg time and some of them are pretty good. This deserves "insightful of the week".
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 7 Nov 2012 @ 10:54am
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
The harmony remotes are still a learning remote, i don't need the internet to make changes.
Then your model differs from mine - the one I have does not have the learning functions accessible in the remote (i.e. you can't get to the commands to activate them even though it is the remote itself that learns the IR signature). This must be accessed using the software and the software requires internet.
The rest of what you say is mostly true and there is indeed a valid reason for an internet connection and that it works in this way is a great feature, but the fact remains that it should not be mandatory for basic functionality.
If manual config worked locally as you suggest I wouldn't have a problem because then the remote would learn and work if I choose to spend the effort teaching it for as long as devices use IR remotes. As it stands however Harmony, and not I, have control of how long I get to use my device for and that is wrong.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 7 Nov 2012 @ 10:44am
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
1. Once you have setup your remote there's no need to connect again unless your going to be adding a new device or deleting one.
Perhaps the US version differs, but you can't even run the software without an internet connection never mind change anything... or were you suggesting one does not need to change anything except when you change a device? If so, then think about macro settings, fave channels of PVRs etc. None of it is settable without internet.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 7 Nov 2012 @ 10:19am
Re: Re: Re: Re:
What about allowing the option, but also allowing you to download the most recent database onto a computer or flash drive and use it from there?
This... lots.
Remote command sets don't really change that much generation to generation and manufactureres tend to use similar sets on later equipment, which is why the old "number code for manufacturer" multi-remotes worked even on later equipment (with maybe some errors for new features. More than that on the remote you can create them manually... except you can't without the internet connection.
So if Harmony decide to do it another way and stop supporting the server, or if they go bust, or even if their database suddenly becomes incompatible with your model remote due to a schema update demanded by some "improvement" they've made, the next time you change out a piece of equipment your expensive multi-remote turns into an expensive brick when it should be (and in fact is) capable of supporting any command set.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 7 Nov 2012 @ 10:09am
Re: Re: Re:
Wrong, you any change you make to a device you own(ie. replacing a TV,DVD, etc.)
Er.... dunno what model Harmony remote you have, but he's right. I got one as a gift a while back and had exactly this issue... twice. Couldn't set the thing up initially due to "unusually busy servers" at Christmas and then later couldn't change macro settings when my internet was down.
Again, I understand why they hold the info centrally since it's updated with additional models,command sets etc, but it should be cached locally and it isn't (at least not in a useable form).
The Harmony remote doesn't phone home or collect usage information to send back to Logitech.
Are you sure? Since you're connected to their central server when using the software I'd be very suprised if they couldn't at the very least tell what devices you have configured. Perhaps they don't keep it, but they can damn-sure get it on connection if they choose.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 7 Nov 2012 @ 9:59am
Re: Re:
if you really want to be clever about it, give the option to save settings and prefs to a flash drive, or cache them locally and complete the upload later.
This is actually the bit I had most trouble with that makes their claims sound dubious
We wanted to avoid raising prices to gamers for higher memory space onboard (think about it like having to buy bigger and bigger hard drives as opposed to having all your storage on the cloud) and provide a much better service for our users.
I can get a 16Gigabyte memory stick for £4($6) retail. I can get a 1GB for £1... how the hell much "settings" data can there be for one of these things that requires "larger and larger memory that costs more"? Surely as their space requirement goes up so does the amount of flash storage available for the same price that they could happily build into the next production run and keep costs the same?
Sure, maybe the "cloud" option provides better service... but only if it's an option not the default as you suggest.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 6 Nov 2012 @ 1:35pm
Re: Re: Election fraud?
Am I missing something from not being familar with US election law or perhaps I'm just having trouble following the logic late at night? Are you suggesting it might tamper with an election to send a picture of how you voted to someone, but telling a pollster how you voted as long as you are a legally mandated distance from the polling station doesn't?
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 6 Nov 2012 @ 10:46am
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Makes the quote rather ambiguous as a quasi-legal test then, don't you think? And if it turns out you're just a guy annoying people trying to listen rather than causing panic?
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 6 Nov 2012 @ 10:14am
Re: Re: Re:
How about informing people that there is, in fact, a fire? The quote doesn't specify "when there's no fire". Would you still expect it to be illegal if it were true? Alternatively, would it still be illegal if the yelling of "Fire!" garnered the response "f*ck off loser" and no panic whatsoever?
On the post: GEMA Gets Bailed Out By Germany's Parliament; Allowed To Proceed With Venue-Killing Rate Hikes
Re: Re: Yeah, after all, someone else's music is only 90% of the draw...
On the post: Budweiser Asks Paramount To Remove Their Beer From The Movie Flight
Re: This was intentional
On the post: GEMA Gets Bailed Out By Germany's Parliament; Allowed To Proceed With Venue-Killing Rate Hikes
Re: Re: Go all CC-PD.
On the post: GEMA Gets Bailed Out By Germany's Parliament; Allowed To Proceed With Venue-Killing Rate Hikes
GEMA impression
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re:
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Like the Razer, the Harmony does not work as it should unless you have an internet connection, which makes it a valid conparison. There's no reason for that no matter how you slice it. Like the Harmony it appears that you can't use the Razer "offline" mode (for remote read using the remote once programmed) without an initial internet connection and there's no good reason for that on the Harmony unless you happen to have a device newer than the last production run - operating systems seem to manage just fine for example including "default drivers" for most devices. The remote ships with a CD - how hard would it be to include the latest DB at time of production run on it and update that with the internet connection?
Is it as intrusive? No, I agree with you there, but it's the same principle. Bottom line is that I got the remote as a gift and in operation I love it, but if I were spending my own money on it they wouldn't have a customer because of this feature, which was the point of the article.
This kind of control strikes me as a general corporate disease of imagined control and my guess is that if wireless/cell networking were a ubiquitous "given", that the Logitec requirement would be just as intrusive as the Razer. The "user convenience" arguments ring hollow when there are easy ways to do it without the always on connection and when "user choice" is removed.
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re:
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re:
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: What does this tell you about DRM?
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
The rest of what you say is mostly true and there is indeed a valid reason for an internet connection and that it works in this way is a great feature, but the fact remains that it should not be mandatory for basic functionality.
If manual config worked locally as you suggest I wouldn't have a problem because then the remote would learn and work if I choose to spend the effort teaching it for as long as devices use IR remotes. As it stands however Harmony, and not I, have control of how long I get to use my device for and that is wrong.
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Remote command sets don't really change that much generation to generation and manufactureres tend to use similar sets on later equipment, which is why the old "number code for manufacturer" multi-remotes worked even on later equipment (with maybe some errors for new features. More than that on the remote you can create them manually... except you can't without the internet connection.
So if Harmony decide to do it another way and stop supporting the server, or if they go bust, or even if their database suddenly becomes incompatible with your model remote due to a schema update demanded by some "improvement" they've made, the next time you change out a piece of equipment your expensive multi-remote turns into an expensive brick when it should be (and in fact is) capable of supporting any command set.
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re: Re:
Again, I understand why they hold the info centrally since it's updated with additional models,command sets etc, but it should be cached locally and it isn't (at least not in a useable form).Are you sure? Since you're connected to their central server when using the software I'd be very suprised if they couldn't at the very least tell what devices you have configured. Perhaps they don't keep it, but they can damn-sure get it on connection if they choose.
On the post: When A Mouse Requires An Internet Connection, You're Doing 'Cloud' Wrong
Re: Re:
Sure, maybe the "cloud" option provides better service... but only if it's an option not the default as you suggest.
On the post: Wisconsin Warns: If You Tweet Photos Of Your Completed Ballot, You Can Go To Jail
Re: Re: Election fraud?
On the post: Wisconsin Warns: If You Tweet Photos Of Your Completed Ballot, You Can Go To Jail
Re:
On the post: Stop Saying It's Okay To Censor Because 'You Can't Yell Fire In A Crowded Theater'
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Stop Saying It's Okay To Censor Because 'You Can't Yell Fire In A Crowded Theater'
Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Stop Saying It's Okay To Censor Because 'You Can't Yell Fire In A Crowded Theater'
Re: Re: Re:
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