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https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker ... ed-bricked

The brave New world of devices built on licensed IP. The Harmony Hub is safe, but any owners of Logitech's older Link remote-extender have to either trade an in-warranty unit for a Hub or replace an out-of-town of-warranty unit with a Hub at a modest price discount.

I don't own one, but that's pretty scummy.

I generally avoid devices and applications which are dependent on a third-party service for continued operation, unless it is explicitly a subscription-based service (e.g. smartphone). If the company isn't expecting a continuing revenue stream from you after purchase, they have less incentive to not screw you over.

ludi wrote:

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/8/16623076/logitech-harmony-link-discontinued-bricked

The brave New world of devices that require some other fool's server to operate.

FTFY, the IP shenanigans are just smoke and mirrors. I've played way too many discontinued MMOs to ever be silly enough to buy that sort of hardware...

Every so often, someone will ask why I insist on a phone with a micro-SD slot for my music collection. "Why don't you just stream everything?"

Sorry, no. Then I'm completely dependent on someone else to store the bits, and on Sprint to provide uninterrupted access to them.

I still have a Harmony 800 (or 880, i don't remember) that is getting long in the tooth. I'm been eyeing the hub, as there doesn't appear to be anything else on the market that does that under $1000. Are ya'll aware of any alternatives?

just brew it! wrote:

Every so often, someone will ask why I insist on a phone with a micro-SD slot for my music collection. "Why don't you just stream everything?"

Sorry, no. Then I'm completely dependent on someone else to store the bits, and on Sprint to provide uninterrupted access to them.

This is why I will not buy a digital anything that has DRM on it or go in on an "ecosystem." Companies go out of business, protocols change, and technology evolves. If it won't work without an internet connection then I won't buy it.

With that kind of support, I'll certainly think twice before getting anything in that product line again. Don't have a Link, but I do have a Harmony 650 remote. Its functionality is excellent, but the roughly 300-400ms of input lag on some devices is a real downer. Would also be nice if it could do RF in addition to IR.

We also have a 650. As long as they don't take the MyHarmony service down to reprogram it if we get something new, it's fine. But I've always been wary, since it can apparently only be programmed over the internet. An application with an updateable database of known devices/codes would have been preferable.

derFunkenstein wrote:

We also have a 650. As long as they don't take the MyHarmony service down to reprogram it if we get something new, it's fine. But I've always been wary, since it can apparently only be programmed over the internet. An application with an updateable database of known devices/codes would have been preferable.

Yeah. If my memory is correct, I believe the previous iteration of the software wasn't internet-based, so worst-case you could probably find a copy of the old software somewhere. Still, it doesn't inspire confidence, and I agree with the sentiments of others about internet-based stuff.

just brew it! wrote:

Every so often, someone will ask why I insist on a phone with a micro-SD slot for my music collection. "Why don't you just stream everything?"

Sorry, no. Then I'm completely dependent on someone else to store the bits, and on Sprint to provide uninterrupted access to them.

The google music one isn't so bad. You upload copies of your mp3s to prove what music you have then google lets you stream those tracks to your devices / in a browser. You can tell the phone to store stuff locally for spotty coverage but the interface is really clunky.

There's even an official desktop sync tool for linux that will automatically upload new files you put in your music folder.

cheesyking wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

Every so often, someone will ask why I insist on a phone with a micro-SD slot for my music collection. "Why don't you just stream everything?"

Sorry, no. Then I'm completely dependent on someone else to store the bits, and on Sprint to provide uninterrupted access to them.

The google music one isn't so bad. You upload copies of your mp3s to prove what music you have then google lets you stream those tracks to your devices / in a browser. You can tell the phone to store stuff locally for spotty coverage but the interface is really clunky.

There's even an official desktop sync tool for linux that will automatically upload new files you put in your music folder.

...and this is easier and/or more convenient than just putting copies of all the files on an SD card in my phone how?

just brew it! wrote:

cheesyking wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

Every so often, someone will ask why I insist on a phone with a micro-SD slot for my music collection. "Why don't you just stream everything?"

Sorry, no. Then I'm completely dependent on someone else to store the bits, and on Sprint to provide uninterrupted access to them.

The google music one isn't so bad. You upload copies of your mp3s to prove what music you have then google lets you stream those tracks to your devices / in a browser. You can tell the phone to store stuff locally for spotty coverage but the interface is really clunky.

There's even an official desktop sync tool for linux that will automatically upload new files you put in your music folder.

...and this is easier and/or more convenient than just putting copies of all the files on an SD card in my phone how?

That's a good point. Google Music syncs the files for you. It's kinda annoying to copy the FLAC files I just ripped to all of my devices. Then again, I have a home VPN set up so I can grab them whenever I want.

The reason for the shutdown is probably worse than the shutdown itself. Logitech can't be bothered to update a certificate for its web services.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/11 ... s-in-2018/

just brew it! wrote:

cheesyking wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

Every so often, someone will ask why I insist on a phone with a micro-SD slot for my music collection. "Why don't you just stream everything?"

Sorry, no. Then I'm completely dependent on someone else to store the bits, and on Sprint to provide uninterrupted access to them.

The google music one isn't so bad. You upload copies of your mp3s to prove what music you have then google lets you stream those tracks to your devices / in a browser. You can tell the phone to store stuff locally for spotty coverage but the interface is really clunky.

There's even an official desktop sync tool for linux that will automatically upload new files you put in your music folder.

...and this is easier and/or more convenient than just putting copies of all the files on an SD card in my phone how?

It means I don't have to buy a phone with an SD card slot or bother to even pickup my phone to add more music to it. All I do is save the file in the standard music folder on linux and it's there on the phone. Also means the music is also automatically on my tablet and spare phone without me having to do anything extra (it probably is most useful for people with several gadgets).