🔥 First they came for the incandescent bulbs...


  • ♿ (Parody)

    ...dang, and I thought making light bulbs illegal was crazy.

    Purchasers of the Philips Hue "smart" ambient lighting system are finding out that the new firmware pushed out by the manufacturer has cut off access to previously-supported lightbulbs.

    Now they stop working! I never imagined light bulbs with firmware...


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    Every goddamn time I hear about people who want to make a smarter energy grid[1], or a smarter city, or a smarter transportation network, I think "yes, but bullshit like this is what we actually get."

    [1] this one's especially annoying, as the primary driver for "smart" electric meter seems to be "allow the electric company the potential ability to turn off your AC in the summer." Not that they're necessarily going to, but they explicitly reserve the right to.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    Oh man, nice comment though: "i never did like phillips screwdrivers. guess the company isn't any better."


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    Another: "I'm sure arstechnica will have a "sponsored" excuse for this."

    Ooh, that'll leave a mark. Or it would, if the drones at Arse Technica had any shame.


  • Considered Harmful

    I'm surprised you of all people would assume that private enterprise couldn't one-up the government on this one.



  • DRM, product obsolescence and intentional lack of interoperability are all natural, and generally rational (to some level) result of corporate selfishness. Government-created systems normally have an entirely different set of WTFs.

    And the worst thing is that Philips has done this to their most enthusiastic fans. To the early adopters. To those who enthusiastically recommended the system to their friends.

    Early adopter = shit won't work. No exceptions.


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @LaoC said:

    I'm surprised you of all people would assume that private enterprise couldn't one-up the government on this one.

    There's a big difference between offering to shoot people for using the wrong kind of bulb and tricking them into buying stuff they don't really want. Or whatever the hell Phillips did here. I'm not sure I understand the advantage in having lightbulbs this "smart." :belt_onion:



  • @anonymous234 said:

    Early adopter = shit won't work. No exceptions.

    I think people who used PS3 as Linux server and never updates works reasonably well.


  • Considered Harmful

    @boomzilla said:

    There's a big difference between offering to shoot people for using the wrong kind of bulb and tricking them into buying stuff they don't really want. Or whatever the hell Phillips did here. I'm not sure I understand the advantage in having lightbulbs this "smart." :belt_onion:

    Sure, it's not like I wanted to belittle Philips' competitive advantage in producing crazy here—just make that three-up.



  • @boomzilla said:

    Now they stop working!

    Could have done worse. At least they didn't try to brick their competitors' products completely.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU66as4Bbds&t=8m56s



  • Quite fond of "And, of course, any attempt at a workaround is illegal, because you can't have a bunch of little people thinking they actually own the stuff they bought. That would be stealing."



  • @anonymous234 said:

    Early adopter = shit won't work. No exceptions.

    That's a rather shallow interpretation of the situation. Yes, when you're on the bleeding edge, you tend to get cut. You don't expect the provider to take a machete to you.



  • @boomzilla said:

    I'm not sure I understand the advantage in having lightbulbs this "smart."

    Open your Book of Consumer Prayer to page 23, and sing with me:

    Smart things good, dumb things bad.
    Smart things good, dumb things bad.
    Smart things good, dumb things bad.
    Smart things good, dumb things bad.
    Smart things good, dumb things bad.
    Smart things good, dumb things bad.
    Smart things good, dumb things bad.
    Smart things good, dumb things bad.

    New things good, old things bad.
    New things good, old things bad.
    New things good, old things bad.
    New things good, old things bad.
    New things good, old things bad.
    New things good, old things bad.
    New things good, old things bad.
    New things good, old things bad.

    Shiny! Shiny! Shiny! Shiny! Shiny!

    Feel free to do that again any time you're troubled by the kind of shameful Luddism you've just been foolish enough to reveal; then go out and buy the newest iPhone. If you're lucky, nobody will doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.

    If that doesn't work, you are completely within your rights to choose the self-criticism tutoring agency and re-education camp provider that best fits your busy lifestyle.



  • @flabdablet said:

    @boomzilla said:
    I'm not sure I understand the advantage in having lightbulbs this "smart."

    Repeat after me:

    Smart things good, dumb thingsthings that dominate your life bad.
    Smart things good, dumb thingsthings that dominate your life bad.
    Smart things good, dumb thingsthings that dominate your life bad.
    Smart things good, dumb thingsthings that dominate your life bad.
    Smart things good, dumb thingsthings that dominate your life bad.
    Smart things good, dumb thingsthings that dominate your life bad.
    Smart things good, dumb thingsthings that dominate your life bad.
    Smart things good, dumb thingsthings that dominate your life bad.

    Feel free to do that again any time you're troubled by shameful Luddite thoughts.

    If that doesn't work, you are completely within your rights to choose the self-criticism tutoring agency and re-education camp provider that best fits your busy lifestyle.

    FTFY



  • @CoyneTheDup said:

    Smart things good, things that dominate your life bad.

    You'll never get anywhere in a suit like that.



  • Yup. If it's illegal to modify the firmware to allow playing pirated game even if you haven't actually played one, probably it's illegal to modify the firmware of the "smart blub adapter" yourself to use compatible blubs.



  • Why would it be illegal to modify the firmware of a light bulb to play pirated games? Why would that even be a thing that congress would think to explicitly outlaw?



  • @cheong said:

    probably it's illegal to modify the firmware of the "smart blub adapter" yourself to use compatible blubs

    I, for one, am going to switch to buying all my smart blubs and smart blub adapters from Phlilps.



  • @ben_lubar said:

    modify the firmware of a light bulb to play pirated games

    LOL :rofl:



  • @flabdablet said:

    smart blubs



  • @ben_lubar said:

    modify the firmware of a light bulb to play pirated games

    Now I'm kind of wondering how hard it would be to bring up, say, ChromeOS on a 640x480 array of these bulbs.



  • @flabdablet said:

    I, for one, am going to switch to buying all my smart blubs and smart blub adapters from Phlilps.

    I, for one, am going to make sure every single blub in my home are dumb ones.

    What's next? Are they going to make the firmware phone home each time you turn it on, and refuse to turn on if you lose your internet connection? 🚎



  • Uh...



  • Can't find the YouTube video on someone playing "Nibbles" on a wall with lighting of each appartment connected to custom built controller, but that'd probably be easier (and more enjoyable).



  • @ben_lubar said:


    I know, right? We're gonna have no leftover budget at all for a Windows license.



  • Maybe, just maybe, ROM BASIC will do?



  • @cheong said:

    Yup. If it's illegal to modify the firmware to allow playing pirated game even if you haven't actually played one, probably it's illegal to modify the firmware of the "smart blub adapter" yourself to use compatible blubs.

    I kinda want to see Philip's bulbs go to trial in Australia for that very reason: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4315172.stm


  • Banned

    @cheong said:

    What's next? Are they going to make the firmware phone home each time you turn it on, and refuse to turn on if you lose your internet connection? 🚎

    There was a time when people laughed at the idea that all money will be in electronic form and some corporation would have power to take away all your money and make you unable to earn anymore (e.g. in early reviews of "Limes inferior" by Janusz Zajdel - though I doubt there are any English ones that are old enough).



  • Easy solution:
    Halogen lightbulbs.

    Show those electronics who's boss!



  • @FrostCat said:

    Not that they're necessarily going to, but they explicitly reserve the right to.

    That won't end in wrongful death lawsuit...

    @LaoC said:

    that private enterprise couldn't one-up the government on this one.

    They do, we know they do, but it's force of habit with the government.

    Also, I can't just go to a competitor with the government.

    Not to say I always can with private.... but there are no antitrust laws against the feds.

    @LaoC said:

    Sure, it's not like I wanted to belittle Philips' competitive advantage in producing crazy here—just make that three-up.

    Sigh....

    Another, corporate is always evil, government is always good.

    Reality: Good and bad companies, good and bad governments. inherently assuming one is always better than the other is a religion.

    @flabdablet said:

    Quite fond of "And, of course, any attempt at a workaround is illegal, because you can't have a bunch of little people thinking they actually own the stuff they bought. That would be stealing."

    At least you're not also, forced to buy.

    That said, when everyone does this shit, it's no better than alternatives.

    There's a reason why media is turning to streaming, and it's not because people don't want to own stuff. It's because it's the only model where the market will tolerate corporate ownership of product.

    @flabdablet said:

    Feel free to do that again any time you're troubled by the kind of shameful Luddism

    Add to that, this generation's willfulness to appropriate technological success of modern inventions as a product of their own intelligence, simply for using the damn stuff.

    @cheong said:

    to use compatible blubs

    Hell, I can download bulbs?

    Where do I sign up?!?!

    Oh, you mean the adapter owner gets to own my wallet and force me to buy their bulbs?

    Yeah, I can get why people thing AHA is a good thing, now.

    @cheong said:

    refuse to turn on if you lose your internet connection?

    And manage to consume electricity at the same rate..... for extra bullshit.

    @Gaska said:

    There was a time when people laughed at the idea that all money will be in electronic form and some corporation would have power to take away all your money and make you unable to earn anymore

    They must have been dense, living all that time without realizing that the government could print more money in order to ninja take away all your money. The second part is even more obvious.



  • @xaade said:

    cheong:
    to use compatible blubs

    Hell, I can download bulbs?

    Where do I sign up?!?!

    Oh, you mean the adapter owner gets to own my wallet and force me to buy their bulbs?

    Yeah, I can get why people thing AHA is a good thing, now.

    FYI, ZigBee is a specification for IoT devices such as home appliances, hence "compatible".

    Before the firmware update, any blub that supports ZigBee can work on the adapter.

    Now if you don't their blub, the adapter is as good as brick.


  • Considered Harmful

    @boomzilla said:

    ...dang, and I thought making light bulbs illegal was crazy.

    Sigh....

    Another, corporate is always evil, government is always good.

    Reality: Good and bad companies, good and bad governments. inherently assuming one is always better than the other is a religion.


    You say that like you of all people thought religion was a bad thing. And to find @boomzilla overly religious … tsk tsk.
    Mind you, I was just going along with the initial point :trollface:



  • @cheong said:

    FYI, ZigBee is a specification for IoT devices such as home appliances, hence "compatible".

    Now if you don't their blub, the adapter is as good as brick.

    My point was that you compared it to piracy, altering the adapter to make it work.

    At which point, I have to say it's not. We aren't downloading bulbs.



  • @LaoC said:

    You say that like you of all people thought religion was a bad thing.

    It's not, inherently.

    It's just that, for the same reasons people criticize my faith, thinking the government is the only one capable of doing things right, and that they inherently do things right, is a faith-based-religion.

    A cornerstone of Marxism.


  • Banned

    @xaade said:

    They must have been dense, living all that time without realizing that the government could print more money in order to ninja take away all your money.

    There is a big difference between hyperinflation and blocking bank accounts. For starters, the former doesn't allow to single out individual people - it's all or nothing.



  • Replace the example with non-original / refill printer ink cartridges then, I think this will be closer comparison.

    Say, Epson Stylus 810 and 830 both use the same ink T027. The old T027 ink does not come with identity chips and the more recent one has it. Now if you're 810 user that enjoys cheaper ink from other vendors, and one day after the update prompt that updates the firmware on the printer and prevents you from using your currently using ink, what would you say?



  • @xaade said:

    Reality: Good and bad companies, good and bad governments. inherently assuming one is always better than the other is a religion.

    Is it a good religion or a bad one?


  • Banned

    @xaade's religion inherently assumes that religion is bad.



  • @cheong said:

    what would you say?

    Ok, let me see if there's a printer on the market that isn't a jackass.

    @Gaska said:

    @xaade's religion inherently assumes that religion is bad.

    :hanzo:ed? I guess? LOL

    In the sense that I couldn't come up with a better sarcastic reply.



  • @cheong said:

    I think this will be closer comparison.

    Another comparison.

    Windows partners with Steam a year after Windows 10 is released to disable any games that aren't purchased through Steam, even though they never showed any intention to do so in the past. @blakeyrat

    Worse yet, even though they explicitly just stated they were going for interoperability.


  • Considered Harmful

    @xaade said:

    @LaoC said:
    You say that like you of all people thought religion was a bad thing.

    It's not, inherently.

    It's just that, for the same reasons people criticize my faith, thinking the government is the only one capable of doing things right, and that they inherently do things right, is a faith-based-religion.

    Faith-basd religion, that's like wet water, isnt' it? Considering the OP, I don't think @boomzilla has all that much faith in government though.

    A cornerstone of Marxism.
    You do know that a precondiftion of the classless society envisioned by Marx is the "withering away" of the state, don't you?


  • No sound here, but that guy is seriously overstocked in oscilloscopes. Or he is an Oscilloscope-ophile.



  • @xaade said:

    Ok, let me see if there's a printer on the market that isn't a jackass.

    FYI, when 810 is sold, the printer manufactorers are not using the ink lockdown thing yet.

    Change only made to the product around Y2K, one or two years after it was sold.

    EDIT: If you want another example, the PS3 that I mentioned earlier can install Linux and other systems on it when it was first sold, then one year later, on firmware update v3.21, the feature is taken away.

    Also note the line on:

    In January 2011, Sony sued Hotz and members of failoverflow for their jailbreaking of the PS3. Charges included violating the DMCA, the CFAA, copyright law, and California's CCDAFA, and for breach of contract (related to the PlayStation Network User Agreement), tortious interference, misappropriation, and trespass.
    for previous discussion on whether providing a workaround is illegal.


  • @xaade said:

    Reality: Good and bad companies, good and bad governments. inherently assuming one is always better than the other is a religion.

    Both a company and a government is neutral. It is the people who run it who actually have a good/bad behaviour. That is why I do not trust companies or governments with my personal information.
    What is good now can turn bad very quickly.



  • There are two Tek scopes there that look identical, except one is on the shelf upside down. Might be something to do with needing to debug interconnected Northern and Southern hemisphere gear.



  • Also are those 7 identical multi-meters? Is this guy a science teacher or something?



  • @LaoC said:

    You do know that a precondiftion of the classless society envisioned by Marx is the "withering away" of the state, don't you?

    I wonder how he meant for that to happen, when he also said you had to get rid of religion so people would put their faith in government instead.

    Unless he meant that government would be indistinguishable from the people.

    And if that's the case.... well, get in line... everyone wants to make that claim.



  • @Dlareg said:

    Is this guy a science teacher or something?


  • Considered Harmful

    @xaade said:

    I wonder how he meant for that to happen, when he also said you had to get rid of religion so people would put their faith in government instead.

    Where is he supposed to have said that? This sounds very different:

    Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

    The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.


  • BINNED

    I think this thread needs a kitten.

    Prefect!


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