Startup set to brick $800 kids robot is trying to open source it first
Startup set to brick $800 kids robot is trying to open source it first
arstechnica.com
Startup set to brick $800 kids robot is trying to open source it first
90 comments
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Doing the right thing. How rare.
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once they threatened to abandon it sure. eventually even corporations can be dragged into doing the right thing.
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Most companies don't listen, these guys did. Many times when people did the right thing, they had to go through a process first.
It would have been if they did it completely on their own, maybe even designed the system for this possible outcome from the beginning.
But it's the end result that matters. They can release the source or they can not. They chose to release it, and that's great!
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It’s not a corporation anymore if it ceases to exist. Sounds like the engineers are working pro bono on this initiative.
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And how great of these particular folks for doing the right thing1
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OpenSourcing is a good move
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Startups like this aren’t known for their robust infrastructure design.
It’s most likely running on some weird unicorn setups no-one has bothered to document.
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Likely they have proprietary or otherwise private information they want to clean out first, or they want to make it more presentable or documented.
I agree I'm not a fan of the "trying to" phrasing either.
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They might rely on parts that have non open sourced drivers or firmware. Perhaps different parts of the code were authored by different people and they need everyone approval.
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What ever could go wrong with that?
Oh, right. Winamp very recently showed us exactly what could go wrong with that.
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Yeah it's so simple, no way they could be the good guys, can't have that.
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Using some creepy robot with a proprietary algorithm to provide "emotional support" to children sounds like a good thing to go out of business.
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I just don't get it with these proprietary cloud connected devices. Do people just not realize that keeping server infrastructure running for free after a product is sold is not in a company's best profit-seeking interests (maybe they don't even think about how things on the Internet actually work, I dunno)? I thought of this almost fifteen years ago when I started seeing smart thermostats. There should always be an option to go local, even if it requires the consumer to acquire a skillset in IT. Maybe we can start working things like that into right to repair legislation if it isn't already.
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I once had a tech support ticket for a computer not turning on. When I checked it out, they had connected a power bar to itself. This 40yr old man genuinely didn't understand why that wouldn't work.
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Most people don't think about how things work. I'd guess that most customers thought all the smart features were internal and the Internet connection was just an arbitrary requirement
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Exactly. Another example of people who are on forums like this are worlds apart from people who know quite literally less than nothing about computers.
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For home stuff, look for the tech "Matter over Thread". They're protocols* designed to allow your stuff to work with any ecosystem, including local.
It's been slow to roll out, largely, imo, because companies would prefer to lock people into their own ecosystems and apps. Apple, Google, and Samsung do have some motivations to be interoperable though, and Matter/Thread is that effort. Consider looking at Home Assistant if you want to know more about this ecosystem and local, open control.
I could go into more detail, but this is already a tangent.
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maybe they don't even think about how things on the Internet actually work, I dunno
bingo! that's the reason behind most of their illogical decisions
just ask around, and you'll find that they want things to just work without understanding how they work
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Amazon Dash buttons have entered the chat.
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Yeah, but everybody knew those were a stupid fucking idea from the start. I didn't and still don't feel much sympathy for the people who deliberately bought one of those solely for its intended purpose and then got the rug pulled out from under them.
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Amazon was effectively giving them away for free for a large portion of their lifespan. You'd have deals where you'd pay for them and then get a coupon for actually using them equal to the purchase price. I feel like I even remember a few times where the coupon you got worked out to slightly more than you paid for the button. Basically, saying that someone 'bought' one was usually only partially true.
They did have a few legitimately good uses. Had to have something that needed restocking sporadically but you also didn't think about often and could wait 2-3 days to receive when you realized you were out. A lot of prerequisites there, I used the ones for trash bags and detergent often.
It's mostly just a shame the amount of ewaste produced at this point. I still have a box full somewhere in hopes of finding a use case.
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By "everybody" you mean everybody except Amazon. And I had fun hacking those. They were often on sale for like 2 bucks and they came with a battery that was good for like a thousand presses. You had to start the online setup process but not select any products, listen for the button's msg to Amazon which contained a unique ID. You could then have your own server listen for a "pressed" signal from that button and do whatever you want. I keep meaning to find out if there's still a way to initialize brand new ones.
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What's the deal with these buttons?
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Is there missing punctuation in that headline or am I an idiot?
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No, there is no punctuation missing, the headline writing style is just hurting comprehensibility. I'll expand it a bit.
"A startup, which is set to brick an $800 kids' robot, is trying to open-source it first"
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Yes, it should at least be kids'. Kids robot doesn't make sense.
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I clicked on this thread only to figure out what that title is supposed to mean.
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$800... for an emotional support toy?
Is this why there's so much poverty in the world? Because once people have enough excess wealth, this is what they choose to spend it on instead of helping those who need it more?
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No, it's because of billionaires that hoard more money than 1000 people could reasonably spend in a lifetime.
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I'm with you....except I choose to believe there's a reason they're going bust (because no, folks aren't choosing to spend on this)
That said, I'd like to remind everyone that Elon Musk has the money and power to end homeless and poverty in the US and chooses not to.
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Well he’s not American so why would you expect that?
He can do it for SA though
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Yes, most millionaires are cringe but you should go after billionaires first.
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Obviously it are the avocado toast
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No, but you will be happy to know the product failed
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What a waste of resources just to make somebody richer!
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these things should be outlawed and bricked immediately for the sake of humanity
90 comments
This should be a standard requirement for abandoning an internet reliant product (with all IP and internal documentation released and becoming public domain in the event of a bankruptcy, and keys handled by some consumer protection agency capable of facilitating community projects working to unlock them for owners).
But questionable value of the product aside, the fact that they're making the effort to not be assholes and try to do what it takes to give their costumers' products the life they can is better than most, so they deserve credit for that.
Electronic products and software should get a "at least supported until" label on the packaging and legally obligated to keep the servers running until that time.
The company behind this robot is going bankrupt, which is why support ends and they stop working. This law would do nothing in this case because the company seizes to exist.
Only if there's an absolute bare minimum they're allowed to choose of 5-10 years after the last device/software is sold.
And even then, I still think they should be required to unlock devices (and software DRM bullshit/APIs to re-implement server components) to allow people who want to maintain them themselves.
EU citizens can sign EU Citizens' Initiative for this for games.
EU pushed new product liability bill. After it takes effect companies will be responsible for breaking of devices and software.
Seems like a good move but it will also raise the risk of releasing new tech. Startup money will have to include some kind of coverage for that, making it harder to get startup money. Rather than simply impose a liability I would feel better about requiring orphaned IP to be opensourced so interested parties can do exactly what's happening in this case.
But that's communism!!1!1!!