April fool's?

[Shrek]

Tech CEO says people will enjoy paying a monthly fee to use a mouse.

Tech CEO says people will enjoy paying a monthly fee to use a mouse. ‘You’re going to really love that.’ (msn.com)

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

Tech CEO says people will enjoy paying a monthly fee to use a mouse.

Tech CEO says people will enjoy paying a monthly fee to use a mouse. ‘You’re going to really love that.’ (msn.com)

No.

This is 100% executive speak...and someone trying to "solve a problem" that doesn't exist.



Let me start by saying everything has a MTBF. You have ratings on things like switches of millions of presses...meaning that if today I bought a mouse and new I'd average 100 clicks per day, I'd average maybe 10000 days of usage before the switch gives out and it's dead. What this executive is stating is that instead of buying a 1,000,000 MTBF switch you'd buy a mouse somewhere nearer to 5,000,000 MTBF click switch. (365 days/year * 70 years/life * 100 clicks/day = 2,555,000, then you double to make it functionally longer than any human life).

Now...instead of that "steep" price to buy a new mouse and keyboard you just need to pay a monthly fee. $6 a month is only $72 a year...and at 70*72 you'd pay them $5040 for your incredible forever mouse that would last forever...


If you somehow don't get this, then explain something like Office 365. It's cheaper than buying a $300 office software suite...but if you maintain the same office suite for 4 years it's overall cost is actually lower...and MS wants this to happen. Logitech pretends their software makes things special, builds a slightly better mouse, and manages to charge you through the roof for as a "fully featured software platform based upon their ground breaking hardware." Executive speak for amortized over time and entirely done not as an improvement of things but as a way to charge you more for less.



-The punchline is that there isn't a joke....and now I'm sad.

 

[phanbuey]

Not to mention they can book the future value of this and use it to take out more debt etc.

I didn't like the office subscription and I dont like this.

 

[dirtyferret]

she's speaking to her customer base, the investors, who want to see a subscription based model from her just like NZXT latest sub offering. The only fools are the ones who still think they are the customers in today's sub economy, people are the product. Investors are the customers and they get more excited over new revenue streams than they do if sold 1.5% more keyboards this quarter than the same quarter last year.

 

[Frick]

Let me start by saying everything has a MTBF. You have ratings on things like switches of millions of presses...meaning that if today I bought a mouse and new I'd average 100 clicks per day, I'd average maybe 10000 days of usage before the switch gives out and it's dead. What this executive is stating is that instead of buying a 1,000,000 MTBF switch you'd buy a mouse somewhere nearer to 5,000,000 MTBF click switch. (365 days/year * 70 years/life * 100 clicks/day = 2,555,000, then you double to make it functionally longer than any human life).

Those are thoretical numbers. Switches can and do give out way sooner than that, depending on a multitude of factors.

When I first saw the headline (on Arstechnica) I thought it would be a pretty nifty service, because I assumed you basically subscribed to a mouse, as in you'd get their new top of the line mouse when it was released, or a high end model of your choice at certain intervals. Or something like that, coupled with free shipping and like extra service and stuff and fluff. That is not something I would use, but I could see the value of it to some people. "Forever mouse" as in "new mouse regurarly" kind of thing. Then I realised they literally meant an eternal mouse with "cool software" and that the software would cost money and that's a hard no.

 

[64K]

No.....just no

 

[Athlonite]

Did someone at BMW give Logitech a sip of their coolaid

 

[Steevo]

The global money machine is at it again, milking everything they can before it crashes and they cry that their trillions are hurting and need more friends and our politicians give it to them.

 

[ARF]

Tech CEO says people will enjoy paying a monthly fee to use a mouse.

Tech CEO says people will enjoy paying a monthly fee to use a mouse. ‘You’re going to really love that.’ (msn.com)

This CEO hasn't taken her pills/medicine in the morning. Sounds quite psychopathic.

 

[_JP_]

She comes from Unilever, so do believe that she knows a thing or two of making sure you think you'll have a choice, except you don't. And getting the most € out of every milligram of a consumable.
Also, she has 10-ish more years in her career-path before retirement, so of course there is nothing else to prove but to now attempt all the crazy ideas and see if they stick.

I laughed at the watch comparison. I will chough-up the coin for a reliable, "perpetual" watch, even though I know that watches reaching 120 years now require a lot of maintenance just to keep them working because all materials decay and the manufacturing process, whilst always advanced for the time, will be really outdated after a century. If it outlasts one avg. human lifetime, it's already "perpetual" by current perception.

I will pay up front to guarantee two things:
- It is not a good investment plan for me to pay for something perpetually, that I will never own.
- As a manufacturer, you'll be pressed to provide a finished product facing a final sale and your credibility on the line, than with a continuous model where you "keep providing support" (See: Spotify Car Thing, Anything made by Google, numerous Android-based devices, BMWs, and the current consoles vs. PS2/GameCube/Xbox - The First).

 

[bonehead123]

"Stupid is as Stupid does" - Forest....Forest Gump

'nuff said !

 

[ARF]

She comes from Unilever, so do believe that she knows a thing or two of making sure you think you'll have a choice, except you don't. And getting the most € out of every milligram of a consumable.
Also, she has 10-ish more years in her career-path before retirement, so of course there is nothing else to prove but to now attempt all the crazy ideas and see if they stick.

I laughed at the watch comparison. I will chough-up the coin for a reliable, "perpetual" watch, even though I know that watches reaching 120 years now require a lot of maintenance just to keep them working because all materials decay and the manufacturing process, whilst always advanced for the time, will be really outdated after a century. If it outlasts one avg. human lifetime, it's already "perpetual" by current perception.

I will pay up front to guarantee two things:
- It is not a good investment plan for me to pay for something perpetually,
- As a manufacturer, you'll be pressed to provide a finished product facing a final sale and your credibility on the line, than with a continuous model where you "keep providing support" (See: Spotify Car Thing, Anything made by Google, numerous Android-based devices, BMWs, and the current consoles vs. PS2/GameCube/Xbox - The First).

Too complicated explanation. It's very simple - greed, lots and lots of it. The absolute, perpetual amount of greed that wants to charge all of us a perpetual amount of money.

 

[_JP_]

Original Interview: https://www.theverge.com/24206847/l...use-keyboard-gaming-decoder-podcast-interview

One of the comments resounds how what the actual market is asking for is being totally ignored:

iPetrCZ:
Logitech:"Here is our new forever mouse!!"
People:"Cool, so it has changable parts and you are going keep making those forever so that if something breaks, I can just go and have it fixed:"
Logitech:"No! Subscription!!"

Seriously, I think a consultant job where you would go around board rooms and just tell them that stuff like this is dumb, has a future...

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

Those are thoretical numbers. Switches can and do give out way sooner than that, depending on a multitude of factors.

When I first saw the headline (on Arstechnica) I thought it would be a pretty nifty service, because I assumed you basically subscribed to a mouse, as in you'd get their new top of the line mouse when it was released, or a high end model of your choice at certain intervals. Or something like that, coupled with free shipping and like extra service and stuff and fluff. That is not something I would use, but I could see the value of it to some people. "Forever mouse" as in "new mouse regurarly" kind of thing. Then I realised they literally meant an eternal mouse with "cool software" and that the software would cost money and that's a hard no.

So...MTBF is M...or mean.

The point was, at least partially, building a mouse "of such quality it would last a lifetime" would require both replacements inside of a normal distribution curve, outside of that curve (think "power user") and simply those that failed because a mean is only average.


My point in using MTBF is that it's a known commodity. If we start talking something like a failure rate of less than 10% for something composed of multiple components which can go bad....and the discussion rapidly approaches the useless conclusion of "if you give me unlimited money I'll give you unlimited things." Of course, in this case we're looking at finite money, over the course of a relatively finite time span, with a very finite opportunity to have something that people regularly already spend a few hundred dollars on for a few years of use making sense as a service instead of a thing.




My 2 cents is that this is a fantastic way to deal if you're a business. Overhead is now one step closer to a finite value....because nobody "likes" hiring a new employee and seeing a new $4000 bill to get them a laptop and hardware. They like seeing a monthly billing of $200...where your retention is anywhere between 18-24 months so they about break even. It's almost like the system is designed to churn up and eat people...which a younger me would be depressed by. The older me...well, you either succeed in the system or find a way to cope. I like copium....because it's better than raging against a machine too large to even know that you're raging against it.

 

[ARF]

My 2 cents is that this is a fantastic way to deal if you're a business. Overhead is now one step closer to a finite value....because nobody "likes" hiring a new employee and seeing a new $4000 bill to get them a laptop and hardware. They like seeing a monthly billing of $200...where your retention is anywhere between 18-24 months so they about break even. It's almost like the system is designed to churn up and eat people...which a younger me would be depressed by. The older me...well, you either succeed in the system or find a way to cope. I like copium....because it's better than raging against a machine too large to even know that you're raging against it.

In reality when a company fires a given employee, it takes from him/her all that hardware, and transfers it to the new employee.
So, when you quote "4000-dollar-bill", you must be well aware of the extreme exaggeration.

Don't forget that a physical mouse costs 5$ and can work dozens of years, if its interfaces are supported.

 

[Onasi]

You can buy a basically perfect high tier wireless mouse for what, 50-60 bucks nowadays? If you are willing to ho wired - even cheaper. But let’s say 60 bucks. Let’s say it serves you for 2 years. Obviously, this is low-balling it to the extreme since we’ve all seen mice survive much, much longer. Hell, I’ve seen a decade or more. But let’s say 2 years and 60 bucks. Then you pay said 60 again. That translates to 2.5 dollars monthly. There is no chance in hell any proposed subscription will be this cheap. As such, even entertaining such an idea is silly.

 

[Frick]

So...MTBF is M...or mean.

The point was, at least partially, building a mouse "of such quality it would last a lifetime" would require both replacements inside of a normal distribution curve, outside of that curve (think "power user") and simply those that failed because a mean is only average.


My point in using MTBF is that it's a known commodity. If we start talking something like a failure rate of less than 10% for something composed of multiple components which can go bad....and the discussion rapidly approaches the useless conclusion of "if you give me unlimited money I'll give you unlimited things." Of course, in this case we're looking at finite money, over the course of a relatively finite time span, with a very finite opportunity to have something that people regularly already spend a few hundred dollars on for a few years of use making sense as a service instead of a thing.




My 2 cents is that this is a fantastic way to deal if you're a business. Overhead is now one step closer to a finite value....because nobody "likes" hiring a new employee and seeing a new $4000 bill to get them a laptop and hardware. They like seeing a monthly billing of $200...where your retention is anywhere between 18-24 months so they about break even. It's almost like the system is designed to churn up and eat people...which a younger me would be depressed by. The older me...well, you either succeed in the system or find a way to cope. I like copium....because it's better than raging against a machine too large to even know that you're raging against it.

Yeah I get it, I just wanted to be pedantic. At my job they for some reason rent my iPhone 11, and at this point I'm sure it has cost them at least twice as much as it would have if they had just bought it.

You can buy a basically perfect high tier wireless mouse for what, 50-60 bucks nowadays?

I don't think you can. I've been looking at replacements for my Logitech G602 (because middle click issues; I might just end up replacing the switch) and the closest Logitech equivalent is >€100.

 

[ARF]

You can buy a basically perfect high tier wireless mouse for what, 50-60 bucks nowadays? If you are willing to ho wired - even cheaper. But let’s say 60 bucks. Let’s say it serves you for 2 years. Obviously, this is low-balling it to the extreme since we’ve all seen mice survive much, much longer. Hell, I’ve seen a decade or more.

I have been using a Logitech M-UA E96 since 2006. It's alive and well.
It's been liked because it is heavy.

Amazon.com

Logitech M-uae96 USB Optical Wheel Mouse 5v - 100ma for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Logitech M-uae96 USB Optical Wheel Mouse 5v - 100ma at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Onasi]

I don't think you can. I've been looking at replacements for my Logitech G602 (because middle click issues; I might just end up replacing the switch) and the closest Logitech equivalent is >€100.

Don’t stick to overhyped brands and you are absolutely able to find great mice for 60-ish bucks. Even more so when stuff goes on sale. Just look through TPU mice reviews. As an example, I just ordered a Zaopin Z1 Pro for 43 bucks since it was on discount. I don’t think many in the mice community would argue it’s not a high tier mice, considered pretty much the best in the egg-shape family currently, alongside Fantech Aria.

tl:dr Logitech has been overpriced and undercooked for years now. There is a reason why the entire mice community dogpiled on them for daring to price the GPX2 at 160.

 

[DemonicRyzen666]

hhhmmm

This deals getting worse all the time.

 

[A Computer Guy]

Tech CEO says people will enjoy paying a monthly fee to use a mouse.

Tech CEO says people will enjoy paying a monthly fee to use a mouse. ‘You’re going to really love that.’ (msn.com)

Mouse as a service literally takes your cheese. Next: Imagine pay-per-click and they get their hooks into click farms.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

In reality when a company fires a given employee, it takes from him/her all that hardware, and transfers it to the new employee.
So, when you quote "4000-dollar-bill", you must be well aware of the extreme exaggeration.

Don't forget that a physical mouse costs 5$ and can work dozens of years, if its interfaces are supported.

In the last 10 years I've had 3 jobs. 1 gave me a brand new laptop. Another gave me an executive hand-me-down because they didn't like not having the latest iMac...which meant I had a new piece of hardware functionally. The last job gave me a two year old laptop because they experienced a huge business downturn and had hardware lying around for the first time in ages.

Most companies bring new people on, in my experience, because they are growing. Not all...but nobody is willing to go work a job when a short time ago they shed a lot of positions...because they'll do it again.


I appreciate that sometimes things get reused...but in my last 4 jobs 2 have decided to simply retire the laptop I returned....because a 4+ year old laptop bought at mid-range value new, is basically a potato. That's the price of buying midrange and having someone stay. That said, I stated an 18-24 month turn-over...so I have a little gap between my anecdote and reality. Yep. Won't deny that. At the same time, don't give a crap because this is a conversation about a piece of hardware that literally could plug into anything from the 80's on (with a dongle)...so I feel more serious about a mouse potentially being a perpetual purpose...in the right light....

 

[ARF]

In the last 10 years I've had 3 jobs. 1 gave me a brand new laptop. Another gave me an executive hand-me-down because they didn't like not having the latest iMac...which meant I had a new piece of hardware functionally. The last job gave me a two year old laptop because they experienced a huge business downturn and had hardware lying around for the first time in ages.

What mice did they give you? 5$ ones? 10$ ones?

 

[Ruru]

Clown world strikes again. Every day the phrase "you will own nothing and be happy" is more and more reality

Mouse as a service literally takes your cheese. Next: Imagine pay-per-click and they get their hooks into click farms.

As I do shitpost from time to time, pay-per-keystroke would make hella high bills when I'm drunk and online

 

[silentbogo]

We already had rodents with DLC, I'm not sure I'm ready for one with subscription.
The whole idea is stupid either way you look at it. Logitech is pretty bad at maintaining their software long-term, so who's to tell whether my magic "forever-mouse" won't turn into a useless paperweight once they decide that they no longer wish to maintain it due to lower-than-expected userbase, or if they decide to completely revamp that software for "modern times" while abandoning some features I was really dependent on.
Another big no-no, is that electronics has their "physical" lifespan(MTBF etc), and "moral" lifespan (whether it's still useable/practical). My good-ole modded G5 is still rocking like a champ, but realistically it's totally unusable on my main rig due to the latter. It's unstable at 2000dpi, and 1600 is not enough. DSP advances play a big role as well, cause my G603 at the same DPI feels wa-a-a-ay better than G5, and unlike it's granpa it works just fine on a 4K screen and gives me at least enough headroom to run it on my future ultrawide or 8k monitor. You can't "update" a sensor to higher DPI(unless you intentionally lock it from the factory, which will make EU courts really happy post-factum).