Improbable Insights

A Medium post by Arlo Gilbert about Google's decision to shut down the Revolv home automation hub went viral recently. Google's Nest division bought Revolv 18 months prior. However, the company decided that part of the shutting down the service including bricking perfectly good, working hardware. Meaning The era of always-connected, always-on introduces a new set of headaches for users of said services. It's one thing when a service goes offline, but another thing completely when a product associated with the service also goes dark or becomes unavailable. Google's decision to brick the Revolv hardware, games no longer playable when servers shut down, or Kindle books mysteriously vanishing off owner's Kindle readers, always-on seems to come with infinite rights for sellers, with limited recourse for buyers. Eric, David, and I debate the pitfalls and merits of the always-on, always-connected industry, and what the long term prospects are for the idea of ownership and service. Tools David mentions the best web