Exactly--and someone had to make the unpopular decision to announce it and weather the first round of criticisms. They also will be the first to profit from said stupid idea when they roll it out and the dumbs line up to buy it for fomo reasons or whatever
The new CEO had the beginning of an idea in an interview. The interviewer tried to push back while still keeping the interview going, but it became messy real quick.
If that's the new CEO's first idea, good luck, Logitech.
Patel: I’m going to ask this very directly. Can you envision a subscription mouse?
Faber: Possibly.
It was so bad Nilay Patel had to apologize (semi-seriously) about causing a news cycle about a mouse.
Same thing happened earlier this year with Wendy’s new CEO. His brilliant plan to make a name for himself was rolling out dynamic pricing. After days of well deserved backlash Wendy’s had to come out and walk it back while insisting they had never planned to use this to do lunch/dinner surge pricing.
Isn't that what pizzerias and such often do, though, to get more customers in throughout the day? Where I live, a pizza for lunch is often like 20-40% cheaper than a pizza for dinner, and I think that's actually alright.
They were just throwing it out to gauge reaction. They won't give up on the idea just yet.
Still 1000% have those plans, they are just going to get quiet about them externally for a bit longer now.
Let's just float the idea again in a few years and see how much backlash it then produces...
Or just slowly start rolling out and hope no one notices
Release it as an option with the necessary hardware.
Start with a comically low sub price and seemingly great features.
Hook the user base.
Phase out all non-sub options.
Compete enshittification.
Jack up price.
CEO bails under a golden parachute.
Hey hey, let's not be going around being right and shit..
That... would require a current plan.
CEO: says stupid shit
Corporate Comms: sigh CLEANUP ON AISLE 3
Ah yes, the ol' "joking about a threesome" trick.
"What?! Oh, no I mean... I was just joking, honey. I'd never do that... I mean unless..."
That always reeks of so much insecurity to me. Just own up to it. If you are in a relationship, “sure, I would do a threesome, but only if you actively want it too and we both agreed on the person and what was allowed or forbidden”. Not in a relationship, “Sure, I would be down for a threesome as long as the desires and limits of all people involved are discussed before hand and accepted by all”. There, with that attitude there's less risk of confusion or misunderstanding.
Not sure why you're getting down votes because this is the way. If you want something, be open and ask for consent. Just be okay with people saying no, too, and you're good
"Not in a relationship" : I'm up for a twoesome!
Wow, a mythical rational adult talking about sexual topics in a mature fashion, that's like a unicorn!
But seriously, you're right on the money. That's how my wife and I started bringing people into our relationship, and now we have a throuple hahaha.
Look, I'm not gay but if my girl wants to bang Andrew Garfield, we're having a three-way. My only ground rule is no one is allowed to leave anyone else for Andrew Garfield. And that includes Andrew Garfield...
Actually 100% agree. Was more about the meme than real life though.
Communication, honesty, boundaries that are mutually agreed upon and respected is the sign of a healthy relationship… not any artificial external construct set by religion, peers, or some perceived “norm” from society.
That being said, I couldn’t think of a more clever comparison to make. 😅
No I didn't mean I wanted to try but butt stuff! I was just kidding! Unless you're into it honey 😜!
Logitech, buy one of the three tiers based on your needs. 10 clicks a day, 15 clicks a day, or unlimited daily click.
Disclaimer: right click or scroll wheel not included, please purchase add-on package
Logitech mice always get better with age, they give you extra clicks for free with each touch of the button!
Double your Dota APM with this one weird double click!
Vim users laughing that they can get by on the cheapest tier.
I never use my mouse at all in vim
You just burn your hands out faster with the higher numbers of up/down motions to get the work done.
Have you ever learned about the following in VIM:
H, M, L, 22H, ...,: vertical cursor placement
zt, z0, zb: vertical scroll positioning
0, $, gm, gM: horizontal cursor placement
w, e, b: word based cursor movement
Simply holding j or k at times also works, even more so with a decently high key repeat rate.
The trick is to only learn a couple new movement mappings at a time and use them during one's workflow for a while, up until they feel ingrained. Then repeat, iteratively building up one's movement skills in VIM.
One can say many things about VIM, but not that learning it's movement mappings will make your required APM (let alone mouse clicks) go up to "get stuff done".
Honestly, once a basic set of these movements has been learned, any other editor without them will feel like a drag.
click here to find out about new exciting keyboard plans from Logitech
Yeah... Now that everyone found out about the idea and said "fuck Logitech." lol
If there was no reaction or a positive reaction to it they would definitely be planning on releasing one.
I am so fucking tired of this era of rampant consumer abuse. So. Fucking. Tired.
They test us and test us and test us until we are so exhausted that one of their bullshit tests goes through and becomes an industry standard and now everyone except a tiny handful of ridiculously rich people are slightly worse off.
Repeat ad enshittificatum.
And any "consumer victory" just means after an exhaustive fight, they'll still just wait 5-10 news cycles and do the bad thing anyway. It's republicans modified gish gallop playbook.
Tests the waters
Finds it far too close to boiling point
Loudly claims "I have no plan to get in there!"
(But we're still doing it, shhh)
I mean everyone knows that the answer to whether they'd live to do this is "yes", but you don't have to guess. They pretty much say 'yes we're planning it' in PR doublespeak:
Logitech’s stance is “the mouse mentioned is not an actual or planned product but a peek into provocative internal thinking on future possibilities for more sustainable consumer electronics.”
So... They're not planning to make it but they're investigating the market possibility of selling it? Golly PRtalk is rough.
Luckily the CEO comes in hot again for us. Besides comparing the Morse to a Rolex he has this to say:
I’m going to ask this very directly. Can you envision a subscription mouse?
Possibly.
And that would be the forever mouse?
Yeah.
So you pay a subscription for software updates to your mouse.
Yeah, and you never have to worry about it again, which is not unlike our video conferencing services today.
But it’s a mouse.
But it’s a mouse, yeah.
I think consumers might perceive those to be very different.
[Laughs] Yes, but it’s gorgeous. Think about it like a diamond-encrusted mouse.
Diamond crusted to who?
SaaS occasionally makes sense but I'm overall against it. Hardware SaaS has been dumb as fuck since AMD tried to charge us extra to unlock cores we already had on the chip and like 6 seconds until we fished out how to get around it.
think about it like a diamond crusted mouse
Yeah bit it's not... And it's a piece of shit hardware that will cost youaybe 5-10 bucks to produce and you'll soon enough rent it out for 5 bucks per month.
Fuck. You.
$2 to produce.
Buying stuff direct from China or South Korea, you get to see just how much they tack on for profit.
Logitech has, in fact, EOLd parts of the video conferencing hardware. At best it may continue to work but no longer recieve updates. At worst teams and zoom deprecate APIs that are critical and force you to upgrade.
I have a POS wireless mouse given to me by a contracting agency in 2004, that still works fine. I traveled with that thing for years.
I think I'm done with Logitech anything, and they were my go-to for lots of stuff since the late 90's.
I've got a g700s with a broken wheel and if i can't fix it I'll be pretty sad... But new Logitech products and their new bad support mo means I'll be burying my last logi soldier
I mean, they 100% do have tangible plans. And I'm 110% sure that active portions of those plans already underway as well.
I think what they mean to say is, "the subscription mouse isn't available today... I mean, unless you like, unless you wanted it to be or whatever? uWu..."
one of our team members showed me a forever mouse with the comparison to a watch. This is a nice watch, not a super expensive watch, but I’m not planning to throw that watch away ever.
Then, almost immediately starts talking about Rolex watches as if they are not expensive. This woman is very out of touch with reality like all CEOs.
Yeah they don't have any plans now. After getting shouted at by everyone.
This is just a symptom of the corporate insanity that believes that every year you must make more money than the previous year and simply making a large amount of money isn't acceptable unless it's going upwards.
It's Logitech, they make keyboards and mice they're not high value items. There's no innovating that needs to happen here. I'm sure companies that manufacture staples, drawing pins, and paper clips could give them some pointers in calming down and just existing.
They never really did, it was a talking point brought up initially by the interviewer and they guided the CEO into responding to it so that they could have some clickbait headlines. CEO should have known better than to engage and they sure learned that lesson, they're not going to be talking to that outlet again, but it's really just shitty interviewing that created this entire news cycle.
The transcript is below. It looks like the CEO definitely had it in mind and was hesitant to say it directly. The interviewer did a good job of getting them to admit it.
So, it's the interviewers job to not ask potentially embarrassing questions?
But won't rule it out.
Imagine it’s like your Rolex. You’re going to really love that.
The fact he said this, makes you want to punch his smug face.
The ceo is a woman, FYI
Least out-of-touch CEO
Do people with a Rolex pay subscriptions for their disgustingly expensive watches?
Lmao, the only watch I've ever spent more than like $20-$30 was a Seiko UC-2000.
That something so ridiculous is within the realm of possibility just shows how absurd the subscription landscape has gotten. It's sad that they even have to clarify this.
Feeling cute, might boycott them anyways :)
They have to clarify this, because their CEO said that was something she wanted to make. What they're actually doing is covering their asses because of all the negative sentiment they've stirred up now. It's actually just a lie to say they have no plans.
Not just wanted to make, the original article implied existence of a prototype. That's "putting into effect a plan" which, for fans of causality, implies a pre-existing plan.
What they want to sell:
A mouse with the quality of the mice 20 years ago. And you need to subscribe to software updates. However the subscription is not optional. If you don't pay monthly you can't use the mouse.
What I would actually pay for:
A high quality mouse with an open interface and maybe open source software for it. So I can maintain the software by myself. Usually you can achieve a high quality standard in a few months, and unless there are some driver issues, it should work forever.
I have a "gamer mouse" with a lot of features, custom dpi settings, custom color settings, rebinding keys and so on.
However I used the software once to set it up and on Linux I can't even change it. I will never receive any updates!
Quality of the mouse of 20 years ago? Are were going to need the cook the eggs extra long to replace the mouse balls again?
We'd already switched to optical mice in 2004.
Which was only 10 years ago.
You might want to check that again.
Shhh yes, yes it's 2014. Obama just made it so we can unlock our phones legally. You are playing Skyrim for (only) the 4th time. Covid sounds like a bad name for a youtube podcast. The jenga tower of your game mods crashes down. You grunt... Did you save recently?
What I'm wondering is: who the hell is upvoting that?
Me, for one.
And feel old? No thanks!
What sane people will buy: hey this one's good enough, plus it's on sale for $10!
Nah, wouldn't want to miss the accelerated scroll of the MX Master. Why is this not standard yet, software-side like pointer acceleration?
Ratbagd / Piper doesn't work for your mouse?
Never tried it. I didn't knew that existed
Works for my Logi mouse, was very happy when I found the package (thanks nixpkgs search)
Hp omen is not supported
"no plans" We're just awfully close and intend to make plans. Fucking hate when CEOs talk, can't believe anything at face value. Lying sacks of shit.
Good because the entire idea is completely idiotic.
NOW they don't because word got out too soon
"Ahahaha. I was kidding. ..unless..?"
Sort of like how excited Wendy's was to offer surge pricing, until 2 days later when they suddenly had "no plans to ever implement surge pricing, what're yall talkin' 'bout?"
The transcript is there too if you just want to read it. Here's some of the relavent bits.
What made the mouse a forever mouse?
It was a little heavier, it had great software and services that you’d constantly update, and it was beautiful. So I don’t think we’re necessarily super far away from that.
But, again, I just come back to the cost. You sell me the mouse once. Maybe I’ll pay 200 bucks for it.
The business model obviously is the challenge there. So then software is even more important when you think about it. Can you come up with a service model? In our video conferencing business, that is now a very important part of the model, the services, and it’s critical for corporate customers.
Let’s come to that in a second because that makes sense to me. You sell managed services to enterprises. You price support contracts for cameras and whatever. That’s an ongoing need businesses have. I’m still stuck on, “You’re going to sell me a mouse once and it’s going to have ongoing software updates forever.”
Imagine it’s like your Rolex. You’re going to really love that.
But Rolex has to employ software engineers to ship me over-the-air updates forever.
But the artifact is like your Rolex, and then given that we know the technology that we attach to changes, it’s not going to be like your Rolex in that it doesn’t have to ever change. Our stuff will have to change, but does the hardware have to change? I’m not so sure. We’ll have to obviously fix it and figure out what that business model is. We’re not at the forever mouse today, but I’m intrigued by the thought.>
....
I’m going to ask this very directly. Can you envision a subscription mouse?
Possibly.
And that would be the forever mouse?
Yeah.
So you pay a subscription for software updates to your mouse.
Yeah, and you never have to worry about it again, which is not unlike our video conferencing services today.
But it’s a mouse.
But it’s a mouse, yeah.
I think consumers might perceive those to be very different.
[Laughs] Yes, but it’s gorgeous. Think about it like a diamond-encrusted mouse.
"Yeah, and you never have to worry about it again", in regards to paying for updates. Just set it to auto pay and never worry about it again 🤑
Yes, but it’s gorgeous. Think about it like a diamond-encrusted mouse.
So thousands of dollars up front, then it doesn't work if you don't pay a $100/month subscription? Sounds awesome.
The problem is that companies talk to two sets of people and they both want to hear different things.
Users, who want to hear that they're making a new mouse that costs $5 and lasts forever and gives you a blowjob, and shareholders, who want a $50 a month subscription mouse that harvests the users organs while they're at it.
And it's the CEO's job to keep both of those people just unhappy enough to stick around.
i think users just want a functioning mouse that doesn't fall apart in months.
Wow, a mouse with an extra button that can only be used to launch some process which opens up a window to ChatGPT. What a great use of AI!
::: spoiler Click for more info here!
/s
:::
Eh, the mouse itself just has a dedicated button to launch something, that's not so bad.
It would have been a better option to set it up so you could launch almost any program with it, but oh well.
Fruit of the Loom has no plans for a subscription underpants.
"Subscription expired, reverting to transparent burlap trial version."
I'll stick to my regular forever underpants then. Literally.
This is like the lover who says "wouldn't it be crazy if you and me had a threesome with your best friend"? Then claims not to be serious when the idea is rejected.
I would love to see more movement on an open source mouse. I know there are some options out there but it seems like nothing has really stuck.
With 3d printing and the RP2040, these should be more abundant.
I'm sure it probably comes down to the sensors available, but I'd love for someone like Adafruit to offer options.
I'm still replacing switches on my stupid Logitech MX (faulty design that's been going for many years) but once it's dead for good I will switch over to the Ploopy thumb trackball in a heartbeat.
I really like the look of the Ploopy Classic. I use an Elecom Huge, and I love it. I grew up with a Logitech TrackMan Marble (the old school one, not the ambidextrous one) and I loved it. So the Elecom Huge is like a modern version of that old classic, and it's great for office and daily use - not so much for gaming though.
Oof, no bluetooth. Has to be cabled!
All the promo pictures are cabled. I don't have a Ploopy myself, but to me they look like they all use a cabled connection.
Absolutely fucking not
how about linux software
i have a logitech mouse from the 90s that plugs in and still works why do i need a subscription?
That is the reason why they r pushing for a subscription. If everyone who wants a mouse have a mouse how will the poor company earn money. How will the billionaire buy another yacht.
Up next: mouse cartridges.
They already can't make a fucking mouse that won't suffer from double clicks within a few years. They have a model, albeit a shitty one, that has people repeatedly buying their products. I will never buy another Logitech product if they even make a "luxury" mouse for the wealthy that has subs, even if they keep a free option. It's not for me, but the existence of such product is a deal breaker in itself.
Can you tell us which mouse you use? I miss my Mx Marble.
I have two Wireless Pro Gs, one for work and one for home. I used a g502 for many years and the battery started being shitty with it. I replaced it, but it kept telling me to change it anyway. I then got a g502s that failed within 2 years with double clicking. Then a g902 I think, which started double clicking just after a year. Then I got my first Pro G. I enjoyed it enough to fork out for a second one for work. A couple of months ago, my at home Pro G started double clicking, this is maybe 2-3 years in now. Blowing it out helped a little, but not much. One time I accidentally opened a whole bunch of emails I was going to delete, and slammed it on my desk, and it's been fine since.
My next mouse will probably be a different brand, even just to play the field a bit.
Oooh, percussive maintenance. LOL
Thanks for replying.
If you are interested in learning some soldering, double clicking can be solved by replacing the crappy Logitech switches with better ones
Logi CEO: "Heh, yeah, well you know, there is a rich tradition of tech companies pranking the public with silly, unexpected practical jokes on April 1."
"But sir, it's August."
"Oh, well I guess that's what makes it so unexpected, heh. Yeah. Unless you want a mouse subscription? No? Oh, just forget that I asked - that was, ah, part of the joke. Apr- August Fools!"
"No, just kidding"
Anymore
As shoddy as the QC has been lately, I'm sure they have their consumer base to worry about. I bought a gray lift ergo mouse. Left click stopped working properly after about 3 weeks. Bought a cheaper, legit 3-button with a wheel also. Adjustable, rechargeable cordless. Works wonderfully after a month.
Works wonderfully after a month.
Is that the quality standard these days?
Well when the previous one lasted only three weeks...
I don't know that there are standards these days. As often as I get shoddy products that then force me to interface with CSR...
Netflix has plans to have a subscription movie service!
How about an AI mouse. It would learn if you're lefty or righty and it would tell glove manufacturers. It would read your pulse during stressful situations to find patterns and let other companies know when to best sell you shit. Yeah lots of benefits!
But they'll implement a one time fee to change your dpi, and then a few years after that it'll be subscription.
So it sounds like they did have plans, or at least ideas, for it but are now backtracking after the 100% deserved backlash.
Yep, that's what I like to call a soft release
Trial balloon.
every company brainstorms at some point and come up with a few good and a lot of bad ideas;
it doesn't make it any closer to being a reality, the only difference is that this was made public.
This idea is so bad it should not have even been brought up
We have subscription services in cars now.
I'm betting it'll happen either way.
It's a fucking stupid future.
My car has 6 or 7 subscriptions I believe? I lost count.
And this is one reason why I hate modern cars. But then again, there’s no alternative, and that sucks.
Older cars?
Maybe for now, but there’s fewer and fewer around. In ten-twenty years time it will be hard to find a 90s car with reasonable mileage.
Exactly--and someone had to make the unpopular decision to announce it and weather the first round of criticisms. They also will be the first to profit from said stupid idea when they roll it out and the dumbs line up to buy it for fomo reasons or whatever
They were running it by to see if the host will accept the parasite. They will be back folks
Some ideas are so bad you make sure they never get released
The new CEO had the beginning of an idea in an interview. The interviewer tried to push back while still keeping the interview going, but it became messy real quick.
If that's the new CEO's first idea, good luck, Logitech.
It was so bad Nilay Patel had to apologize (semi-seriously) about causing a news cycle about a mouse.
Same thing happened earlier this year with Wendy’s new CEO. His brilliant plan to make a name for himself was rolling out dynamic pricing. After days of well deserved backlash Wendy’s had to come out and walk it back while insisting they had never planned to use this to do lunch/dinner surge pricing.
Isn't that what pizzerias and such often do, though, to get more customers in throughout the day? Where I live, a pizza for lunch is often like 20-40% cheaper than a pizza for dinner, and I think that's actually alright.
They were just throwing it out to gauge reaction. They won't give up on the idea just yet.
Still 1000% have those plans, they are just going to get quiet about them externally for a bit longer now.
No plans now.
Let's just float the idea again in a few years and see how much backlash it then produces...
Or just slowly start rolling out and hope no one notices
Release it as an option with the necessary hardware.
Start with a comically low sub price and seemingly great features.
Hook the user base.
Phase out all non-sub options.
Compete enshittification.
Jack up price.
CEO bails under a golden parachute.
Hey hey, let's not be going around being right and shit..
That... would require a current plan.
CEO: says stupid shit
Corporate Comms: sigh CLEANUP ON AISLE 3
Ah yes, the ol' "joking about a threesome" trick.
"What?! Oh, no I mean... I was just joking, honey. I'd never do that... I mean unless..."
That always reeks of so much insecurity to me. Just own up to it. If you are in a relationship, “sure, I would do a threesome, but only if you actively want it too and we both agreed on the person and what was allowed or forbidden”. Not in a relationship, “Sure, I would be down for a threesome as long as the desires and limits of all people involved are discussed before hand and accepted by all”. There, with that attitude there's less risk of confusion or misunderstanding.
Not sure why you're getting down votes because this is the way. If you want something, be open and ask for consent. Just be okay with people saying no, too, and you're good
"Not in a relationship" : I'm up for a twoesome!
Wow, a mythical rational adult talking about sexual topics in a mature fashion, that's like a unicorn!
But seriously, you're right on the money. That's how my wife and I started bringing people into our relationship, and now we have a throuple hahaha.
Look, I'm not gay but if my girl wants to bang Andrew Garfield, we're having a three-way. My only ground rule is no one is allowed to leave anyone else for Andrew Garfield. And that includes Andrew Garfield...
Actually 100% agree. Was more about the meme than real life though.
Communication, honesty, boundaries that are mutually agreed upon and respected is the sign of a healthy relationship… not any artificial external construct set by religion, peers, or some perceived “norm” from society.
That being said, I couldn’t think of a more clever comparison to make. 😅
No I didn't mean I wanted to try but butt stuff! I was just kidding! Unless you're into it honey 😜!
Logitech, buy one of the three tiers based on your needs. 10 clicks a day, 15 clicks a day, or unlimited daily click.
Disclaimer: right click or scroll wheel not included, please purchase add-on package
Logitech mice always get better with age, they give you extra clicks for free with each touch of the button!
Double your Dota APM with this one weird double click!
Vim users laughing that they can get by on the cheapest tier.
I never use my mouse at all in vim
You just burn your hands out faster with the higher numbers of up/down motions to get the work done.
Have you ever learned about the following in VIM:
H,M,L,22H, ...,: vertical cursor placementzt,z0,zb: vertical scroll positioning0,$,gm,gM: horizontal cursor placementw,e,b: word based cursor movementSimply holding
jorkat times also works, even more so with a decently high key repeat rate.Of course there's a lot more: https://vimhelp.org/motion.txt.html
The trick is to only learn a couple new movement mappings at a time and use them during one's workflow for a while, up until they feel ingrained. Then repeat, iteratively building up one's movement skills in VIM.
One can say many things about VIM, but not that learning it's movement mappings will make your required APM (let alone mouse clicks) go up to "get stuff done". Honestly, once a basic set of these movements has been learned, any other editor without them will feel like a drag.
click here to find out about new exciting keyboard plans from Logitech
Yeah... Now that everyone found out about the idea and said "fuck Logitech." lol
If there was no reaction or a positive reaction to it they would definitely be planning on releasing one.
I am so fucking tired of this era of rampant consumer abuse. So. Fucking. Tired.
They test us and test us and test us until we are so exhausted that one of their bullshit tests goes through and becomes an industry standard and now everyone except a tiny handful of ridiculously rich people are slightly worse off.
Repeat ad enshittificatum.
And any "consumer victory" just means after an exhaustive fight, they'll still just wait 5-10 news cycles and do the bad thing anyway. It's republicans modified gish gallop playbook.
(But we're still doing it, shhh)
I mean everyone knows that the answer to whether they'd live to do this is "yes", but you don't have to guess. They pretty much say 'yes we're planning it' in PR doublespeak:
So... They're not planning to make it but they're investigating the market possibility of selling it? Golly PRtalk is rough.
Luckily the CEO comes in hot again for us. Besides comparing the Morse to a Rolex he has this to say:
Diamond crusted to who?
SaaS occasionally makes sense but I'm overall against it. Hardware SaaS has been dumb as fuck since AMD tried to charge us extra to unlock cores we already had on the chip and like 6 seconds until we fished out how to get around it.
Yeah bit it's not... And it's a piece of shit hardware that will cost youaybe 5-10 bucks to produce and you'll soon enough rent it out for 5 bucks per month.
Fuck. You.
$2 to produce.
Buying stuff direct from China or South Korea, you get to see just how much they tack on for profit.
Logitech has, in fact, EOLd parts of the video conferencing hardware. At best it may continue to work but no longer recieve updates. At worst teams and zoom deprecate APIs that are critical and force you to upgrade.
I have a POS wireless mouse given to me by a contracting agency in 2004, that still works fine. I traveled with that thing for years.
I think I'm done with Logitech anything, and they were my go-to for lots of stuff since the late 90's.
I've got a g700s with a broken wheel and if i can't fix it I'll be pretty sad... But new Logitech products and their new bad support mo means I'll be burying my last logi soldier
I mean, they 100% do have tangible plans. And I'm 110% sure that active portions of those plans already underway as well.
I think what they mean to say is, "the subscription mouse isn't available today... I mean, unless you like, unless you wanted it to be or whatever? uWu..."
Then, almost immediately starts talking about Rolex watches as if they are not expensive. This woman is very out of touch with reality like all CEOs.
Yeah they don't have any plans now. After getting shouted at by everyone.
This is just a symptom of the corporate insanity that believes that every year you must make more money than the previous year and simply making a large amount of money isn't acceptable unless it's going upwards.
It's Logitech, they make keyboards and mice they're not high value items. There's no innovating that needs to happen here. I'm sure companies that manufacture staples, drawing pins, and paper clips could give them some pointers in calming down and just existing.
They never really did, it was a talking point brought up initially by the interviewer and they guided the CEO into responding to it so that they could have some clickbait headlines. CEO should have known better than to engage and they sure learned that lesson, they're not going to be talking to that outlet again, but it's really just shitty interviewing that created this entire news cycle.
The transcript is below. It looks like the CEO definitely had it in mind and was hesitant to say it directly. The interviewer did a good job of getting them to admit it.
So, it's the interviewers job to not ask potentially embarrassing questions?
But won't rule it out.
The fact he said this, makes you want to punch his smug face.
The ceo is a woman, FYI
Least out-of-touch CEO
Do people with a Rolex pay subscriptions for their disgustingly expensive watches?
Lmao, the only watch I've ever spent more than like $20-$30 was a Seiko UC-2000.
That something so ridiculous is within the realm of possibility just shows how absurd the subscription landscape has gotten. It's sad that they even have to clarify this.
Feeling cute, might boycott them anyways :)
They have to clarify this, because their CEO said that was something she wanted to make. What they're actually doing is covering their asses because of all the negative sentiment they've stirred up now. It's actually just a lie to say they have no plans.
Not just wanted to make, the original article implied existence of a prototype. That's "putting into effect a plan" which, for fans of causality, implies a pre-existing plan.
What they want to sell:
A mouse with the quality of the mice 20 years ago. And you need to subscribe to software updates. However the subscription is not optional. If you don't pay monthly you can't use the mouse.
What I would actually pay for:
A high quality mouse with an open interface and maybe open source software for it. So I can maintain the software by myself. Usually you can achieve a high quality standard in a few months, and unless there are some driver issues, it should work forever.
I have a "gamer mouse" with a lot of features, custom dpi settings, custom color settings, rebinding keys and so on.
However I used the software once to set it up and on Linux I can't even change it. I will never receive any updates!
Quality of the mouse of 20 years ago? Are were going to need the cook the eggs extra long to replace the mouse balls again?
We'd already switched to optical mice in 2004.
Which was only 10 years ago.
You might want to check that again.
Shhh yes, yes it's 2014. Obama just made it so we can unlock our phones legally. You are playing Skyrim for (only) the 4th time. Covid sounds like a bad name for a youtube podcast. The jenga tower of your game mods crashes down. You grunt... Did you save recently?
What I'm wondering is: who the hell is upvoting that?
Me, for one.
And feel old? No thanks!
What sane people will buy: hey this one's good enough, plus it's on sale for $10!
Nah, wouldn't want to miss the accelerated scroll of the MX Master. Why is this not standard yet, software-side like pointer acceleration?
Ratbagd / Piper doesn't work for your mouse?
Never tried it. I didn't knew that existed
Works for my Logi mouse, was very happy when I found the package (thanks nixpkgs search)
Hp omen is not supported
"no plans" We're just awfully close and intend to make plans. Fucking hate when CEOs talk, can't believe anything at face value. Lying sacks of shit.
Good because the entire idea is completely idiotic.
NOW they don't because word got out too soon
"Ahahaha. I was kidding. ..unless..?"
Sort of like how excited Wendy's was to offer surge pricing, until 2 days later when they suddenly had "no plans to ever implement surge pricing, what're yall talkin' 'bout?"
I highly recommend the Decoder podcast from The Verge. The host Nilay Patel interviews the Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber and this comes up. He comes at the question earnestly but can't understand how she tries to justify this. It's a pretty fun listen. Link: https://www.theverge.com/24206847/logitech-ceo-hanneke-faber-mouse-keyboard-gaming-decoder-podcast-interview
The transcript is there too if you just want to read it. Here's some of the relavent bits.
What made the mouse a forever mouse?
But, again, I just come back to the cost. You sell me the mouse once. Maybe I’ll pay 200 bucks for it.
Let’s come to that in a second because that makes sense to me. You sell managed services to enterprises. You price support contracts for cameras and whatever. That’s an ongoing need businesses have. I’m still stuck on, “You’re going to sell me a mouse once and it’s going to have ongoing software updates forever.”
But Rolex has to employ software engineers to ship me over-the-air updates forever.
....
I’m going to ask this very directly. Can you envision a subscription mouse?
And that would be the forever mouse?
So you pay a subscription for software updates to your mouse.
But it’s a mouse.
I think consumers might perceive those to be very different.
"Yeah, and you never have to worry about it again", in regards to paying for updates. Just set it to auto pay and never worry about it again 🤑
So thousands of dollars up front, then it doesn't work if you don't pay a $100/month subscription? Sounds awesome.
The problem is that companies talk to two sets of people and they both want to hear different things.
Users, who want to hear that they're making a new mouse that costs $5 and lasts forever and gives you a blowjob, and shareholders, who want a $50 a month subscription mouse that harvests the users organs while they're at it.
And it's the CEO's job to keep both of those people just unhappy enough to stick around.
i think users just want a functioning mouse that doesn't fall apart in months.
This is no less, than a gaslighting tactic
But what about an AI mouse?
You're in luck!
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/products/mice/signature-ai-edition-m750-wireless-mouse.910-007396.html
Wow, a mouse with an extra button that can only be used to launch some process which opens up a window to ChatGPT. What a great use of AI!
::: spoiler Click for more info here! /s :::
Eh, the mouse itself just has a dedicated button to launch something, that's not so bad.
It would have been a better option to set it up so you could launch almost any program with it, but oh well.
Fruit of the Loom has no plans for a subscription underpants.
"Subscription expired, reverting to transparent burlap trial version."
I'll stick to my regular forever underpants then. Literally.
This is like the lover who says "wouldn't it be crazy if you and me had a threesome with your best friend"? Then claims not to be serious when the idea is rejected.
I would love to see more movement on an open source mouse. I know there are some options out there but it seems like nothing has really stuck.
With 3d printing and the RP2040, these should be more abundant.
I'm sure it probably comes down to the sensors available, but I'd love for someone like Adafruit to offer options.
The Ploopy is pretty popular.
I'm still replacing switches on my stupid Logitech MX (faulty design that's been going for many years) but once it's dead for good I will switch over to the Ploopy thumb trackball in a heartbeat.
I really like the look of the Ploopy Classic. I use an Elecom Huge, and I love it. I grew up with a Logitech TrackMan Marble (the old school one, not the ambidextrous one) and I loved it. So the Elecom Huge is like a modern version of that old classic, and it's great for office and daily use - not so much for gaming though.
Oof, no bluetooth. Has to be cabled!
All the promo pictures are cabled. I don't have a Ploopy myself, but to me they look like they all use a cabled connection.
Absolutely fucking not
how about linux software
i have a logitech mouse from the 90s that plugs in and still works why do i need a subscription?
That is the reason why they r pushing for a subscription. If everyone who wants a mouse have a mouse how will the poor company earn money. How will the billionaire buy another yacht.
Up next: mouse cartridges.
They already can't make a fucking mouse that won't suffer from double clicks within a few years. They have a model, albeit a shitty one, that has people repeatedly buying their products. I will never buy another Logitech product if they even make a "luxury" mouse for the wealthy that has subs, even if they keep a free option. It's not for me, but the existence of such product is a deal breaker in itself.
Can you tell us which mouse you use? I miss my Mx Marble.
I have two Wireless Pro Gs, one for work and one for home. I used a g502 for many years and the battery started being shitty with it. I replaced it, but it kept telling me to change it anyway. I then got a g502s that failed within 2 years with double clicking. Then a g902 I think, which started double clicking just after a year. Then I got my first Pro G. I enjoyed it enough to fork out for a second one for work. A couple of months ago, my at home Pro G started double clicking, this is maybe 2-3 years in now. Blowing it out helped a little, but not much. One time I accidentally opened a whole bunch of emails I was going to delete, and slammed it on my desk, and it's been fine since.
My next mouse will probably be a different brand, even just to play the field a bit.
Oooh, percussive maintenance. LOL
Thanks for replying.
If you are interested in learning some soldering, double clicking can be solved by replacing the crappy Logitech switches with better ones
Logi CEO: "Heh, yeah, well you know, there is a rich tradition of tech companies pranking the public with silly, unexpected practical jokes on April 1."
"But sir, it's August."
"Oh, well I guess that's what makes it so unexpected, heh. Yeah. Unless you want a mouse subscription? No? Oh, just forget that I asked - that was, ah, part of the joke. Apr- August Fools!"
"No, just kidding"
Anymore
As shoddy as the QC has been lately, I'm sure they have their consumer base to worry about. I bought a gray lift ergo mouse. Left click stopped working properly after about 3 weeks. Bought a cheaper, legit 3-button with a wheel also. Adjustable, rechargeable cordless. Works wonderfully after a month.
Is that the quality standard these days?
Well when the previous one lasted only three weeks...
I don't know that there are standards these days. As often as I get shoddy products that then force me to interface with CSR...
Netflix has plans to have a subscription movie service!
How about an AI mouse. It would learn if you're lefty or righty and it would tell glove manufacturers. It would read your pulse during stressful situations to find patterns and let other companies know when to best sell you shit. Yeah lots of benefits!
But they'll implement a one time fee to change your dpi, and then a few years after that it'll be subscription.
Damage control.
"her".
And there you have it.