Up next: mouse cartridges.
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 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?
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 🤑
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.
Oof, no bluetooth. Has to be cabled!
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!”
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
Vim users laughing that they can get by on the cheapest tier.
click here to find out about new exciting keyboard plans from Logitech
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 movement
Simply 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.
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!
Anymore
But won’t rule it out.
“No, just kidding”
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.
Netflix has plans to have a subscription movie service!
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…"
“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.
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.
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.
So, it’s the interviewers job to not ask potentially embarrassing questions?
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.
