Why Would a Mouse Need To Connect To the Internet? 249
jbrodkin writes "In this hyper-connected, networked world, many more of our devices are getting linked to the cloud, whether we want them to or not. That's sometimes good, and sometimes bad, so when a basic device like a mouse requires a user to go online and set up an account to activate all of its functionality, people are understandably going to ask why? The latest entry in the saga of 'Why the hell does this thing need to connect to the Internet?' comes from Razer, which has caused an uproar by asking users to register gaming mice on the Internet. While it's mainly for syncing settings across devices, gamers are complaining that certain functionality might not be available unless you create an online account for your mouse. Razer has responded to the controversy, but its answers aren't entirely satisfactory."
This is why I use Linux. (Score:5, Interesting)
I bought one (Score:5, Interesting)
... and returned it!
Basically the mouse is so hypersensitive with insane DPI that you have to run their software to mod it down. The reason the internet is required is because it uses a cloud to load your mouse settings. No you did not misread that?!
It gets worse
The profile and cloud service are several services that depend on each other and take almost a minute on my fast 2.8 ghz Phenom II and meanwhile the cursor is flying all over the machine due to the high dpi settings. Razor made it so light too which excaberates the problem. They have added weights for their $130 and it is their way of saying a Fuck you for being cheap by buying the $80 mouse??? Since when is $80 cheap? So you just have to set their and wayt for your mouse to connect to the cloud to slow down a simple setting. Sigh
This cloud obsession is silly and getting too far. I can't use logitech because they are too small for my hands. Microsoft explorer mosue 2 is big enough but htey no longer have the scroll mouse. Just a touch button that will hurt after rubbing my fingers for several hours. My dying MS mouse I will keep for now as I am disapointed in razor. It is rediculous.
Re:razer synapse (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, the cloud solution lets you have multiple mice all automatically use the same settings without toting around SD cards or adding expense and bulk to the mice themselves.
I use Razer Synapse. I was really annoyed at having to use it at first, but the next day when I moved my Naga mouse over to a different system, I saw how useful it was. My only complaint now is that updates for the software are quite frequent, and require reboots, which is pretty obnoxious.
Re:Razor products (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:And the next step? (Score:4, Interesting)
It's worse than that: less than 1 week after installing stupid Synapse 2.0 my original Razer Mamba's IR stopped tracking. The buttons work, but it doesn't move the mouse pointer. Razer claims they can't find my registration, and urges me to buy a new Razer Mamba 2012. Sad thing is that it was a great mouse until the 'cloud' killed it. Correlation is not causation, but when you spend $189 on a mouse you'd think the IR would last more than 1 year...
So I downgraded to a $49 Razer Deathadder. Basically the same form-factor as the Mamba, but no wireless and less DPI. The Mamba came with this Apple-like thick plastic mount so it's like a small piece of art now, back on its original pedestal. :(
Re:razer synapse (Score:5, Interesting)
have no possible marketing utility
Well the new synapse drivers have Facebook and Twitter integration. I'm not kidding - open the mouse configuration page and down the bottom right there's a row of social media icons.
Re:This is why I use Linux. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I might be missing out... (Score:4, Interesting)
HP printer drivers drove me so far over the edge that I swore never to buy another one of their damned products, ever, ever again. They may have the greatest printers/plotters/scanners/laptops in the world, and I'll never know because I wouldn't consider one. So when I heard they came out with the chipped cartridges that thwarted ink and toner refilling, I just got to laugh at all those poor suckers. Meg Whitman isn't the only disaster causing the failure of a once mighty engineering company.
When I shop for devices now, I look at the company and their track record with devices and drivers before buying. I currently own a Brother printer, with plain old plastic ink tanks, and a straightforward TCP socket based control program. Brother has never forgot their embedded machine roots and remains good at making their stuff have very tiny footprints, and no weird DRM crap. Unless they screw that up, they've got me as a customer for life.
Re:razer synapse (Score:5, Interesting)
I would be interested to see an informed EULA-violating teardown of the new driver arrangement; but I'm inclined to operate on the provisional assumption that an untrusted program with enough local access to modify nonstandard settings(ie. Not just twiddling the numlock LED) of USB HID devices and internet access is a keylogger until proven innocent.
". USER GENERATED INFORMATION
“User Generated Information” means any information made available to Razer through your use of the Software. Subject to the Privacy Policy mentioned above, you expressly grant Razer the complete and irrevocable right to use, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, distribute, transmit, broadcast, and otherwise communicate, and publicly display and perform the User Generated Information and derivative works thereof in any form, anywhere, with or without attribution to you, and without any notice or compensation to you of any kind."
With that little puppy in their service agreement, they certainly appear to be asserting a claim over absolutely anything that their software(or any later version) is technologically capable of grabbing...
Re:This is why I use Linux. (Score:3, Interesting)
"The only thing that your mindless trolling demonstrates is the fact that you don't bother to actually read what you respond to."
Oh, which is why almost no cameras work on 64-bit linux, eh? Hardware almost as old as slackware and zero sort of generic driver. Hell, you could've had a 32-bit driver emulator for 64-bit Linux, but apparently you guys aren't smart enough to do that so more hardware would actually work under linux.
I've gone through hundreds of devices under Linux. To this day, more than 40% still do not work despite saying they support my particular distros.
When you actually have the devices to test and not some carefully cherry-picked near-linux-only hardware, maybe then you can speak.
Hell, a shitty tiny MenuetOS supports my hardware where Linux apparently fails to.
Drive