Nest Is Done As a Standalone Alphabet Company, Merges With Google (arstechnica.com) 45
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: There's a shakeup at Nest today. Following previous rumors back in November, Google just announced Nest will no longer be a standalone Alphabet company; instead, it will merge with the Google hardware team. The current Nest CEO, Marwan Fawaz, will report to Google Hardware SVP Rick Osterloh. Google's blog post says the merger will allow it to "combine hardware, software, and services" between the two companies, which are all "built with Google's artificial intelligence and the Assistant at the core." Nest and Google have been growing closer together even without this merger, with Nest getting a spot at the "Made By Google" Pixel 2 launch event to tout Nest and Google Assistant integration. An earlier report from The Wall Street Journal said that Google and Nest already combined their supply chain teams in 2016. While Google has focused on making the "Google" brand well known in the hardware world with the Pixel phones and Google Home, CNET reports that Google won't be dumping the Nest brand.
Re:What's the point? (Score:4, Informative)
The point is that Alphabet absorbs the risky propositions, and allows them to cut off money to them if the risk doesn't pan out, while google remains an isolated profit making group that is insulated from risk.
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So for this merger - did the risk pay out or are they are recycling the scraps?
Android phone takes photos of dessert, the Nest.. (Score:2)
The point is that Alphabet absorbs the risky propositions, and allows them to cut off money to them if the risk doesn't pan out, while google remains an isolated profit making group that is insulated from risk.
You take pictures of dessert with an Android phone, or get into a Waymo car, and your Nest thermostat will know that you're coming home and adjust the temperature for you.
It's both genius (they/'ve perfected the programmable thermostat like the way a PVR has perfected the VCR) and scary, given the building damage it could cause if it were hacked or crash-prone and caused frozen pipes.
I recently posted about how to install an old thermostat in parallel with the new programmable one, just to keep it as a back
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What's the point of this whole Alphabet thing if they're just going to start merging companies into Google anyway...
Synergies?
When possible Google wants to split off companies as much as possible to avoid anti-trus^H^H^H^H to let each independent company focus on it's own product.
But for something like Nest they probably think it can benefit from really close integration with Google's other services.
I predict (Score:5, Interesting)
Over the next 3-5 years, every other Alphabet "company" will merge with Google. Then Alphabet itself will rebrand as Google.
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Way to explain the joke. We already got it.
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Grangoogle, so much hardware you have!
The better to spy on you, my dear . . .
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I purchased one because my free standing radiators take a while to heat up, and then keep hot for a while.
The nest auto learns how early to turn them on and off to keep my my temperature correct and program functioning year round.
I think that's a common feature now, but it wasn't five or so years ago.
The fact that the house can take three hours plus to hear up makes the online feature nice when on business trips of indeterminate length too.
Re: This much buzz? (Score:1)
That all seems harder to setup then connecting two wires to a thermostat that does it for me. For one thing, a multi stage boiler would be far more expensive a retrofit than a thermostat, sure, a variable power boiler would be cool.
I suppose instead of controlling the boiler fire, you could control the water temperature, but again, that's a pretty expensive retro fit to gravity fed system. I'm actually not aware of any boilers that work by controlling the water temperature and pumping continuously (for a sm
Reinventing the Chronotherm and Multistage Heat... (Score:2)
That all seems harder to setup then connecting two wires to a thermostat that does it for me. For one thing, a multi stage boiler would be far more expensive a retrofit than a thermostat, sure, a variable power boiler would be cool.
A multistage boiler would be nice.... but no point until you need to replace it (and even then, only if your fuel costs justify the added expense over the life of the unit).
A 1987 Honeywell Chronotherm programmable thermostat (probably still works!) will learn, over a few days to weeks, how long it takes to heat or cool your home. You set the temperature you want when you get home at 5:PM, and it will average out the time it took to heat or cool the home, so it will figure out to turn on the AC at 3:45PM an
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I wish they (Honeywell) advertised it more heavily on the package, perhaps I could have saved hundreds.
I replaced a $50 or so programmable with the nest, it did not vary heat up time with outside temperature (an hour swing day to day, new windows are next, but cost more than a thermostat), and it did not cut off a few degrees (and much time) before the desired temperature knowing that having all of the radiators fully hot will lead to another hour or so of heating even with the boiler off.
Any of the thermos
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Every room in the upper level of my home has its own electric radiator that is independently controlled by its own thermostat. Most years I don't even turn them on. We like our rooms a little cooler, and enough heat rises from downstairs. So buying a nest wouldn't help them.
The lower levels of the house are heated by a gas furnace; and a pretty basic thermostat operates it just fine. When i go on business trips I imagine the rest of my family and pets wish to remain their usual temperature. When we go on va
Re: This much buzz? (Score:1)
I don't micromanage my thermostat when away, I set it to 55 when I leave, and when I get on the plane to come home set it to 65.
I will agree, large freestanding radiators are a corner case (un updated east coast urban houses), but they are one where the nest really shines. It makes it possible to use a program at all.
You say you have a furnace, if that were the case for me I'd be fine with anything, as forced air doesn't over shoot or take as long to heat up.
It's auto program was useless btw. It was too agg
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"Nest Thermostat works on existing wires. There will be no compatibility issues."
The compatibilty issues I was referring to was the software and apps and so forth between different evolving home automation solutions.
"Turning on the AC by shouting "OK Google, turn on the AC" still feels like magic, although not that useful."
OTOH telling google when nobody is home seems like a bad idea.
"Starting the AC 30 minutes before I get home is nice when it's 90+ degree outside."
I just have it set for when I'm usually h
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Their Google Home Mini sold huge numbers last November and December. All of a sudden, the Nest is off in a corner in its own company and not together with the other home automation/control/assistant tech.
The Nest brand is also security cameras, smoke detectors, and a doorbell.
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It saves you money, and everybody likes money.
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What's our aimless strategy today Brain? (Score:2)
The same thing is it every day Pinky!
It's BETA AND UNSUPPORTED UNTIL WE KILL IT!
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As if I would trust the HVAC in my home to an Internet homed device. LOL, enjoy your frozen house when you come home, courtesy of Joe Hacker, or pets killed when they overheated your house during summer.
Exactly. And when security flaws are found do you think google will push free updates for years? Of course not. You're getting ready for New Years party and notice it's awfully cold. Check the Nest and it's set to max AC. App and Nest isn't responding, and now you're scrambling to fix it when you need to leave in 5 minutes because you're already fashionably late. I just don't trust handing everything in our lives to corporate overlords. Even when they screw up horribly lawsuits don't phase them and t
Price/performance (Score:2)
The wrong solution (Score:2)