Technology

37747 readers

189 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Logitech has an idea for a “forever mouse” that requires a subscription (arstechnica.com)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

70 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber recently discussed the possibility of one day selling a mouse that customers can use "forever." The executive said such a mouse isn't "necessarily super far away" and will rely on software updates, likely delivered through a subscription model.

Speaking on a July 29 episode of The Verge's Decoder podcast, Faber, who Logitech appointed as CEO in October, said that members of a "Logitech innovation center" showed her "a forever mouse" and compared it to a nice but not "super expensive" watch. She said:

I’m not planning to throw that watch away ever. So why would I be throwing my mouse or my keyboard away if it’s a fantastic-quality, well-designed, software-enabled mouse? The forever mouse is one of the things that we’d like to get to.

Having to pay a regular fee for full use of a peripheral could deter customers, though. HP is trying a similar idea with rentable printers that require a monthly fee. The printers differ from the idea of the forever mouse in that the HP hardware belongs to HP, not the user. However, concerns around tracking and the addition of ongoing expenses are similar.>>>>

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

That's cool! I only really do thumb-ball mice, though, and I haven't really seen alternatives to Logitech in the same form-factor. I imagine they might even have a patent on it.

Buuuut I'm betting I can do stuff like repair the couple of MX Ergos I have lying around if I need to if I get motivated about it. Or like, maybe there's a way I can have replacement parts fabricated or use the shell of a Logitech mouse as the basis for something similar.

You hear that Logitech? Charge me a subscription fee and I will absolutely figure this out and distribute blueprints and repair guides to the whole ass internet. I appreciate your ergonomics, your unifying dongles, your precision mode, and all your hotkeys, but $90 is plenty for a mouse. Don't get greedy or I will personally bite you in the ass.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Thumb ball, like this?

Edit: oh duh, the ball isn't at the thumb.

Edit again: oh wait they do have a thumb ball one. Fixed the link.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Ooohhh, that does look promising! Good to know there's some kind of viable alternative!