![]() the PS5) aren’t added to the database, or else vulnerable to hacking as security issues go unpatched.” :Since much of the Harmony software is cloud-based, countless systems may become inoperable, or impossible to update as new devices (e.g. As my source says, “if Harmony were its own company, I highly doubt they’d decide to shut down due to abject hopelessness.” Now the database will probably be destroyed, and people will have to redesign their systems to no longer include a universal remote. ![]() Their CEO says it is because of competition from streaming, but that's nonsense, they’ve wanted to get rid of the product line since 2013. I say ‘was’ because Logitech is actually killing the entire product line now. For obvious reasons, they haven’t open-sourced this database.” “Their market dominance has been ironclad because of their database: they have infrared codes for hundreds of thousands of devices, from brand-name TVs to random HDMI doodads on page fourteen of Amazon. Logitech is a monopolist in the universal remote control space, which it acquired in 2004 when it purchased a firm called Harmony. Logitech’s products are pretty, but the actual quality of the software is terrible, which is the classic sign of a marketing-driven organization run by lazy executives. “These remotes,” he told me, “can control a massive array of A/V devices including TVs, cable boxes, disc players, streaming boxes, amplifiers, and more recently IoT devices like lights, blinds, and plugs.” As it turns out, the answer is… a monopoly! A few months ago, I got an email from a professional installer and BIG reader who told me about the company Logitech, a consumer electronics producer. I had always wondered why no one has been able to solve the ‘too many remote controls’ problem, a clutter a living room of remotes with no ability to figure out which one controls which device. ![]() If you’d like to sign up to receive issues over email, you can do so here. Welcome to BIG, a newsletter on the politics of monopoly power. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |