The other day, in Ireland, in our innovation center there, one of our team members showed me a forever mouse with the comparison to a watch. This is a nice watch, not a super expensive watch, but 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.
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.
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.
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.
The forever mouse, and the forever mouse could be the mouse that you keep and we just send you software updates, but it could also be the mouse that you turn in at Best Buy and we get it back or Best Buy takes it back and refurbs and resells it, which is another business model. We’re starting to do that but not yet at the scale that we need to.
“Forever mouse”
“Supported by paid subscription service”
Forever mouse
Oh nice, a mouse I pay for once and will keep using forever?
I pay once?
Why the hell does a mouse need software updates? It points and it clicks. That’s it. No need to make it any more complex.
Macros/reprogramability/DPI changes. In theory they could improve the macros. But like macros should be a pretty solved problem at this point.
Doesn’t the universal HID standard cover all that? It removed the need for frickin drivers, but I guess we’re going back with all the rgb spyware
Macros and DPI settings? No.
The mouse will still work, but you’re stuck with the default settings. The mouse still uses the generic driver, it’s just the software reprograms the mouse to do your macros, or run at a non insane DPI.
Their software doesn’t even work correctly with some games and who knows when they’ll fix it, for example I have a g502 and in order to use a mouse click in a macro I have to run their software in admin mode. This was a fix I only found on reddit 3 years ago and still no change.
Imagine it’s like your Rolex, the CEO says to the journalist who probably makes like 70k/year if they’re lucky
Weren’t old rolexes somewhat affordable and really durable? Like during the 40’s weren’t they cheap?
It depends but yeah, Rolex weren’t a super luxury brand until they featured heavily in the Bond movies and when swiss watches were worn by pilots and got some prestige. That’s also one of the cheaper ones to buy nowadays (2000~USD) since a ton of pilots would buy them so they are the ‘mass-produced rolexes’
Rent seeking shit. Capitalists are the fucking worst.
