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.>>>>
[click click, click click click click] Hmm, why’s it not… Honey, did we pay the mouse bill this month?
Disgusting. Utterly disgusting. This idea belongs in the garbage bin.
Weird analogy, you don’t to pay a subscription for your nice watch to keep the right time
Yet!
Ssssshhhh, for god’s sake don’t give them any ideas.
Subscription-based hardware should be illegal.
If you’re renting something, you rent it and give it back to be rented out again if you stop paying. There is no common good argument for this remote sabotage bullshit.
I have used nothing but Logitech thumb-ball mice for the past 20 years. I love my MX Ergo.
If Logitech ever sells a mouse with a subscription, I don’t care how nice it is, I’ll have my own fucking PCB made and design my own QMK capable mouse before I’ll pay for it.
Just sell me the $90 mouse that lasts 5 years. I refuse to accept mouse feudalism.
I got a “Ploopy” a while back. Open source, QMK powered mouse. Terrible name, but it’s been working like a charm. All components are 3D printed or can be purchased cheaply. No good wireless options right now, though. The power efficient protocols needed are all proprietary afaik.
Perhaps I am incredibly naive, but for me a “Forever mouse” is something you buy, own, and have control absolute over!
“Forever mouse” is a marketing term to sell you a subscription. I’m not going to pay a subscription to get driver updates or to use basic functionality of the mouse. I have a forever keyboard (expensive mechanical keyboard) and it does not require a subscription and I can use the entire functionality without paying ever again.
I don’t even have the software for my mouse installed. I think she’s massively overestimating the value of mouse software updates.
She’s just trying to figure out how to make renting cheap peripherals make sense so that you can keep paying Logitech forever.
Seriously, fuck all these “subscription” ideas.
Why in the ever-loving fuck would I want to pay a subscription for a goddam computer mouse? Some techbro fuckwit is probably chest-bumping his own reflection in the mirror for coming up with this dumb idea.
Here’s a novel idea to help you keep revenue going the right direction: try innovating something truly useful and new, rather than selling the same, regurgitated Hotel California bullshit to hapless users.
Yeah it’s a horrible idea in all the usual ways, but hear me out. What if Logitech figures out a way to provide actual value to the customer? What if you get a new mouse every year if you send the old one back? That way, you would be paying a subscription for always having the latest mouse. Probably not something I would do, but someone who has more money might appreciate a service like that.
Not sure if /s or not, but I’ll bite. That’s the opposite of what they’ve stated in the article. This would be a mouse that you buy and use forever, no physical upgrades, just software. There is no value for the customer, only the shareholders.
Well the mice would be ergonomically different so they would all need getting used to, and you know the waste of shipping and throwing away a perfectly good mouse every year to get a new one.
I’m going to blame the cloud for this. SaaS has got pretty much most software companies into the idea that they can have their cake and eat it with recurring revenue from cloud hosting their services.
This seems to have overflowed into every other market, where they want a piece of that pie.
I’m hoping it’s a fad that goes away. You know how we can make it a fad that goes away? Don’t buy into this shit.
But I have a mouse from 20 years ago that works just fine.
I guess exactly this is part of the companies’ problem here. It’s bad for the shareholder value and the managers’ bonuses.
I’m using a Logitech mouse from probably 15 years ago that gets daily use and works just fine. I’m not sure how much it cost, but I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than about $20 for a mouse and probably the only reason I’d have picked one from Logitech is that it was the only one available at the shop I happened to be in at the time that wasn’t a ridiculous overpriced “gaming” product.
We have Logitech wired mice at work and they’ve turned into straight garbage in recent years. I’ve literally opened one brand new and had the cable begin fraying where it feeds into the mouse within a week. Previously, our Logitech mice would last for years without issue with 24/7 use.
She can fuck right off with that. I have a mouse that fell apart because it used soft plastic, another one I threw away because I couldn’t clean properly (taking it apart to clean broke something), and now I have one from logitech. My parents have a mouse from (I kid you not) 1995. Brand is unknown. There were already “forever” mice out there, it’s just that now they voluntarily make them shit for you to buy a new one.
Just make mice like 20 years ago but in different forms (vertical, ball at the thumb), that can be opened to clean and repair, and we’re fine. No need for your dumb-ass subscription. Fuck off.
What? Nooo. I don’t want the stupid mouse-balls ever again. Sure i could clean it but i also HAD to. Regularly.
Besides, you’re right. Fuck subscriptions. Fuck logitech, fuck their shitty quality.
They’re talking about a Trackball mouse e.g., not the pre laser mice (or they’re nuts). Good ergonomics, useful for carpal tunnel etc.
FWIW I’ve found their high-end mice pretty robust, my MX Master 2 is still going strong 5+ years in, if cosmetically challenged. Amortised over time, the price is not so bad.
I find anything with that coated plastic over time gets crappy. I still have an old X52 pro I’ve had for probably around 15 years now. In the end I just completely took off the flaking rubber style coating they put over it and it’s now shiny plastic and still going strong.
I also have a G502 that’s 6 years old. It has some worn areas where it’s actively held and on the buttons. I replaced the skates last year and have a spare set. Otherwise, still going strong.
Really not sure why I’d subscribe for something that lasts so long and isn’t THAT expensive to replace.
What’s a mouse?
I use a trackpad
The lenovo version of trackpad on my thinkpad has buttons on the top & bottom along with trackpoint that works when nothing else will…
I even have a usb keyboard with a trackpadI bought a gaming mouse [not logitech] to set up a distro that wouldn’t install by trackpad for $12 once the install finished, it sits on a shelf
A forever mouse is a solution in search of a problem
The customer base of people who use mice is shrinking, most people use their phones or pads a majority of the time
what you wrote sounds completely insane to me. sure i don’t use a mouse on my phone very much, but no way would i ever prefer a trackpad to a mouse for a desktop or laptop. and tons of people still carry a mouse to use with their laptops, based on my observations. i really think you may be an outlier here.
My wrist will not tolerate using a mouse for more than a few hours
You use a mouse on your phone?not very much. honestly, only once or twice, for a laugh, which is probably still more than most folks lol
