OS-neutral: 50% off on all Razer peripherals for 24 hours

[talhasyed]

To celebrate winning some awards in CES, Razer is discounting all their peripherals by 50% for 24 hours. The announcements and coupon code is on their FaceBook page:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...8807575&type=1

I am thinking of picking up the Razer Naga 2013, and was wondering how their Mac support was. Do I need to install their drivers? If so, are they relatively bloat free?

[beerijuana]

...I'm tempted to order the new Orbweaver.

[ScottishCaptain]

Think twice about buying a Razer mouse.

Their software (which is required to use the mouse properly) requires online mandatory activation and a user account creation so it can store your settings "in the cloud". There has also been reports of the same software ("Synapse 2.0") recording your usage habits on your computer and uploading it to Razer (according to their terms of service, they have the right to do so).

-SC

[beerijuana]

Originally Posted by ScottishCaptain

There has also been reports of...

Credible cite?

[lightz39]

People are paranoid. Who cares if they track what you do to make the products better. Do you think they are going to sell photos of you or turn you in to the Feds for stealing software?

[ScottishCaptain]

Originally Posted by beerijuana

Credible cite?

http://www.razerzone.com/synapse2/privacy-policy

By using Razer Synapse 2.0 (“Synapse”), the Subscriber agrees that Razer may collect aggregate information, individual information, and personally identifiable information. Razer may share aggregate information and individual information with other parties. Razer shall not share personally identifiable information with other parties, except as described in the policy below.

More random crap at:

http://www.razerzone.com/synapse2/subscriber-agreement

Originally Posted by lightz39

People are paranoid. Who cares if they track what you do to make the products better. Do you think they are going to sell photos of you or turn you in to the Feds for stealing software?

Companies like Razer give us every right to be paranoid. I care if they track me. We are talking about a mouse here, not a piece of software like Photoshop CS6. This is a piece of hardware with extraneous software requirements, and it's ridiculous.

If you can't see that, then you're precisely the kind of consumer they expect to buy this garbage and put up with it.

By the way, the USB HID class for mice supports a nearly infinite amount of hardware buttons on the device itself. That means that you should be able to plug any mouse into your computer and expect that all the buttons "just work". This is how most Logitech mice operate.

Companies like Razer and Madcatz don't adhere to the USB HID spec completely though. They go out of their way to obfuscate the communication protocols their hardware uses so you need kernel level drivers and software packages just to make all the buttons work.

Why is this necessary? Why is it considered OK?

They can make a mouse that works out of the box with no software at all, but they chose not to. Instead, you've got to sign up for an online account for a friggin' mouse and agree to two separate EULAs before you can use the hardware you paid for. It's a mouse, give me a break.

What would you say if your printer, monitor, speakers, and keyboard all required separate online accounts to activate and operate? What would you say if each of those devices required drivers and software to operate that sat around in the background watching what you do so that company can "improve their products"? It's all just a big song and dance, they just want your information to sell it- hence the clauses in the TOS linked to above.

-SC

[beerijuana]

Originally Posted by ScottishCaptain

http://www.razerzone.com/synapse2/privacy-policy

More random crap at:

http://www.razerzone.com/synapse2/subscriber-agreement

Did you miss this?

Razer may use customer contact information provided by Subscribers to send information about Razer, including news about product updates, contests, events, and other promotional materials, but only if the Subscriber agrees to receive such communications. Except in the cases described below, Razer will not share personally identifiable information with any third party unless the Subscriber agrees to such disclosure in advance.

Lions and Tigers and Newsletters ...oh my!

Here's the tinfoil option:

If you are concerned about the accuracy of personal information maintained by Razer or would like your personal information removed from Razer’s records, please contact us by emailing accounthelp@razerzone.com for review, update, or removal of personal information.

SO, any actual examples of ...actual malfeasance via Synapse ...or the mailing list?

Or, just the usual "The TOS wants to eat your babies!" kinda' thing?

[ScottishCaptain]

I'm not going to argue with you.

Clearly you don't get the point, in that they're pushing non-standard hardware (which should be standard- that's why we have the USB HID class after all) that requires online activation to use.

Fine by me, enjoy your new mouse with the bloated software that insists on maintaining a persistent connection to Razer's servers. Oh, and let me know how things are working when you can't get through to Razer's activation servers for whatever reason, rendering the vast majority of your hardware features inoperable.

It's not about the TOS, that's just the icing on the cake. It's about the fact that there IS a TOS in the first place, especially one for a mandatory online service that has no off switch and is required before you can use your hardware properly.

-SC