My gut reaction this time is to blame management culture as a whole. It is depressingly common for CEOs of companies to have little idea what actually happens in their own companies. They’re just “big picture.” Whatever that means. It’s usually a euphemism for stock price. I haven’t checked but I’m guessing they didn’t nail that one either.
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Logitech Says It Has No Plans for a Subscription-Based 'Forever Mouse'
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My gut reaction this time is to blame management culture as a whole. It is depressingly common for CEOs of companies to have little idea what actually happens in their own companies. They’re just “big picture.” Whatever that means. It’s usually a euphemism for stock price. I haven’t checked but I’m guessing they didn’t nail that one either.
Oh that's an easy one.
Hardware manufacturers make their money on units sold and don't get any sort of structural recurring revenue (e.g. a subscription) A product that a user can buy once and use for a lifetime is good for the consumer and the environment in the long run; but bad for the manufacturer.
Manufacturers are incentivised to make their products of poor quality that'll break after a couple years so you're forced to go back and buy another. This is how they achieve "reoccuring revenue"
A subscription gives them a structural source of recurring revenue; and as such they can give you that mouse that lasts forever. There's no reason they couldn't already do this today and sell it. But shareholders want profits.
The "media" may have been fair but the public overreacted which is what too often happens on social media/forums. A CEO saying they could "possibly" envision a subscription mouse does not mean it is very likely or imminent as some seem to have taken it.
The MR article from a week ago clearly stated, "there are no plans to release such a product at the current time" and the PR spokesperson is essentially just reiterating the same thing now, "there are no plans for a subscription mouse."
The only thing that comes to my mind are these specialized gaming mice that have some additional macro settings for individual games, just like Nvidia usually releases updated graphics drivers with support for new releases or Razer doing so with, let’s say, light hues or spatial audio enhancements.
Of course what do you expect. She came from the food business in Unilever.....she is completely clueless about tech.
...which leads to the question "that's fine for your cheap £20 mice, but what's your excuse for the £100 MX Master?"
(I use MX Master because they seem to be one of the best in terms of features and ergonomics, but despite costing 5x as much as a cheap mouse, they certainly ain't built for the ages, I'm on my third in 9 years... not exactly "forever")
Overreacted how? By basically saying "that's a horrible idea, I won't buy it, and I won't buy Logitech if that's going to be their business model"?
Of course, this is the internet, so someone out there will going over-the-top about it, but most are just calling it out as a bad idea (...in a world where internet-connected fridges and subscription dishwashers are real) - so hopefully if there were any such plans they've now been shelved.
...plus, senior business executives really should know how to conduct themselves in press interviews.
The tipping has gotten INSANE. Just insane.
Why am I tipping when I buy cookies at the bakery? Or when I PICK UP my own takeout food.
And some people say " just don't leave a tip". Well, how about your kiosk or screen stops asking for one. If I want to leave a tip, I'll dig into my pocket and throw a few bucks in the jar.
We'll never know how likely it was, but it will still be a stupid idea two years from now.
