Without updates or ability to download after August, app will become useless.

It is hard to imagine that there was not someone inside of Nike that lost their faith in humanity when the pitch for these things was originally taking off.

  • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.orgEnglish
    119·
    4 months ago

    Remember folks: Any smart device you have that requires an internet connection or app is e-waste waiting to happen at the company’s whim.

    • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
      243·
      4 months ago

      I mean, there are some devices that fundamentally have to be online to be useful. You’re not losing anything there.

      A Roku stick requires the Roku streaming service to be functioning to be useful. If there wasn’t a service with streaming media, the stick would have nothing to stream.

      The problem is when you have a device that doesn’t have that fundamental requirement but is then unnecessarily tied to an online service. Home automation requiring Internet connectivity, for example, when virtually no home automation actually requires access to any online services, or converting non-live-service video games to live-service video games.

      • Darkassassin07@lemmy.caEnglish
        38·
        4 months ago

        A Roku stick requires the Roku streaming service to be functioning to be useful. If there wasn’t a service with streaming media, the stick would have nothing to stream.

        In cases like this; it’s still only artificially dependant on Rokus services.

        The hardware is perfectly capable of streaming from any number of services, including entirely self-hosted solutions like Emby/Jellyfin/Plex; yet the device can be remotely bricked just by nolonger providing Rokus services to it.

      • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.orgEnglish
        21·
        4 months ago

        A Roku stick requires the Roku streaming service to be functioning to be useful. If there wasn’t a service with streaming media, the stick would have nothing to stream.

        Still becomes e-waste if Roku drops support for it. Granted, that’s not the best example as I’ve got an old-ass Roku that still works, but the point stands. Same goes for Fire sticks and other devices like that.

        They really should be forced to, at minimum, release unlocking tools to allow 3rd party firmware. (Think flashing OpenWRT to a Roku and using it as a travel router or something). Ideally, they’d also release a development kit to foster “after-life” uses of such devices.

        Lots of companies will accept old devices back (supposedly to recycle), but there’s another “R”, re-use, that’s also an important part of the process.

      • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.orgEnglish
        28·
        4 months ago

        Without the app, wearers are unable to change the color of the sneaker’s LED lights. The lights will either maintain the last color scheme selected via the app or, per Nike, “if you didn’t install the app, light will be the default color.” While owners will still be able to use on-shoe buttons to turn the shoes on or off, check its battery, adjust the lace’s tightness, and save fit settings, the ability to change lighting and control the shoes via mobile phone were big selling points of the $350 kicks.

      • fan0m@lemmy.worldEnglish
        63·
        4 months ago

        I own a pair. You do lose some functionality without the app. The ability to change the light colors, set and recall presets.

        You can still tighten them without the app. And I think you can set one preset as well (not sure tbh)

        They announced the sunsetting of the app like 2 months ago but the media is capitalizing on the announcement now for some reason. It sucks but it’s not the end of the world not having the app.

  • SeaJ@lemm.eeEnglish
    61·
    4 months ago

    Losing the app means that people can’t change the color of the light on the shoe. You can still do all the other shit manually.

    That said, I feel like companies should be required to open source shit like this once they drop support for it. Otherwise stuff like this adds to the mountains of e-waste poisoning the planet.

  • Default_Defect@midwest.socialEnglish
    311·
    4 months ago

    Of all the overpriced bullshit people flock to for no reason other than to be suckers, sneakers are the one that made the least sense to me.

    • BruceTwarzen@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      4 months ago

      I talked to a bunch of sneaker heads over the years and i don’t think i’ll ever get it. I don’t like to shit on someone’s hobby, but buying shitty super overpriced sneakers made by slaves is a weird ass hobby.

      • Nythos@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        1·
        4 months ago

        Especially considering most of the time they likely won’t even wear the things because of either how much they cost or because they find them to be a collectors item.

    • magic_lobster_party@kbin.run
      18·
      4 months ago

      The problem is that there are usually no other alternatives, or at least not any easily accessible. Heck, these days even routers require app activation for no reason other than to be shitty.

      There should be a law against this. All hardware requiring an app should also have an open API.

      • SaltySalamander@fedia.io
        3·
        4 months ago

        Heck, these days even routers require app activation for no reason other than to be shitty

        There are more often than not alternatives that exist that don’t have this requirement.

    • BangCrash@lemmy.worldEnglish
      221·
      4 months ago

      How did you post this comment?

      Were you using an app?

      Edit: humour is lost on the humourless

      • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
        15·
        4 months ago

        There isn’t one app to post to Lemmy, there’s a dozen. And they’re open source mostly. And there’s a web page. And you can self-host a fediverse node. And ActivityPub is an open standard. And and and.

        Now if this was Reddit, you might be closer to the mark.

      • Lvxferre@mander.xyzEnglish
        3·
        4 months ago

        How did you post this comment? // Were you using an app?

        Please refer to the context when interpreting what others say dammit. Your questions stink “ackshyually lol lmao” from a distance.

        The OP is talking about sneakers unnecessarily requiring an “app”; in this context, Farts’ “anything” should be interpreted as “physical goods” (like sneakers), not “internet services that may be accessed through a browser or specialised software” (like Lemmy).

        • BangCrash@lemmy.worldEnglish
          15·
          4 months ago

          I’m sorry oh mighty one.

          I’ll go and enjoy the pun over here while you try to figure out if what I wrote was intentionally funny or accidentally funny, or funny at all. Social ques are hard aren’t they.

          • Lvxferre@mander.xyzEnglish
            2·
            4 months ago

            Cut off the crap.

            “Ackshyually I was totally joking! Yeah, it was a joke! You’re just too stupid to get the clue” doesn’t work if there’s no clue that it’s a joke on first place, no matter if you rephrase it with Reddit style passive aggressiveness.

            Please do everyone in Lemmy a favour and stay in Reddit. You’ll be in more suitable company.

          • slaacaa@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            4 months ago

            You might have intended it to be funny, but it wasn’t, as it is clear from the downvotes. So instead of trying to convince everybody in multiple desperate comments that they are wrong, maybe just move on.

  • woelkchen@lemmy.worldEnglish
    25·
    4 months ago

    Isn’t the point of self-lacing shoes that they shouldn’t require manual user input at all? What is the app for then?

  • the post of tom joad@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    14·
    4 months ago

    So will there be a pirate app floating around for those who own these? Are there enough peeps who bought these for there to be interest in making one? Can’t be tough

  • EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    7·
    4 months ago

    why does it need an app? Why not just have a button on the shoe that pulls the laces into their chambers and forget about connecting it to your phone?

    • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
      91·
      4 months ago

      It could have a button.

      But a button wouldnt give them all the permissions on your phone to harvest your data for sale and exploitation.

    • erwan@lemmy.mlEnglish
      51·
      4 months ago

      Because once their app is installed on your phone, they can send you push notification ads for their next great shoes.

      • EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        4·
        4 months ago

        having it with any ability to connect to your phone at all is dumb. Why does everything have to be connected to everything else all the time to work? Oh right…surveillance from advertising companies

        • aesthelete@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          4 months ago

          I just bought a breathalyzer so I can know my BAC when out having a couple at happy hour and be safe to drive home. It works standalone because it has a button and screen, but all over the place it’s like “it has an app!!! It can connect to your phone!!!” who the fuck would ever want to do that?

  • rsuri@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    4 months ago

    Finally, they fixed shoe-tying. Now all I gotta do when I wanna tie my shoes is download an app and make sure my shoes are charged.

  • sudo42@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    4 months ago

    “I’ve got to leave early.”
    “Why? We’re having fun!”
    “Sorry, I got to go home and charge my shoes.”

    We surely live in the future! /s

  • fubarx@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    4 months ago

    Companies really should just opensource their apps at this point, or at the very least publish their protocols.

    Can’t see how dropping apps and bricking devices benefits anyone.

    • atx_aquarian@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      4 months ago

      Source code escrow is a thing, too. I’ve only seen it in the context of (as I understood it) protection against going out of business, but perhaps it could apply to discontinued products, as well?

    • CrowAirbrush@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      4 months ago

      A point could be made that it hurts the planet and they should be held responsible for their shenanigans.

      As with that spotify car thing.

  • Abnorc@lemm.eeEnglish
    4·
    4 months ago

    We need self tightening AI nuts and bolts. We could sell them to Boeing or something idk.