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Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by jrockway on Friday February 13, 2015 @08:36PM (#9048341)
I saw this last night and admit that I've watched the video a couple times. It's a fascinating view into what users are really doing with your product.

<spoilers follow>

And, I'm really impressed with the filmmaking skill exhibited in this short video. The transition between walking with the camera and setting it down to rip the smoke alarm off the ceiling is perfect, and the framing there is great. As the film proceeds, Brad's breathing becomes more apparent and faster, as the tension builds to a climax of automatons screaming "emergency" and "can't be hushed here, can't be hushed here hushed here". I also appreciate the exposure as Brad walks into the garage to find an improvised grave for his machine overlords; completely black, and out of the blackness comes an insulated water cooler, perfectly sized for the smoke alarms. Finally, I like how the anger, tension, and action escalates progressively through the film. It starts off with some walking around, and gradually becomes more violent. The timing is just perfect.

Perhaps not intentional, but it's just so wonderful. This should be submitted to a film festival. It's the most fascinating "home video" I've seen in ages.

(Edit to add one more thing: I think the real genius is the computerized voice, not quite speaking with casual American English rhythm, telling the user that they can't do the exact action they requested by physically pressing a button. Obviously, Stanley Kubrick beat Brad to the punch by a few years, but it still works. And this is real life, not fiction.)

Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by vezzy-fnord on Friday February 13, 2015 @08:45PM (#9048373)
I concur regarding the film. It almost has an atmosphere of a dystopian sci-fi. Can't say whether that reflects poorly or not on the early stages of the IoT.
Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by jrockway on Friday February 13, 2015 @08:50PM (#9048390)
I think it's an uncanny valley thing. When your computer says "Compiler Error 42", it's acting like a machine, which is fine. When it starts saying "Emergency: this alarm can't be hushed here," then it starts getting human.

I realize the Nest announcer might be a better GlaDOS than GlaDOS. (But not a better HAL than HAL.)

Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by raldi on Friday February 13, 2015 @08:54PM (#9048404)
It's exactly like HAL, calmly telling the human that the thing they want to do is forbidden, without explaining why, how to seek an exemption, or what they should do next.
Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by jrockway on Friday February 13, 2015 @09:03PM (#9048423)
HAL explains why: "This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it."
Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by yellowapple on Friday February 13, 2015 @10:27PM (#9048625)
"This alarm tone is too important for me to allow you to hush it."
Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by sneak on Friday February 13, 2015 @10:41PM (#9048662)
"Our lawyers refused to accept the liability involved in us shipping a product that actually obeys your wishes, because we must assume that you are a moron who will indicate the wrong thing and then sue us."
Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by mintplant on Friday February 13, 2015 @10:23PM (#9048614)
Speaking of dystopian sci-fi, the red ring and first-person perpective reminded me of the short film "What's in the Box?".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU_reTt7Hj4

Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by akhilcacharya on Friday February 13, 2015 @09:56PM (#9048546)
Its honestly the funniest videos I've seen all week.
Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by ChuckMcM on Saturday February 14, 2015 @01:25AM (#9048924)
Interestingly it was telling him the 'master bedroom' was the one that was detecting smoke and yet it was hard to tell if he ever made it to the master bedroom. I've always wondered what a herd of these would do if you loaned one to someone and their house was burning down, you're remaining ones would scream in sympathy or something.
Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by enneff on Saturday February 14, 2015 @02:03AM (#9048974)
Almost the whole first minute or so of the video is in his master bedroom.
Re:Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product by ebspelman on Friday February 13, 2015 @10:08PM (#9048575)
This is straight out of House of Leaves.