• Welcome to the Off-Topic/Schweb's Lounge

    In addition to the Mac-Forums Community Guidelines, there are a few things you should pay attention to while in The Lounge.

    Lounge Rules
    • If your post belongs in a different forum, please post it there.
    • While this area is for off-topic conversations, that doesn't mean that every conversation will be permitted. The moderators will, at their sole discretion, close or delete any threads which do not serve a beneficial purpose to the community.

    Understand that while The Lounge is here as a place to relax and discuss random topics, that doesn't mean we will allow any topic. Topics which are inflammatory, hurtful, or otherwise clash with our Mac-Forums Community Guidelines will be removed.

Smart thermostats

cwa107

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
MYmacROX

MYmacROX


Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
3,626
Reaction score
111
Points
63
Your Mac's Specs
2018 15" MBP, 2019 11" iPad Pro, iPhone 11 Pro
cwa107 said:
And now that they've been acquired, the buck stops with him, right? ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. It's just an FYI since some people seemed to be concerned (rightfully so).
 
L

Lifeisabeach


Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,235
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
cwa107 said:
And now that they've been acquired, the buck stops with him, right? ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, they won't change it... until they do. How much really remains of the policies YouTube and other formerly independent services had in place before Google bought them out? Google didn't buy Nest out of charity or some desire to get into the hardware business. They are doing it with some long-term plan to further refine how they track users. There is no other reasonable explanation that I can think of based on their business model and history.
 
P

pendlewitch


Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
1,823
Reaction score
51
Points
48
Location
Lancashire
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Air M1 2020 Ventura 13.4.1 500Gb 8Gb. iPhone12, Watch 5, HomePods.
L

Lifeisabeach


Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,235
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
pendlewitch said:
Well, my comment was loaded with irony but Google are already very active in the energy market and your FERC already authorised them to buy and sell energy at market rates so they are a de facto player and heavily biased towards renewables and efficiencies.

Google Energy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Google wants to pay more for renewable energy, and power companies are listening | The Verge
Click to expand...

They are doing it, at least in part, to deflect criticism of the energy their data centers require. The Nest plays no part in that.
 
P

pendlewitch


Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
1,823
Reaction score
51
Points
48
Location
Lancashire
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Air M1 2020 Ventura 13.4.1 500Gb 8Gb. iPhone12, Watch 5, HomePods.
lifeisabeach said:
They are doing it, at least in part, to deflect criticism of the energy their data centers require. The Nest plays no part in that.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it does long term. Google are an energy provider and Nest is a smart thermostat. Utility Co's install smart meters which are information and control devices that are able to limit supply, bill at time of use and remotely turn the supply off to your home at the touch of a button.
 
L

Lifeisabeach


Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,235
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
pendlewitch said:
I'm sure it does long term. Google are an energy provider and Nest is a smart thermostat. Utility Co's install smart meters which are information and control devices that are able to limit supply, bill at time of use and remotely turn the supply off to your home at the touch of a button.
Click to expand...

They are reselling energy, not because they want to be an energy provider, but rather to resell "clean" energy to offset the "dirty" energy they are using. There is no other reason. They are even on the record as saying they have no intention of being a utility.

Google is on the way to quietly becoming an electric utility – Quartz
 
P

pendlewitch


Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
1,823
Reaction score
51
Points
48
Location
Lancashire
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Air M1 2020 Ventura 13.4.1 500Gb 8Gb. iPhone12, Watch 5, HomePods.
lifeisabeach said:
They are reselling energy, not because they want to be an energy provider, but rather to resell "clean" energy to offset the "dirty" energy they are using. There is no other reason. They are even on the record as saying they have no intention of being a utility.

Google is on the way to quietly becoming an electric utility – Quartz
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. That article seems to bear the case out. What the spokeswoman says is that Google have ' no designs on becoming a quasi utility..that's an interesting word to use if what you really mean is that you want to be a 'proper' one. The way they are working it at the moment is that they are taking back credits against their carbon footprint penalties when they sell 'green' energy that they produce back to the grid. If I were Google I wouldn't want to be doing that for ever.

Interesting to note here Google buys Nest in $3.2 bn, tech giant to gain - Economic Times that Google Ventures were one of the original backers of Nest and a high market value is in their interest.

The $3.2bn does not appear to be just a donation at the confessional box.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top