Monthly fee to use lights!!!?!?!

[xabo]

Buy American made huh..................

 

[OutColdCRNA]

I'd be looking at some noops or smat farm, or go whole hog with some radions, Kessils, hydras, etc.... Sucks op... After reading up on them, they were the ticket back when you bought them and weren't cheap!

I actually just bought a pair of noops for my new display. Looks like I’ll be getting a third because this is completely nuts!! I can’t even wrap my head around it as a business practice!! I know it’s only 2.99 a month to keep it in use but where does it end. And with a light that is no longer supported by the manufacturer. Dave made an amazing light and was way ahead of his time in regards to testing and spectrum and just the beauty that the light had. It’s a shame!

 

[OutColdCRNA]

My other thought is, honestly, how many people out there are still utilizing bluefish. I bet most reefers have never heard of it as a light controller. So what is the gain?

 

[ninjamyst]

I was a big supporter of nanobox back in the day. Owned 4 of their lights and let Dave used my photos free of charge. Was really trying to support small business. Learned my lesson. Never again. I will throw my money at the big companies because they provide better innovation, support, and future proofing.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

My other thought is, honestly, how many people out there are still utilizing bluefish. I bet most reefers have never heard of it as a light controller. So what is the gain?

I have never even heard of this company

 

[Kellie in CA]

Nanobox was really big in the Nano community. I was a fan too. But my last light had so many issues. I had to send it in 3 times to be fixed. When NanoBox closed I had to purchase new lights because I couldn’t risk being left with no light if something went wrong again.

 

[NemReefer13]

It would be one thing if we were talking about a full on aquarium controller that's logging parameters, able to control all your pumps/devices and is constantly being improved with more functionality and updates. But for light control you may need to access a few times a year at most? Insane.

 

[OutColdCRNA]

I have never even heard of this company

My point exactly!

 

[((FORDTECH))]

My point exactly!

I guess that’s what people get for buying these

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Thebs

I guess that’s what people get for buying this junk.

The dice roll of supporting small biz...

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Thebs

The dice roll of supporting small biz...

Yep

 

[TheHarold]

My other thought is, honestly, how many people out there are still utilizing bluefish. I bet most reefers have never heard of it as a light controller. So what is the gain?

I have a DIY fixture and a nice NanoBox fixture that uses bluefish controller. It’s a nice system and there isn’t really a comparable controller/interface that can be installed without extreme DIY (raspberry pi, etc).

I understand that the cost is too high for Bluefish to continue hosting the server that is required for the controllers to run. This is a general issue for small-business made products that cannot be controlled locally- if the business cannot afford the hosting fees, the products stops working.

 

[OutColdCRNA]

I was a big supporter of nanobox back in the day. Owned 4 of their lights and let Dave used my photos free of charge. Was really trying to support small business. Learned my lesson. Never again. I will throw my money at the big companies because they provide better innovation, support, and future proofing.

This! The app hasn’t been updated in 4 years according to IOS.

 

[SoggyNW]

My 2¢. Looks like a small operation to begin with. And now that they have been closed for a few years there is a really good chance that it's only Spencer left. Apps and services do have back end costs just to stay up. Asking for a monthly fee is probably a last effort to make it worth his time before he lets it die.

 

[elysics]

I’m sure this will come for all LED people eventually.

I can’t believe that Neptune doesn’t charge yet for fusion

Dont buy things that only work with a round-trip to some server thats not yours.

I like this about the old AI lights with wifi, they host their own internal local website, don't need internet, can't be rendered useless against my will. Same with a bunch of other smart home gear that has local websites.

People hate on that and say that apps are better, but with apps and clouds you are at the complete mercy of people that have every motive to extort or abandon you down the line.

 

[ninjamyst]

Dont buy things that only work with a round-trip to some server thats not yours.

I like this about the old AI lights with wifi, they host their own internal local website, don't need internet, can't be rendered useless against my will. Same with a bunch of other smart home gear that has local websites.

People hate on that and say that apps are better, but with apps and clouds you are at the complete mercy of people that have every motive to extort or abandon you down the line.

Who needs app for lights and pumps. Just more things to go wrong. I like physical controllers for things that are just set it and forget it.

 

[ScubaFish802]

The future is micro transactions. They are gonna milk us for every cent we got lol

Makes me think of that UK BMW thing that has been circulating about the subscription for heated seats

 

[InvaderJim]

The fact that everything is subscription based now makes me sick. I can see some other light vendors trying this out in the future.

 

[Sean Clark]

That's just reinforces my position that I really don't need an app for that... local control is a must for this very reason.

 

[afrokobe]

Many people now pay a monthly service fee for their doorbell. I refuse. Love my Eufy!

i dont know if you have heard, but Eufy had a pretty huge data breach regarding their doorbells.... https://9to5google.com/2022/11/29/eufy-camera-cloud-security-leak/