this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10882099

Thankfully I don't use any of their products, but this really pisses me off. They claim that this open source project "causes significant economic harm to their company"

This is ridiculous. It is truly ridiculous. How can something that enables the user to efficiently control their AC cause "significant economic harm"???

Consider forking the repository or mirroring it to another platform like GitLab, Codeberg or your self-hosted Git server, so the project can continue to exist and someone can maybe fork it and maintain it.

The effected repos are: https://github.com/Andre0512/hOn and https://github.com/Andre0512/pyhOn

If you don't know about Home Assistant, check it out. It's an amazing piece of open-source software, that you can run at home on your own server and use it to control your smart home devices. That way, you don't need to connect them to the manufacturer's (probably insecure) cloud. It gives you sovereignty over your smart home instead of some proprietary vendor-locked garbage. Check out their website and the Lemmy community: [email protected]

I also highly recommend Louis Rossmann's video about this: https://youtu.be/RcSnd3cyti0

He makes awesome videos in general, consider subscribing.

As Rossmann said, don't ever buy anything from such a shitty company that doesn't respect their customers. This move by Haier is nothing other than a slap in the face for everyone, who just wants to comfortably control the product they paid for. This company is actively hostile towards their paying customers. Fuck these bastards!

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Forked, and mirrored to my Forgejo server. As someone else pointed out on a different community, this is a great example of the Barbra Streisand effect in action.

People like me, without Haier appliances, are now aware of this fuckwittery, and have actively taken steps to preserve the code, before it gets taken down.

Dickheads.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Seconded, and added Haier to my mental list of companies to never buy from.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Had a nice TV from that company. It was really long ago, though, and the terribly bright blue indicator of it being on I didn't like, especially when using as a PC monitor.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (2 children)

How many GBs do these ACs upload to the company's cloud?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

That ended up being a router error. It was actually something like 1mb.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Too many probably

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Seems like I dodged a bullet by recently deciding for another company. Definitely on my permanent do-not-buy list now, thanks for letting us know that you do not want any customers, Haier 😑

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Do you use any smart home solution with your AC? Maybe even Home Assistant? Just curious

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I'm running a Venstar Colortouch thermostat. They're not cheap, but they have a local API and there's a Homeassistant integration.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

That's great

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I use a BroadLink infrared blaster, as you can control all sorts of devices with Home Assistant that use infrared remotes: https://www.amazon.com.au/Broadlink-RM4-pro-Automation-Assistant/dp/B086VBXSDH?th=1

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

This is cool, I actually such something similar for my old school (~10 year old) AC unit because Infrared is the only way to control it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

significant economic harm to our company

Oh! I have a solution! Make it a local API you fucking goofs.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

My manager once asked me if I could code in API

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

It depends if it's in the cloud or not

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I went with Daikin 'cause they had local control.... Except that they changed it in the meantime, and I had 2 different AC splits connected to the pump, one of them is older and still has local control, while the other is newer and doesn't. Fuck all of them.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You can make a thermostat with a raspberry pi, a few sensors, and a relay board. They're pretty simple devices.

Really, you don't even need a pi. An ESP8266 would be more than sufficient.

Source: I made my own thermostat from an esp8266, some sensors, and a relay board.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

I did that, for my gas heater.

AC is more complex, it has fan speed, air direction (2 of them), temperature settings and so on. I solved with an IR blaster, but that's not what I wanted, I specifically selected this brand to have local control via wifi.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Translation: our legal team has to justify their employment, thus we're threatening non-profit open source projects that can't fight back and pose no harm whatsoever to the company's financials, market position, customers, or any other stakeholder.

It'd be awesome if the maintainers could get a pro bono advice / representation here to make a proper response. They're volunteering their free time improving an extensive list of crappy products of a brand and this is what they get back? Disgusting move from Haier.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

When companies build shitty software for which they charge arms and legs extra and are pissed that someone found their way around it