Disconnect: cloud-based services are a consumer nightmare, but we can fix them

Disconnect is a weekly column in which Tech in Asia’s Charlie Custer pokes at holes, plays devil’s advocate, or otherwise attempts to rain on the tech industry’s parade.

Some years ago, I needed to buy a creative software suite. My wife and I were making a film, and to edit and promote it we were going to need the a whole pile of software: a video editor, an effects program, an image-editing program, sound editing software, etc. Adobe’s Creative Suite seemed like the way to go. I came along right when Adobe was making the transition between the traditional software model (you buy it, then you own it forever) and the model they use now (cloud-based monthly subscription) so I had a choice. I chose to pay upfront, and it cost me hundreds (I didn’t buy the full Master Suite, just a smaller bundle with the programs I needed).

Admittedly, that was a difficult cost to bear at the time. But that was back in 2011, and today I still have access to all of those apps. I’ve used them for tons of things, including editing images, videos, and audio for Tech in Asia. And in another five or ten years, I’ll still have those apps, because I own then.

If I had purchased the cloud-based option, I would have saved quite a bit of money up front. But I wouldn’t own the software. I’d have to keep paying every year to maintain my access to it. And of course, there’s always the risk that Adobe could simply shut its servers off, stranding my creative projects in virtual limbo for eternity.

That’s not just a hypothetical

Sure, it’s unlikely that Adobe’s going to go out of business or shut down its servers anytime soon. But that kind of thing does happen, and eventually it’s going to happen to you.

This week’s example is the Revolv smart hub and app, which Google is shutting down to focus on the Nest ecosystem. It’s a completely logical business decision. But unfortunately, Revolv’s services were cloud-based, which means its existing users are completely screwed.

With the cloud’s convenience comes a startling lack of control.

Here’s the skinny: maybe you bought a Revolv hub a few years ago. It cost you hundreds of dollars, but it was worth it to automate all the smart devices in your home. Now your lights turn on intelligently as you move throughout the house, and you can control virtually everything from your smartphone. But on May 15, all of that stops working. Your expensive Revolv hub becomes a paperweight. Your Revolv app will no longer boot up. Your smart home gets dumb again, at least until you pony up hundreds for some other smart home hub.

Oh, and the Revolv is out of warranty, so you won’t be getting any money back for that expensive product you own that Google just bricked remotely.

The Revolv is still physically capable of functioning, but it’s being bricked remotely by Google.

Cloud control

This is the problem with cloud-based services, and it’s something that few consumers ever really stop to think about: with the cloud’s convenience comes a startling lack of control. It is, in a sense, the end of ownership – you can never really own something if it relies on cloud services that can be remotely disabled by the manufacturer at any time.

If Toyota remotely disabled a vehicle you bought, that would be illegal.

How to fix this