This was about the year 2000. The iOpener was a Linux computer with monitor and dial up modem, for $99. (A steal of a price, at that time, except . . .) it was tied to a dial up internet service subscription. The idea was that you would buy the iOpener at an insanely cheap price, and they would make their profits on the required service subscription to get online. The "i" in iOpener probably meant intarwebs.
Of course, what happened was hilarious. Evil hackers intent on destroying the very fabric of society published online information about how one could: 1. buy an iOpener at Circut City for $99, without signing anything, and walk out of the store 2. hack, modify or reflash (sorry don't remember which) Linux on the device 3. have a useful computer that was worth at least four times what you paid for it 4. without paying Netpliance a single cent more 5. Profit!
Netpliance was upset. Circus City was upset. Something must be done! Some law must have been broken! It is a violation of the agreement!
Runner up: Radio Shack's Cue Cat free bar code scanner with serial port connector. The R/S sales droids would run up to you shoving these free Cue Cat scanner packages in your face! It's FREE!!! The package had the scanner and a disk of software. The scanner would be used to scan bar codes on ads or something to get grate fantastical dealz! Of course, to most of us here it was a free barcode scanner worth about $35 at the time, IIRC.
Any other great broken business models you can think of?
Broken business models
Someone mentioned Circus City and Divx. I was going to reply, but I thought I'd write a journal entry instead.
Ah Divx. Cloudy. Broken business models.
Remember Circuit City's Netpliance iOpener ?
This was about the year 2000. The iOpener was a Linux computer with monitor and dial up modem, for $99. (A steal of a price, at that time, except . . .) it was tied to a dial up internet service subscription. The idea was that you would buy the iOpener at an insanely cheap price, and they would make their profits on the required service subscription to get online. The "i" in iOpener probably meant intarwebs.
Of course, what happened was hilarious. Evil hackers intent on destroying the very fabric of society published online information about how one could:
1. buy an iOpener at Circut City for $99, without signing anything, and walk out of the store
2. hack, modify or reflash (sorry don't remember which) Linux on the device
3. have a useful computer that was worth at least four times what you paid for it
4. without paying Netpliance a single cent more
5. Profit!
Netpliance was upset. Circus City was upset. Something must be done! Some law must have been broken! It is a violation of the agreement!
Runner up: Radio Shack's Cue Cat free bar code scanner with serial port connector. The R/S sales droids would run up to you shoving these free Cue Cat scanner packages in your face! It's FREE!!! The package had the scanner and a disk of software. The scanner would be used to scan bar codes on ads or something to get grate fantastical dealz! Of course, to most of us here it was a free barcode scanner worth about $35 at the time, IIRC.
Any other great broken business models you can think of?
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