Stuff like this should be great, but all I can think about is how capitalism will ruin it. Will they only make it an “service” available via subscription, and shut off your ability to walk if you don’t pay? Will it require expensive software updates, or only work if you’ve got wi-fi or a cellular connection? What happens to the patients if the company which owns this patented technology goes out of business?
Managing a chronic problem is much more profitable than curing it completely.
The change in people is amazing. That said your estimate is not far off for cost of just the implantable generators, plus the leads. Add on cost of surgery and doctors bills and hospital stays and your probably under estimating.
Not to mention typically it’s the last choice for pain treatment, so it’s a the end of typically years of pain. Also it only lasts for about a dacade due to the battery so you will need to repeat the surgery and buy a new device periodically.
It’s a pacemaker battery. They use induction charging. A cable runs down the neck to connect to it. The charger just kind of magnets on there. The charger is also where you connect to the onboard software and choose what settings you want. Dad’s had a specialized device for that. I can imagine a smartphone connection eventually, but with the security concerns I imagine that’s not likely to happen soon.
You are almost completely correct. It does have wireless charging but like your cell phone eventually the life of a rechargeable battery wears and needs to be replaced.
That you are wrong about the last part. Our latest two generations actually use ipads for the doctors and iphones for the patient. I don’t know too much about the security on them as that’s my area of knowledge. That said unlike a pacemaker our devices don’t keep people alive. They lessen movement disorders and reduce pain but people won’t die if they get turned off.
A large part of the American healthcare system is made of for-profit businesses. Capitalism and genuinely empathetic healthcare are mutually exclusive, and the parts that actually work for patients have only managed to do so because of a shit-ton of regulation. Regulation that corporations are constantly fighting and struggling to weaken. They buy politicians to help.
Pharmaceutical companies will claim that drug prices are high because R&D is so expensive, but that didn’t stop them from fighting for the right to advertise prescription drugs on TV. Last I read, only the U.S. and New Zealand allow that. Producing and airing those ads can cost millions. R&D is expensive, but apparently not so expensive that they can’t afford that. Capitalism does not have a conscience.
I’m a sad sack because I’ve seen (and am currently seeing) friends and family members get screwed by a system that allegedly exists to help them, but really just profits off their pain. I know I’ll probably end up being exploited, too.
Ok, but it's really nice that there's a new treatment giving a dude a way better quality of life and give hope to others.
We don't have to immediately turn everything into sadness. Sometimes stuff can be good, without a bunch of people trying to figure out why it sucks because everything sucks and woe is the world.
This kind of technology should be standardized so that if one company folds, you can use other companies to repair your existing one. Or it could have a state counterpart so that the technology will be available as long as the country’s government exists.
I can only speak to our experience, but the MD who put his deep brain stimulator handled his software (and hardware) updates. They were free. Dad was part of their trial (which explains the free part), but I can’t imagine the folk in the clinic what did his implant locking their patients into worse software just because they can’t afford their annual checkup.
My dad has hearing aid device and every time the battery runs out, he has to replace the battery then go to the brand shop and pay $30 to reprogram it.
Does Whatsapp connect to messenger like Instagram does? Not sure it’s any better though, since it’s still owned by Meta. I wish I could get everyone on signal
Of course it does? That’s like one of the main headlining features of both Signal and Telegram, and why people were looking at either instead of Whatsapp. And it was even louder than Telegram about it, since telegram uses (or used) a closed source encryption, while Signal was vocally using an Open Source encryption standard if I remember correctly.
Yeah, encryption and security is signal’s whole thing. They even removed the ability to send SMS a while back because they were prioritizing security over all else. Def check it out
i saw one person do something like this: messages JOIN ME ON SIGNAL(or anything not owned by Facebook and amazon) IF YOU DON’T WANT TO WELL WILL LOSE CONTACT SO PLEASE JOIN ME
im not sure on how well this will work but maybe exclude you’re family but try to get them to atleast WhatsApp but even better a private messager also consider xmpp/jabber and matrix for jabber i recommend calyx institute jabber server
Yeah but that doesn’t prevent them from snooping directly on the app. For example they can look at who you’re talking to the most, or extract topics of interest from your conversations (“talking about cats? let’s sell them cat food”)
Nope, you’re not. That’s a choice. I have no shortage of people using privacy invading messengers, crazy thing, when I send them a SMS/MMS… they get it, like everybody does.
You’re not stuck. Just leave, and make people talk to you over Signal. If they’re not trying to talk to me on Signal or Matrix, I will never see it. This not only got me off of services like Messenger, but also showed who gave enough of a shit about me to go through Signal’s simple setup.
Two way street indeed, I didn’t say all of them followed me or anything like that. I lost contact with many doing this, as expected and intended. But I got much closer to those who did move over. Most of them moved over without me even doing anything because they cared about their own data privacy and realized that it’s easier to setup Signal than it is to setup an entire Facebook account anyway.
Man… What happened to just texting your circle of friends?? I get by pretty well doing that. About half are on signal. The other half just text regular, which I’m cool with.
They will. This was most likely planned by their legal team in advance, will cost Facebook a negligible amount compared to their revenue and marked as a “risk.” And when they settle it will be a planned business expense, like a fine
Yeah they don’t even need to hire a law firm. They pay millions of dollars in retainer every year to keep lawyers on staff, so this is just someone’s day job to go through the motions
The article says Meta already tried to buy them out four times. So this company is waiting for a bigger payout or they don’t plan to sell. With a court decision on their side they will have much more leverage to force Meta’s hand.
The company has said that they’ve spent a decade building their “brand” under that name. So, if they’re pushing for a big payout, they intend it to be gargantuan rather than the usual payoff. Changing their name would essentially be starting over in some ways. And the confusion they claim as their reason for action is a legit thing.
I’m not saying that isn’t their goal behind the scenes, but FB tried to buy the name and failed, so I have a feeling they aren’t looking for the usual quiet payoff that’s the goal of that type of action.
Eh I don’t think they have much of a claim here. Threads is a super common word in software and Facebook can so what they want with their own platform.
The problem is that the company doing this is in messaging. It isn’t a direct competitor, but it’s a legit proposition, as per the analysis lawyers have made. It’s big enough news that the usual outlets have chimed in, and the gist has been that a suit would have standing
It’s a shame how obvious they’re working their corporate bullying cards simply because of money. Imagine if I created a product called Google and tried to sue Google for it. That would be ridiculous, right? Well, that’s what Facebook is doing, just with money.
It’s not what Facebook is doing. The company has owned the trademark for over a decade, and Facebook is trying to strong arm them into giving it up.
This is also in the UK where they somewhat stand up to companies like Facebook. McDonald’s lost their trademark for the Big Mac for trying to do this exact same thing.
Maybe I didn’t convey what I’m saying well. Facebook is attempting to take a name because they have money. Laws don’t really apply to them, they seem to think, and it’s because of their bullying and their money.
Eh, the UK isn’t in the best situation, in terms of big tech. If anything, most FAANG companies have got away without paying any tax here for over a decade because the alternative is they ship all of their jobs elsewhere, and the UK tech scene implodes.
I think a UK court would likely stand up for the British company, as they should, but I would expect Meta to be allowed to throw their weight around a little.
Okay, pointing out the analogy of "Imagine if I created a product called Google and tried to sue Google for it [...] Well, that’s what Facebook is doing" doesn't match this situation.
Facebook created a product called Threads and is attempting to bully Threads Software into taking their name. I was creating a hypothetical situation about how most small companies can’t just steal a company trademark, because it’s rightfully someone else’s. However, if you are a larger company and, have enough money, and have shit ethics, then you can just kinda… ignore that, and for some reason, the US is happy to let wallets write the law.
I agree, that is what they're doing. My only point was they're being sued, not suing someone. They just took the name and were ignoring the other company that was already using it.
engadget.com
Hot