This is definitely feature overload for a typical person.
I find it funny how on HN there arguments that non-replaceable batteries in MBPs are okay, and at the same time, that a small gadget must have user-replaceable radio.
It'll be a bit costlier, but as long as it comes in one piece (with separate parts screwed into each other), then it'll look exactly the same to the typical person.
Except that those who bother to read the manual will find out they can save some money by not chucking away the whole thing.
Non-replaceable batteries are not okay. And while I've seen plenty of Mac fans here, I can't say I've seen anybody defend this particular anti-feature.
Personally, I prefer to have better industrial design + a more solid feeling device to a removable battery (though all things equal, a replaceable battery would be nice...it just is far down my list). And I've seen similar defenses quite a bit.
This is a hardware project, not a software one. In virtual world we can talk about keeping features to the minimum and iterating the product as fast as we can. But we don't live in post-scarcity world where energy is free. Designing products for more-less planned obsolescence, while maybe good from marketing point of view, strikes me as wrong and harmful to the global society.
I think that this is because non-replaceable batteries in laptops and non-replaceable radios in lights are not directly analogous.
For one thing (I assume) you could get the battery replaced/fixed at an Apple store if you needed; the real issue is doing it yourself. Retrofitting new radios into old bulbs seems less likely to be a service that will be offered.
Additionally, the lifespan of the computer is 20 years less than the lifespan of the bulb. With the computer, if you had to get a new one when the battery ran out, in most cases it wouldn't be too much of a tragedy since you would be looking forward to a bigger better machine anyway. For the bulb, though, the wifi component could be obsoleted within a few years, while the actual light source has the capacity to run for another 20. So for each object, the ratio of when one part fails to when the user would want to replace it anyway is quite different.
Plus the non-replaceable batteries have the theoretical up-sides of leading to better build quality and industrial design, which is less apparently true of the bulb.
It's important to note that the batteries are replaceable with a visit to the Genius bar. In the case of this light, there is no such option. You won't be able to take 20-30 lightbulbs from your house and upgrade the radio in five years, you'll just have to replace the lightbulbs.
