
The bttn – the simplest user interface - sakusa
http://bt.tn/
======
dkyc
_" Harri summoned an 11 member crack team around him, with the mission of
bringing the increasing power of the Internet of Everything to reach
everybody's reach. In September 2013 they started making the bttn a reality.
Deliveries will start in October 2014."_

11 people set out to build a standalone button that costs 100$... Am I missing
something? Is this satire? Great idea, would love to buy one but both price
and team strength seem to be off by factor of 10.

~~~
DanBC
You're not buying a button. You're buying access to the backend. Admittedly,
most HN readers don't need that stuff and could write their own.

~~~
beshrkayali
But even for backend access. The price is way up there for something this
simple. That much talent shown in the video should probably be capable of
bringing down the cost close to $35 or maybe even less. What they're doing
takes time and effort, not that much technically complicated by these days
standards.

~~~
JussiM
My name is Jussi and I am part of the bttn team. So take my comments with a
grain of salt ;-)

From my perspective, you are not wrong at all. At the moment, the product is
pretty pricey - that is something we are working on.

It is just a fact of life (which you surely know) that in small quantities,
hardware tends to be pricey. We are working our trim little butts off to bring
down the price.

As for the simplicity, the product is very simple by design. However, we have
some pretty cool things on our roadmap to keep the same magical simplicity of
use while adding a whole lot of functionality. It is a balancing act we are
hoping to handle the right way.

------
lclarkmichalek
$100 dollars?! $100 DOLLARS?! How? How do you justify that price? For a
button? Admittedly, a button backed by a web service described in very flowery
language, but still. A button for $100

~~~
StavrosK
Err, I feel you are missing the point. The button itself costs $5. Removing
the vowels is the expensive part. Bttns take research, you know.

~~~
embolalia
'd lk t nnnc m nw srvc, Cnsnnt. t prvds prmm vwl rmvl srvcs t vr lw prcs. Wth
r hlp, th wrld cn b vwl fr b 2023.

~~~
JussiM
Hey, we are working on it. Small quantities are a pain.

But, in general, you are right. 100 bucks is not a sustainable price point and
we certainly don't like it. Not a bit.

Which should give you an idea what we are trying to do.

------
gergles
> The bttn is based on some pretty cool patent-pending inventions.

Please enlighten me as to what on earth is novel (in the patent language
sense) about a button on the internet.

~~~
Guvante
A self enclosed device to connect to the internet in a user configurable way
through a web interface is certainly non-trivial.

~~~
munificent
Isn't that what every router does?

~~~
danieldk
I think the grandparent was parodying patent language ;).

------
JussiM
Since I am a newbie on this forum, I tried to address every comment separately
last night and HN put a stop to my incessant commenting ;-)

I'll try to address some of the good points made here now.

First of all, I am a bttn evangelist, so I am a bit biased by profession, but
hopefully sane enough to recognize a salient point nevertheless. But keep you
salt shakers nearby, just in case.

As I've mentioned in my other comments, the point about the $99 price point is
fair. It is too high. We want to bring it down, but early runs of new hardware
tend to be pricey (and, as pointed out in other comments, our offering is not
just the device, it encompasses the backend and ecosystem).

The point of the presales at this price is to offer the bttn to potential
early adopters as early as possible. We are certainly not trying go gouge
anyone.

As for the simplicity of the bttn, simple has been the #1 design principle.
Looking forward, we want to keep the user experience very simple while still
increasing the functionality of the bttn drastically. We have some stuff on
the pipeline that we think is pretty cool and our major concern is properly
balancing usability and power.

Again, thanks for the good comments and keep them coming. We'll be sure to
listen and learn.

------
bastawhiz
I can't stand sites that fade in content as I scroll. It makes it impossible
to skim. Please, designers, stahp

~~~
steanne
this is why i browse with js disabled by default. i can enable what i need,
but that's a small percentage of what's out there.

------
jc4p
I dig the idea but the price point seems insane. I also don't quite understand
why this needs to be kickstarted, why not just take orders and hand make the
first N until you get enough profits to be able to mass produce?

I built a _very_ similar button using an arcade button[0] and a raspberry pi,
and it cost <$50 in total parts -- it would've cost a lot less if I didn't
decide to use a raspberry pi that I already owned for it. Mine just does a
POST to an App Engine URL, but since it's a real computer I can SSH into it
and make it do absolutely anything on the planet too.

[0]
[http://www.adafruit.com/products/1190](http://www.adafruit.com/products/1190)

~~~
Justsignedup
Seriously. For $100 I can buy an android smartphone [1]

[1]: [http://www.amazon.com/SHARKK%C2%AE-Android-Smartphone-
Unlock...](http://www.amazon.com/SHARKK%C2%AE-Android-Smartphone-Unlocked-
Display/dp/B00LI6ITI0)

------
abhorrence
I'd be much more excited if you could have a single base station (that perhaps
could be battery powered and GSM-capable if that was the neatest feature to
people), and then non-powered (or rather, push-powered) wireless buttons which
talk to the base station. Largely the same effect, but you never have to worry
about dead batteries in the buttons. I suppose you wouldn't be able to have
the light on the button without a more traditional power source.

------
Fuzzwah
I've tinkered with a number of raspberry pi projects and one thing which blew
my mind was how expensive many options for "adding a simple button" was.

I had in mind that I'd be able to find a simple usb connected button for next
to nix. My research instead turned up prices from $25 to $100.

So rather than a simple single button connected via usb, I found the best
options have been:

* a usb numberpad (~$10) * a usb MCE infrared remote (~$15) * an amazon basics wireless mouse (~$5) * an rfid reader + 50 nfc cards (~$20)

In each case, the solution I landed on ended up being cheaper, more versatile
and functionally superior to a single simple button.

For example, the wireless mouse is now an interface for a music playback
machine. Originally I imaged just a single button which would start and stop
the music. With the mouse I added the option of changing the volume using the
mouse wheel.

~~~
jarek
I think the cognitive disconnect is that an on-off or momentary contact button
is technically extremely simple if you know what you're doing and have a GPIO
pin. But if you don't, you'll pay for bttn-like devices like you implicitly
pay for IFTTT.

~~~
linuxlizard
> momentary contact button is technically extremely simple

Don't forget debounce. Debouncing can be tough.
[http://www.ganssle.com/debouncing.htm](http://www.ganssle.com/debouncing.htm)

~~~
jarek
Easier to do in software if you can spare the CPU cycles, thankfully.

[http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Debounce](http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Debounce)
or
[http://playground.arduino.cc/code/bounce](http://playground.arduino.cc/code/bounce)

[https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/projects/raspberrypi/tutorials/robo...](https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/projects/raspberrypi/tutorials/robot/buttons_and_switches/)

------
omh
This seems like such a neat, simple idea. Perfect for integration with IFTTT
or similar.

I'm a little surprised that nothing like this exists already. I can see how
you could easily build one yourself. But that doesn't give you the IFTTT
ecosystem, which is probably good for less technical users.

------
krapp
So wait... I configure the button through the bt.tn app, then press the
button? Do I need to buy different buttons to do different things or go back
to the app each time I need the big red button to do something else? Can I set
it so it does different things at different times of the day?

I can't imagine a way this works in practice which doesn't seem slightly
_more_ complex than just using the app itself. Your presentation makes it seem
as if you just press the button and magic happens. But, it's just a front end
for the necessary complexity of the app itself. You have to interact with that
at some point.

------
JonoBB
What the hell? This is so close to being a parody that I had to check it
wasn't April 1st.

I have this vision of a wall with dozens or hundreds of buttons each with its
own label and functionality.

And that voice on the video...she sounds completely stoned.

------
smacktoward
Or you could spend half as much and upgrade from "button" to "knob":

[http://store.griffintechnology.com/powermate](http://store.griffintechnology.com/powermate)

(Which conceivably could function as a button, too -- just interpret sliding
the knob all the way to the far side as a button press.)

~~~
jamessb
I think the knob also acts as a button if you just press it down rather than
rotating it. From that page: "It spins like a knob. It clicks like a mouse."

------
DanielBMarkham
Needs to light up.

(I love the above comment as it both critiques the idea and explains why so
many good things end up as POS -- mission creep)

Seriously, if you could order different colors, they lit up, and you could
stick them on the walls? You could have a lot of fun with these things. (Think
IFTTT)

I am also waiting for the reusable post-it notes that use e-ink.

~~~
npongratz
Done! From TFA:

 _How does the bttn user know what is happening after the bttn press?

The bttn has handy feedback lights for the end user: Flashing GREEN top means
successful completion of the trigger, RED means error, and a circling YELLOW
means wait. Pretty simple, really._

~~~
codehero
How would you make feedback work for blind people?

~~~
smacktoward
A simple buzzer or tone would work -- if you hear the tone the process was
successful, if you don't, it wasn't.

------
hoopism
It can use cell network but SIM is not included... so no data plan for the 100
bucks.

It's certainly interesting.

I was having this discussion with someone the other day. So far the IoT seems
to be 200 dollar Locks/Lightswitches, 100 dollar buttons and academic research
on how to handle 10 gazillion devices.

Something is missing.

~~~
icebraining
Since the only information is a single "pulse", it shouldn't need a data plan
- just do missed calls :)

------
jhherren
Can't believe the only examples and use cases are at the very bottom of the
page in the testimonials.

------
protonfish
It's the history eraser button you fool!

I just had to push it - so jolly and candy like.

It is kind of expensive so I am looking for $50,000,000.00 in VC to develop an
online version. Here's the first prototype:

    
    
        <button>button</button>

~~~
danielweber
This guy can probably help:

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/324283889/potato-
salad](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/324283889/potato-salad)

------
bridgpal
Couldn't they be hacked up easily. [http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-
Staples-Easy-Button-t...](http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Staples-Easy-
Button-tm-Control-your-compu/)

------
artursapek
How does it handle feedback/errors? If I hit a button to execute a nontrivial
task, I want confirmation that it worked. I don't care if it's a physical or
digital button.

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zhte415
This has huge potential. Very simple, very discreet, especially the 'dead man
switch' option.

For price, this could be re-produced for $3-4 on a low production scale, say
10000 pieces.

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nilsimsa
This company has a CEO, CTO, Chief Engineer and Chief Architect. With any luck
they will be acquired by Google, Amazon or Apple for a billion dollars.

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amaks
Looks like a joke.

~~~
Eiriksmal
I thought I was reading a poorly-timed April Fool's story!

------
jscheel
Oh great, YO for the internet of things.

------
rememberlenny
Who wants to start an open source alternative? 3d printer + basic
arduino/raspberry pi

------
ChrisGaudreau
Seems revolutionary. Can I configure it to turn CNN off for whenever John
McCain shows up?

------
andrea_s
Now we can plug the bttn functionality to send a Yo! message and finally come
full circle.

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batuhanicoz
OT -- For a moment there I thought my web site[0] was the link.

[0] my personal domain is bt.hn

~~~
u124556
Do you sell Buthons?

