Similarly, my house has two Honeywell networked thermostats. These are networked devices controllable via smartphone or web app, etc. But if the company stopped providing the service behind it, they're still perfectly adequate programmable thermostats. They'll keep on working fine, albeit requiring manual programming, rather than turn into paperweights.
I fail to see the excitement about the Nest, and I claim that yours hasn't saved you any money compared to mine, even adjusted for effort involved. The time it took me to set up my device - when I actually know what our work/home schedule is, so no training is involved, is minimal. And there's no confusion in the device when, at this time of year, I want to just use outside air through open windows to keep my home cool. A device that can leverage the human mind's power is great. A device that simply replaces one flavor of (trivial) mental effort with a different one isn't terribly valuable.
I agree with your assessment of the Nest. The number of times I've wanted to turn the heat on or off when I'm not at home is exactly zero.
I've got a manually-programmable Honeywell and it's been working fine for over five years. Apart from the very occasional adjustments (daylight saving time, resetting the furnace filter reminder, and replacing batteries) it needs very little care and feeding.
I fail to see the excitement about the Nest, and I claim that yours hasn't saved you any money compared to mine, even adjusted for effort involved. The time it took me to set up my device - when I actually know what our work/home schedule is, so no training is involved, is minimal. And there's no confusion in the device when, at this time of year, I want to just use outside air through open windows to keep my home cool. A device that can leverage the human mind's power is great. A device that simply replaces one flavor of (trivial) mental effort with a different one isn't terribly valuable.