I didn't mean to provoke anyway by saying "crappy" ;-)

What I notice is that the nest does a really great job managing the temperature in my house and keeping it comfortable. It just works and it became a default expectation. We had to go back to the old thermostat after an issue with our furnace, after which I started getting a ton of complaints from everybody about too cold/too hot. It's a great example of a technology that works really well.

Having it turn off when I go to work and turn on when I'm on my home is awesome. I haven't done the math but I imagine that it saves a lot of energy vs running it 24/7, and HVAC is my biggest utility expense. I wouldn't be surprised if it also reduces wear and tear on the AC.