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Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app

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Re: Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app

#141

Post by newman314 »

rtpg wrote: post #55
putlake wrote: post #8

I'm surprised Google Duo hasn't become more popular. It's a great cross-platform video chat app. I especially like the feature where you can see the other party before you answer their call. I have taken calls because of that feature that I otherwise wouldn't have. It's better than FaceTime because it works on Android. It's better than Skype and Google Hangouts because your cellphone number is your identity; you don'…

I think there are other reasons, but I really dislike using my phone number as an ID. Phone numbers are much harder to change , so if some annoying person gets a hold of it suddenly they can harass me across networks. This is a thing that actually happens! A big reason why I don't like telegram (even if everything else is awesome). I'm cool with my account being linked to a phone number, but I'd rather avoid giving t…

+1

I suddenly got hit with a flurry of spam calls today which furthers my distaste for giving out a phone number. If only giving out free limited use phone numbers was a thing.

Re: Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app

#142

Post by pmontra »

berfarah wrote: post #84
jotux wrote: post #72

So now google has Voice, Messenger, Hangouts, Allo, and Duo all with overlapping functionality? I wish they would just focus on making Hangouts work really well.

I think the way they see it is: Voice is basically deprecated Hangouts is enterprise Allo and Duo compete with Whatsapp/iMessage and Facetime/Skype respectively

Duo competes with Facetime, except it's not integrated in Contacts and I can't imagine why. Duo and Facetime don't compete with Skype because they don't have the IM part which is a very important component of Skype. I used it for all these years as an IM client (business or friends), less as audio and rarely as video. But video is always the least used form of communication. Still I'd like to see some global usage stats of Skype: minutes by chat, voice, video. My customers, friends and I could be the outliers.

Re: Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app

#144

Post by floopidydoopidy »

77ko wrote: post #122
berfarah wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the way they see it is: Voice is basically deprecated Hangouts is enterprise Allo and Duo compete with Whatsapp/iMessage and Facetime/Skype respectively

Not quite: - Facebook Messenger combines all the functionality of Allo and Duo. - Whatsapp already has voice calling and is adding video soon (so I read on the internet) - iMessage and Facetime integrate in IOS much better than Google Duo does. In IOS, you go to a contact and press facetime. On Android, you go to a contact... then go back out to Duo and call them. WeChat, of course, does everything that all these app…

I feel like ICQ 98 was the pinnacle of chat applications. Floating contacts and email style messages... brilliance.

Re: Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app

#145

Post by naviehuynh »

77ko wrote: post #122
berfarah wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the way they see it is: Voice is basically deprecated Hangouts is enterprise Allo and Duo compete with Whatsapp/iMessage and Facetime/Skype respectively

Not quite: - Facebook Messenger combines all the functionality of Allo and Duo. - Whatsapp already has voice calling and is adding video soon (so I read on the internet) - iMessage and Facetime integrate in IOS much better than Google Duo does. In IOS, you go to a contact and press facetime. On Android, you go to a contact... then go back out to Duo and call them. WeChat, of course, does everything that all these app…

you can call/message a person from contact page directly, I have done that with whatsapp

Re: Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app

#146

Post by dima55 »

Mizza wrote: post #87
jotux wrote: post #72

So now google has Voice, Messenger, Hangouts, Allo, and Duo all with overlapping functionality? I wish they would just focus on making Hangouts work really well.

They still have their XMPP as well, but they never enabled SSL so it sends messages in plaintext and won't federate to modern XMPP servers/clients. What a clusterfuck of a company.

The federation thing is something they explicitly broke. Google talk could talk to other XMPP servers just fine

Re: Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app

#148

Post by craigcabrey »

eggie wrote: post #140
lazzlazzlazz wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook Messenger has all of those advantages and even more, since your name is your identity and not something that requires exchange like a phone number. I suspect the "video preview" feature will come soon to Facebook Messenger, which has been developing quickly.

Yes, but you have to have a facebook account...

You haven't needed a full FB account to use Messenger for over a year now [0].

[0]: http://lifehacker.com/you-can-now-use-facebook-messenger-wit...

Re: Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app

#149

Post by e7c6ht6iad »

cantbecool wrote: post #121
Mizza wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They still have their XMPP as well, but they never enabled SSL so it sends messages in plaintext and won't federate to modern XMPP servers/clients. What a clusterfuck of a company.

So let me get this straight, it works with older XMPP servers, but not modern, up to date versions of said servers?

Google Talk is deprecated, do you really expect them to enable new features?

Re: Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app

#150

Post by jmolinaso »

Waterluvian wrote: post #10

Why isn't it always end to end encryption? I'm getting really paranoid and crochety in my old age of 29, as all I see is a tool to make me the product.

I'm back from that paranoia period, my conclusions:

- In real life you have no privacy, but still you don't think about it (white pages, community hall inscriptions, driving license, medical history, ...), apart of white pages try to unsubscribe from any of them and see what happens. Internet made it just easier to track you.

- your safety is based on 2 things your habits and the peers that know you and are willing to lend a hand (family, neighbors, friends ...)

- what makes me feel secure about Google tools, is his business model, if they have a breach and expose people's data, they simply bankrupt, so their business relays heavily in security. (as soon as you enable 2 time factor, it becomes incredible difficult to hack you)

- what I don't like of them, they are in EEUU soil and I'm European, so I don't know if I could eventually get into trouble (like is happening in Facebook, they simply don't listen to European cases about cyberbulling, something I didn't read yet from Google, maybe because they are not so popular, maybe because they are truly Not Evil).

- so yes, I'm a product, and it also unlocks me to easily backup and access my family photos, that I can share via chromecast, or get my mails free from non nice spam and eventually find nice new products and know that I can click without exposing myself too much.

- I do have kids, and what comforts me, I can delegate to Google the block of certain images/sites thanks to their advance AI, still is not perfect so by the time they start, I'll also keep an eye. It is different to explain something bad that he just accidentally found, that place them out of his way until he has the age to understand it.

- and don't get started with the zero days exploits, the wrong architecture of some open source apps, and even the abandonware you have out there for free.

At the end, you need to trade something because one person alone can't get everything, and trust between peers is essential. And money made that trust easy, don't trust people, trust that they want the money :)

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