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Google in, Google out

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Re: Google in, Google out

#11

Post by buro9 »

> They don’t just want to remake the world in their image. They want to remake our individual lives. Each Stack — bar Facebook, for now — offers the same awkward bargain: commit wholly & wholeheartedly to our ecosystem, and we will better your life.

And it just might work, if any of the newer Google experiences worked on all Google accounts.

My experience as a Google Apps / G Suite user, is that few to none of the newer Google products and features are either available or offer anything more than a basic and perfunctory service.

"One account, all of Google", not if the account isn't a Gmail account.

It's the biggest thing that is broken at Google, and it's broken in every product department, every team, every feature.

It's also why I haven't purchased a Pixel (why? When much of the benefit I'm denied access to, I cannot even ask Google Assistant for my agenda), and I haven't purchased a Home (why? When again it is limited and locked down), and my Android TV seems to lack integration with Photos (which I assume is because of my G Suite account but maybe it's just crappy).

Google accounts seem to be driving towards 2 very different and polarised futures, a personal one and a professional one. Having only professional accounts means that all of the personal features are unavailable.

Re: Google in, Google out

#12

Post by huhtenberg »

pacala wrote: post #5
MrQuincle wrote: post #2

> And yet. Like every I/O attendee I received a free Google Home device as part of the I/O experience. (I attended as an engineer, not as press.) But I don’t want one; I’ll be giving mine away. Sorry, Google. It’s not that I mistrust you. It’s just that I don’t want to have to trust any profit-driven megacorporation quite that much. Not Apple, not Amazon, and not even you. It is very interesting to me why certain mic…

Always on cameras, always on mics, that's a new low even for Google. Technically they are not yet uploading everything into the cloud, but who in his right mind is trusting Google on privacy anymore? From Google Maps the other day "New! share your location with your friends for an hour". Oh, by the way, give Google Maps permission to always track your location, forever. Wtf. Camera and microphone on the mobile phone…

> the car is not connected to the Internet

Except, of course, that they are.

For example, OnStar has been around for ~20 years and there are documented cases of FBI using it to eavesdrop on their suspects.

Re: Google in, Google out

#13

Post by JoshMnem »

a_imho wrote: post #8
MrQuincle wrote: post #2

> And yet. Like every I/O attendee I received a free Google Home device as part of the I/O experience. (I attended as an engineer, not as press.) But I don’t want one; I’ll be giving mine away. Sorry, Google. It’s not that I mistrust you. It’s just that I don’t want to have to trust any profit-driven megacorporation quite that much. Not Apple, not Amazon, and not even you. It is very interesting to me why certain mic…

The value proposition is just poor. Not that people love the idea they can be monitored, tracked and recorded anywhere, they just tolerate that, because it is pretty hard to have phone conversation without a mic. Putting an always on telescreen into your home that offers nothing really is a whole different game.

Consumers tolerate it partially because they don't understand technology. They would not tolerate it if they really knew how it worked and had knowledge on how to fix the problem.

Re: Google in, Google out

#14

Post by paradite »

On the topic of Google Lens, I don't really understand the hype around it.

People are talking about how it is able scan a bar code of SSID and password to connect to router. Isn't that ancient technology? And for other uses like overlay maps info, aren't those just running standard CV/ML algorithms on their mega-servers plus simple integration with other apps in their ecosystem?

Re: Google in, Google out

#15

Post by NKCSS »

There used to be a video called "Google Grid" that talked about a future where everything was Google. It was pretty cool, about 5-10-ish years old I think? But I can't find it anywhere.

Re: Google in, Google out

#16

Post by jankey »

pawadu wrote: post #9
pacala wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always on cameras, always on mics, that's a new low even for Google. Technically they are not yet uploading everything into the cloud, but who in his right mind is trusting Google on privacy anymore? From Google Maps the other day "New! share your location with your friends for an hour". Oh, by the way, give Google Maps permission to always track your location, forever. Wtf. Camera and microphone on the mobile phone…

> Technically they are not yet uploading everything into the cloud Don't they upload every "Hey, Google!" command to their cloud? I assume they would upload some background sound to train their algorithms against background noise.

Sure, you can review and delete everything here: https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity?restrict=vaa&utm_so...

(I work for Google)

Re: Google in, Google out

#18

Post by jaflo »

paradite wrote: post #14

On the topic of Google Lens, I don't really understand the hype around it. People are talking about how it is able scan a bar code of SSID and password to connect to router. Isn't that ancient technology? And for other uses like overlay maps info, aren't those just running standard CV/ML algorithms on their mega-servers plus simple integration with other apps in their ecosystem?

I think it is that simple integration that makes or breaks the product. Because Google controls the OS, it allows for a more seamless experience: you wouldn't download an app just to scan and connect to Wi-Fi networks, but because it's a feature built into your phone you are much more likely to use it.

Re: Google in, Google out

#19

Post by Mathnerd314 »

Loic wrote: post #4
Mathnerd314 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's more of a general Luddite / anti-tech paradigm. Historically, strange things were dangerous and/or poisonous. Tech people probably recognize these devices from science fiction books / movies / stories, so they don't get scared, but the rest of the world has no context to place them in and hence treats them like unexploded ordnance.

By framing this as "luddite/anti-tech" you do not address the fundamental question: Do you really want your life to have such high dependency on a single corporation? I am in no ways anti-tech, but the history has shown that putting your life in the hands of a single corporation is not a sane decision.

Referring to "the history" is just wrong, there are always conflicting perspectives and facts. See http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2015/01/in-... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12173396; there have been plenty of (presumably sane) people who depended on a single corporation. It's not clear whether they're better off for it, and there is a slippery-slope argument, but monopolies and lock-in are not intrinsically evil.

Re: Google in, Google out

#20

Post by pacala »

jankey wrote: post #16
pawadu wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Technically they are not yet uploading everything into the cloud Don't they upload every "Hey, Google!" command to their cloud? I assume they would upload some background sound to train their algorithms against background noise.

Sure, you can review and delete everything here: https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity?restrict=vaa&utm_so... (I work for Google)

Right. opt-out vs opt-in. http://danariely.com/2008/05/05/3-main-lessons-of-psychology

PS. Kindly explain why Google Maps really wants to stalk my location even when not using it actively. It's been forced down Android users a few years ago via a "Yes/Not now" dark pattern, it's coming on iPhone under the guise of "share location with your friends".

PS2. Kindly explain why anyone would ever trust Google to not expand their data acquisition behavior once the sensors are in place. For example, GPS, but always on mics and cameras in the future.

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