Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

Post by jrobn » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 2:51 PM UTC

SamuelAdams wrote: post #136

astral303 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Google Maps not saving your history as you described is an incredibly bad, frustrating experience. FFS, my phone has gigs of RAM, why can’t Google Maps remember the address I searched for ten minutes ago? One minute ago? This is 2019. It has been this bad for a decade plus. Embarrassing IMO and demonstrates true UX myopia and true UX incompetence.

Personally I switched to Apple Maps after the iOS 13 release and haven't looked back. Because it's integrated into the OS, Apple Maps can look into your messages and auto-complete addresses from that. It can also save places without you signing into an account. The only thing I miss is google's "offline" mode. I live in Michigan, and I frequently go on trips up north into heavily wooded areas. I don't always get cell…

Post by pintxo » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 2:52 PM UTC

robomartin wrote: post #191

saluki wrote: post #115

I was a huge Google Fan but this is becoming lunacy. I understood trading some data and privacy for great search results, maps and free quality email. But people willingly bringing always on listening devices in to their homes (beyond what smartphones are already capable of) I just can't comprehend it. Why would people voluntarily do this in exchange for being able to ask for weather, play a playlist, add a todo and…

> people willingly bringing always on listening devices in to their homes I just can't comprehend it. The reason is "people" lack education in technology. They can barely use a computer these days, with "using a computer" generally means being on Facebook with a browser. There's a very significant divide in this regard that has been growing for decades. And it isn't getting any better. This is why it is nearly imposs…

Post by fauigerzigerk » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 2:54 PM UTC

nvrspyx wrote: post #161

indigochill wrote: post #93

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I gotta be that guy and recommend DuckDuckGo. No, it's not always as good as Google search, but it's still usually good enough and when you -really- need Google you can simply add "g!". Every other time, you can rest assured your searches aren't feeding some AI. DDG is at least a reasonable way to ween yourself off Google search rather than needing to go full cold turkey.

As I always do when this is suggested, I recommend using “!s” for Startpage instead of “!g” for Google. Similar to DDG, Startpage provides results in a privacy respecting way, but it uses Google instead of Bing (and Oath), which DDG uses. There’s a common misconception amongst some that using !g on DDG is private, but it’s just a redirect, so Google can gather information from that search. Using !s as the fallback in…

Post by eeZah7Ux » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 2:55 PM UTC

davinic wrote: post #154

saluki wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

of course I do, it's alluded to in my comment: "(beyond what smartphones are already capable of)" I agree, smart phones provide the same surveillance capabilities of 'smart' speakers and more. But supposedly phones aren't always on and listening to all your audio like the 'smart' speakers. This might just be a divide in society, some people accept surveillance as not an issue and are fine with it. Would you place a s…

But saying "beyond what smartphones are already capable of" diminishes the fact that they are also always listening, and are also generally near where you are. Siri, by default, is always listening. Most people don't understand or know this. People are then amazed when they put their phone on a table and say "Hey Siri" from across the room.

Post by vengefulduck » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 3:01 PM UTC

mguerville wrote: post #116

jwalton wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wanted to try the google podcasts but it was a brick because I had disabled "youtube & web activity" This is the worst. I have all the privacy settings turned up. In Google Maps on my phone, when I try to set my "Home" location, it tells me I need to turn on "Web and App Activity". What? Why? How are these two things related? Why do you have to track what apps I use and upload this info to Google in order to reme…

I had an app that refused to work unless high accuracy location was turned on. There was a location aspect to it but demanding the highest setting of location sharing was vastly overreaching and I just uninstalled the app.