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Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

coywolf.news

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Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#161

I hope they do so that aggregate searchers have another option. I want a search engine I can use the search term "rockets" to get me actual fire breathing rockets rather than some US sports team...

I want a search engine that is optimized for completing my task and leaving quickly rather than ever-increasing engagement. When I search for something and its not there I don't want pages of unrelated-but-popular garbage, I just want to see a 'no' so I can move on.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#162
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly don't like my search results mingled with the advertising industry: there is bias in all results, you can't trust in information if it is not impartial. People used to create content to advance knowledge, but the amount of crap nowadays motivated my money (even if it is good quality) concerns me about the education of the human civilization as a whole. "The love of money (greed) is the root of all evil": G…

I wonder if there'd be any value in a search engine that recognized popular third-party ad networks and simply did not add to its index any page which includes them. (Or, at least, provided users an option to filter those results out.)

How would a search engine that doesn't have pretty much any major publication and a lot of content-driven websites gain any traction at all? There is so much it couldn't find, and while you may be fine with that, I doubt many people would be.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#163
post #156
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple maps is probably a good example because outside the US it is still useless, 8 years later. I don't expect an Apple search engine to be any different.

I switched to Apple Maps a few months ago and haven't run into any issues using it in various cities in Germany. The main missing feature for me used to be public transit routing, but they added that a few updates ago and it generates pretty much identical itineraries to Google Maps.

It doesn't seem to have cycling directions in Munich, that's a pity, lots of nice spots there you can't very well get to by car or public transport

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#164
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I switched to Apple Maps a few months ago and haven't run into any issues using it in various cities in Germany. The main missing feature for me used to be public transit routing, but they added that a few updates ago and it generates pretty much identical itineraries to Google Maps.

It doesn't seem to have cycling directions in Munich, that's a pity, lots of nice spots there you can't very well get to by car or public transport

Is only just now adding cycling directions in limited places. One of the big places (IMO big) they've really lagged Google.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[Disclaimer: I work on Google Assistant. I just started though; I'm much more of a user than an engineer at this point.] I use it a lot for media stuff. "Play by ", "Watch on Netflix", etc. My wife is very fond of the combined alarm + YouTube functionality: "Wake me up at 7:00 AM with deep meditation music". My toddler has learned to say "Hey Google watch videos of dump trucks". I use it a bunch for basic productivit…

My toddler can’t turn Google Home on. He have probably tried over 300 times the last year. Seems like it is not trained on enough child voices in foreign languages. I had to record my voice for him on the iPad, so he can use it. Just with the short “Hey Google”, in Norwegian. He pronounces it correct. The only difference is the high pitch/tone of a child.

My 4 year old daughter can get Home to play her favorite rhymes and cartoon on our TV using chromecast. We are non-native English speakers(desi) and dont use English as our primary language at home

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are transitioning as iPhone sales stabilize. https://www.barrons.com/articles/apple-stock-services-busine... It’s not all about the hardware anymore.

there's no way they 'll make the premiums they have with software. There isn't even content with such margins.

That’s not a reason to not expand the business.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#168
post #6

If it's anything like Siri, I'll pass. Went back to the iOS ecosystem last year after being in Android/Google land for the past decade. I used Google Assistant on a daily basis easily 20-30 times and 99% of the time it got me what I needed. Siri can't even do a 1/10th of the things I used GA for, and that 1/10th that it does, it does so poorly that I don't even bother anymore.

This is interesting to me. As someone who works at Google, and is a huge Android fan (and Apple hater), I am constantly astounded at how bad Assistant seems to be for me, and how good Siri seems to be for my friends. Maybe I just speak really unclearly? Unfortunately, basically all of my friends have iPhones (even at Google), so it's hard to know if it's just me.

Very interesting. I can confirm the parent comment. I've got a kind of mumbling voice and am not a native English speaker, so Siri would not understand 60% of what I'm saying. While GA got everything I was saying every time, even when using a wired headset mic while riding a very noisy underground train.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#169

No, thanks. Apple is notoriously horrible when it comes to localization: Apple Maps (localization, regional maps, regional traffic data, turn by turn), iOS supported languages, Siri supported languages, their new Apple Translate that only has 7-8 languages, Spotlight suggestions, etc. They're also very slow to expand their services, I think Apple News still only supports 4 countries. Just buy DuckDuckGo

You can’t compare them to Google, almost everything they do is exclusive to the US. They seriously treat the rest of the world as an afterthought
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