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Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

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Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#111

Post by andrepd »

Daneel_ wrote: post #29

Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly does swiftkey offer over the usual keyboard? A quick google seems to bring up "better predictive text" and "better multi-language support" - is that it?

I write in two languages several times throughout the day, and worse: I code-switch all the time between the two (in the same text, that is).

That is definitely the killer feature for me. So I have an old version of swiftkey, blocked Internet access because fuck me if I let Microsoft snoop on all I write, and an xposed module (Exi) with useful mods.

PS: if anyone has a Free Software alternative I'm all ears.

Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#112

Post by red_admiral »

It feels to me like there is a market opportunity for a new keyboard app manufacturer here. Possibly along similar ethical lines as Mozilla/Firefox (there's bundled stuff because someone has to pay the bills, but it's only so much effort to turn it off).

Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#113

Post by InsomniacL »

quaintdev wrote: post #16
pffft8888 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the person is complaining about people complaining. I find it ironic.

Why do we feel this need to disect everything

That feels like some sort of survivor bias. The majority of people didn't feel that and passed on by without commenting.

Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#114

Post by andrepd »

Sunspark wrote: post #87
Daneel_ wrote: post #29

Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly does swiftkey offer over the usual keyboard? A quick google seems to bring up "better predictive text" and "better multi-language support" - is that it?

Other than the things it does well, it has great ergonomics. On large Android phones it lets you raise the keyboard so you can type in the middle of the screen. Everyone else makes you type at the bottom of the device which is unbalanced.

I know a better way to fix that: start making phones that aren't absolute hand tablets x)

Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#115

Post by rkachowski »

xxs wrote: post #97
Gordonjcp wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The same shit happens when driving. In a broader sense, it never fails to amaze me that a kilo and a half of goopy cells that evolved to work out where the plants that won't kill you and where to trap rabbits in the next valley are - things that are, generally speaking, not much further than you can see - can visualise every step and turn of a journey of hundreds of miles, while being shoved through space at roughl…

One can tell the British background by the mix of metric ('kilo') and imperial ('mile'). Mentioning that as the way we adapt with different units, feeling natural about them, and getting defensive about them, too.

I mean, "4 hour drive to get to England" also puts quite a limit on the search space.

Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#116

Post by madeofpalk »

unpopularopp wrote: post #10

> This one hurts, it really hurts. I think this hurts worse than Musk buying/poisoning/killing Twitter. I've mentioned this before but a keyboard feels like an extension of your body People need to take a break. Being terminally online and complaining about everything is not a healthy way of life.

[flagged]

Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#117

Post by sverhagen »

merijnv wrote: post #104
Daneel_ wrote: post #29

Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly does swiftkey offer over the usual keyboard? A quick google seems to bring up "better predictive text" and "better multi-language support" - is that it?

I mean, you say "is this it?", but the multi-language support of literally all other Android keyboards I've used are basically unusable. Take Google's default keyboard, it requires you manually switch languages for swiping and predictive text to work. But that's completely unworkable for the way multi-lingual people end up actually typing texting. I swap back and forth across languages, even if just for 1 or 2 words…

The default one on Samsung will let you select multiple languages under "Suggest text predictions". Not sure if that's a clone of the default Google one, but I had so far assumed so. Seems to switch decently between Dutch and English, for me.

Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#118

Post by jevgeni »

dustedcodes wrote: post #57
unpopularopp wrote: post #10

> This one hurts, it really hurts. I think this hurts worse than Musk buying/poisoning/killing Twitter. I've mentioned this before but a keyboard feels like an extension of your body People need to take a break. Being terminally online and complaining about everything is not a healthy way of life.

[flagged]

[flagged]

Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#119

Post by viraptor »

red_admiral wrote: post #112

It feels to me like there is a market opportunity for a new keyboard app manufacturer here. Possibly along similar ethical lines as Mozilla/Firefox (there's bundled stuff because someone has to pay the bills, but it's only so much effort to turn it off).

I'm really surprised there are no quality swipe keyboard options out there. Gboard is ok. I liked SwiftKey better a few years ago, but it degraded. But I'd pay for a swipe keyboard which solves a few issues I run into all the time: like not being great at detecting the space swipe, not showing the word alternatives consistently, not getting stuck in password entry mode, etc.

I tried a few of the available options and it seems like gboard and SwiftKey on top, then a huge chasm, then every other option, few of them likely low quality data stealers.

Please, do it well and take my money!

Re: Microsoft deleted the public support forums for SwiftKey

#120

Post by rishav_sharan »

red_admiral wrote: post #112

It feels to me like there is a market opportunity for a new keyboard app manufacturer here. Possibly along similar ethical lines as Mozilla/Firefox (there's bundled stuff because someone has to pay the bills, but it's only so much effort to turn it off).

Pretty much no revenue opportunities.

I was the PM for a keyboard app with millions of downloads and was the most downloaded keyboard app in India. But there is no way to monetize it.

Early on, the OEMs would pay us to have our keyboards in their images as it would give them more customizability, better local language support and end-to-end localization. The rev share on each device sold, was enough to keep the product funded.

But post 2014, the OEMs started asking for fees to add our keyboard into their images. And instead of positive funds, we started to go into negative and had to pivot away from being just a keyboard.

Anyway, right now there is not much market opportunity in this space. Maybe with AI being ubiquitous, a new wave of keyboard apps will come in - but again right now the economics don't make sense.

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