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Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

bloomberg.com

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Re: Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

#411

Post by mshroyer »

I've been paying a tiny amount to use Google Cloud because the handful of domains I control were registered with Google Domains, in turn because I trusted Google to run a good registrar.

Maybe there was no special reason to use Google Cloud DNS, or the other Google Cloud services I use, with Google Domains. It's been so long since I set this all up that I honestly can't remember. But I wouldn't be revisiting any of that but for this announcement that Google Domains is turning down. Now, in the process of finding a new registrar, I'm revisiting all of it.

I'm a tiny customer, less than a rounding error for Google. But this still seems like a strategic error to me. How much can it cost to run a domain registrar? How does this weigh against the goodwill and trust gained from maintaining an important service you've implicitly promised that you would maintain?

Re: Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

#413

Post by vineyardmike »

pcurve wrote: post #292
DLA wrote: post #204

Yet another business Google bails on. Add that to the pile. Gee wonder why Google Cloud is getting smashed by AWS and Azure—maybe because nobody trusts Google to not flake out on that business or key products within it. They need some management changes!

They've killed off almost 300. They have ~100 left. https://about.google/intl/ALL_us/products/ What do you think will go next? I'm sure some of these will bite the bullet this year. 1. Exposure Notifications (maybe in 2-3 years) 2. Google Arts and Culture <- this one has to be expensive to maintain 3. Keep 4. Scholar 5. Tilt Brush 6. Google Lens 7. Google Groups 8. Google Drawings

Google extensively uses groups internally for all sorts of things... not sure they could realistically kill it and still function.

Re: Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

#414

Post by Lammy »

Dalewyn wrote: post #400
dumpsterdiver wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oof, Winamp? Check this out: https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2008-0065/

Why dafuq would I care about a bug related to a streaming service I've never even heard of when all I do is play locally stored music files? Incidentally, I still have not come across a suitable replacement for Winamp all these years later. They all have crappy UIs or bring features that I do not want and get in my way.

The best replacement for Winamp is… also Winamp! https://getwacup.com/

Re: Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

#415

Post by TX81Z »

CSMastermind wrote: post #320
TX81Z wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This makes zero sense, you could previously buy a domain, email hosting, and a web host in a single shopping cart more or less.

Yeah this one is actually stunning. Does anyone know why Google is doing this? Like have they released their explanation?

100% sure the decision was political.

Re: Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

#416

Post by vineyardmike »

ssnistfajen wrote: post #374
humanistbot wrote: post #252

At this point, you should assume any Google service is purely temporary. If you're relying on any Google product, start migrating now on your own timeline before they give up and make you migrate on their timeline.

Is Google headed down the same path as IBM where the business eventually atrophies into a few select products kept alive by contract inertia rather than market trends?

Honestly? No. Google is headed to become an oil and gas company... one great product that generates so much wealth, yet they're completely unable to find new revenue streams. They'll slowly limp along in their space, for a long time, while the world points to them as an example of the past.

Re: Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

#417

Post by chippiewill »

_xivi wrote: post #412

Does Google have no strategy, like at all? Just last year, it was announced that "Google Domains is out of beta"

Google announce things are out of Beta when they're looking to attract business customers.

Apparently it didn't work. Or they were juicing up their customer base for the sale.

Re: Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

#418

Post by hnbad »

saagarjha wrote: post #379
pcurve wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've killed off almost 300. They have ~100 left. https://about.google/intl/ALL_us/products/ What do you think will go next? I'm sure some of these will bite the bullet this year. 1. Exposure Notifications (maybe in 2-3 years) 2. Google Arts and Culture <- this one has to be expensive to maintain 3. Keep 4. Scholar 5. Tilt Brush 6. Google Lens 7. Google Groups 8. Google Drawings

Exposure Notifications was designed to be deprecated, though? It was a pandemic thing.

The pandemic is ongoing, we've just started calling the disease "endemic" but that doesn't make it less dangerous.

We have however wound down most of the protective measures. Germany has retired the official bluetooth contact tracing app earlier this year. I wouldn't be surprised if Google retires theirs this year or the next.

Re: Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

#419

Post by b112 »

pcurve wrote: post #292
DLA wrote: post #204

Yet another business Google bails on. Add that to the pile. Gee wonder why Google Cloud is getting smashed by AWS and Azure—maybe because nobody trusts Google to not flake out on that business or key products within it. They need some management changes!

They've killed off almost 300. They have ~100 left. https://about.google/intl/ALL_us/products/ What do you think will go next? I'm sure some of these will bite the bullet this year. 1. Exposure Notifications (maybe in 2-3 years) 2. Google Arts and Culture <- this one has to be expensive to maintain 3. Keep 4. Scholar 5. Tilt Brush 6. Google Lens 7. Google Groups 8. Google Drawings

Google once tried to setup a 'smart' community in Toronto, including wanting control over police and laws and all sorts of other absurd blather.

Can you imagine living in such a community?

I can't believe people rely upon gmail for anything. Integrate anything.

When I see a business using gmail for a backend, I question their entire business model, because I question their judgement.

Re: Alphabet selling Google Domains assets to Squarespace

#420

Post by hnbad »

fomine3 wrote: post #401
dingusdew wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exposure Notifications is probably already dead. It's dead in Washington state, which is also where it was originally developed alongside Google. If it's not being used in the state that it was developed in initially, it's doubtfully being used nationwide. Perhaps other parts of the world still use it, but the US no longer gives a rats ass.

Exposure Notifications was a great try by Google and Apple. If it weren't a thing, most big government would develop more privacy invasive contact tracing app. It seems that it wasn't worked well, but still a great try.

The German "Corona Warn App" (CWA) is pretty good from a privacy POV. It works along the same lines as the Google/Apple ones I think (trading tokens over Bluetooth, then publishing a list of "infected" tokens when you submit a positive test result, risk severity being based on how many tokens you match, i.e. how long you were in the same space). The difference is that it isn't tied to any American corporation.

Of course we also had another app called Luca, which tried to do a lot more direct contact tracing and turned out to be extremely insecure and leak user data, so there's that. And of course there were some plausible corruption allegations relating to its public funding.

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