NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook • Hacker News Board

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#31

Post by SwellJoe » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:58 PM UTC

dwa3592 wrote: post #24

blfr wrote: post #11

I admonish Gemini and demand explanation nearly every day of how it's possible that Google invented the thing, has the best infrastructure for inference, and somehow falls behind Anthropic and even OpenAI. NotebookLM is pretty cool since it can hold a ton of context but this is so far below my (and frankly just reasonable) expectations of Google. I downgraded my Gemini subscription and got Claude. Still can't believe…

Antigravity sucks so bad that I have started to feel that google really doesn't wanna compete, they just wanna hang in there at number 2 or 3, to just annoy the number 1 and 2.

For coding, I don't think they're even number 3, anymore. Seems more like 4th or 5th (unbelievably, even Mecha Hitler seems to do better, though I'm hopeful Gemini 3.5 Pro will turn things around).

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#32

Post by annjose » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:58 PM UTC

simonw wrote: post #28

I was never sure what the "LM" stood for, so this makes sense to me.

Apparently it is Language Model, as mentioned in the announcement of NotebookLM in 2023 [0].

> Today we’re beginning to roll out Project Tailwind with its new name: NotebookLM, an experimental offering from Google Labs. It’s our endeavor to reimagine what notetaking software might look like if you designed it from scratch knowing that you would have a powerful language model at its core: hence the LM.

It's funny how similar that article's intro is to today's announcement.

[0] https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/ai/notebook...

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#33

Post by lvl155 » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:58 PM UTC

Company run by consultants and MBAs.

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#34

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC

mistrial9 wrote: post #21

NoImmatureAdHom wrote: post #20

I'd like to have audio overviews of scientific papers, so I can "read" them while I drive. NotebookLM/Gemini Notebook sorta does this, but the two-person podcast format is kind of annoying and it can't pronounce math. Is there something out there that will do this? I'm sure the right harness around frontier models would make it work.

random idea -- driving while you drive?

[deleted]

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#35

Post by NguyenDat377 » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 6:02 PM UTC

I feel like the name reflect the product more. I have been using NotebookLM for studying and really like it. I wonder if with this name change, would there be a major change in Gemini Notebook ?

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#36

Post by electriclove » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 6:12 PM UTC

aanet wrote: post #14

I fear the upcoming changes... It ALWAYS starts with a name change, then more useless features, more ensh*ttification, then users flee, then the product is killed. Google: - Hangout - Chat - Meets - Duo - ...

Allo?

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#37

Post by hek2sch » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 6:14 PM UTC

NguyenDat377 wrote: post #35

I feel like the name reflect the product more. I have been using NotebookLM for studying and really like it. I wonder if with this name change, would there be a major change in Gemini Notebook ?

The backend has changed people experience more hallucinations. You can see their subs.

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#38

Post by verdverm » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 6:14 PM UTC

speak_plainly wrote: post #25

blfr wrote: post #11

I admonish Gemini and demand explanation nearly every day of how it's possible that Google invented the thing, has the best infrastructure for inference, and somehow falls behind Anthropic and even OpenAI. NotebookLM is pretty cool since it can hold a ton of context but this is so far below my (and frankly just reasonable) expectations of Google. I downgraded my Gemini subscription and got Claude. Still can't believe…

I share your sentiment. I'm still paying for Gemini but it's almost useless to me. Google has some serious internal problems. Perhaps Gemini is merely being plagued by aggressive cost controls, or perhaps there are deeper flaws in Google’s approach. Either way, I can't trust NotebookLM with serious work and have stopped using it. Apple is placing a major bet on Google and Gemini for iOS 27. If Gemini's decline is any…

> Google has some serious internal problems.

I suspect it is part leadership change (sundar/kurain) and over indexing on Ai for doing the job on top of a model that is just not as good (esp flash 3.5). Google Cloud / Gemini Enterprise sent me the greatest Slop Deck of all time. It was quite obvious it was Ai generated and the rep had only read a few slides of the 30+. I wonder if they are even aware after losing the sale

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#39

Post by realsarm » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 6:17 PM UTC

hek2sch wrote: post #16

abirch wrote: post #5

Are there other tools out there like NotebookLM? Not a replacement but some cool AI tools that help people learn.

Best closest I stumble on is nouswise. Lets you contain an agent with even more sources and generate almost all outputs.

Like how many sources? And what you mean by sources (tables pdfs...)?

Re: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook

#40

Post by rhipitr » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 6:17 PM UTC

Any people with insight on why this happens? From my corporate experience this generally happens when two teams are working on a similar thing, they complain about turf to leadership, and leadership either makes them consolidate efforts or chooses a winner. Is that what happens at Google a lot? Or do they just constantly tweak things to the point they cease to live or be used?