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Google is about to learn a tough lesson

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Re: Google is about to learn a tough lesson

#111

Post by tomkarlo »

camus wrote: post #53
tomkarlo wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what way is this a move "towards the dark side"? I understand it's disappointing, but whenever someone doesn't do what you want, do you assume they're evil? There's an underlying sense of entitlement in the tech community that really rubs me the wrong way sometimes, honestly. Sometimes folks are going to make decisions that you don't agree with. That doesn't justify freaking out. "Getting disappointed" shouldn't b…

It makes google untrustworthy , where a big entity like Google is supposed to offer stable services. I would have paid for reader , the cost is not an issue , the issue is killing a service without even offering an alternative. The google "dont be evil" propaganda is over. They are as bad as Microsoft and should by treated likewise by the press. And we all know how the press deals with Microsoft.

On what basis does it make Google untrustworthy? Was there some kind of announcement that this service would run forever? Or was that simply your expectation?

It's important to differentiate between what other parties are obligated or have promised to do, and what you want them to do. Failing to deliver on the latter is not a violation of trust. It's like saying someone you dated is untrustworthy because they decided to break up with you and they didn't find you someone new to date.

Re: Google is about to learn a tough lesson

#112

Post by arkem »

Afforess wrote: post #4

>Third, and lastly, Google is sending a strong signal to the market that it will have no mercy of killing whatever product it doesn’t think it’s going well. Yep. I was just investigating Cloud SQL storage today and Google has a free Cloud SQL trial plan and decent pricing. I passed it over because I am concerned Google isn't interested in long term maintenance of products, and their support is non-existent. I'd rathe…

[Disclaimer: I work at Google in an unrelated area]

Google platforms like Cloud SQL generally have a deprecation policy that will give you an idea of the minimum length of time that they'll be maintained. For Cloud SQL it's 1 year (it's in the Terms of Service), which means that you'd get at least a year's notice before it could be turned off. It's on par or slightly better than what I know of Amazon's policy (they have 1 year deprecation on their APIs and an undefined deprecation policy on their service offerings).

In my opnion having this deprecation policy would make Google Cloud SQL a lower risk proposition than a 'no-name startup', at least until the startup is in a position to make similar guarantees (and the financial resources to stick to those guarantees).

Edit: I guess my point is that some Google products have service agreements as to how long they'll be maintained and so comparing consumer web services to Cloud SQL isn't really appropriate.

Re: Google is about to learn a tough lesson

#113

Post by camus »

marknutter wrote: post #104

Twitter and Facebook killed RSS. It's a far friendlier interface for people to keep up with news and people they find interesting. Geeks may be lamenting the loss of Google Reader, but they make up a very small percentage of the internet population these days. When I suggest that Twitter/Facebook is the new RSS I often catch a lot of flack for it, but honestly, that's how far more people consume information than any…

> When I suggest that Twitter/Facebook is the new RSS

please explain how twitter and facebook are open protocols so i can suscribe facebook or twitter feeds on the long run without my facebook/twitter reader client breaking because of changes in the api or without having to create an account on their plateform.

RSS exists because it allows free flow of information. I dont recall facebook or twitter being open plateforms that promote interoperability.

Re: Google is about to learn a tough lesson

#115

Post by mcintyre1994 »

camus wrote: post #91
r00fus wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reader is getting the axe because it's getting in the way of the new protege project, G+. They can't have anything holding Google from becoming what they think Facebook should be. In fact, they don't just want to become/defeat Facebook, but also Apple (see Nexus/Chromebook) and Amazon (see Shopping Express), not to mention Groupon (see Offers). By trying to be all things, they will become none. They are on the path t…

> By trying to be all things, they will become none. I just agree 100% they are an advertising company ,that's all they will ever be. The rest is bull. And i'm not going to use any of their vaporware anymore. But it's a great wake up call against all this Saas bull* , i guess journalists had a taste of what the implications of cloud computing are.

I don't think that's fair. They're an AI/machine learning company at heart now. Primarily that powers advertising of course, but they have the potential to do so much more.

Re: Google is about to learn a tough lesson

#116

Post by mattchew »

tomkarlo wrote: post #41
Mindless2112 wrote: post #10

This was my second thought when Google announced that they were retiring Reader (the first was "Nooo!") Half of my friends use Gmail because I suggested that they switch. I am starting to see Google move toward the dark side, and that means you won't see me recommending Google products to friends. It'll take a while, but there will be backlash... because I'm not the only one in this boat.

In what way is this a move "towards the dark side"? I understand it's disappointing, but whenever someone doesn't do what you want, do you assume they're evil? There's an underlying sense of entitlement in the tech community that really rubs me the wrong way sometimes, honestly. Sometimes folks are going to make decisions that you don't agree with. That doesn't justify freaking out. "Getting disappointed" shouldn't b…

I agree that "dark side" is over the top. (I never thought Microsoft was so terrible either.)

Maybe some of the resentment here is from the lingering feeling that Google should still be the best thing on the internet. For quite a long time, everything they did, they did so amazingly well. I loved that company.

They got worse, the rest of the internet got better, and they really don't stand out the way they did. But sometimes I forget that the new Google isn't the same as the old Google, and I feel stung about things like this.

(FWIW, I don't blame them for doing something about Reader. I just wish they had tried selling it on subscription before fitting it for concrete shoes.)

Re: Google is about to learn a tough lesson

#117

Post by [deleted] »

mattchew wrote: post #116
tomkarlo wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what way is this a move "towards the dark side"? I understand it's disappointing, but whenever someone doesn't do what you want, do you assume they're evil? There's an underlying sense of entitlement in the tech community that really rubs me the wrong way sometimes, honestly. Sometimes folks are going to make decisions that you don't agree with. That doesn't justify freaking out. "Getting disappointed" shouldn't b…

I agree that "dark side" is over the top. (I never thought Microsoft was so terrible either.) Maybe some of the resentment here is from the lingering feeling that Google should still be the best thing on the internet. For quite a long time, everything they did, they did so amazingly well. I loved that company. They got worse, the rest of the internet got better, and they really don't stand out the way they did. But s…

[deleted]

Re: Google is about to learn a tough lesson

#120

Post by veridies »

baby wrote: post #105
samspot wrote: post #98

RSS was a literal life changer when I first discovered it. Instead of going to the 5-10 websites I frequented to look for new stories throughout the day, I could check my reader when I took a break and stay up to date on everything. It probably cut my surfing time by 90% or more. Additionally RSS allows me to follow far more things than would normally be possible. Instead of 10 I have 100, including things that don't…

It was a change of life for me too. But a bad one. Instead of checking my favorite websites separately I started checking a hundred websites. I would eat information. I would get a new post every 30 seconds. I would spend my days just sitting at my desk and archiving what didn't seem of interest and read the rest. After a few month I started realizing I wasn't enjoying what was written anymore. I wasn't enjoying visi…

It doesn't help you. But that doesn't mean it's not useful.

I subscribe to about fifteen developer blogs that update only two or three times a year. Huge waste of time to visit their websites, but whenever anything important happens, I'll know.

I subscribe to the New York Times' main feed. I don't read most of the articles, but I'll flip through all of the headlines for ones that I want to look at. Much faster than the main site.

I'll Option-R right before I leave the house, so if I'm stuck without internet for a while (the cell phone connection is very spotty on a commute I make) I can still read the news and the blogs I'm interested in.

It doesn't fit your use case, but that doesn't mean no one needs RSS.

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