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“Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

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Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#151

Post by mathgladiator »

sdfjkl wrote: post #33

If you build something on someone else's API, you can get fucked in a million ways. They might shut down the API (Google Reader), take away the functionality you relied on (Google Calendar), limit it (Twitter) or deprecate the version you're using, forcing you to do development work to keep working at the worst possible time for you (IOS). They might also decide that your product is very good and build a version of i…

> If you build something on someone else's API, you can get fucked in a million ways.

I feel you should mention whether or no you pay for the API and have a legitimate contract enforceable with law.

This is one reason why I don't use google APIs; I can't pay for them with any sort of reasonable SLA.

Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#152

Post by PhasmaFelis »

atirip wrote: post #53
davidjgraph wrote: post #44

We developed a product specifically for Google Drive using their JavaScript client. We were hoping to make it commercial but had to abandon those plans due to 3 bugs that have been present since around the beginning of 2013. Also, there's no open bug tracker. The developer relations people are very friendly, but when I ask where to report bugs I'm told "just tell me". So every 2 months I've reported the same 3 bugs i…

"I love what Google are doing" - but of course you do, it is called Stockholm Syndrome. Irony aside, i'm trully amazed of Google. See, the smallest misstep Apple makes, everybody jump to hate Apple. Google on the orher can do whatever they want and nada, everybody jump in to alleviate the evelasting, unconditional love, no matter what. Remarkable achievement, hat off, in todays world.

You're wrong in every detail. Both Google and Apple have a lot of haters and a lot of unconditional defenders. This is, of course, because they both do some shitty things and some awesome things. But good luck with your effort to cram the world into simple black/white cubbyholes!

Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#153

Post by MAGZine »

tedsanders wrote: post #133
karangoeluw wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google are terrible at support. FTFY

Could you offer arguments or anecdotes about why you think Google is terrible at support? Snarky, four-character comments like yours do not add much value to the discussion.

Ever try to contact a human at google regarding their services/products? Or even your account? It's quite difficult to find an email form that will lead to a human let lone a phone number.

Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#154

Post by davidjgraph »

aliafshar wrote: post #142
davidjgraph wrote: post #44

We developed a product specifically for Google Drive using their JavaScript client. We were hoping to make it commercial but had to abandon those plans due to 3 bugs that have been present since around the beginning of 2013. Also, there's no open bug tracker. The developer relations people are very friendly, but when I ask where to report bugs I'm told "just tell me". So every 2 months I've reported the same 3 bugs i…

Can you link the bugs/stackoverflow you are having trouble with, please? We should be doing a better job of fixing them - especially if they are gating you from releasing a serious app. That is bad, sorry.

Hi Ali. [0][1][2], 1 is actually the dual clicking required on account selection using the JS client. They may seem subtle, but as we reduced our bug count these probably account for 75% of tickets.

TBH, I don't really want it to be that I whine in a very public place and the bugs I personally need fixing get priority.

What I'd really like to see come out of this is a public facing bug tracker for the Drive SDK that people can vote on and priority be given to the most voted for/most critical issues as viewed by the developers.

I can throw one onto github, as long as you don't mind something unofficial.

[0] http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13971272/is-there-a-way-t...

[1] http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13366254/is-it-possible-t...

[2] http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15664523/cant-get-google-...

Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#155

Post by oakaz »

prewett wrote: post #86
oakaz wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a technical doc without copyrights, that I wrote 8 years ago...

IANAL, but I did take an IP law course. If I recall correctly, you have copyright from the moment that you create the work. You can have it officially registered at a later date, however, you might be limited in collecting damages to infractions after the registration date. I'm not sure what happens if they registered the copyright. Presumably you could sue them if you can demonstrate that you were the true creator.…

I sent a copy of my passport to Google since they want me to prove I report impersonation.

I really hate dealing with legal cases and also since I'm a Turkish guy living in US, and the website impersonating me is also Turkish, I don't wanna spend my time on this shitty case.

I just believe this; Google should start being friend with people.

Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#156

Post by Klarifier »

anuaitt wrote: post #136
Klarifier wrote: post #128

Anuaitt: 1.) You are clearly young and do not know: if there is something on the internet you do not like, go make it yourself. What obligation does Google have to do something for you? None! They are providing mostly free services, but if you don't like it (or the support), go make your own and quit bothering people (and Google). 2.) You have no relation to the GMail Web Application, yet you specify: "Founder GmailS…

Klarifier: 1) Why make it again if there is a platform already existing ? why not bother them : please check this link http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/calendar/vdFSJ... 2) Yes, I know it is my fault 3) I would rather chose not to comment on this. 4) Why create my own API ? If someone as good as Google has already build it ? I know how to code and have built this app within 3 months. and yes I am a young…

You are the whiner posting on this board.

You need to get a clue and stop blaming people for things that are entirely in your control.

Make your own e-mail system, then add-on to that.

Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#157

Post by genericone »

MAGZine wrote: post #153
tedsanders wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you offer arguments or anecdotes about why you think Google is terrible at support? Snarky, four-character comments like yours do not add much value to the discussion.

Ever try to contact a human at google regarding their services/products? Or even your account? It's quite difficult to find an email form that will lead to a human let lone a phone number.

I think that tedsander would have wanted that your explanation follow the snarky four character comment, so that there would at least be something of merit to respond to. Comments like "this" "lol" "ftfy" "rtfa" "ruh roh" are the kinds of responses that generally annoy users of HN looking for intelligible discourse.

Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#158

Post by hamburglar »

MAGZine wrote: post #153
tedsanders wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you offer arguments or anecdotes about why you think Google is terrible at support? Snarky, four-character comments like yours do not add much value to the discussion.

Ever try to contact a human at google regarding their services/products? Or even your account? It's quite difficult to find an email form that will lead to a human let lone a phone number.

I've actually been fairly impressed with the support for Google Apps (paid version). I submit a ticket and a competent human calls me on the phone and usually solves the problem pretty quickly. One time, I got a lousy tech who had obviously not read my initial ticket and I had to go through the whole thing on the phone, but that was an exception.

Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#159

Post by JanezStupar »

davidjgraph wrote: post #44

We developed a product specifically for Google Drive using their JavaScript client. We were hoping to make it commercial but had to abandon those plans due to 3 bugs that have been present since around the beginning of 2013. Also, there's no open bug tracker. The developer relations people are very friendly, but when I ask where to report bugs I'm told "just tell me". So every 2 months I've reported the same 3 bugs i…

After reading through this thread it appears to me that all that is stopping you from launching is a couple of bugs related to multiple Google accounts use case.

I would call that an edge case and launch the rocket. Just drop a comment about it in the FAQ.

Unless, your product is strictly about multiple Google accouncts in which case you are shafted. :)

Re: “Please let me know if I should stop developing apps for Google Products”

#160

Post by quanticle »

sdfjkl wrote: post #33

If you build something on someone else's API, you can get fucked in a million ways. They might shut down the API (Google Reader), take away the functionality you relied on (Google Calendar), limit it (Twitter) or deprecate the version you're using, forcing you to do development work to keep working at the worst possible time for you (IOS). They might also decide that your product is very good and build a version of i…

Yeah, that's true, but it's also true that you're always building on someone else's API. I mean, even if you build a native desktop application, you're still relying on Windows, Linux or OSX APIs. Granted, those APIs tend to be more stable than the APIs for mobile clients and web clients, but it's not like there haven't been painful breaking changes on that front either.

So what's your solution? Write everything in assembly and run it on your own servers?

I think the way to proceed is to look at the stability of the API and the historical level of backwards compatibility that the API creator has provided and explicitly take that into account when you're developing an application. This is one of the things that Microsoft does very well, better than Linux (where GUI APIs, especially, seem to mutate every few years) and OSX. In general, though, any desktop API is much better, in terms of maintaining backwards compatibility and announcing breaking changes, than any mobile (iOS, Android, etc.) API, and mobile APIs, in turn, are better than web APIs. This isn't a case for never using mobile or web APIs, but it is a case for ensuring that you have enough resources (or a loose enough timeline) to deal with API churn as well as developing new features.

The only way to get away from APIs entirely is to write your own code, run it on your own OS, using custom hardware that you've designed yourself. That way lies madness, or, equivalently, game console programming ;)

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