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Fitbit is now officially part of Google

blog.fitbit.com

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Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#351

Post by HenryBemis »

tomComb wrote: post #93

I'm sure the sentiment here will be very much against this acquisition, but keep in mind that Fitbit was getting killed and would likely have gone out of business without this. It is tough for a company like Fitbit to compete with Apple & Samsung. This should lead to more competition by making it possible for Fitbit to compete with Apple. If it doesn't then the acquisition was a failure for Google anyway - Fitbit's c…

>Fitbit to compete with Apple

Fitbit is/was a mosquito, they could never surive an 'all out war' with Apple. Fitbit does not compete with Apple. Google does.

The problem is that once Google gets their hands on our sweet data (in the off chance you don't have an android phone), then they will definitely put that data in 'good use'.

I see some (marketable) benefits though... Fitbits can be tracked. Imagine walking past a store, a sensor with 'talk' with your fitbit, and pull your G-ad profile and a screen will display the ad you missed to see on your gmail. And this is what I need to see. Walking past a sex shop and being flashed this huge wierd looking dildo with lights and lasers, because Google 'knows' I enjoy sex and Star Wars (not combined though).

And all that thanks to my FitBit bracelet :) (my android phone is security-hardened enough to not run in the background and/or transmit 'stuff')

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#352

Post by pcthrowaway »

freedomben wrote: post #82
eberkund wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you against jail-time for all non-violent white collar crimes or just negligence in the realm of technology companies? Please don't assume that anyone with a different view hasn't considered the significance of their position.

Yes, I am against jail for non-violent crimes. I'm open to modern non-medieval ideas even for violent crimes. I don't have the answers there, but I wish there were more people caring about this. So far it seems to be only the far left (I don't consider that an insult) and anarcho-capitalists, but I wish more people that fall into the middle somewhere (like myself) would think about this. Usually people don't think ab…

I'm generally supportive of more understanding sentencing, but I do think you're failing to consider how theft can be as damaging as violence (sometimes worse).

If someone breaks their spouse's ribs through domestic abuse, you'd apparently agree they need to be imprisoned.

But if someone steals someone else's identity and entire savings, ruins their identity, robs them of the ability to get another job or take out loans, which then results in them being unable to pay for medical treatment for their child, who dies, followed by their own suicide, I'd argue that's a far more tragic outcome, resulting from what you're categorizing as a "nonviolent crime". I'd argue that the latter crime is much more damaging, and should perhaps be treated as such in the justice system.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#353

Post by names_are_hard »

mynameisvlad wrote: post #346
obmelvin wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not really trying to come out against Netflix here, but I personally think their desire to compete with every other way one could spend their time doesn't have human's best interests at heart. I recognize the agency (most) everyone has to spend their time as they will, but I don't like how I feel mentally if all my free time gets sucked into consuming content. YMMV

But YouTube is ok? At least Netflix asks you every few hours if you’re still alive. YouTube will happily play you videos forever. And they’re only a sliver of the company.

In my experience Netflix only checks if you're alive for certain content, not all. I believe it has to do with the licensing model, if they're paying someone for the right to stream that episode they want to check you haven't fallen asleep. So I'm pretty sure it's a money-saving technique, not concern for your wellbeing.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#355

Post by zaarn »

user-the-name wrote: post #52
cosmojg wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

RIP Pebble. Their watches lasted over a week on a single charge. Fortunately, my Pebble Time Steel is still ticking, but it's only a matter of time before it breaks somehow. I already cracked the screen. :(

That doesn't sound very impressive, my Fitbit Charge 3 lasts a week or two easily.

My new and fresh Pebble did that too. But after 3 years, it's lost a lot of charge on the battery, so it's more like 4-5 days now.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#356

Post by pjmlp »

reportingsjr wrote: post #238
IgorPartola wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hahaha I literally laughed out loud at this. Google making products. Have you seen how they make products? They have killed more physical products than they have delivered. They discontinue them more frequently than an average person throws out a napkin. Their first gen products are usually overpriced trash (Google Glass? Nexus Q?). If Google could pump out electronics with the speed and quality of someone like Anker…

They have an entire hardware division that regularly churns out quite high quality consumer hardware: nest. They also have a pretty big hardware group that makes high performance servers and specialty hardware (TPU servers among other things). They have a few other hardware divisions as well. Google would have absolutely no issue creating quality fitbit devices. Whether or not the market would be there for them to st…

The same hardware division that came up with Brillo, sorry Android Things, never mind, it is gone now after 3 years anyway.

Or those wonderful Android Watches, sorry wearOS, never mind, they aren't getting proper updates for ages now.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#357

Post by confiq »

IgorPartola wrote: post #317
confiq wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could be that I've blocked ads in my network or my extreme hate for ads lead to have unpopular opinion about it. Every company uses my data for analytic purposes. Ads that I do see in google play are almost same as I see in apple store. Both take my data and try to serve me the best. In fact, I don't think it's necessary evil but what bothers me is pretending that one company save my data better or make me believe…

If Apple decided to downsize and focus on their core competency, which part of the company do you think they would deem essential to their business? I am sure they make decent money on all their stuff but Apple has also taken a public stance on privacy and their devices aren’t seemingly backdoored as seen in the LEAs trying to get help unlocking them and being told by Apple that they can’t help. Look it all comes dow…

> Apple has also taken a public stance on privacy and their devices aren’t seemingly backdoored as seen in the LEAs

No idea what LEA stands for but apple did not encrypt after FBI complain: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi-icloud-exclusiv...

> dropped plans to let iPhone users fully encrypt backups of their devices in the company's iCloud service after the FBI complained that the move would harm investigations

If you are referring to FBI-Apple dispute, if apple is complying with Chinese government, it will comply with USA government. That is how things are.

I'm not defending google, far away from it. They are not much better but they protect user data exactly because apple make fun of them. They now do extreme measures just to protect the privacy so they will not destroy their reputation even more.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#358

Post by chrisandchris »

beachy wrote: post #338
leokennis wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that’s the thing. I work for a bank. If I had unlimited access to all transaction data without needing to request elevated access and jumping some more hoops, it would greatly speed up my daily work. But...it would also greatly increase the damage any hacker could do. Same applies to Google. It’s super convenient to have everything “on Google”. Until the day Google is exposed/hacked/turns evil. Then it’s a disast…

> Hoping the above won’t happen is not a strategy but a gamble. Life's a gamble. Crossing the road on your way to work is gamble. Heck it's a gamble that you won't be taken out in the next 12 months by an insidious disease. The bet I have placed personally is that Google is better at looking after my personal data that I am - so for example I use gmail instead of my own email server.

The difference is you can stop crossing the road and the risk is gone. You can‘t „unexpose“ your data to any company as they most probably will fail to delete your data (or then start to collect again).

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#359

Post by orloffm »

aboringusername wrote: post #42

One thing that confuses me is why this data needs to be stored within the internet at all. Why can't I have an entirely offline driven system? Data stays local, no ability to upload it online at all, and all processing is done without ever needing the internet. That's a key criteria if I ever was thinking of getting a smart wearable, I'm not going to generate even more data that can be profited from and potentially u…

You can use Garmin devices that way. They keep all logs forever and behave like USB storage when connected to a PC.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#360

Post by ohgodplsno »

BlueTemplar wrote: post #270
IgorPartola wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hahaha I literally laughed out loud at this. Google making products. Have you seen how they make products? They have killed more physical products than they have delivered. They discontinue them more frequently than an average person throws out a napkin. Their first gen products are usually overpriced trash (Google Glass? Nexus Q?). If Google could pump out electronics with the speed and quality of someone like Anker…

Counter-example : Chromecast.

The device that overheats when playing 1080p videos ? Or the one that freezes when just launching Youtube ?

The Chromecast works well most of the time. The ways it fails is ridiculous.

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