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Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

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Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#451

Post by josefx »

dekhn wrote: post #449
josefx wrote: post #448

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which is hilarious, because where else is your core HTTP fetching DLL, your core HTML parsing DLL, etc, going to go otherwise? Microsoft insisted that the OS needed the internet explorer executable, not only the rendering engine components. You couldn't even run windows update without it opening IE - in order to load a native ActiveX component that then performed the work. They where desperate to make everything de…

It makes perfect sense to me that if MSFT made IE a necessary component to upgrade the operating system, then insisting the OS needs that executable is an absolutely (technically) correct thing to say. I said it vindicating their decision- not that IE was a good foundation to build a presentation layer on.

> if MSFT made IE a necessary component to upgrade the operating system,

> then insisting the OS

Arguing that a change that had no technical merit made IE necessary, when you are under scrunity for abusing your market position to push IE, seems kinda counterproductive.

> I said it vindicating their decision- not that IE was a good foundation to build a presentation layer on.

Then how does chrome OS vindicate them? You obviously agree that IE was not fit for that purpose.

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#452

Post by elsonrodriguez »

twblalock wrote: post #441
elsonrodriguez wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the EU standardizes on battery packs, Ryobi needs go get a free pass or extension of some sort. Ryobi have kept the same battery format for 25 years, whereas their competitors have changed battery standards 2 or 3 times during that timeframe.

Ryobi and Milwaukee are owned by the same company, and Ryobi products have not changed because they are the low-end product made by that company. The parent company uses the newer battery formats in their more expensive brands. Ryobi should not be praised for failure to innovate. They did not do this out of a desire to preserve compatibility, but rather out of cheapness.

They have switched from NiCad to lithium ion. When new cell chemistries became available they made a lithium+ line. They now have higher amperage batteries with more contacts for their "HP" line of tools. Those batteries and tools are still backwards compatible. I can take an HP battery I bought for my impact wrench and throw it into my 20 year old recip saw I bought at a garage sale and it works.

Ryobi products are low end but they have innovated plenty while maintaining compatibility. Given that TTI has access to the pro market via other brands, and Ryobi geared for homeowners, I don't see this as anything but a win for the average Ryobi customer.

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#453

Post by nephanth »

antonymy wrote: post #301
weatherlite wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EU seems fine with the idea actually - it wants more independence on technology and said so several times. There will be many many pissed off European users for sure but that never stopped the EU elite from making a decision. Still - seems like a reach to me.

I just remember when the EU passed that legislation that made it legal for member states to require Google to pay a fee to newspapers for linking to their content in Google News. Only a few countries bothered to try enforcing it, notably Spain did, and the result was Google called their bluff and de-listed every newspaper in Spain from Google News. It did not take long until Spain relented and permitted newspapers to…

This is weird though: if Google news delisted every newspaper from Spain, wouldn't that lead to Spanish users ditching Google news (and finding an alternative)? It's not like they're interested in non-spanish news

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#454

Post by nephanth »

nfriedly wrote: post #346
MarkusWandel wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a Windows phone. The web version of Youtube worked fine. The Youtube app on Android is such a pain in the a* that sometimes I use the web version of Youtube on an Android tablet I have!

You should check out Vanced / ReVanced. Vanced is basically a modified Youtube app with ads removed and a lot of the other annoyances fixed. It's gotten trickier to find since google sent them a nastygram, but they posted the SHA256 on https://vancedapp.com/ so if you find a copy floating around, you can quickly determine if it's legit or not. ReVanced is a WIP set of tools to patch Youtube and other apps - https://g…

Newpipe is another good alternative client. Bypasses ads, plays audio in the background, allows downloading videos and even subscribing to channels without an account (the app simply monitors updates on that channel)

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#455

Post by pyrale »

Dalewyn wrote: post #228
nilsbunger wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

#2 is the same thing Microsoft got busted for by US antitrust in the late 90s. Microsoft had required computer vendors to NOT sell computers with other OSes (eg Linux). At one point they insisted computer vendors pay for a Windows license on all computers they shipped, even ones shipped without Windows.

Is it? My reading of #2 suggests Google just didn't want phones with ancient or beta versions of Android in the market with Google branding. Fairly reasonable demand, if you ask me. #1 is right up the alley that busted Microsoft, though.

> Is it? My reading of #2 suggests Google just didn't want phones with ancient or beta versions of Android in the market with Google branding.

Judging only by gp's message, it also targets any would-be competitor's fork of Android.

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#456

Post by StingyJelly »

stingraycharles wrote: post #368
StingyJelly wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a counterexample there's Apple with not insignificant market share in Europe - pushing icloud, not supporting third party operating sysems or even sideloading, still keeping proprietary connector despite everyone else using usb-c, etc.

For sure my recently bought iPad and Apple Watch use USB-C, so I think that part is not true. Arguably due to EU legislation.

Yet the all new iphone 14 still uses lightning and I bet you and most apple watch owners also own an iphone.

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#457

Post by origin_path »

Normille wrote: post #316
origin_path wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can fork AOSP in arbitrary ways and have a pretty great OS. Most companies don't do this because they don't have any particular ideas about how to do Android's core differently - UI is one of the places where you can actually innovate and users will notice, so that's where the effort goes. But that's not Google's fault. They can't make Samsung have brilliant ideas about how to rearchitect the OS core.

>But that's not Google's fault. They can't make Samsung have brilliant ideas about how to rearchitect the OS core. Of course not. But that's the point I'm trying to make. The illusion of choice. Out of all eleventy billion versions of Android you can get, who has actually produced something that is truly different, as opposed to just another skin on top of what everyone else has, or a slightly different layout of the…

I agree, but again, that's not Android's fault. Android is necessary but not sufficient for innovation in mobile OS'. You still need people who are willing to take risks and come up with better ideas.
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