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Google Cache is fully dead

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Re: Google Cache is fully dead

#71

Post by kelnos »

jjbinx007 wrote: post #5

Is anyone at Google even aware how much this hurts their brand? I received an email from Google today with the subject line "Meet the new Google TV Streamer (4K)" The sender was Google Chromecast. Apparently it's some sort of streaming hardware they are selling for £99. I won't even consider buying one. How long until it's an obsolete brick? And when it's a brick, what are the chances I can wipe it and install my own…

I'm pretty sure people who used google's web cache comprised a tiny fraction of one percent of their entire user base, and this move doesn't even put the tiniest ding in their brand.

Re: Google Cache is fully dead

#72

Post by kozak »

delecti wrote: post #63
kozak wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess I'll have to buy the new Google TV Streamer because my previous Chromecast with Google TV 4K is now close to useless because of the lack of flash memory space after all the updates (despite it has a properly initialized USB drive connected via a powered USB-C hub, the most essential apps still require to be installed on the miniscule internal memory).

Why install apps? It's a Chromecast, just cast to it. I've been using Chromecasts as my primary vehicle on my TV for 8 years, and never needed to install any apps. It seems like it defeats the purpose of the main distinguishing characteristic.

I use it mostly for the "Google TV" part, not for the "Chromecast" part.

Re: Google Cache is fully dead

#74

Post by fngjdflmdflg »

jsheard wrote: post #6
jjbinx007 wrote: post #2

I guess that's another one to add to the list: https://killedbygoogle.com/

It bugs me how that site counts things that were just shuffled around, rebranded or obsolete as "killed". Google genuinely kills enough stuff that there's really no need to pad out the list by counting the Google Drive desktop client that still exists and was just renamed, or the standalone Street View app which was just a worse version of the Google Maps app, or Google Toolbar which was obsoleted by browsers integra…

Agreed. Some other examples:

It counts Jamboard (the device) and Google Jamboard (the app) as two different things, despite the link to the news of their death being in the same article and Google shutting them at the same time.[0]

It counts YouTube go which was an optimized version of YouTube for slow devices in developing countries. Google claims these optimizations are no longer necessary. That makes sense as devices have gotten more powerful over time and a smartphone in the developing world should be enough to play YouTube videos in the regular YouTube app. Seems like the latest budget Itel model, which is popular in Africa,[1] the A50, has 3GB of RAM and 64GB ROM.[2] For comparison the iPhone SE from 2020 also had 3GB X 64GB. Running adb shell dumpsys meminfo while running a Youtube video shows the following: 585,268K: app.revanced.android.youtube. So it seems to me that the YouTube app may really not need a Go version anymore. Same for YouTube Leanback which was for the web. Similarly shutting down YouTube gaming probably did not actually affect users in any way. It's not like there were videos that were only accessible from that app.

[0] https://www.itel-india.com/product/a50/

[1] https://www.pulse.ng/business/domestic/top-phone-brands-in-a...

[2] https://9to5google.com/2023/09/28/google-jamboard/

Re: Google Cache is fully dead

#75

Post by readyplayernull »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #58
readyplayernull wrote: post #12

Nowadays my browser's home page is one of the LLMs. It's easier to get knowledge with an AI than the dead Internet to which Google contributed.

Truthfully, that says a lot more about you/your searches than it does about Google. I almost never have questions where LLMs can actually give me a good answer, whereas Google usually has something for me. I have to sift through the dross, but it's still there.

They say books are even better, how big your books are is telling something about anyone?

Re: Google Cache is fully dead

#76

Post by seabrookmx »

SamBam wrote: post #44
Alupis wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm aware of Google's history of shutting down services... but... > And when it's a brick, what are the chances I can wipe it and install my own software on it? Probably zero. Will you have no trouble buying a Roku or Amazon Fire Stick though? Those are also paper weights once the company decides to stop supporting them - and I'm not aware of any consumer electronics that allows you to install your own software on it…

I think GP's point was specifically Google's famous history of starting projects and then shutting them down within a few years. Old Rokus still work. My Roku 3600 is eight years old.

So do old Chromecast's.

Re: Google Cache is fully dead

#77

Post by jsheard »

quink wrote: post #69
jsheard wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It bugs me how that site counts things that were just shuffled around, rebranded or obsolete as "killed". Google genuinely kills enough stuff that there's really no need to pad out the list by counting the Google Drive desktop client that still exists and was just renamed, or the standalone Street View app which was just a worse version of the Google Maps app, or Google Toolbar which was obsoleted by browsers integra…

_Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn_ was released in 2019, same year that the YouTube app was killed by Google. Also, one is a release, which means that's the point in time it started working, while one is the exact opposite, the point it stopped working. Not only were you off by two years, you're talking about literal opposites there. And surely the most popular video service no longer being available on the second most popula…

My mistake, I was going by the release of the Switch (2017) but I forgot their support overlapped for a while before the 3DS was officially EOLed. Nonetheless if Google Toolbar gets a spot for being killed in 2021, long past it having any relevance whatsoever, I don't doubt that YouTube 3DS would be guaranteed a spot no matter how long Google kept it on life support.

Re: Google Cache is fully dead

#78

Post by b112 »

kelnos wrote: post #71
jjbinx007 wrote: post #5

Is anyone at Google even aware how much this hurts their brand? I received an email from Google today with the subject line "Meet the new Google TV Streamer (4K)" The sender was Google Chromecast. Apparently it's some sort of streaming hardware they are selling for £99. I won't even consider buying one. How long until it's an obsolete brick? And when it's a brick, what are the chances I can wipe it and install my own…

I'm pretty sure people who used google's web cache comprised a tiny fraction of one percent of their entire user base, and this move doesn't even put the tiniest ding in their brand.

Mozilla via Firefox thought the same thing. They removed feature after feature, each feature only used by a tiny fraction of a percent.

But all those features were what drew users, power users especially. And users each had their own featured reasons to love Firefox.

Now look at them. Most used browser to nothing.

There are other reasons too, but what Firefox did was remove what was special about them.

Re: Google Cache is fully dead

#79

Post by cduzz »

skybrian wrote: post #43
jjbinx007 wrote: post #5

Is anyone at Google even aware how much this hurts their brand? I received an email from Google today with the subject line "Meet the new Google TV Streamer (4K)" The sender was Google Chromecast. Apparently it's some sort of streaming hardware they are selling for £99. I won't even consider buying one. How long until it's an obsolete brick? And when it's a brick, what are the chances I can wipe it and install my own…

I have an original Chromecast and it still works, though pairing it with a new TV is a bit of a pain. The new Google TV is more like a smart TV without the TV. It has apps you install. It's much more complex and not the same thing at all. I was disappointed. But then again every company discontinues products. I don't see that as a breach of trust. It's making up a promise they never made and criticizing them for it.

Lucky you.

I've got a couple nest protects that need to be put into a shallow grave.

They've kinda mucked up the rest of the nest ecosystem.

A pox on google.

Re: Google Cache is fully dead

#80

Post by ClassyJacket »

jjbinx007 wrote: post #5

Is anyone at Google even aware how much this hurts their brand? I received an email from Google today with the subject line "Meet the new Google TV Streamer (4K)" The sender was Google Chromecast. Apparently it's some sort of streaming hardware they are selling for £99. I won't even consider buying one. How long until it's an obsolete brick? And when it's a brick, what are the chances I can wipe it and install my own…

Before Stadia came out, I specifically warned people not to get invested in it because Google will just shut it down in 2 years, and all their games and save files will be gone forever. I was dead right, and as far as I'm concerned that's the final nail in the coffin for trusting anything Google makes. Anything that isn't a major core product will be abandoned immediately, it's just not worth the risk.

Unfortunately my TV is built on the Google TV OS, which probably means all smart features will be unusable in six months.

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