Google I/O 2016 |OT|

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Marty Chinn said:
It's about always available without having to grab or pull up anything, especially handy when your busy or your hands are full. Once you become accustomed to it, having to pull out your phone is just cumbersome to do basic things. You use the example of the weather how all you could do is reach down pull up your phone, unlock it and go to the weather app or Google Now to see the weather. That's annoying when I'm trying to get my kids ready for school and I'm occupied doing something else while wanting to know what the weather is like to know what type of clothes to dress my kids into. Having to stop to grab my phone to do that is making me stop what I'm doing and slows me down in the morning.
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I see. All of this sounds like many minor conveniences that all add up in the end. Maybe I'm just not the kind of person who uses assistant software. I tried Kinect (kinda sorts the same I guess), Google Now is on my phone but I never use it and when Win10 launched I thought I'd use Cortana but I don't. Maybe the tech has advanced sinced then.

I have to admit that having an always listening microphone in the house sounds scary to me, but I think I'll try one of those things out once they're dirt cheap.
 
oti xero said:
I see. All of this sounds like many minor conveniences that all add up in the end. Maybe I'm just not the kind of person who uses assistant software. I tried Kinect (kinda sorts the same I guess), Google Now is on my phone but I never use it and when Win10 launched I thought I'd use Cortana but I don't. Maybe the tech has advanced sinced then.

I have to admit that having an always listening microphone in the house sounds scary to me, but I think I'll try one of those things out once they're dirt cheap.
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You probably don't use them because they're cumbersome to use. I never really used Siri or Google Now because they just weren't convenient to use. Kinect's voice controls while nice at first was slower than just using the controller. The Echo though is just always there no matter where you are and it's quicker to use. It's the first time voice controls became handy. Another thing I like to do is while cooking, I can set timers, ask for measurement conversions, or even control the music without having to use my dirty hands to touch my phone that's likely in my pocket anyway. Who wants to grab a phone with raw meat juice all over your hands or flour?
 
Google has confirmed to Android Police that the company will continue to invest in Hangouts and it will remain a separate product.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/0...emain-as-a-separate-app-in-googles-ecosystem/

Fucking lol. It's amazing how Google refuses to ever give any one of their messaging apps a fighting chance. A few years ago people thought they were finally bringing everything together into one app (Hangouts), but naaah, now we're back to FOUR FUCKING APPS doing overlapping stuff. EDIT: Oh yeah, also Google Voice, but that's not a thing here.
 
Allo should kill Hangouts.

Integrating Duo with Allo would create some significant synergy benefiting both.

But no, let's keep old broken shit around while releasing ALL THE APPS because redundancy is awesome.

Goddamn, Google. Not like this.
 
I don't get the argument that Allo can't replace hangouts because it was coded from scratch. You could still code it from scratch to be compatible with the hangouts protocol, and release it as an update to hangouts.

At least that way they would keep the users who are in hangouts.
 
Funky Papa said:
Allo should kill Hangouts.

Integrating Duo with Allo would create some significant synergy benefiting both.

But no, let's keep old broken shit around while releasing ALL THE APPS because redundancy is awesome.

Goddamn, Google. Not like this.
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Yeah. They should merge the two apps and kill all others. Only way this could get some traction.

Bummer my phone isn't Daydream compatible (and no phone currently available, for now).
 
RoadHazard said:
Google has confirmed to Android Police that the company will continue to invest in Hangouts and it will remain a separate product.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/0...emain-as-a-separate-app-in-googles-ecosystem/

Fucking lol. It's amazing how Google refuses to ever give any one of their messaging apps a fighting chance. A few years ago people thought they were finally bringing everything together into one app (Hangouts), but naaah, now we're back to FOUR FUCKING APPS doing overlapping stuff. EDIT: Oh yeah, also Google Voice, but that's not a thing here.
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this is so fucking stupid. fuck sake google.
 
SomedayTheFire said:
this is so fucking stupid. fuck sake google.
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I agree. If there is one thing I love about the Apple space it's iMessage. It's one damn messaging app I can use on my phone, tablet and Mac. Sure I wish it had a Windows version or other way of accessing outside of the Apple world, but the damn thing works and works seamlessly.

Google releasing yet another damn app that stands alone from everything else sucks. Can this Allo be accessed from multiple devices at once or are we tied to the main phone it's tied to?
 
outsidah said:
I agree. If there is one thing I love about the Apple space it's iMessage. It's one damn messaging app I can use on my phone, tablet and Mac. Sure I wish it had a Windows version or other way of accessing outside of the Apple world, but the damn thing works and works seamlessly.

Google releasing yet another damn app that stands alone from everything else sucks. Can this Allo be accessed from multiple devices at once or are we tied to the main phone it's tied to?
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tied to a phone number. it's literally DOA cause of google's incompetence
 
the home device is incredibly creepy and it worries me that people are excited about inviting google to data mine their lives at home.
Another thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was how in the promotional video they addressed the device as 'google' when issuing commands. Disturbing to say the least and reminds me of the xbone voice command demo where they'd say stuff like "xbox bing xxx". That they are having you say brand names like that should instantly raise red flags.
 
Skinpop said:
the home device is incredibly creepy and it worries me that people are excited about inviting google to data mine their lives at home.
Another thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was how in the promotional video they addressed the device as 'google' when issuing commands. Disturbing to say the least and reminds me of the xbone voice command demo where they'd say stuff like "xbox bing xxx". That they are having you say brand names like that should instantly raise red flags.
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That's because it's really just an extension of Google Now/Assistant, which you activate by saying "OK Google". You wouldn't want it to activate on every little thing you say, you need a trigger command. And it's not all that weird that the word "Google" is part of it.
 
Skinpop said:
the home device is incredibly creepy and it worries me that people are excited about inviting google to data mine their lives at home.
Another thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was how in the promotional video they addressed the device as 'google' when issuing commands. Disturbing to say the least and reminds me of the xbone voice command demo where they'd say stuff like "xbox bing xxx". That they are having you say brand names like that should instantly raise red flags.
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Ok, Grandpa.

;P
 
Skinpop said:
the home device is incredibly creepy and it worries me that people are excited about inviting google to data mine their lives at home.
Another thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was how in the promotional video they addressed the device as 'google' when issuing commands. Disturbing to say the least and reminds me of the xbone voice command demo where they'd say stuff like "xbox bing xxx". That they are having you say brand names like that should instantly raise red flags.
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Is it mandatory to get one where you live?
 
RoadHazard said:
That's because it's really just an extension of Google Now/Assistant, which you activate by saying "OK Google". You wouldn't want it to activate on every little thing you say, you need a trigger command. And it's not all that weird that the word "Google" is part of it.
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that's not a reason, just an excuse. it's in their creepy interest that you call the thing 'google', just like ms wants you to say bing when searching using voice commands. it's subliminal marketing/manipulation. they could easily enable you to choose the activation phrase yourself, which would be a cool thing to show off in the video.

anyway my main concern is still the privacy issues. there's no way I'd ever trust google, facebook or any company like that to have a constant audio-stream into my daily life. Ten there's hackers, the government and all that.

The FBI ‘Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny’ If It’s Wiretapping Your Amazon Echo

KingSnake said:
Is it mandatory to get one where you leave?
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what?
 
Funky Papa said:
WhatsApp is tied to a phone number but can be accessed from a computer, either by browser or native app. It can be done.

I'm somewhat surprised that Google didn't allow for that.
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Have they confirmed this? Can it only be used with a phone number? I thought it would work much like WhatsApp, but of course that would be too sensible.
 
KingSnake said:
*live

The device and the assistant as such is promoted as learning from your habits and the dialogues, so the data mining is transparently assumed. So, if you don't want that, you don't buy one.
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yeah but do you actually think most people reflect on these things or the privacy concerns/implications?
Most people are probably oblivious to the fact that their smartphone could be remotely surveilled at any time while connected. afaik smartphones aren't even allowed in many government buildings due to this fact.

I'd be fine with this device if was open source and I could self host it.
 
People complaining about a speaker and microphone device in their house as if they don't already carry one in their pocket..... so much "the sky is falling" bullshit for no reason.
 
Bit-Bit said:
People complaining about a speaker and microphone device in their house as if they don't already carry one in their pocket..... so much "the sky is falling" bullshit for no reason.
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I don't like the fact that my smartphone is capable of the same things and owning one doesn't mean that I'm ok with furthering their intrusion into my home. But a smartphone is something I pretty much need for my daily life to function, this device is completely superfluous so the tradeoff is completely different.
 
Skinpop said:
yeah but do you actually think most people reflect on these things or the privacy concerns/implications?
Most people are probably oblivious to the fact that their smartphone could be remotely surveilled at any time while connected. afaik smartphones aren't even allowed in many government buildings due to this fact.

I'd be fine with this device if was open source and I could self host it.
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If people don't reflect on these things it means it's not important for them to go on with their lives. And unless there is something illegal going on, it should not concern others either.
 
KingSnake said:
If people don't reflect on these things it means it's not important for them to go on with their lives. And unless there is something illegal going on, it should not concern others either.
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People dont know what they need until they need it. Better safe than sorry.
 
KingSnake said:
And you want what, to decide for the others what should they use and what should they be concerned about?
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I want transparency, regulations and awareness. none of these things happen if people don't care. whether you decide to get this thing is up to you, whether people understand the implications of doing so is collectively on all of us.
 
Skinpop said:
I want transparency, regulations and awareness. none of these things happen if people 'don't care'.
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You already decided that the device is bad even before you know if there is transparency and if it complies with the regulations. Just from a promotional video.
 
KingSnake said:
You already decided that the device is bad even before you know if there is transparency and if it complies with the regulations. Just from a promotional video.
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it's not just from a promotional video, it's from knowing how google make their money and knowing what their incentives are.
obviously I don't know for sure how this device will work techincally, and neither do you so I think it's just as important to be skeptical and concerned as enthusiastic.
 
Skinpop said:
it's not just from a promotional video, it's from knowing how google make their money and knowing what their incentives are.
obviously I don't know for sure, and neither do you so I think it's just as important to be skeptical and concerned as enthusiastic.
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I'm not even enthusiastic, I don't think I have a use for it, because it doesn't do anything that a phone can't do anyhow. It's just an additional level of comfort. With conceding the same level of privacy that you concede already for a phone. Where are the people burning their phones in protest to that?
 
KingSnake said:
I'm not even enthusiastic, I don't think I have a use for it, because it doesn't do anything that a phone can't do anyhow. It's just an additional level of comfort. With conceding the same level of privacy that you concede already for a phone. Where are the people burning their phones in protest to that?
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like I said, just because I have a smartphone doesn't mean I'm fine with furthering their intrusion of my privacy. You make it sound like it's all or nothing when it's more about minimizing exposure while still being able to function normally in modern society. If I could get a phone with a hardware lock on camera/mic I'd buy it in an instant.
 
Hangouts is, and has always been, a piece of shit.

That said, I can understand why they're keeping it alive. I think it's used a bit for videoconferencing in the enterprise and education markets, which won't transition easily to Duo.
 
Skinpop said:
like I said, just because I have a smartphone doesn't mean I'm fine with furthering their intrusion of my privacy. You make it sound like it's all or nothing when it's more about minimizing exposure while still being able to function normally in modern society. If I could get a phone with a hardware lock on camera/mic I'd buy it in an instant.
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It absolutely means that. There are still people walking around with dumb phones, and if this was something that was as important to you as you make it out to be, you would be among their ranks. You have decided that the conveniences afforded to you by a smartphone are worth the potential privacy trade-offs. People who are willing to buy a Google Home (I am one of them) have decided the same.
 
Skinpop said:
like I said, just because I have a smartphone doesn't mean I'm fine with furthering their intrusion of my privacy. You make it sound like it's all or nothing when it's more about minimizing exposure while still being able to function normally in modern society. If I could get a phone with a hardware lock on camera/mic I'd buy it in an instant.
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Must not matter to you as much as you think because those phones do exist.
 
Skinpop said:
like I said, just because I have a smartphone doesn't mean I'm fine with furthering their intrusion of my privacy. You make it sound like it's all or nothing when it's more about minimizing exposure while still being able to function normally in modern society. If I could get a phone with a hardware lock on camera/mic I'd buy it in an instant.
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If you're fine with the privacy intrusion on your smartphone in exchange for convenience then you have no right to judge others who accept the same trade-off.
 
Impressive showing. Really looking forward to reviews of the home. Hoping it's priced to compete as well. Echo is priced a tad too high.
 
Uhh i love hangouts and use it constantly

Whats the beef

Though i did use whatsapp recently and it seems to also be decent

I suppose there is room for improvement but i need that google ecosystem integration
 
DrROBschiz said:
Uhh i love hangouts and use it constantly

Whats the beef

Though i did use whatsapp recently and it seems to also be decent

I suppose there is room for improvement but i need that google ecosystem integration
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I don't know anyone who uses hangouts. It's all about WhatsApp in Germany.
 
I only still have WhatsApp on my phone because Europe. I have too many messenger apps. At least like seven. It's ridiculous.
 
SomedayTheFire said:
end to end is, on the wire encryption is on by default.
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"Allo's implementation of Open Whisper's technology differs significantly from WhatsApp and Signal. Messages sent in Allo are not end-to-end encrypted by default, and users can switch seamlessly between private and unprotected channels, which has led to some concern that users might send unprotected messages by mistake. WhatsApp's implementation, in contrast, does not allow users to downgrade to an unprotected channel once a secure connection has been established."

People aren't going to turn it on.
 
giga said:
"Allo's implementation of Open Whisper's technology differs significantly from WhatsApp and Signal. Messages sent in Allo are not end-to-end encrypted by default, and users can switch seamlessly between private and unprotected channels, which has led to some concern that users might send unprotected messages by mistake. WhatsApp's implementation, in contrast, does not allow users to downgrade to an unprotected channel once a secure connection has been established."

People aren't going to turn it on.
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yeah that's what i said.
 
giga said:
"Allo's implementation of Open Whisper's technology differs significantly from WhatsApp and Signal. Messages sent in Allo are not end-to-end encrypted by default, and users can switch seamlessly between private and unprotected channels, which has led to some concern that users might send unprotected messages by mistake. WhatsApp's implementation, in contrast, does not allow users to downgrade to an unprotected channel once a secure connection has been established."

People aren't going to turn it on.
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Wow. Awful. Default or nothing.
 
snacknuts said:
It absolutely means that. There are still people walking around with dumb phones, and if this was something that was as important to you as you make it out to be, you would be among their ranks. You have decided that the conveniences afforded to you by a smartphone are worth the potential privacy trade-offs. People who are willing to buy a Google Home (I am one of them) have decided the same.
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no it doesn't, that's like saying that for someone who cares deeply about the environment it's hypocritical to ever fly in an airplane or use a car, or even just buy stuff that has a long supply chain. And no I haven't decided that it's actually worth the trade off, it's something I'm still considering.

Are you ok with us humans destroying our planet? Do you still drive a car/use electricity? Then you've traded some convenience for a global climate disaster. This is basically what you are telling me, but see things are a bit more nuanced than that.

Bit-Bit said:
Must not matter to you as much as you think because those phones do exist.
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I wasn't aware of this issue when I bought my smartphone four years ago. If smartphones with hardware camera+mic lock exists I'd definitely be interested in getting one as my next phone.
 
giga said:
Oh. Was confused with how you worded it. Back to the point though, end to end is absolutely critical today. Not a fan at all that this isn't enabled by default.
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yeah i realised my bad wording just now sorry about that. agreed, but allo seems to be built for google reading the contents so they can provide the reactions and stuff. on the wire encryption is the default but that's not good enough imo.
 
If Apple really wants to make an impact on privacy protections they should collaborate with Google on imessage or whatever new standard to replace SMS. Yes non US folks I know you guys don't text. Talking about the land of the free here though.
 
giga said:
If Apple really wants to make an impact on privacy protections they should collaborate with Google on imessage or whatever new standard to replace SMS. Yes non US folks I know you guys don't text. Talking about the land of the free here though.
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RCS (successor to SMS) has no such features I'm aware of. One of the actual cool things Google had was Duo using QUIC+WebRTC which is the way to go. Apple needs to support that (seriously safari is holding the whole internet back) and then messaging apps are just webpages and we can layer whatever security we want over the top. This would be especially useful as for the most part these messages would be peer-to-peer not go through your carrier, Apple or Google so there wouldn't even be a centralized way to intercept them, nor could it be "turned-off" when countries like China don't like it. You could further expand this with Blockchain-based identity systems and mesh networking to eliminate all centralization.
 
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