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Out of curiosity, why Goole before Amazon?

• figgis 9y ago
  Personally I resent the fact that Amazon has done everything in their power as a company to make it so I cannot stream amazon prime to my chromecast. That alone has tarnished my opinion of the company.
  • cma 9y ago
    Sounds sort of like the lack of Youtube on Windows Phone.
    • eh78ssxv2f 9y ago
      Isn't it different though? Publishing YouTube app on Windows Phone requires Google to put extra effort into developing an app for a completely new platform which I assume requires lot of engineering effort. Selling Chromecast on Amazon probably does not cost Amazon any extra engineering effort. So, I do not believe that the two situations are equivalent.
      • geoffpado 9y ago
        Microsoft put out their own YouTube app, no development needed from Google. Google then blocked that app: https://www.theverge.com/2013/8/15/4624706/google-blocks-window-phone-youtube-app https://www.theverge.com/2013/8/15/4624706/google-blocks-win...
        • megablast 9y ago
          Sure, since Microsoft didn’t show any ads for google. I think Microsoft might be pissed if google started hosting free copies of their software on their servers.
          • Mindwipe 9y ago
            And allowed downloads, putting Google at billions of dollars in liabilities on their music license agreements.
            • ygra 9y ago
              Funnily enough, MetroTube does both as well and continues to work.
      • Mindwipe 9y ago
        It unquestionably requires engineering effort. And business effort to clear the rights. It's fairly straightforward as these things go, but to suggest it doesn't require anything is flat out wrong.
  • darklajid 9y ago
    I hate that Google has done nothing to enable me to stream things to my Chromecast. Unless I use Chrome. Which I don't. Or Android. Which is annoying if I look at something on my laptop.
    • nickelbox 9y ago
      I agree it would be nice to be able to cast without Chrome on a laptop (looks like VLC had experimental cast support but removed it), but it's literally in the name... As for Android, I was fairly certain iOS at least can cast as my Apple fanboy roommate was having fun messing with the volume and pausing playback.
      • bornonline1 9y ago
        Use SodaPlayer.
        • darklajid 9y ago
          I didn't know that app. But it's a crutch AND doesn't allow the same stuff: If I watch a YT video, it's in my browser. No way to throw it at the TV. If I watch Twitch, it's in my browser. No way to throw it at the TV. Maybe it can handle URLs. But if I have to copy the URL, paste it somewhere, fiddle to get to the same spot in the video ... then I can just launch Chrome and curse just as much. (Highly ironic that the player offers the option to install a Chrome extension to open movies in SodaPlayer. For me the whole selling point of the thing would be to .. not need Chrome ofc)
    • figgis 9y ago
      Just providing some helpful homebrew solutions. Personally Recommended (due to no having zero issues using): https://github.com/muammar/mkchromecast Others that i've used successfully with varying results (usually problems relate to finding the chromecast): https://github.com/xat/castnow https://github.com/Pat-Carter/stream2chromecast
  • MikusR 9y ago
    It's Google not Amazon.
    • figgis 9y ago
      No that's on Amazon. Chromecast is open and free to use. On top of which Amazon has shutdown any homegrown solutions sooo. https://developers.google.com/cast/ https://developers.google.com/cast/ Amazon is the one banning it.
      • echosmith 9y ago
        Amazon doesn't want to support being a cast source because it's products are not allowed to be cast targets.
        • figgis 9y ago
          Which Amazon brought upon themselves by doing the exact same thing years (read: YEARS) before any retaliation by Google. Amazon is the one stopping casting from their devices. Not Google. Google Cast is free to setup for. https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/design_checklist/ https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/design_checklist/ Nothing needs to be sold through Google Cast, no royalties, etc. All Amazon has to do is SUPPORT it. Or atleast allow homegrown solutions to thrive. I agree this is a stupid 'feud' that only hurts consumers and I have my likes and dislikes for both companies but if you cannot see the difference here then I'm not sure how to help.
  • EADGBE 9y ago
    Personally I resent the fact that [Google] has done everything in their power as a company to make it so I cannot stream [YouTube] to my [Fire Stick]. That alone has tarnished my opinion of the company. They had a nice YouTube app, too. Then, just took it away. Even has casting from the YouTube iOS app. __________________________________________ It's like deciding who gets to sit at the Cool Kids table at lunch.
    • figgis 9y ago
      If a competitor removed your products from their store and banned your applications/services from running on their product would you not consider doing the same? It's amazing how once Google retaliated Amazon finally allows chromecast on their store (but no streaming!)
      • EADGBE 9y ago
        It's just a pissing match. Too bad our services vanish from thin air when it happens, instead of any actual resolution.
  • echosmith 9y ago
    What do you think about Google not allowing iOS or Firefox to become cast sources, or FireTV to act as a cast target? Does that piss you off, or are your feelings of outrage only limited to our own personal convenience?
    • figgis 9y ago
      What do you think about Google not allowing iOS or Firefox to become cast sources, or FireTV to act as a cast target FireTV is not an open platform anyone can design for and use. It's closed and your app needs to be submitted through their dev shop.[0] I just opened firefox up and had no issue casting from it. According to the below support thread[1] you may need to enable a flag in the about:config page. Although I didn't need too. Does that piss you off, or are your feelings of outrage only limited to our own personal convenience? Nope. Amazon can and has support Cast in the past. They are the ones doing their best to block it, not Google. FireTV is not a free and open platform, Cast is. Great comment though.. [0] - https://developer.amazon.com/docs/fire-tv/faq-general.html https://developer.amazon.com/docs/fire-tv/faq-general.html [1] - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1171141 https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1171141
  • jacksmith21006 9y ago
    My bigger complaint is Amazon banning anyone in their marketplace from selling the Chromecast or the Google home. But now that Amazon purchased Twitch they removed the Twitch app from the Roku. Use to be a fan of Amazon but this is ridiculous behavior in their part.
• adjkant 9y ago
  A level of trust from past actions and comparing each, the branching out of Amazon and Bezoz with media, grocery stores, tech with AWS, and more is scary as well as how many industries they have killed / absorbed. I realize Google is doing this a bit as well, but it feels much less sinister. A friend of mine walked past a brick and mortar Amazon bookstore, which is really surreal to me. Amazon's work culture philosophy also doesn't inspire confidence. Amazon Key seems far more invasive too, and the way they attempt to integrate into your life doesn't inspire trust. Google already owns my browser, my mail, Google Drive / Sheets, the best single sign-in, etc. I understand the arguments for distributing your data - this is coming from someone who's given up on that privacy front sadly. If that doesn't apply to you, I can see why Amazon could make more sense for some products. For me, I more ascribe to giving my entire life to 1-2 that I trust and attempting to hold them accountable / influence their policies. Google is faaaaaaar from perfect, but in sum it seems like the much better option for giving my life to.
  • not_kurt_godel 9y ago
    Google literally makes its money from advertising directly keyed on your personal information and searches. Amazon makes money because you buy things from it. Google can't not share your information with advertisers if it wants to survive. Amazon, on the other hand, is extremely protective of private information to the point of defying law enforcement in a murder case (https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/28/tech/amazon-echo-alexa-bentonville-arkansas-murder-case-trnd/ https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/28/tech/amazon-echo-alexa-benton...).
    • adjkant 9y ago
      The advertisers don't get my life, they get the ability to insert their ad into my life based on my life. I've never understood personally how targeted advertising is really anyone violating my privacy (in terms of how I practically use the term). We have the technical know-how here - we know it's not Jim at Coke deciding to place an ad into my life personally because I just made a phone call that he was listening to where I said Pepsi. Advertisers don't know anything about me personally - they have the ability to target via Google. Even if they can figure out how to filter down to exactly me via stalking on social media, they don't get their information about me from Google. In the end, I get an ad (that I will block) either way. The practicality is fine for me. That's not the privacy I really care about. I'm looking more at how much I trust the company to not leverage the data they have to give to NSA, turn the world into 1984, etc. Apple did the same type of legal protection of personal device data as Amazon, and I expect Google to do the same if asked, which will likely happen soon enough. What worries me about Amazon/Bezos in this regard more than Google is Amazon + WaPo + Whole Foods, all the industries they have swallowed and replaced, etc. Again, both have that concern, and in the end I'm cautious but not really expecting either to turn like that. But it's one small data point. The Chromecast hookup is much more heavily weighted in this decision, but I think the psychology behind the argument above def nudges more towards Google as well.
• ehsankia 9y ago
  1. It's far more conversational. It understands vague questions far better, and the speech understanding also works far better for people with deep accents. 2. It has great integration with other Google services if you're already a heavy Google user (maps, mail, calendar, Fi/GV, hopefully Keep soon...) 3. It has fantastic uses with chromecast (netflix, youtube, pause, rewind, volume, etc). Obviously, #2 and #3 will vary heavily for people; you can probably get most of #3 if you get a Fire stick. It really depends if you're already a Google/Android/Chromecast user or not.
  • corobo 9y ago
    I think the question was more "why invite Google into your home before Amazon" - as in the companies, not the devices
    • jacksmith21006 9y ago
      For me I am agrevated with Amazon behavior and the Google home is just a lot better than the Echo. Amazon removing the twitch app from the Roku after purrchasing Twitch is just wrong. Also Amazon banning any company from able to sell the Google home or Chromecast in their marketplace is also a problem. Amazon does not need to do this anti competitive BS.