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I would not buy anything from Google at this point. Definitely will not use anything else except Gmail.

magicalist 8y ago
> I would not buy anything from Google at this point. The only consequence here seems to be if you wanted to buy one but now you can't, but I don't see how not buying something gives a lesson about buying things? It's not like Chromecast is going away.
- coldtea 8y ago
  >The only consequence here seems to be if you wanted to buy one but now you can't, but I don't see how not buying something gives a lesson about buying things? Many people not buying stuff from company who discontinues things gives a lesson about not discontinuing stuff.
  - mavhc 8y ago
    Well, more like a lesson in not starting to sell stuff
    - coldtea 8y ago
      That's still a lesson. Don't make product promises you cannot keep.
      - mavhc 8y ago
        Did they make any promises?
        coldtea 8y ago
        The implicit promise that this is a market we want to be in, and buy this stuff, and we'll continue to support it and invest in this ecosystem.
        mavhc 8y ago
        Seems like not enough people bought it then
  - kllrnohj 8y ago
    All products have a limited lifespan for how long they are manufactured. Products come and go, this shouldn't be surprising or weird. If you bought it it still works. It still does what you paid for, and that isn't changing. People who paid money for this are no worse off today than they were yesterday. The only logical conclusion from such a position is to literally never buy anything ever from anyone period. Because it will eventually stop being sold, no matter what it is, or who makes it. If the cast software was being discontinued yes that'd be worth getting upset over, as it's killing something you have & use. But that's not this. Nothing stops working as a result of this. It's a single product in an ecosystem of hundreds that's being discontinued, that's it.
    - coldtea 8y ago
      >All products have a limited lifespan for how long they are manufactured. Products come and go, this shouldn't be surprising or weird. DUH! People already know this. It becomes surprising and weird when it happens at more than the normal rate -- whether it's software or hardware--, which is what we consider Google to do. If the Chromecast Audio product was the first time Google had pulled this shit, then nobody would be discussing it...
toasterlovin 8y ago
Would love to know how you find their other products unacceptable, but giving them unfettered access to your private communication is okay...
- Walkman 8y ago
  It's about the stupid trend they kill things which have not enough interest. That's why we can't have nice things...
  - akerl_ 8y ago
    Killing off products that don't have enough interest doesn't seem to be stupid at all. That's how they shift dev effort onto developing new services and extending services that do have sufficient interest.
- colecut 8y ago
  It sounds like his main concern is the product disappearing, and Gmail is one of the least likely to disappear.
  - magicalist 8y ago
    > It sounds like his main concern is the product disappearing but it's a physical product and a service that isn't going anywhere...
    - zapzupnz 8y ago
      It remains a technological product, though, and one doesn't like to buy into tech ecosystems without a full assurance of ongoing support. Chromecast Audio being discontinued today is one thing, and Google does promise continued support for the product … but Google's track record may not bear that out. In the case of some sort of critical security update or a theoretical future update to pick up a hitherto undetected, show-stopping bug, there's little assurance Google would look after its customers — they've too much of a tendency to introduce something then rescind the product not long later, something that doesn't inspire much confidence in whether or not there will be ongoing, high-quality software updates to support the products.
joelrunyon 8y ago
What are good gmail alternatives? I have fastmail, but to be honest - it's not as good as gmail used to be (although it's better than the "new gmail) is.
- satysin 8y ago
  In my honest opinion there isn't one. Nothing does everything as good as Gmail does. Some things they might do better but they fall down in other areas so the overall experience isn't as good. And the one thing it does better doesn't make up for the 3 or 4 things it does worse. It really comes down to how much inconvenience are you willing to put up with to not use Gmail. Again just my opinion :)
javagram 8y ago
FTA “Google says it’ll continue to support Chromecast Audio users for the time being, so if you have already invested in this ecosystem, you should be set for a few more years.”
prostoalex 8y ago
I, too, prefer a company whose hardware is their core product, not an offshoot developed to supplement other revenue. Learned my lesson the hard way with Apple Airport line. Even though I probably overpaid, I have a set of Eero routers vs Google WiFi or Netgear competitor, a Roku Stick vs Chromecast or Amazon FireStick, and a Ring security setup vs Dashcam/Nestcam (although my last example is kinda diluted after Ring got acquired).
- ProfessorLayton 8y ago
  Curious to know what lessons you learned. I've had an Airport Express since they became available, and they've been about the only Apple product that I can basically forget about since it always works. My AE/ATV combo is connected to a 2.1 setup which allows streaming of anything with or without the TV turned on. I'm bummed Apple dropped support for their Airport line, but the one I currently have will be fine for a very long time — Thanks in no small part for supporting a 3.5mm jack.
  - prostoalex 8y ago
    This is, of course, highly anecdotal, but my extended network setup with 1 Airport Extreme (wired) and 3 Airport Express (wireless) consistently broke every few weeks or so with one Airport Express refusing to see the rest of the network it was supposed to extend. And it was always a different Express, so couldn't be pinned to a hardware issue or location in the house. Apple support on this issue is relegated to an article on the Web site or some forum threads https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5763681 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5763681, as debugging it in an Apple Store makes little sense, considering the network setup would run smoothly for days. One thing that was unclear to me is how long the Airport Utility app was going to remain in the App Store and stay maintained to support the latest revisions of iOS, Android, and respective app store policies. The upgrade path for firmware in case of a security vulnerability is also unknown - something that I'd be okay on some other devices, but not the main home router.
- vatueil 8y ago
  > Eero routers vs Google WiFi or Netgear competitor Wait, how is Netgear not a company for whom "hardware is their core product"?

> I would not buy anything from Google at this point. The only consequence here seems to be if you wanted to buy one but now you can't, but I don't see how not buying something gives a lesson about buying things? It's not like Chromecast is going away.

coldtea 8y ago
>The only consequence here seems to be if you wanted to buy one but now you can't, but I don't see how not buying something gives a lesson about buying things? Many people not buying stuff from company who discontinues things gives a lesson about not discontinuing stuff.
- mavhc 8y ago
  Well, more like a lesson in not starting to sell stuff
  - coldtea 8y ago
    That's still a lesson. Don't make product promises you cannot keep.
    - mavhc 8y ago
      Did they make any promises?
      - coldtea 8y ago
        The implicit promise that this is a market we want to be in, and buy this stuff, and we'll continue to support it and invest in this ecosystem.
        mavhc 8y ago
        Seems like not enough people bought it then
- kllrnohj 8y ago
  All products have a limited lifespan for how long they are manufactured. Products come and go, this shouldn't be surprising or weird. If you bought it it still works. It still does what you paid for, and that isn't changing. People who paid money for this are no worse off today than they were yesterday. The only logical conclusion from such a position is to literally never buy anything ever from anyone period. Because it will eventually stop being sold, no matter what it is, or who makes it. If the cast software was being discontinued yes that'd be worth getting upset over, as it's killing something you have & use. But that's not this. Nothing stops working as a result of this. It's a single product in an ecosystem of hundreds that's being discontinued, that's it.
  - coldtea 8y ago
    >All products have a limited lifespan for how long they are manufactured. Products come and go, this shouldn't be surprising or weird. DUH! People already know this. It becomes surprising and weird when it happens at more than the normal rate -- whether it's software or hardware--, which is what we consider Google to do. If the Chromecast Audio product was the first time Google had pulled this shit, then nobody would be discussing it...

toasterlovin 8y ago

Would love to know how you find their other products unacceptable, but giving them unfettered access to your private communication is okay...

Walkman 8y ago
It's about the stupid trend they kill things which have not enough interest. That's why we can't have nice things...
- akerl_ 8y ago
  Killing off products that don't have enough interest doesn't seem to be stupid at all. That's how they shift dev effort onto developing new services and extending services that do have sufficient interest.
colecut 8y ago
It sounds like his main concern is the product disappearing, and Gmail is one of the least likely to disappear.
- magicalist 8y ago
  > It sounds like his main concern is the product disappearing but it's a physical product and a service that isn't going anywhere...
  - zapzupnz 8y ago
    It remains a technological product, though, and one doesn't like to buy into tech ecosystems without a full assurance of ongoing support. Chromecast Audio being discontinued today is one thing, and Google does promise continued support for the product … but Google's track record may not bear that out. In the case of some sort of critical security update or a theoretical future update to pick up a hitherto undetected, show-stopping bug, there's little assurance Google would look after its customers — they've too much of a tendency to introduce something then rescind the product not long later, something that doesn't inspire much confidence in whether or not there will be ongoing, high-quality software updates to support the products.

joelrunyon 8y ago

What are good gmail alternatives? I have fastmail, but to be honest - it's not as good as gmail used to be (although it's better than the "new gmail) is.

satysin 8y ago
In my honest opinion there isn't one. Nothing does everything as good as Gmail does. Some things they might do better but they fall down in other areas so the overall experience isn't as good. And the one thing it does better doesn't make up for the 3 or 4 things it does worse. It really comes down to how much inconvenience are you willing to put up with to not use Gmail. Again just my opinion :)

javagram 8y ago

FTA “Google says it’ll continue to support Chromecast Audio users for the time being, so if you have already invested in this ecosystem, you should be set for a few more years.”

prostoalex 8y ago

I, too, prefer a company whose hardware is their core product, not an offshoot developed to supplement other revenue. Learned my lesson the hard way with Apple Airport line. Even though I probably overpaid, I have a set of Eero routers vs Google WiFi or Netgear competitor, a Roku Stick vs Chromecast or Amazon FireStick, and a Ring security setup vs Dashcam/Nestcam (although my last example is kinda diluted after Ring got acquired).

ProfessorLayton 8y ago
Curious to know what lessons you learned. I've had an Airport Express since they became available, and they've been about the only Apple product that I can basically forget about since it always works. My AE/ATV combo is connected to a 2.1 setup which allows streaming of anything with or without the TV turned on. I'm bummed Apple dropped support for their Airport line, but the one I currently have will be fine for a very long time — Thanks in no small part for supporting a 3.5mm jack.
- prostoalex 8y ago
  This is, of course, highly anecdotal, but my extended network setup with 1 Airport Extreme (wired) and 3 Airport Express (wireless) consistently broke every few weeks or so with one Airport Express refusing to see the rest of the network it was supposed to extend. And it was always a different Express, so couldn't be pinned to a hardware issue or location in the house. Apple support on this issue is relegated to an article on the Web site or some forum threads https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5763681 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5763681, as debugging it in an Apple Store makes little sense, considering the network setup would run smoothly for days. One thing that was unclear to me is how long the Airport Utility app was going to remain in the App Store and stay maintained to support the latest revisions of iOS, Android, and respective app store policies. The upgrade path for firmware in case of a security vulnerability is also unknown - something that I'd be okay on some other devices, but not the main home router.
vatueil 8y ago
> Eero routers vs Google WiFi or Netgear competitor Wait, how is Netgear not a company for whom "hardware is their core product"?