7 ms·

Google's two (maybe three) core Google-branded products to non-tech people are Search, Gmail and maybe Chrome. I don't think non-techies could even tell you wha

Google's two (maybe three) core Google-branded products to non-tech people are Search, Gmail and maybe Chrome. I don't think non-techies could even tell you what some of the other products are or did. I would also wager most people outside of tech don't realize YouTube is owned by Google. Tech people pay a lot of attention to this stuff, but casual user's don't notice or don't care.

annodomini2019 8y ago
Probably Google Drive as well.
- cc439 8y ago
  Good point. Funny enough, the Google Drive desktop application was killed and replaced with Drive File Stream which broke the offline usefulness of Google Drive.
  - anonuser123456 8y ago
    The file stream app still does the old drive behavior if you enable it.
  - magduf 8y ago
    Luckily, there's open-source tools for Google Drive, such as "grive".
  - pradn 8y ago
    The Drive File Stream app lets you pin files for offline use. Disclaimer: I work on it.
chrisfinazzo 8y ago
Last I checked, YouTube was/is kind of a big deal.
- scarface74 8y ago
  Rumors are that it is still barely above break even if that.
  - chrisfinazzo 8y ago
    Perhaps, but finances aside, there's no questioning their outsize influence compared to just about every other video site, most of which have withered and died. Meerkat, anyone?
o10449366 8y ago
I disagree. I know a lot of "non-techies" that switched to using iPhones just for iMessage because Google's messaging ecosystem is confusing and seems to change every 12 months. I also know a lot of non-techies that use Google Play Music to upload and manage their own music libraries. It's rumored that Play Music is going to be killed in the next few months as Google pushes YouTube music subscriptions instead. The problem is, just like with Inbox and Gmail, Google rarely ever makes good on promises to port features from old products to new ones. I highly doubt the Play Music users that specifically use it because they can upload 50,000 of their own songs are going to opt into a worse version of Spotify when it's killed off.
- wlesieutre 8y ago
  > Google's messaging ecosystem is confusing and seems to change every 12 months Don't worry, they'll launch a new messaging platform that will definitely sort this out for real this time!
  - vardump 8y ago
    I know you're joking. That said, they're planning to use RCS, a successor of SMS. I guess the users will be expected to pay for each message or to buy a package. I also don't expect to be able to send from a web site, unless my phone is active and the message can be sent through it. Just no. I'd rather use even WhatsApp than that.
- apexalpha 8y ago
  Does anyone even use Google's messaging apps? I've literally not seen one being used once in the past 4 or 5 years. It's been Whatsapp for as long as I can remember.
  - javagram 8y ago
    Your country and social group determine this. Hangouts and Gchat before it certainly have been used by a lot of people. In my experience, it has gotten less popular since the Gchat days but I’ve never chatted to anyone on WhatsApp...
malvosenior 8y ago
You forgot probably their only actually good product: maps
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  Good at being a pathfinding and point-by-point navigation tool, not as an actual map. Their completely broken treatment of street and POI labels makes the product very annoying when trying to preplan a journey, get yourself oriented in a place you don't know, or evaluate alternative routes.
  - frosted-flakes 8y ago
    Especially when driving. Super thin, low contrast lines with hardly any labels at a weird angle make trying to read the map while driving super frustrating. I have a Garmin unit mounted on my car windshield that comes on with the ignition, and the user experience is just so much better. The route lines don't blend in with the background and it has large labels that are actually readable. The low angle of the 3D map actually lines up with the view through the windshield, which compresses a decent amount of roads into a small space. Even the spoken directions are better (I've used British English Daniel for years, and I rarely notice when someone speaks in a British accent). I don't often set a route, so it mostly functions as an always-present map, which it does exceptionally well. I especially like the banner at the bottom that shows the road I'm currently driving on and the banner across the top that shows the next cross street.
    - clebio 8y ago
      Any particular Garmin device you recommend?
      - frosted-flakes 8y ago
        Honestly, any of them. They're all good. The one I have is three or four years old, and it still works as well as it did when it was new, except for the battery (but it stays plugged in so that doesn't matter). I could easily keep using it for 3–4 more years if it keeps getting map updates. Every few months I plug it into my computer and leave it to update for a few hours (it's a one-click process), but I think some of the newer ones have Wi-Fi so they can auto-update. It really depends on what features you want. I've found the voice commands to be quite handy. It has a hard time understanding some addresses, but for stuff like "go home", "turn down the brightness", "navigate to the nearest Tim Hortons", it's great. I wish mine had a built-in dashcam like the newer ones, but they're not cheap. Mine has Bluetooth as well, so it can get more frequent traffic updates from my phone (instead of through the FM receiver), as well as take speakerphone calls. It's pretty much a single function device, which is perfect. I never have to mess with it, it's always there, and it leaves my phone free for audiobooks or for me to use if I'm in the passenger seat.
sunsetMurk 8y ago
Google Photos seems to be a core for non-tech people too. ...and actually, is one of my favorite products that they've released in recent years.
- mtnGoat 8y ago
  agreed, i know a good number of non-tech people that use Google Photos.
ineedasername 8y ago
I think you're overlooking android, play, photos, docs, and drive.

annodomini2019 8y ago

Probably Google Drive as well.

cc439 8y ago
Good point. Funny enough, the Google Drive desktop application was killed and replaced with Drive File Stream which broke the offline usefulness of Google Drive.
- anonuser123456 8y ago
  The file stream app still does the old drive behavior if you enable it.
- magduf 8y ago
  Luckily, there's open-source tools for Google Drive, such as "grive".
- pradn 8y ago
  The Drive File Stream app lets you pin files for offline use. Disclaimer: I work on it.

chrisfinazzo 8y ago

Last I checked, YouTube was/is kind of a big deal.

scarface74 8y ago
Rumors are that it is still barely above break even if that.
- chrisfinazzo 8y ago
  Perhaps, but finances aside, there's no questioning their outsize influence compared to just about every other video site, most of which have withered and died. Meerkat, anyone?

o10449366 8y ago

I disagree. I know a lot of "non-techies" that switched to using iPhones just for iMessage because Google's messaging ecosystem is confusing and seems to change every 12 months. I also know a lot of non-techies that use Google Play Music to upload and manage their own music libraries. It's rumored that Play Music is going to be killed in the next few months as Google pushes YouTube music subscriptions instead. The problem is, just like with Inbox and Gmail, Google rarely ever makes good on promises to port features from old products to new ones. I highly doubt the Play Music users that specifically use it because they can upload 50,000 of their own songs are going to opt into a worse version of Spotify when it's killed off.

wlesieutre 8y ago
> Google's messaging ecosystem is confusing and seems to change every 12 months Don't worry, they'll launch a new messaging platform that will definitely sort this out for real this time!
- vardump 8y ago
  I know you're joking. That said, they're planning to use RCS, a successor of SMS. I guess the users will be expected to pay for each message or to buy a package. I also don't expect to be able to send from a web site, unless my phone is active and the message can be sent through it. Just no. I'd rather use even WhatsApp than that.
apexalpha 8y ago
Does anyone even use Google's messaging apps? I've literally not seen one being used once in the past 4 or 5 years. It's been Whatsapp for as long as I can remember.
- javagram 8y ago
  Your country and social group determine this. Hangouts and Gchat before it certainly have been used by a lot of people. In my experience, it has gotten less popular since the Gchat days but I’ve never chatted to anyone on WhatsApp...

malvosenior 8y ago

You forgot probably their only actually good product: maps

TeMPOraL 8y ago
Good at being a pathfinding and point-by-point navigation tool, not as an actual map. Their completely broken treatment of street and POI labels makes the product very annoying when trying to preplan a journey, get yourself oriented in a place you don't know, or evaluate alternative routes.
- frosted-flakes 8y ago
  Especially when driving. Super thin, low contrast lines with hardly any labels at a weird angle make trying to read the map while driving super frustrating. I have a Garmin unit mounted on my car windshield that comes on with the ignition, and the user experience is just so much better. The route lines don't blend in with the background and it has large labels that are actually readable. The low angle of the 3D map actually lines up with the view through the windshield, which compresses a decent amount of roads into a small space. Even the spoken directions are better (I've used British English Daniel for years, and I rarely notice when someone speaks in a British accent). I don't often set a route, so it mostly functions as an always-present map, which it does exceptionally well. I especially like the banner at the bottom that shows the road I'm currently driving on and the banner across the top that shows the next cross street.
  - clebio 8y ago
    Any particular Garmin device you recommend?
    - frosted-flakes 8y ago
      Honestly, any of them. They're all good. The one I have is three or four years old, and it still works as well as it did when it was new, except for the battery (but it stays plugged in so that doesn't matter). I could easily keep using it for 3–4 more years if it keeps getting map updates. Every few months I plug it into my computer and leave it to update for a few hours (it's a one-click process), but I think some of the newer ones have Wi-Fi so they can auto-update. It really depends on what features you want. I've found the voice commands to be quite handy. It has a hard time understanding some addresses, but for stuff like "go home", "turn down the brightness", "navigate to the nearest Tim Hortons", it's great. I wish mine had a built-in dashcam like the newer ones, but they're not cheap. Mine has Bluetooth as well, so it can get more frequent traffic updates from my phone (instead of through the FM receiver), as well as take speakerphone calls. It's pretty much a single function device, which is perfect. I never have to mess with it, it's always there, and it leaves my phone free for audiobooks or for me to use if I'm in the passenger seat.

sunsetMurk 8y ago

Google Photos seems to be a core for non-tech people too. ...and actually, is one of my favorite products that they've released in recent years.

mtnGoat 8y ago
agreed, i know a good number of non-tech people that use Google Photos.

ineedasername 8y ago

I think you're overlooking android, play, photos, docs, and drive.