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> The service was promised for free… Please point out exactly where Google, or any of their competitors, ever promised that any of their free services would re

> The service was promised for free… Please point out exactly where Google, or any of their competitors, ever promised that any of their free services would remain available—much less free—forever. Anyone who expected that was kidding themselves, especially given the history of high-profile services being shut down or significantly redesigned on a regular basis.

dredmorbius 6y ago
Launch announcement: They’re pitching it as having “unlimited storage”.... Yep! We were right. Google Photos will launch today, for free. https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/28/confirmed-google-will-launch-google-photos-a-standalone-photo-host-with-unlimited-storage/ https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/28/confirmed-google-will-laun... HN discussion at the time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9618965 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9618965 Highlight comment: Right now, I have more faith in a specialist small company (e.g. Smugmug [disclaimer, no affiliation]) which charges for their product than Google who offer it for free ... and then, not ... and then ... repackaged ... and then ... RIP. -- XJOKOLAT https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9619340 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9619340
- nybble41 6y ago
  The "unlimited storage" in the pitch was obviously referring to uploaded photos not being counted against your storage quota, not a guarantee that this arrangement would continue indefinitely.
  - dredmorbius 6y ago
    Techcruch, arguably an entity with some experience and credibility in assessing product and service offerings, noted both "unlimited" and "free" in describing Google Photos. Which might be considered a presumptive public expectaction.
    - nybble41 6y ago
      Techcrunch never claimed what you are claiming. Yes, at launch the service was both unlimited (in storage capacity—not duration) and free. They never said that state of affairs would last forever, and it would have been unreasonable for anyone to assume that it would.

dredmorbius 6y ago

Launch announcement: They’re pitching it as having “unlimited storage”.... Yep! We were right. Google Photos will launch today, for free. https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/28/confirmed-google-will-launch-google-photos-a-standalone-photo-host-with-unlimited-storage/ https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/28/confirmed-google-will-laun... HN discussion at the time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9618965 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9618965 Highlight comment: Right now, I have more faith in a specialist small company (e.g. Smugmug [disclaimer, no affiliation]) which charges for their product than Google who offer it for free ... and then, not ... and then ... repackaged ... and then ... RIP. -- XJOKOLAT https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9619340 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9619340

nybble41 6y ago
The "unlimited storage" in the pitch was obviously referring to uploaded photos not being counted against your storage quota, not a guarantee that this arrangement would continue indefinitely.
- dredmorbius 6y ago
  Techcruch, arguably an entity with some experience and credibility in assessing product and service offerings, noted both "unlimited" and "free" in describing Google Photos. Which might be considered a presumptive public expectaction.
  - nybble41 6y ago
    Techcrunch never claimed what you are claiming. Yes, at launch the service was both unlimited (in storage capacity—not duration) and free. They never said that state of affairs would last forever, and it would have been unreasonable for anyone to assume that it would.