3 ms·

Apple does this every release. Marketing is important. Facebook is now the ubiquitous video chat social network, built on Skype. Google+ is Circles on your G

Apple does this every release. Marketing is important. Facebook is now the ubiquitous video chat social network, built on Skype. Google+ is Circles on your Gmail. Everything else you say requires some level of convincing.

nextparadigms 15y ago
Except that Hangout is a lot more social than the Facebook/Skype integration. Google+ has out-social'ed Facebook.
- bonch 15y ago
  "A lot more social" is pretty vague.
sunchild 15y ago
Facebook is showing the signs of its alliance to Microsoft in more ways than one here.
- kenjackson 15y ago
  I see one way (using Skype, although apparently that started some time ago). What are the other ways?
  - cryptoz 15y ago
    Downloading .exe files to Linux computers seems to be a very Microsofty thing to do.
    - kenjackson 15y ago
      I SERIOUSLY doubt MS was giving them architectural guidance on how to make this work. Probably would have more to do with the architectural experience of the devs.
      - cryptoz 15y ago
        I wasn't suggesting that MS told them to do that. To my knowledge, this first time that Facebook has left the Web and launched a feature only available to specific OSs by way of desktop applications. Remember that this video chat is not a web page. It's a Microsoft (and Apple? I don't know) desktop application that integrates into their web page. I'm suggesting that Facebook is showing their alliance to Microsoft by ignoring some other OSs and launching Microsoft-powered features. If you include video chat as an integral part of Facebook, then you can no longer call Facebook a web site.
        kenjackson 15y ago
        Thanks. That wasn't clear from your earlier post (and I didn't know that this was a desktop app either).
        cryptoz 15y ago
        :) To be fair, G+'s Hangouts is also currently a desktop app (requires the Gtalk plugin I think). I suspect Google will move away from that and go towards a full web page. We'll see. This is all so exciting.
        shoota 15y ago
        Yes but they at least provide the appropriate plugin for Linux users.
        cryptoz 15y ago
        Yep! I was Hanging Out on Ubuntu with 6 friends on about day 2 of G+. Facebook doesn't even support my OS, so there's absolutely 0 chance I'll use their video chat.
        contextfree 15y ago
        Did Google show their alliance to Microsoft when they released Chrome for Windows well ahead of other platforms?
  - sunchild 15y ago
    Things I see them both doing: playing catch-up, stumbling on user experience, appealing to the lowest common denominator rather than the leading edge.

nextparadigms 15y ago

Except that Hangout is a lot more social than the Facebook/Skype integration. Google+ has out-social'ed Facebook.

bonch 15y ago
"A lot more social" is pretty vague.

sunchild 15y ago

Facebook is showing the signs of its alliance to Microsoft in more ways than one here.

kenjackson 15y ago
I see one way (using Skype, although apparently that started some time ago). What are the other ways?
- cryptoz 15y ago
  Downloading .exe files to Linux computers seems to be a very Microsofty thing to do.
  - kenjackson 15y ago
    I SERIOUSLY doubt MS was giving them architectural guidance on how to make this work. Probably would have more to do with the architectural experience of the devs.
    - cryptoz 15y ago
      I wasn't suggesting that MS told them to do that. To my knowledge, this first time that Facebook has left the Web and launched a feature only available to specific OSs by way of desktop applications. Remember that this video chat is not a web page. It's a Microsoft (and Apple? I don't know) desktop application that integrates into their web page. I'm suggesting that Facebook is showing their alliance to Microsoft by ignoring some other OSs and launching Microsoft-powered features. If you include video chat as an integral part of Facebook, then you can no longer call Facebook a web site.
      - kenjackson 15y ago
        Thanks. That wasn't clear from your earlier post (and I didn't know that this was a desktop app either).
        cryptoz 15y ago
        :) To be fair, G+'s Hangouts is also currently a desktop app (requires the Gtalk plugin I think). I suspect Google will move away from that and go towards a full web page. We'll see. This is all so exciting.
        shoota 15y ago
        Yes but they at least provide the appropriate plugin for Linux users.
        cryptoz 15y ago
        Yep! I was Hanging Out on Ubuntu with 6 friends on about day 2 of G+. Facebook doesn't even support my OS, so there's absolutely 0 chance I'll use their video chat.
      - contextfree 15y ago
        Did Google show their alliance to Microsoft when they released Chrome for Windows well ahead of other platforms?
- sunchild 15y ago
  Things I see them both doing: playing catch-up, stumbling on user experience, appealing to the lowest common denominator rather than the leading edge.