5 ms·

Ruining HN by turning every Google-related discussion into a snark-filled pile of garbage isn't going to bring Reader back. Can you guys consider moving on?

Samuel_Michon 14y ago
“Ruining HN by turning every Google-related discussion into a snark-filled pile of garbage isn't going to bring Reader back.” Well, we can try ;) Anyways, I've reached a level of discontent that I wouldn't come back to Google Reader even if Google promised to keep it running indefinitely. I'm ditching Google entirely, I only need to cancel my Analytics accounts (I switched to http://www.haveamint.com/ http://www.haveamint.com/). DuckDuckGo works fine for search, IMAP works fine for email, http://www.feedafever.com/ http://www.feedafever.com/ works fine for RSS, Vimeo works fine for video, and Dropbox works fine for online storage.
- avree 14y ago
  Wow, that's confusing branding. Same name and very similar icon to a popular finance analytics product, Mint.
  - Samuel_Michon 14y ago
    Mint Analytics has been around since 2005 [1], while the Mint finance software started in 2006 as 'MyMint' and bought the Mint.com domain name in 2007 [2]. [1] http://www.shauninman.com/archive/2005/06/13/overwhelming_response http://www.shauninman.com/archive/2005/06/13/overwhelming_re... [2] http://web.archive.org/web/20070526095931/http://startupsquad.com/2007/05/23/mymintcom-acquires-mintcom-raises-5-million/ http://web.archive.org/web/20070526095931/http://startupsqua...
bambax 14y ago
I'm not sure what comment(s) you're referring to, but at the time of this writing the top comment, although snark-filled, doesn't have anything to do with Reader. Google sucks big time at customer service, they always have and HN is filled with horror stories of customers (real paying customers) running into walls and interacting with stupid robots when trying to sort things out. And now they want to compete with Amazon? Amazon?!? Amazon reinvented customer service, in a way that makes it impossible to shop anywhere else once you've experienced them. At this point, "what are they thinking?" is a very legitimate question.
- mbreese 14y ago
  Probably referring to mine... which was rightly downvoted to the bottom because it didn't add anything to the conversation. Although, if that's the case, the GP should have been a reply to my comment, but anyway. Since I can't edit that comment, I'll elaborate here. The problem that I have with this isn't with "Reader". I just don't see how this has any benefit to Google. They aren't selling items. They are just delivering them. Does this go through some kind of Google online-mall, or will it go through the retailer's standard site? The real question that needs to be answered is: what's in it for Google? What they've made clear lately is that for something to take hold, it needs to be in their interest. And I just don't see the upside here. That's not to say I don't see a market for the service (I signed up to be a tester). I just don't see how it fits with Google.
  - RestlessMind 14y ago
    Maybe, a "testbed" for self-driving cars?
  - bambax 14y ago
    If they want to annoy Amazon that's a possible motivation... although it's far from obvious they have what it takes.
barry-cotter 14y ago
I'm not bitter about Reader, I haven't been able to use it for over a year. I still find the idea of Google not sucking at customer service unlikley. They do not have any history of not sucking at customer service. Think of it like this; if you hear a good customer service story from Google it's a huge surprise, like hearing about a part of Amazon whose corporate culture and work environment is not a toxic cesspit. Over time, if you hear enough of these stories, they stop being surprising, but I have seen multiple people on this forum complaining about Google being unreachable when they spend tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Google's reputation for customer service is well earned.

Samuel_Michon 14y ago

“Ruining HN by turning every Google-related discussion into a snark-filled pile of garbage isn't going to bring Reader back.” Well, we can try ;) Anyways, I've reached a level of discontent that I wouldn't come back to Google Reader even if Google promised to keep it running indefinitely. I'm ditching Google entirely, I only need to cancel my Analytics accounts (I switched to http://www.haveamint.com/ http://www.haveamint.com/). DuckDuckGo works fine for search, IMAP works fine for email, http://www.feedafever.com/ http://www.feedafever.com/ works fine for RSS, Vimeo works fine for video, and Dropbox works fine for online storage.

avree 14y ago
Wow, that's confusing branding. Same name and very similar icon to a popular finance analytics product, Mint.
- Samuel_Michon 14y ago
  Mint Analytics has been around since 2005 [1], while the Mint finance software started in 2006 as 'MyMint' and bought the Mint.com domain name in 2007 [2]. [1] http://www.shauninman.com/archive/2005/06/13/overwhelming_response http://www.shauninman.com/archive/2005/06/13/overwhelming_re... [2] http://web.archive.org/web/20070526095931/http://startupsquad.com/2007/05/23/mymintcom-acquires-mintcom-raises-5-million/ http://web.archive.org/web/20070526095931/http://startupsqua...

bambax 14y ago

I'm not sure what comment(s) you're referring to, but at the time of this writing the top comment, although snark-filled, doesn't have anything to do with Reader. Google sucks big time at customer service, they always have and HN is filled with horror stories of customers (real paying customers) running into walls and interacting with stupid robots when trying to sort things out. And now they want to compete with Amazon? Amazon?!? Amazon reinvented customer service, in a way that makes it impossible to shop anywhere else once you've experienced them. At this point, "what are they thinking?" is a very legitimate question.

mbreese 14y ago
Probably referring to mine... which was rightly downvoted to the bottom because it didn't add anything to the conversation. Although, if that's the case, the GP should have been a reply to my comment, but anyway. Since I can't edit that comment, I'll elaborate here. The problem that I have with this isn't with "Reader". I just don't see how this has any benefit to Google. They aren't selling items. They are just delivering them. Does this go through some kind of Google online-mall, or will it go through the retailer's standard site? The real question that needs to be answered is: what's in it for Google? What they've made clear lately is that for something to take hold, it needs to be in their interest. And I just don't see the upside here. That's not to say I don't see a market for the service (I signed up to be a tester). I just don't see how it fits with Google.
- RestlessMind 14y ago
  Maybe, a "testbed" for self-driving cars?
- bambax 14y ago
  If they want to annoy Amazon that's a possible motivation... although it's far from obvious they have what it takes.

barry-cotter 14y ago

I'm not bitter about Reader, I haven't been able to use it for over a year. I still find the idea of Google not sucking at customer service unlikley. They do not have any history of not sucking at customer service. Think of it like this; if you hear a good customer service story from Google it's a huge surprise, like hearing about a part of Amazon whose corporate culture and work environment is not a toxic cesspit. Over time, if you hear enough of these stories, they stop being surprising, but I have seen multiple people on this forum complaining about Google being unreachable when they spend tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Google's reputation for customer service is well earned.