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Google Latitude will be retired
- silveira 13y agoA feature now available only in the NSA plan. :(
- davidradcliffe 13y agoAnyone know of a good alternative?
- dmead 13y agowriting down your gps coords every few hours and sending it to the nsa via snail mail?
- davidradcliffe 13y agoBut what if I want it automated? :)
- hahainternet 13y agoIt doesn't seem they're removing any features, just merging the product with G+, so it should remain pretty much the same.
- ihsw 13y agoMake an Android app that periodically makes HTTP requests whose body contains the word 'bomb' and the GPS coordinates of a particular street intersection near your phone. Bonus points for including Arabic lorem ipsum.
- xentronium 13y agoInteresting. If whole population of HN did that, would it put a dent into NSA processing power/capabilities?
- ihsw 13y agoIf there are any dents in their processing power/capabilities, they'll quickly improve their capacity to accommodate it.
- mtgx 13y agoIt should be noted that if you are not doing any of this, and you're opting out of all these tracking systems (just in case someone has that crazy idea), you're aiding the enemy.
- dorfsmay 13y agoTo send / receive information about one particular user for a limited amount of time, Glympse is very good.
- htsh 13y agohaven't used it but this allows you to share your location for a limited period of time: http://www.glympse.com/ http://www.glympse.com/
- keeperofdakeys 13y agoGoogle+ has the feature, although I haven't used it. I'm pretty sure you can use it for only specific people.
- pgrote 13y agoWhere is this feature in Google +? Is it supported in the IOS Google + App?
- keeperofdakeys 13y agoThere is a setting on the browser for location sharing.
- abrahamsen 13y agoThe Location tab in the Android app. iOS support promised "soon". No mention of web support, which is in Latitude (for viewing).
- rizumu 13y agoFind My Friends: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsp.android.friendlocator&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsp.androi...
- kcbanner 13y agoI really liked the dashboard (https://maps.google.com/locationhistory/b/0/dashboard https://maps.google.com/locationhistory/b/0/dashboard). I'm going to miss this.
- yougotborked 13y agoFrom the FAQ "If you use Location Reporting and have Location History enabled, your location data will continue to be recorded to your Location History. You can view and manage Location History data on the Location History dashboard." So you still should be good
- kcbanner 13y agoOh! That's good news.
- melling 13y agoFocus... Making fewer products better. http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2012/07/05/googles-focus-a-nod-to-steve-jobs-advice/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2012/07/05/google... Google still has a lot more products than Apple but hopefully their focus will mean a much better Android and Google Docs, for example. Google Docs hasn't changed much in years.
- frossie 13y agoYeah but the focus has all been on Google+. Is Docs a + thing? No. I'd worry if I were you.
- Karunamon 13y agoMail isn't a + thing. Mail isn't going anywhere.
- acheron 13y agoMail isn't a + thing... yet.
- abrahamsen 13y agoGMail is already integrated with Google+. Google Docs will likely be integrated with Google+ soon, the document sharing is currently based on GMail groups and contacts, I'd expect them to supplement/replace those with Google+ circles and contacts.
- eric_the_read 13y agoThis is a shame; my wife and I occasionally use this to figure out when the other one will be home. It's much safer when she's driving for me to look her up on Latitude than to call her all the time.
- notatoad 13y agothe feature still exists( it's been rolled into plus now.
- Narretz 13y ago... which is exactly the problem some / many ? people have with Google these days. You are forced to use + for features that had been stand-alone.
- pgrote 13y agoAnd Android. This is the second app I used extensively that will no longer be supported on IOS.
- abrahamsen 13y agoIt will be added to iOS according to the linked page. Not sure why they close Latitude before supporting their preferred alternative on all platforms.
- darklajid 13y agoWhich is a different sort of thing, asks you to hand out a lot more data about yourself, is of questionable use and - cannot be used for quite a number of people I know, me included (I'm one of the 'Hey, don't use anything but your full name or we'll ban you' victims, with no way to use that product ever again without begging, neeling, bending over and first finding someone that resembles support anyway - if I would like to in the first place). So, the feature's gone.
- mratzloff 13y ago
- dorfsmay 13y agoGoogle is moving all their products to google plus. This is sad, I disklike too many things about google plus, and don't like the amalgamation, I might want to use one product at a given point, and another at another point, but not wanting to be force to use one when I want to use the other.
- hahainternet 13y agoGoogle+ is essentially the 'account page' of Google products now. You don't have to use the social stuff if you don't want to, but if you want to use anything that does connect you to other people, that's where you go. What sort of alternative are you proposing / can you give a more specific example?
- dorfsmay 13y ago> Google+ is essentially the 'account page' of Google products now It makes for terrible interface. If all I want is IM or video with somebody, I was happy with using pidgin from my desktop or an equivalent on Android. By killing xmpp federation, Google forces people still using them for IM to login in G+ and facing a wall of news, feed, forced feed (feed of what's hot), etc... If I want to check where my friend/spouse/kid is right now, I will now need to log in on G+, which will make me show up as available for IM, face a wall of updates, etc... I get it they decided to compete with facebook, but I don't like it. There is a silver lining though, people in the open source world were not addressing a lot of those needs, because Google was doing so much better and for free, hopefully we'll see more interesting OSS product coming out (or being re-freshed) to fill the gaps.
- pinaceae 13y agodon't get why you get downvoted, I agree with your overall sentiment. i couldn't care less about another social network, all I want to use is individual services. really don't want to be tracked across. already feel creeped out when i need to login to youtube to watch a stupid video behind an age block. now you want to link this info to everything else I am doing on the web? no thanks, no need to present me suggestions based on stupid stuff.
- oceanician 13y agoGoing to be harder for people to clone that than Reader :/
- seanalex 13y agoOut of curiosity, why do you say that? I would expect it's as simple as creating a polling/request call to the phone's GPS coordinates. The data can be stored on an application's server and then displayed onto any mapping choice for that person's "group". I haven't dabbled much in mobile development, so I really couldn't say how hard it overall would be.
- mzahir 13y agoReader is actually harder since it provided RSS feeds for websites that didn't support RSS (using the in-house indexed data)
- hoopism 13y agoYeesh... I used this with colleagues during Java One and it was a godsend for meeting up. Don't like the placing off all the google eggs in one Google+ basket. As a user of google+ it may be beneficial... but for those of us who liked to pick and choose functional components it's obnoxious (I recognize we are fewer and thus less financially important to google... just griping).
- hahainternet 13y agoHow exactly is it obnoxious to have a unified interface to manage and organise your friends? It seems to me that having to manage some on G+ and then some in Latitude would be more annoying and more obnoxious.
- glesica 13y agoBecause Google's location service might be the best, but other components might not. What if someone doesn't want to use G+ to "organize [their] friends", they just want a service that provides locations? The way Google did things previously was much more modular, you could pick and choose among products that each did basically one thing. Kind of Unix-y actually.
- hahainternet 13y agoYou're indicting G+ for not allowing modular friend organisation. That's the whole point of 'circles'. Ok so you just want a service that provides locations? If you have a Google account then you can use Plus, that service provides locations, done. You never have to see or hear or deal with any parts of G+ you don't want to. You don't have to mix friend groups up or assign people to only one label etc.
- hoopism 13y agoNo question this is probably a better offering for the majority of users... both G+ users and non... it just doesn't work with my flow. I like the analogy of wanting a radio and being offered a car. I could sit in the car and not touch anything else and just listen to the radio... but the fact is I now own a car... even sitting idle a G+ account (or car) has implications.
- wwhitman 13y agoHow long until you don't get proper search results unless you log in to Google+.
- hahainternet 13y agoThat's already the case. My personalised search results pages are often way better than the generic ones. I added the Hacker News circle and a lot of you link a lot of very interesting and valuable articles.
- EarthLaunch 13y agoDo G+ circles really influence search? If so, that's super annoying, because then I have to be careful what G+ circles I join. Personalized search is already annoying enough.
- hahainternet 13y agoYou don't 'join' circles. You put people /in/ circles. They influence search by increasing the relevance of links by people sharing them or +1ing them. You can just turn them off on the results page it seems but I have found it very beneficial. Why is it already annoying? The only reasons I've heard have been hypothetical.
- EarthLaunch 13y agoSorry, I didn't see your comment earlier. Putting people 'in' and joining is functionally the same, that's what I meant. The reason it annoys me is that I usually want my searches to be objective and global, not influenced by my preferences. I suppose a solution might be if their UI showed the influence clearly.
- wwhitman 13y agoShould have figured that was the case, but even not logged in Google's search results are so much better that they have a practical, if not legal, monopoly on search. Trying to have any privacy these days is like trying to stop the tide with a sand castle.
- Stately 13y agoAccording to the FAQ, the location history will not be retired, which is really the only functionality of latitude that I use/have seen others use.
- abrahamsen 13y agoThey are moving location sharing from Maps to Google+. I have made a "Location" circle in Google+ for people (mostly family) I want to be able to know my location at all times. So far so good. It makes sense to move what is basically a social feature to Google+. I have two problems with this though. 1) the viewer currently only works on Android. An iOS interface is promised, but no web viewer. 2) I can decide who in my circles gets to see my location, but not whose locations I see. Meaning the map view includes people whose location I don't care about.
- temuze 13y agoI had the opportunity to talk to a board member of Google about Latitude once. This person told me that Latitude was one of the clearest examples of how age affects your perception on technology. The original pitch for Latitude was "Say you're walking down the street and you look in Google Latitude and you find that a buddy of yours is at a coffee shop a block away. This technology allows you to stop by and say hi." Immediately, the younger part of the board said "That's really cool!" The older part of the board said "Ugh, I just want to enjoy my coffee in peace." Maybe Google Latitude merely came at the wrong time. One day, maybe location technology will be more appropriate with evolving social conventions.
- Joe-Z 13y agoBut is this really a age thing? I'm 24 and in the situation you described I'd have reacted exactly like "the older part" of the board. Isn't it more dependent on one being more extra- or more introvert? (which could also depend on your mood at the moment...)
- hoopism 13y agoI've used it at conferences and concerts. It's a great feature. But I am ALWAYS conscious to turn it off immediately after. I absolute have no desire to be found at a local coffee shop... by anyone.