posted by
cmn32480
on Saturday September 24 2016, @02:39PM
from the it's-all-beta-until-it-gets-cancelled dept.
from the it's-all-beta-until-it-gets-cancelled dept.
Over a year after releasing a neglected Wi-Fi router, Google is preparing to release a brand new router called Google Wi-Fi:
OnHub-schmonhub: two sources are now telling us that Google will introduce an own-brand Wi-Fi router called Google Wifi, and that the device will cost $129. A source that has proved reliable in the past has told us that the device will be launched alongside Google's Pixel phones, Google Home, and the 4K 'Chromecast Ultra' on October 4th.
Chromecast Ultra could be a good device for installing Kodi on, although it will cost more than previous generations ($69 vs. $35). The device will reportedly have support for high dynamic range (HDR) video.
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Google to Launch its Own Wi-Fi Router (Again!)
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(Score: 2) by TheGratefulNet on Saturday September 24 2016, @04:15PM
of the century. they ALWAYS lose interest in things they work on, especially hardware.
why anyone would fall for yet another google harware scheme is beyond me. some people just like to inflict punishment on themselves, I guess.
even 'real' hardware vendors are not doing a great job, these days. what makes anyone think google, an ADVERTISING company, is going to excel at hardware when real hw companies cannot?
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 2) by Marand on Sunday September 25 2016, @04:49AM
google is the 'short attention span' company of the century. they ALWAYS lose interest in things they work on, especially hardware.
Maybe, but they have some strong competition from other tech companies such as Valve and Microsoft.
Valve makes a couple games in a series (Half Life 1, 2) then decides to shift to episodic content, creates a couple updates (HL2 ep 1, ep2) in that style, and then completely abandons that idea as well, leaving the story unfinished, where it's remained for nearly ten years now. Along the way they do the same thing with other games, usually making two releases and then stalling, earning a reputation for being afraid of the number 3.
During this, they decide to create a console, but then change their mind and it becomes a reference platform for others to make consoles. They make a push for cross-platform Steam, with a heavy focus on using the Linux version for this would-be console, but that all but vanishes along with the Steam Machine idea. Now a few vendors are distributing so-called "Steam Machines" that run Windows + Steam instead. They're still supporting the Linux steam client and it's helped Linux gaming a lot, but it's still another semi-abandoned project.
Now they're on VR, until another new shiny comes along. Steam's the only thing Valve's actually continued to work on long-term, probably because it's what gives the company the funds necessary to piss away on all the other half-finished projects and abandoned plans.
And, of course, Microsoft's even worse about it. Repeated failed attempts at mobile computing, devices like the Zune that get tried and abandoned, constantly-shifting certifications that exist one year and vanish the next ("Plays for Sure"), Silverlight, .NET being heralded as the future of all Windows development up until it wasn't. They've been a game developer, game publisher, a game console company. Now they're into VR/AR headsets, bought Minecraft (+developer) for obscene amounts of money and then failed to do anything with it, the list goes on.
Not trying to pick on either company here, it just seems to be what happens when a company gets obscenely rich off of profits from one or two things and then scrambles to find the "next big thing" because they know that cash cow won't last forever.
(Score: 4, Informative) by number6 on Saturday September 24 2016, @04:20PM
After reading the title of this story, I couldn't help thinking about this discussion:
How does Google know where I am? [stackexchange.com] .......................................and further discussion here [ycombinator.com].
It may be useful reading for those of you who have an interest in privacy and stealth.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 24 2016, @05:23PM
At first, I fell for the "come join us, invitation only!" gmail campaign. Cheapest trick in the book: made me feel special,and I thought I was getting disentangled from Microsoft-like monopolies. If only I knew the things to be shoved down the throat.
Then, I fell for Chrome. Thankfully I sandboxed it and ran a sniffer and got disillusioned fast about how often it phones home and what it is about.
After that, it was all about smartphones but I was already suspicious of Android. My brother gave me one that had some software preinstalled, and I booted it up without a SIM card to see what was it about. I watched a dozen google apps squirm, others begging, others "warning me" that I *MUST* place a SIM and connect to the network, all prompting me for this and that. I still do not use a smartphone, thankfully I do not need it and hope that I never will.
And now, Google "offers" a router? The key component to household privacy? Sorry but I must say, go fuck yourself, Google all-seeing eye. No, I do not buy the story of a bunch of garage enterpreneurs that "happened to fill the niche of the market". Do you realize how many resources you need to crawl the net daily? Shove yourself up your own ass, Google, and stay there. You are not wanted.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 24 2016, @11:33PM
Unless the device runs on 100% Free Software, I want nothing to do with this. What's sad is that companies like Google have more than enough resources to completely respect users' freedoms, and yet many of their products use proprietary software. A few small companies have products that won the FSF's Respects Your Freedom certification, and getting there was extremely difficult because of their limited resources. There are no such excuses for Google.
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Saturday September 24 2016, @11:36PM
I thought that sounded like a lot for a router, then I saw this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4MR3W77398 [newegg.com]
Sheesh.
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A