Things like this are what I dislike about massive tech companies. They send out a vague form email like this and then don't offer any clarification. It happens all the time in the Play Store and...
Things like this are what I dislike about massive tech companies.
They send out a vague form email like this and then don't offer any clarification. It happens all the time in the Play Store and the App Store. To me, being able to respond to things like this and give more detail are essential parts of offering any sort of store. Especially for a company as big as Google (or Apple).
I pay Google a decent amount of money per month but it's damn near impossible to get through to a human and get actual answers or tech support when I have issues.
I agree with you, as I said in my own post. What other options are there? These types of stories usually end up helping get enough public attention that Google/Apple/Whoever responds when they...
I agree with you, as I said in my own post.
I'm so fucking tired of reading about just how awful Google and Apple are to work with though, and all the shortcomings their walled gardens have, and how much stress and financial ruin they wreak on the developers that make their garbage platforms worth using.
What other options are there? These types of stories usually end up helping get enough public attention that Google/Apple/Whoever responds when they normally wouldn't.
Totally agreed. It's an abstention of duty for these companies to not have support and proper communication in place. They're big enough that they can get away not having it, but it has some...
Totally agreed. It's an abstention of duty for these companies to not have support and proper communication in place. They're big enough that they can get away not having it, but it has some pretty deleterious effects, not least of which is that it normalizes the idea that outrage is the only effective mechanism for being heard. Instead of being able to solve the problem through the proper channels, the devs instead have no choice but to make a public plea to third parties in hopes of garnering enough attention for the issue that Google will step in to either save face or pacify those who picked up pitchforks. This model basically says "we won't listen to you unless enough people throw a tantrum". Far from ideal, especially on the already largely outrage- and conflict-driven internet.
Also, if anyone is interested in a longer read about how automatic systems can punish people and lock them out of their livelihoods (as we are seeing with Pushbullet here), check out Virginia Eubanks's Automating Inequality which focuses on public assistance in the United States and its shifts from person-centered decisions to algorithmic and data-based ones.
Ironically...Android phones with unlocked bootloaders. You can de-google an android phone and not use their app store. You can have control of your device, moreso than any Apple device. That said,...
What other options are there?
Ironically...Android phones with unlocked bootloaders. You can de-google an android phone and not use their app store. You can have control of your device, moreso than any Apple device. That said, it's far from seamless, or even a place where it's possible to make a living developing for.
Sadly, since we're facing a 'Tech Trust' kind of situation, only the biggest names have enough money to compete in the market, and if they don't like someone they can bully them off or buy them out.
Our best bets are likely pure Linux phones, or a viable Android spinoff. Even then it's going to be a very tough sell outside the techiest of tech circles.
I doubt it, too, which is why I am moving away from depending on those companies. There's a vibrant software ecosystem out there that covers almost all the bases that Google and Apple do. Google...
But what's the point of being annoyed? Is anything going to change? I seriously doubt it.
I doubt it, too, which is why I am moving away from depending on those companies. There's a vibrant software ecosystem out there that covers almost all the bases that Google and Apple do.
Google and Apple will only change when enough people jump ship that they start sweating about their bottom line.
I don't know if it will work for everything, but it seems like one answer might be to port to as many platforms as possible and hope for the best? If your audience can't get to you one way, make...
I don't know if it will work for everything, but it seems like one answer might be to port to as many platforms as possible and hope for the best? If your audience can't get to you one way, make sure there are alternatives.
This would imply looking for portable solutions rather than going all-in on one distributor.
Things like this are what I dislike about massive tech companies.
They send out a vague form email like this and then don't offer any clarification. It happens all the time in the Play Store and the App Store. To me, being able to respond to things like this and give more detail are essential parts of offering any sort of store. Especially for a company as big as Google (or Apple).
I pay Google a decent amount of money per month but it's damn near impossible to get through to a human and get actual answers or tech support when I have issues.
Related, Pushbullet does have a Firefox extension.
I agree with you, as I said in my own post.
What other options are there? These types of stories usually end up helping get enough public attention that Google/Apple/Whoever responds when they normally wouldn't.
Totally agreed. It's an abstention of duty for these companies to not have support and proper communication in place. They're big enough that they can get away not having it, but it has some pretty deleterious effects, not least of which is that it normalizes the idea that outrage is the only effective mechanism for being heard. Instead of being able to solve the problem through the proper channels, the devs instead have no choice but to make a public plea to third parties in hopes of garnering enough attention for the issue that Google will step in to either save face or pacify those who picked up pitchforks. This model basically says "we won't listen to you unless enough people throw a tantrum". Far from ideal, especially on the already largely outrage- and conflict-driven internet.
Also, if anyone is interested in a longer read about how automatic systems can punish people and lock them out of their livelihoods (as we are seeing with Pushbullet here), check out Virginia Eubanks's Automating Inequality which focuses on public assistance in the United States and its shifts from person-centered decisions to algorithmic and data-based ones.
Ironically...Android phones with unlocked bootloaders. You can de-google an android phone and not use their app store. You can have control of your device, moreso than any Apple device. That said, it's far from seamless, or even a place where it's possible to make a living developing for.
Sadly, since we're facing a 'Tech Trust' kind of situation, only the biggest names have enough money to compete in the market, and if they don't like someone they can bully them off or buy them out.
Our best bets are likely pure Linux phones, or a viable Android spinoff. Even then it's going to be a very tough sell outside the techiest of tech circles.
I doubt it, too, which is why I am moving away from depending on those companies. There's a vibrant software ecosystem out there that covers almost all the bases that Google and Apple do.
Google and Apple will only change when enough people jump ship that they start sweating about their bottom line.
Here's the follow-up post from Pushbullet today: Our Chrome Extension Is Safe
I don't know if it will work for everything, but it seems like one answer might be to port to as many platforms as possible and hope for the best? If your audience can't get to you one way, make sure there are alternatives.
This would imply looking for portable solutions rather than going all-in on one distributor.