How is this any different than Netflix being available on every single device that you can attach a screen and a network connection to? This is literally the opposite of a monopolistic behavior. They are saying "we want our product available to everyone" vs you have to buy our product to have access to it (I'm looking at you Apple...). This is no different than EA Play, Ubisoft Plus, and others. If Gamepass is available on PS5 and Switch then it actually is functioning to give consumers MORE choice.

It also could be a response to accusations that they are inflating thier subscriber numbers. This kicks off 250K "subscribers" that they counted in their numbers, but never get fees for.

How many devices and machines are in landfills because Apple decides that that device isn't compatible with IOS or MacOS ? How many devices are in landfills because they shut off 3G networks?

So Microsoft is doing what Google has been doing for years when you visit a Google property with a non-Chrome browser?

RCS is just not the right solution. Weeks ago Google tried to AstroTurf Apple into making this change with a rather deceptive marketing push. You can always tell a tech product is not a leader when they resort to marketing jargon and emotional arguments, rather than the product's actual features/benefits.

Too bad if you are on Verizon. You can use RCS, but only to other Verizon network users.
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.verizon.com%2Fsuppor...
"Verizon's Advanced Messaging is currently not compatible with other carriers. Advanced Messaging messages that are sent to another carrier will fall back to SMS / MMS format."

Oh.. and what about the built in advertising the RCS has?
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2022%2F06...

What is Google's track record with messaging again?
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Farstechnica.com%2Fgadget...

Microsoft likes money. They make Office for Apple products. I do not see them pulling them limiting the release to Sony stuff. If anything, it might actually help cross platform play. If anything, that they might do that could be said a bit "anti-competitive," it would be including the Activision games in GamePass. With Cloud Gaming, you don't even have to own a piece of MS hardware to play them, provided you subscribe. Say what you will about MS as a whole, but I do believe that the games division actually does care about their user base, and the industry writ large.

Absolutely. I remember a "toy" project that I did back around Y2K that given a directory of images would generate a VRML "gallery" to walk around in. It was nifty at the time, but the UX was horrible with various plugins. I wonder what Zip disk in my closet that code is sitting on....

I'm sure this was the user story presented: So you are trying to save money, so you don't need your hot tub up to temp all the time, so you set it 10 degrees lower. Now, you look at the weather and see that it is going to be a gorgeous star filled night tonight, so you pop open the app while you are still at work and raise the temp to what you want. By the time you are off work and home, it is up to your preferred temperature and ready to go. Its the same reason to have a network connected ANYTHING ... .convenience and personal preferences. Those have been the primary "user" drivers of pretty much all tech for the past 15 years. Thats a valid use case, unfortunatly ... we can't have nice things because humans are assholes and/or lazy.

In that case, you can use a Razor Kishi: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.razer.com%2Fmobile-c...

I use the "Backbone" controller (https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fplaybackbone.com%2F) with an iPhone 13 and Steam Link, Stadia, Xbox Cloud gaming, and Xbox Console connect all work pretty fantastically. With the added benefit of not having yet another device to manage.

Remember that "Slack" isn't some plucky "sticking it to the man" startup anymore... .. .it is a wholly owned by Salesforce. So what is the difference between Microsoft integrating messaging into its ecosystem vs. Salesforce doing so with theirs? It is so frustrating that so many organizations use their considerable wealth to try to litigate in order to stifle innovation, rather than use those funds to develop a better solution. This is no different that Bezos suing SpaceX and Microsoft because they lost government contracts.

It is interesting how you think. I'm pretty sure that most legal precedent is based upon a certain set of inherent/inalienable rights. In fact, the entire argument you are putting forward is based on the fact that you believe that you have a right to privacy. Ok. Where did that right come from?

To think that rights are "granted" by a organization or entity above you is the definition of being a subject ("you have the freedoms that they say you have"). To think that I have rights without any sort of government/organization influence is being a citizen ("you have freedom, other than the limitations on that freedom that they have instilled).

So which is more "free": 1) providing the framework to barter information for the use of a good or service, for which either party can choose to not take part in or 2) force one private entity to provide goods and services without compensation to another private entity through the use of the legal system.

But in truth, this discussion really is rather pointless.... the majority of people really do not care at all, and are perfectly fine with letting the "world" know that they like golf, kittens, and game of thrones. If that was not the case, then DuckDuckGo would be the top search engine. Are you angry that the "internet corps" are using the income generated by this "invasion of privacy" to facilitate the infrastructure of your blogspot.com blog? You do realize that is Google right, and they know that you like Kayaking because you wrote it on their servers?

Around 2008 "like.com" (https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20080101112449%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.like.com%2Faboutus.py) tried this. From the archived page:

Like.com is the first true visual search engine, where the contents of photos are used to search and retrieve similar items.
We believe that there are literally millions of items that are difficult to describe via text-based search and where individual tastes are all over the map -- think of your favorite pair of earrings or shoes and what an ordeal it can be to find something new but in a similar style.
We created Like.com to solve the challenge of finding "the perfect you" for a broad range of aesthetic and soft goods.
Like.com utilizes our Likeness Technology to create a digital signature that describes the photo's contents and enables a more accurate search for similar looking items and products. Our initial launch focuses on handbags, jewelry, shoes, and watches - allowing users to search and purchase items from thousands of leading and boutique brands. We will very quickly add clothing and a number of other aesthetically oriented product categories. Key features of Like.com include:

• Likeness Search - the ability to search by image instead of text;
• Like Detail - finds items that have a specific feature you like (such as a buckle, straps, bezel, etc);
• Like Color - find color variants of the item you desire;
• Like Celebrity - find clothing, shoes and accessories similar to those worn by your favorite celebrities;
• Like Upload - the ability to upload your own photo of your favorite item and find the same or similar products, coming soon.

• To learn more about Like.com and the great ways to use the product make sure to visit our blog . Happy shopping!

Google owns the domain now and it just goes straight to their shopping landing page.