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Comment Speaking of being proactive... (Score 1) 22

Gemini will proactively create summary cards when users open a PDF...

Speaking of Google being proactive, they proactively started charging me MORE for Gemini use even though I have it disabled on my account.

The pricing for your Google Workspace Business Starter subscription will change beginning July 9, 2025

Dear Google Workspace administrator,

We're writing to inform you of the price change that will go into effect for your Google Workspace Business Starter subscription on or after July 9, 2025. The updated subscription pricing reflects the significant added AI value, as well as the many new features we have introduced and are launching to Google Workspace editions.

I don't want to use this and I don't want to pay for it. Fuck you, Google.

Comment Re:is this new? (Score 2) 71

I was wondering the same thing. For as long as I've been on Slashdot, at least, I've read sporadic stories about one large chunk of Germany or another leaving Microsoft and adopting an open-source alternative. At this point I wouldn't have thought there was a German worker using a Microsoft product... but apparently there's still at least one group over there beholden to Redmond.

Comment What Google should really do.,, (Score 1) 19

create lightweight app versions under 15 megabytes that could run temporarily on users' devices when they tapped specific links.

...what Google should really do is incentivize apps that are only 15MB in size. The entire app ecosystem was built on phones that had 200KByte/sec download speeds, at best; apps had to be optimized in order to be chosen.

Now, we've got ultra fast LTE/5G speeds...and 100MByte apps for restaurant menus and gas station points, that get updated weekly with full-size downloads, with patch notes that amount to "fixed typo in the Pig Latin translation". Instant Apps were only needed *because* apps have become so massive and bloated, with frameworks layered on redundant frameworks.

If Google offered preferential placement to smaller apps, there wouldn't be a need for Instant Apps. Now sure, this begets 'stub installers', where an 'app' is basically a frontend who's first job is to download the rest of the app, a problem in its own right. While I certainly wouldn't begrudge a game for downloading assets for one level at a time to minimize storage usage for the player, it would take roughly three seconds for apps to become tiny installer stubs that make users wait five minutes before the app is in a usable state...so, that's its own issue...but even so, rewarding optimization is a benefit for *everyone*.

Comment Re:Oh goody (Score 1) 77

Soon it will be just like over-the-air TV, except you're paying Amazon $180/year for the privilege of watching their ads.

One of the reasons Prime Video Ads hastened my departure from Amazon Prime is that I was having an issue with them ... finding my apartment. I live in a pre-WW2 building and for reasons I still cannot figure out they can get their packages here but not groceries. It is not fun scooping up a bunch of bags of groceries from in front of the wrong apartment and lugging them all the way up to mine. Unfortunately for Amazon a broken foot enflamed it into a big issue.

What's that have to do with ads on Prime? I'm generally okay with paying for ad-free service, and normally I would have with Prime. But imagine a scenario where I'm like "oh.. they made it a hassle to accept the grocery order, but I really love the Boyz, sigh I'll just put up with it..." In short if I were to go that route I'd just be giving them leverage to tolerate shittier service.

I think your prediction is correct, I just hope others will start noticing the problem this sort of thing can cause when bundling is introduced. It's difficult to do these days but I don't have one vendor providing multiple services* anymore in my house.

* Examples: I used to have Spectrum for TV and Internet, one got me a discount on the other. I used to have AT&T for mobile and DirecTV, owned by AT&T for TV. T-Mobile for cellular and they also provided a Netflix account, etc.

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