• @utopiah@lemmy.world
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    562 months ago

    Google was “cool” 2 decades ago… or before they combined both monetization (through ad) with power (through monopoly) they inexorably transformed EXACTLY to Microsoft the same way Facebook/Meta did the Google playbook.

    Those huge tech corporations are pulled by the market to follow the same, sadly successful, strategy playbook and keep no uniqueness.

    Google has been the new Microsoft for years already but through careful marketing consumers somehow believe they aren’t.

    • @Malek061@lemmy.world
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      192 months ago

      Google is slipping. Duck duck go is a better search engine. There are better mail systems as well. Meta is done as well.

      • MrsDoyle
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        42 months ago

        Some of my non-techie friends were complaining about how rubbish Google search is now and I suggested Duck Duck Go. They couldn’t get past the name. I know it’s based on some childhood game in the US but it makes no sense to anyone here in the UK.

        • @Vinstaal0@lemmy.world
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          12 months ago

          Yeah it’s a weird fucking name and i didn’t like the search results of it nor of Google so I switched to Ecosia instead

          • @lennivelkant@discuss.tchncs.de
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            11 month ago

            No, that’s not “back”, which implies they left. That’s just staying with what you’re used to, what is normal to you.

            Google has become established enough that the name has obtained a sense in itself. When switching to something else, the new tool has to convince in a way that the previous one doesn’t. Often, function isn’t enough if the form doesn’t fit.

    • @coolmojo@lemmy.world
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      82 months ago

      When the leaked internal video came out about Google’s real vision, everyone said it is fake. It does not look that fake now.

  • Psaldorn
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    32 months ago

    I just tried it for the first time. I like how it tried to educate me

    I didn’t like the verbosity overall

    It felt dumb that using it via android studio it didn’t have any capacity. It didn’t know I was building for android. It couldn’t implement any of its own suggestions and a lot of the suggestions were incomplete.

    After asking chatgpt, Gemini and deepseek I still can’t get Godot to build an android export that contains the sqlite shared object accessible to the code.

    I’m losing my mind.

  • @WiseWoodchuck@lemmy.world
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    992 months ago

    We don’t “get” tech anymore. Tech happens to/at us. We are already getting AI generated ads. Where are the AI based ad blockers?

  • @truxnell@infosec.pub
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    322 months ago

    When AI appeared in my android text messaging app was the day I relented and installed GrapheneOS. Between Graphene and Bazzite on laptop/desktop, and NixOS for homelab/self hosted tools,.couldn’t be happier to be free from all big tech BS while still getting tech benefits on my own terms

  • @finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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    212 months ago

    Thats nothing, the Play Integrity API is trying to block usage by other operating systems like CalyxOS and Graphene. Imo much more insidious and opaque.

  • "no" banana
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    292 months ago

    I’m being serious with this comment. In no way have I felt like Google has forced Gemini on me. I barely notice it exists. Can anyone give me examples?

    • @igNorrinRadd@lemmy.world
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      132 months ago

      My job uses the Google suite and it feels like it’s gotten a bit excessive recently. Just this week I have gotten multiple popups on my work email and in Docs and Sheets. It has been present in Chat for a few months.

      • "no" banana
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        32 months ago

        Interesting. I don’t use Gmail (unless I have to) or the Google office suite. Makes sense.

    • @priapus@sh.itjust.works
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      52 months ago

      Same here tbh. I havea university google suite account and I’ve never noticed it there. I also use Google messages, and there was a button for it by default, but it was easily disabled.

    • A Wild Mimic appears!
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      2 months ago

      for months, every time i used google assistant to set a timer, and every few days without asking, i got push messages to use gemini instead of assistant on my phone. there is no way to disable those messages - they only go away if you have at least once activated gemini. btw, assistant functions like the timer DO NOT WORK if you use gemini; it’s really great service to push your costumers to install a feature to take away a feature that is used daily.

      • "no" banana
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        2 months ago

        I actually did activate it to test that now, because I thought there is no way they’d leave that out… And it works! It set me a timer.

        But yeah, that’s annoying. Very.

        • A Wild Mimic appears!
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          21 month ago

          Well, my system language is not English, which might be a contributing factor. I assumed it would be the same in English, TIL.

    • @wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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      492 months ago

      They’ve stuffed it into every page in Google cloud and workspace.

      I tried it in sheets one time and it literally made up fake data for my analysis. Never trusting that again.

      • ditty
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        312 months ago

        It “messaged” me in Google Messages today introducing itself and how it could summarize text messages on my phone for me

        • metaStatic
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          162 months ago

          if a human sends me a text long enough to benefit from a summary that’s a human that is being removed from my contacts.

      • "no" banana
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        32 months ago

        Ah, I don’t use most of Google’s services, though I do use an Android device. I think my most used service is Drive. I haven’t seen it on there.

      • @wreckingball4good@lemm.eeOP
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        22 months ago

        I accidentally clicked on their stupid popup one time and then got emails over and over welcoming me to Gemini. I don’t even have Google assistant installed.

    • @pineapplepizza@lemm.ee
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      62 months ago

      My power button on my phone now opens Gemini… Every damn time it’s bumped. Press to wake the phone? Oh hello Gemini

      • "no" banana
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        32 months ago

        Well that is annoying, but doesn’t sound like the expected behaviour of the power button. A long press, maybe, but just pressing it shouldn’t do that.

    • @Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca
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      202 months ago

      Gemini ‘messaged’ me in google messages introducing itself a couple months ago. Just appeared like a normal text conversation with any other contact, but as soon as you click on it you’re presented with a wall of T&Cs.

      Deleted the ‘conversation’ and it’s stayed gone; though there’s an option for it in settings.

      The only other place I’ve see it is an on-screen reminder every time I use Google Assistant. (usually just triggering home automatons)

      • Einar
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        102 months ago

        That’s why.

        I don’t use Google messages, don’t use the Google Assistant… am barely aware that Gemini exists.

    • @atrielienz@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      They “remind me” every time I use assistant on my phone with an on screen message. But that’s about it and though I find it annoying I don’t feel forced.

        • @atrielienz@lemmy.world
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          12 months ago

          Yeah I have udm14.com set as a custom search engine. So I don’t use it for search. It’s usually for things like triggering a camera or timer or similar for stuff at work where I might need to use a tripod, or for routines at home (smart lighting and blinds and the TV for my kid). I’ve been looking into swapping to home assistant but something’s I haven’t found solutions for yet.

      • idunnololz
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        22 months ago

        They remind me even when I don’t use assistant. I sometimes wake my phone and it’s the first screen I saw. I tried switching over and it sucks. Sometimes I say a voice command for something regarding google home (eg. Turn off the lights). Sometimes it correctly realized this is mean for Google home and will execute the command with Google home. Sometimes I get an error saying Gemini can’t do that yet. This is with the same exact prompt. It’s not idempotent.

        • @atrielienz@lemmy.world
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          11 month ago

          I opted out when they first introduced it. So it’s not in use on my phone and never has been. My smart home devices are all older so nothing with Gemini built in. This may be the difference for me. I dunno.

          The main smart speaker I use is a Lenovo Smart Display and it hasn’t received updates in years. It’s got physical switches for the mic and camera and my smart home stuff is on a separate network from everything else in my house on purpose.

          I think the newest speaker I own is the set of Google home max’s and they don’t even sell those anymore. They’ve been disabled for mic so they’re only for casting to.

          This works for me but my home is small and all I’ve really got is some Philips hue lights and a couple of smart blinds. I set up routines early on so I’m not really asking the assistant to do a lot of things using voice controls.

          On my phone at work I use it when my hands are occupied, and I use it I’m the car (but my car isn’t equipped for Android Auto etc). So I think for me it’s probably just limited in what it can interact with to the point I don’t notice it much.

  • @SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
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    52 months ago

    They’re laying down the road and try to get you to use it. The toll booths come soon enough when every alternative gets blocked as much as possible.

  • @oakey66@lemmy.world
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    132 months ago

    All of it is. Or pushing copilot into all Microsoft products like anyone is using this shit.

    • @hactar42@lemmy.ml
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      42 months ago

      Every time I’ve opened an Office app this week it has given me some copilot welcome screen and opened it’s own sidebar. I tried to use it to proofread a word doc and got prompted to purchase a license. So they basically just filled 1/3 of my screen with an ad.

  • @cley_faye@lemmy.world
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    52 months ago

    The good news is that this may cure my laziness. I’ve been preparing to leave most of google service for a while now.

    • @wreckingball4good@lemm.eeOP
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      62 months ago

      I don’t even have chrome installed. I use Firefox and Duckduckgo. It in android phones and gsuite products that people have to use for work.You have to go to extreme lengths to uninstall on desktop as outlined in the article, and cannot uninstall or opt out of on android.

    • @pineapplepizza@lemm.ee
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      42 months ago

      My power button on my phone now opens Gemini… Every damn time it’s bumped. Press to wake? Oh hello Gemini

    • @TheTurner@lemm.ee
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      62 months ago

      I use gmail at work and I see the logo in chats, email, drive, docs, and I’m not sure where else. Its annoying when I’m typing an email and it tries to get me to use it. I don’t know how to get rid of it either.

      • @IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world
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        22 months ago

        My employer is switching from Microsoft to Google for office tools next month and they’ve been championing its availability to all of us. I’m not looking forward to it…

      • @wreckingball4good@lemm.eeOP
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        12 months ago

        The article in this post tells the only way to get rid of it. If you use it for corporate, your IT people have to call and ask Google support to add the setting for you to be able to turn it off.