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Google Drops Desktop Voice Search In Chrome (google.com)
PC World reports that even as Microsoft is pushing voice input on the desktop (in the form of an expanded role for its Cortana digital assistant), Google is responding to user (dis)interest in searching by voice from the desktop, by dropping "OK Google"-based voice commands in the latest iteration of Chrome. This seems too bad to me, so I wish they'd at least leave the voice input as an option; I've only lately been getting comfortable with search by voice on my phone, and though I've found the results to be hit or miss (my phone responds a bit too often to "OK," and seems to stumble even on some common words, spoken clearly), when it works I really like it.
There's a very narrow and specific set of circumstances where using it makes sense; but, in general, it's actually slower and takes more work to use it than the traditional methods of input.
#DeleteChrome
Voice search on the phone is natural. The phone is a device that historically is good at one thing, voice. Even though a modern phone has a decent keyboard input, t's still clumsy when on the go. When I'm out for a run or a ride and I want quick directions, or to dictate a note, send a text message, or check the train schedule, the voice interaction is vastly superior to wrestling my phone out of it's armband and typing something. The voice interaction isn't amazing, but it works about 80% of the time on the first try and that's good enough for me. I don't have to stop my workout and fumble around.
On the other hand, when I'm sitting at my desk I can, with two key strokes switch to my web browser and launch a new search tab. I can type about as fast as I can speak and my accuracy is probably around 95%; google makes up for the remaining 4% in spelling errors (searching for instead of ). I get better accuracy and less fumbling around if the room is loud. Also, in our quiet open-plan office I look like a total D-Bag talking to my monitor. That's a big plus. too.
The full-size keyboard isn't the end-all of interfaces, but for a desktop it's waaaay better than voice search. If voice search ever gets to the point where I can throw out a complex, natural language queries into the air a la ST-TNG, I'll switch. "Computer: Post a witty comment to SlashDot about voice interfaces and how bad they sucked in the naughties and teens"
This one's tricky. You have to use imaginary numbers, like eleventeen... --Hobbes
I'm sorry Dave, did you say "OK Google, NSA?"
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
Some disabled people are going to be very sad
I'm all for removing stuff that isn't used much. It leads to larger binaries. Anything to reduce the size and complexity is a Good Thing.
I've never used voice search in Chrome, so for me it's not a big deal. However, since Google already have all that code written, there's no reason for them to just put it all into a plugin and stick it into the Chrome Store. Then those who want it can still have it.
The server tech isn't going to go away, as it's used for Voice Search on Android (which I do use frequently), so it shouldn't be a big deal for them to have it as a plugin.
There might be disinterest because it was a 'hidden setting' (at least for the longest time). I know I wasn't using it because it stopped working for no reason about two months ago. I assumed they just broke it like they do the rest of their stuff every time they touch something and force the update, or discontinue something I found useful. Forgive me while I rant for a moment...
These days I don't invest any time in anything Google does because I know it's going to be perpetually half broken until the day they silently drop it or decide to screw it up a la Maps while the community screams at the top of their lungs that the new version is shit. My theory on Google is that it isn't run by software engineers and sysadmins anymore, but rather by UI and UX focused kids straight out of school.
I have patches in the Linux kernel and I can't freakin' figure out how to send a text to a person I know since they mangled Google Voice into Hangouts. As an added bonus, when I send a call with Google Voice it no longer allows me to, you know, select which phone it should call me on - that's exactly half of the dialer's job and they couldn't get that in the product requirements apparently. I get more angry every time I log into voice.google.com to set which phone to call and there's a banner across the top that reminds me that I should use the Hangouts interface for using Voice. This is the quality of engineering left at Google.
My final "no shits to give" moment was when they discontinued the NaCL plugin architecture in Chrome with a smug "we told you a long time ago we were going to do this, you should have migrated your stuff." To which I wanted to wipe the smug away with a hammer while shouting "I didn't write our hardware vendor's frakkin' web client, I can't rewrite it and we need to be able to access IPMI interfaces for hundreds of boxes out in the field!" Needless to say, we're transitioning away from our Enterprise Google Apps/Docs/Domain account back to Microsoft (again). Those stories aren't related in any way other than I didn't bother putting up a fight when we were acquired and it was decided we'd use MS Office - I suspect I'm not the only one that didn't want to burn political capital on Google.
If I mod you up, it doesn't necessarily mean I agree with what you've said, sorry.
On my phone, "Okay, Google" can be set to respond in any application, or even when the phone is off.
On the desktop, "Okay, Google" only works if you've already opened up a search page.... at which point you may as well type your search.
I have very often wished that "Okay, Google" on Chrome were as convenient as on my phone - or that I could tell my phone to redirect results to my Desktop.
But once again, Google has decided that "our UI was so inconvenient that nobody ever used our product" translates to "nobody wants to use a feature similar to this"
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
yep, that is the lines of my thinking. must be a bug somewhere that can not be solved or some agency has figured out the value of audio data at a stationary location. so maybe google is trying it's best to protect us. At least that is what I am hoping for.
if you see me, smile and say hello.
... while the community screams at the top of their lungs ...
That is the part that gets me. Every time something changes in a google product and it's something I notice/use, I go look into it and see mountains of people saying "wtf is going on, this is a terrible change, please change it back/remove it/!" Further down the given page, someone posts a link to another discussion with some google employee or another effectively saying "too bad, have a nice day."
So it's not that they aren't hearing the feedback, they just don't seem to care. Their browser is heading down the path of Firefox, where they start changing that make no sense and drive their users away.
On the flip side, people complain, but they stick with the product. I assume this is why google ignores the feedback.
"though I've found the results to be hit or miss (my phone responds a bit too often to "OK," and seems to stumble even on some common words, spoken clearly), when it works I really like it."
What I found works for me is to turn on the voice sampling that Google will store and use to recognize your voice.
My voice searches are flawless now, even with a cold, even right after I get up, and even when drunk.
If you don't mind giving Google your vocal samples, the voice search gets quite good.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
It always surprises me that these sorts of changes come down as a decree rather than being turned into an option.
It's as if the notion that "some people might still want this" is a foreign concept. It eliminates the user having any choice in the matter, which to me seems the opposite of what computers are all about: choice and personalization.
Obviously Google had a reason to do this, but still- why not allow it as an option?
I just don't get this "my way or the highway" dictate coming down from on high...would it have been so hard or cost so much to make this a user-selectable option?
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
...this week Chrome Desktop Audio Search. Could it be that Google is trying to force users off the desktop altogether? I mean clearly Microsoft has failed at that with its big Mobile First push. Perhaps Google can get it done.