That bar appears on multiple Google services and never goes away unless you log into an account or run Chrome. The only reason Chrome exists is to get more users onto their closed-source search and advertising platform, which is why it defaults to their search engine, for example.
Are there websites which require you to use to Chrome to access them?
Yes.
Has Google intentionally broken standards in Chrome to "enhance" its users web experience?
Yes. It's called bundling Flash and adopting some esoteric video codec.
Does GMail or any of Google's other services turn you away if you're not using Chrome?
They don't turn you away, but they spam Chrome links all the damn time, talking about a "better, faster web."
Does Google use undocumented APIs to make Chrome run faster than other browsers?
Only because WebKit is open source. Google is not an open source company as they are often portrayed. Their search engine is a closed source and proprietary as Windows, and they've withheld Android source from non-priveleged partners.
Is Chrome so deeply embedded in the OS (on purpose) that you can't uninstall it completely without using a third party hack?
It's intrusive in that Google spams the hell out of it if you use a non-Chrome browser. The Google homepage has a Chrome advertisement in the upper-right every single time.
Love how this is a frontage story, but the fact that the shuttle Atlantis took off today with two iPhone 4s running SpaceLab goes unreported. Reminds me of how it's constantly mentioned that Android has passed iOS in marketshare when that only counts smartphones--with iPods and iPads counted, iOS far surpasses Android as the #1 mobile operating system.
But, this is Slashdot, which means that not only will these facts never get reported, but I'll get voted down for pointing them out in the first place. All hail Google.
I sure hope we can institute net neutrality here in the States to protect our right to unthrottled World of Warcraft.
"Net neutrality" remains a joke. Sysadmins at ISPs are running private networks that you merely pay for an IP address on, and they can manage their traffic however they please.
I wish you were a funny or interesting troll, but apparently all you could think of was a tired lube reference and intentional "fanbois" typo. The image that immediately comes to mind when reading a post like yours is that it was written by an angry, sweaty neckbeard who believes they are an operating system warrior participating in forum battles on the internet against crazy nutjobs who dare to like Apple products.
This reminds me of how Microsoft rebranded all their stuff "Windows Internet Explorer," "Windows Live Messenger," and so on. It's astounding how much this company has become like Microsoft. Just as Microsoft is dependent on the Windows platform, Google is dependent on their advertising platform, and they must tie as many people too it as they can.
iPhone applications don't need to be "rewritten" to take advantage of the iPad display. Just provide an iPad-specific NIB file and a little bit of logic for any iPad-specific controls.
It's odd how some people attribute Apple's success to Steve Jobs on stage rather than the design of the products themselves. I'm willing to bet the majority of iPad customers never even saw the original iPad keynote.
The iPad had similar problems when it was released, but people bought it despite not knowing what the killer app was and because people bought it developers developed for it.
The built-in apps were the killer apps--the web browser, email, and so on. The combination of responsive UI and well-designed software made them the killer apps. Not to mention the ability to run all the existing iPhone apps.
IB stands for Interface Builder, and iOS does have scaling capabilities. For example, Autolayout supports pixel-perfect, resolution-independent layout. Apple intentionally encourages different layouts between a phone and tablet because they are different screen sizes that call for different paradigms.
It's the old Microsoft strategy of releasing a lukewarm 1.0 (in Google's case, it's a "beta") and iterating over it while leveraging the dominance of an existing product. Microsoft was always trying to keep Windows relevant, and Google is always trying to keep their advertising network relevant. For example, Facebook has practically become the web for a lot of people, so Google's response is Google+, just like how Netscape was threatening to become the operating system, so Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with Windows.
Thats why they got where they are. By NOT worrying about what everyone else is doing and trying to 'metoo' like microsoft does on everything.
The last few years have seen Google do almost nothing else but worry about what everyone else is doing, from the iPhone to Bing to Facebook. That little company from ten years ago with the minimalist search engine is gone, and in its place is an advertising behemoth with an interest in releasing as many products as possible to harvest as much personal information as possible.
Just like Microsoft was always trying to preserve the relevance of Windows and its API, Google is constantly trying to preserve the relevance of its advertising network. Facebook and Twitter threaten that because they have become the web for a lot of people (especially Facebook), which is why you get stuff like Google+ to try to keep people on their data network.
Re:The problem with Google ... they aren't innovat
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Google's Six-Front War
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· Score: 0
Before I get modded as a troll, just look at the facts.
That you even had to add that precautionary response is indicative of how sheepish a lot of the Slashdot community has become when it comes to defending pretty much everything Google does, even as it openly dismiss privacy concerns and acts hypocritical about the principles it espouses (e.g., removing H.264 support from Chrome in the name of "openness" yet shipping Flash, MP3, and M4A playback support).
Re:In case you don't want to read the article
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Google's Six-Front War
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· Score: 4, Insightful
Slashdot in 2001: "Microsoft is evil. They're trying to leverage their success with Windows to take everybody down. They want to conquer everything and have you using Microsoft-branded operating systems, browsers, phones, webjournals, email, and more."
Slashdot in 2011: "Google is awesome. They're leveraging the success of their search engine to enter these markets with their fantastic vision. I can't wait to use Google-branded operating systems, browsers, phones, blogs, email, and more."
Slashdot Mirror
What Slashdot are you reading? The site is usually pretty pro-Google.
That was also true for Microsoft software.
What revenue does the government generate in an antitrust investigation?
This is Slashdot. All your company has to do is run Linux, and the people here will defend you to the bitter end.
That bar appears on multiple Google services and never goes away unless you log into an account or run Chrome. The only reason Chrome exists is to get more users onto their closed-source search and advertising platform, which is why it defaults to their search engine, for example.
Yes.
Yes. It's called bundling Flash and adopting some esoteric video codec.
They don't turn you away, but they spam Chrome links all the damn time, talking about a "better, faster web."
Only because WebKit is open source. Google is not an open source company as they are often portrayed. Their search engine is a closed source and proprietary as Windows, and they've withheld Android source from non-priveleged partners.
Hello? Chrome OS.
It's intrusive in that Google spams the hell out of it if you use a non-Chrome browser. The Google homepage has a Chrome advertisement in the upper-right every single time.
Eric Schmidt is the guy who said only people who have something to hide care about privacy. I'll side with chair-throwing Ballmer over that one.
Love how this is a frontage story, but the fact that the shuttle Atlantis took off today with two iPhone 4s running SpaceLab goes unreported. Reminds me of how it's constantly mentioned that Android has passed iOS in marketshare when that only counts smartphones--with iPods and iPads counted, iOS far surpasses Android as the #1 mobile operating system.
But, this is Slashdot, which means that not only will these facts never get reported, but I'll get voted down for pointing them out in the first place. All hail Google.
Is that why space shuttle Atlantis launched today carrying two iPhone 4s running SpaceLab for iOS?
I sure hope we can institute net neutrality here in the States to protect our right to unthrottled World of Warcraft.
"Net neutrality" remains a joke. Sysadmins at ISPs are running private networks that you merely pay for an IP address on, and they can manage their traffic however they please.
The hell? Why am I getting modded down as troll? I even joked that I'm a crazy nut job.
Now I can idle in real-time.
I wish you were a funny or interesting troll, but apparently all you could think of was a tired lube reference and intentional "fanbois" typo. The image that immediately comes to mind when reading a post like yours is that it was written by an angry, sweaty neckbeard who believes they are an operating system warrior participating in forum battles on the internet against crazy nutjobs who dare to like Apple products.
P.S. OS X Lion is really good.
This reminds me of how Microsoft rebranded all their stuff "Windows Internet Explorer," "Windows Live Messenger," and so on. It's astounding how much this company has become like Microsoft. Just as Microsoft is dependent on the Windows platform, Google is dependent on their advertising platform, and they must tie as many people too it as they can.
iPhone applications don't need to be "rewritten" to take advantage of the iPad display. Just provide an iPad-specific NIB file and a little bit of logic for any iPad-specific controls.
It may as well be with the amount of Google cheerleading and the number of Google employees who post here.
It's odd how some people attribute Apple's success to Steve Jobs on stage rather than the design of the products themselves. I'm willing to bet the majority of iPad customers never even saw the original iPad keynote.
The built-in apps were the killer apps--the web browser, email, and so on. The combination of responsive UI and well-designed software made them the killer apps. Not to mention the ability to run all the existing iPhone apps.
IB stands for Interface Builder, and iOS does have scaling capabilities. For example, Autolayout supports pixel-perfect, resolution-independent layout. Apple intentionally encourages different layouts between a phone and tablet because they are different screen sizes that call for different paradigms.
There most certainly is, especially compared to the mind-boggling numbers available for the iPad.
It's the old Microsoft strategy of releasing a lukewarm 1.0 (in Google's case, it's a "beta") and iterating over it while leveraging the dominance of an existing product. Microsoft was always trying to keep Windows relevant, and Google is always trying to keep their advertising network relevant. For example, Facebook has practically become the web for a lot of people, so Google's response is Google+, just like how Netscape was threatening to become the operating system, so Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with Windows.
The last few years have seen Google do almost nothing else but worry about what everyone else is doing, from the iPhone to Bing to Facebook. That little company from ten years ago with the minimalist search engine is gone, and in its place is an advertising behemoth with an interest in releasing as many products as possible to harvest as much personal information as possible.
Just like Microsoft was always trying to preserve the relevance of Windows and its API, Google is constantly trying to preserve the relevance of its advertising network. Facebook and Twitter threaten that because they have become the web for a lot of people (especially Facebook), which is why you get stuff like Google+ to try to keep people on their data network.
That you even had to add that precautionary response is indicative of how sheepish a lot of the Slashdot community has become when it comes to defending pretty much everything Google does, even as it openly dismiss privacy concerns and acts hypocritical about the principles it espouses (e.g., removing H.264 support from Chrome in the name of "openness" yet shipping Flash, MP3, and M4A playback support).
Slashdot in 2001: "Microsoft is evil. They're trying to leverage their success with Windows to take everybody down. They want to conquer everything and have you using Microsoft-branded operating systems, browsers, phones, webjournals, email, and more."
Slashdot in 2011: "Google is awesome. They're leveraging the success of their search engine to enter these markets with their fantastic vision. I can't wait to use Google-branded operating systems, browsers, phones, blogs, email, and more."