Google can't be trusted.
Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)
Posts: 23,514
Now I kind of regret suggesting Chrome Apps as a generic cross-platform dev tool. It seems that Google is killing its Chrome App launcher for Windows, Mac, and Linux:
http://venturebeat.com/2016/03/22/google-will-kill-its-chrome-app-launcher-for-mac-linux-and-windows-in-july/
Granted, you can still launch apps from within Chrome, but just clicking on an app won't work to start it anymore. This is on the heels of Google killing its very popular Earth API, while a ton of apps relied upon it (including one of mine).
I guess the moral of the story is, "Live by the proprietary dev tool; die by the proprietary dev tool."
-Phil
http://venturebeat.com/2016/03/22/google-will-kill-its-chrome-app-launcher-for-mac-linux-and-windows-in-july/
Granted, you can still launch apps from within Chrome, but just clicking on an app won't work to start it anymore. This is on the heels of Google killing its very popular Earth API, while a ton of apps relied upon it (including one of mine).
I guess the moral of the story is, "Live by the proprietary dev tool; die by the proprietary dev tool."
-Phil
Comments
However, ChromeOS is starting to get pretty decent. My wife really likes her Chromebook and doesn't complain about usability issues like she did on Windows.
One can start a Chrome app from the command line like so: Where "app-id" is the id of the app you find in chrome's settings.
So, I just make a desktop icon that points to that command.
I presume that functionality of Chrome is not going away.
Who needs the Chrome App Launcher? In fact I had never heard of it until this thread!
Hello!
When did they announce the demise of their Earth API? Is this the mechanism that's responsible for being able to feed data into the Google Earth mapping set? Or what?
And..... I sometimes do use the App launcher, usually for bringing up mail.
-Phil
Yep, I had a PC application I wrote which used a Web service to retrieve stock quotes. Worked fine for many years, then a couple of months ago I started getting an error to "check my Internet connection". Dug into the problem, and found the Web service no longer works. No explanation on the site.
I look at it this, don't rely on free services, use them, but don't be reliant upon them, that's all, plain and simple, keep a backup. If Google were to remove Google Docs and trash the content without warning though however unlikely that would be, then I would be plenty cross, but still then, what could I do?
Then again, this forum is free too........
+1
At the end of the day, if Google (or any other provider of "free" things) cannot figure out a way to monetize a product, they will eventually get rid of said product. So I'd suggest the title be changed to "Free stuff can't be relied upon."
I had a project which relied on it as well. My work-around for the time being is to open a browser by passing the Latitude/Longitude parameters within the URL and doing it that way.
There are a lot of web pages that link to google earth.
I am presuming this also means the street maps where you can see pictures of houses etc, and if not, then this is a likely follow-on anyway.
Going to be a lot of unhappy Google devotees/users!
That's too broad a brush. There's plenty of open source stuff out there that's not going away, simply because control over it rests with the community, not with a corporation. It's the point-source of control that's the problem, not whether the stuff is free.
It's not the links, per se but the Javascript code that allows the photos and maps to be manipulated programmatically that went away.
Last year, I wrote an app for my students that allowed their ActivityBots to interact with a small Perl server program in a simulation. The server program would receive wheel velocity (aquatic thruster) data from the ActivityBot, convert that to motion, send the new coordinates to Google Earth via the Javascript app, then return the new position to the ActivityBot as GPS NMEA data. The objective was for the students to navigate their bots with GPS feedback to follow a course over water, all while counteracting the simulated effects of wind and current. The Javascript program permitted real-time tracking on Google Earth so they could see how well their program was following the prescribed course.
With the Javascript API deprecated, this is no longer possible, and it does not appear that Google has created a replacement for it. It was a lot of work to create my app, and now it's no longer usable. At least my students got to use it before Google pulled the plug.
-Phil
If software is working, and stable, it is realtively rare for companies to pull the plug, unless other considerations kick in.
Those can have little to do with normal use, and can include 'corporate decisions' like
* Exposure to Lawsuits, based on how someone is able to use your services for their own agendas.
* Exposure to attacks
I have noticed that real estate uses the google street maps for a property in a small window. From there you can do an street plan (roads etc), aerial view, or street view (ie rotate to see the houses from the street).
I presume these will go away too, so there are going to be a lot of unhappy people out there!
Guess then they will release a payable version of the API ???
Here's part of Google's statement:
Therefore, after careful consideration, we have decided to retire the Google Earth API. Per our deprecation policy, the API will be supported until one year from today and will be turned off on December 12, 2015."
Of course, their reference to Chrome as though it were from a distinct third party, seems rather disingenuous.
-Phil
In a company that large, isn't it a distinct third party?
That's what I thought too, but grumbling on leads on to finding or making things to grumble about. Freely come, freely go, best to move on a little wiser. Do we ever "thank" Google for all the free stuff we get when we get it?
Thank you Google for that
Yeah, little buggers. Luckily I'm old enough that I don't much care any more. The young'ns will have to deal with it for themselves.
https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/plastic/
The REALITY is that VIRTUALLY nobody will buy them, but maybe some will try (it sounds so good!)
That's strange, why is there a robot watching Perry Mason where you are.
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/16/04/05/1157210/alphabets-nest-to-deliberately-brick-revolv-hubs
-Phil
John Abshier