Is Google turning into the dreaded Microsoft?

[Inders99]

With Google dropping security updates for Jellybean and below and with the horribly slow and poor enthusiasm for the Lollipop roll-out is Google starting to go the way of Microsoft? Hackers are drooling at what they'll be able to do like they did with Microsoft IE...not sure why Google is doing this. Not sure how happy the phone manufacturers will be developing patches since there's no money in it. While most of us in the US have at least KitKat, there's a good portion globally who still use Jellybean.

I'm not a super tech guy and most of you here blow me away, but maybe it's time to at least consider an Apple product. I've been holding out for the new '15 Android releases to replace my aging GS3 but now maybe there's some cracks in the almighty Google.

Thoughts?

 

[dpham00]

There are a few key differences:

-Google provides Android free, Microsoft charges for full Windows .

-Google cannot push the update to the software by themselves - it must go through OEMs for non nexus devices. Microsoft has the power to push the update themselves. Google did make it so that the app can be updated via Google play - in the event that another bug is found in the same app, for KitKat and up.

-Google already put out a solution - update to KitKat. This is also a free update from Google.

Also, jelly bean 4.3 came out 18 months ago. If the manufacturer hasn't updated to KitKat yet, it is unlikely that the device will get another update at this point. Really, the finger should be pointed to the OEM manufacturers. They are the ones not updating their devices.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4

 

[Golfdriver97]

Lollipop is a little harder to judge as most of the framework has been redesigned. I wouldn't be surprised if ART is causing a few of the bugs that are slowing down the update roll out. Most of the bugs will eventually get fixed.

I don't think that Lollipop can be anywhere near the ultimate fail that is Win8. An OS that is so bad they skipped 9 to release 10 (joke). Seriously, though, the OS is fine for mobile devices, but horrible for desktops.

Microsoft is already killing security updates for Win7.

Right now, Jelly Bean is the dominant API level that is in release: Dashboards | Android Developers
However, Since Jelly Bean was released about 2 years ago, people will be starting to upgrade to newer phones, thus getting them into the KitKat/Lollipop versions.

 

[dpham00]

I just remembered, my s3 is on KitKat and that came out close to 3 years ago. I think most major high end phones in the past 2-3 years are on KitKat.

Unfortunately, some less known phones and lower end phones are still on jelly bean. But as I said before that is more a manufacturers problem, especially since Google reduced the hardware requirements for KitKat to 340mb (512 mb for comfortable use) . This move made it easier to update older devices. Any device with less than 340mb is very very old or very low end. Both of which make it highly unlikely that the manufacturer would update these anyway

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4

 

[A895]

The lack of security updates doesn't automatically mean a system will get exploited. Case in point, I'm still using Windows XP that hasn't received any security updates since April 2014 (when Microsoft ended support for the system) and it's still clean as a whistle (no malware of any kind has ever reached it). Same thing for my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and OG Note 10.1, both still on Jelly Bean. The biggest reason for that is the operator behind the keyboard, THE most important security layer for any OS. Another important security layer is running as a non-administrator which Android does by default which prevents something from being able to get on the system without some type of end user action allowing it.

Why are you still on XP?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[A895]

I still prefer the clean look of the classic desktop (ex. Windows 95/2000) versus any of the newer UI's (and their eye candy) Microsoft has tried since Vista (culminating with the train wreck that is Windows 8!). Even at work I have Windows 7 configured to look as much like XP as possible. Guess I'm just old school.

I also found Windows XP (Pro) actually runs better than Windows 7 on my now three year old laptop (decent specs - Intel i5 processor, 4GB memory and fast hard drive - 7200rpm) despite it being designed for and shipped with 7. I actually tried using Windows 7 on it for a while. But it was a death by a thousand cuts, so ended up wiping the system, loaded XP instead and never looked back.

You are missing out on a lot of newer additions of 8.1. Now that I also have an Xbox One, I see so much synergy between owning both. When I sign in on my Xbox, I get a notification on my laptop asking if I want to use Smartglass. Not to mention how much faster 8.1 is. Windows 7 was pretty speedy but 8.1 is much more so.

All my best memories was of crappy XP. It was never clean in my opinion. Windows 7 was the cleanest because of the more translucent nav bars that were present. Windows 8.1 is more busy but it is clean too.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[frooglepoopillion]

I think they are in danger of becoming more "monopoly" MS than current MS. What bugs me currently about Google is their refusal to develop for the Windows 8/WP8 platform. And I've read their apps have gone downhill for iOS. I mostly support them but my enthusiasm is waning of late as I don't want to feel like I'm tied to Android just to use their services. I guess you could say the same thing about Apple, but they've been like that from the beginning where as Google has become more and more closed off as they've gotten more successful. Say what you will about MS, but at least I feel like I can go to pretty much any platform and use their services where as with Google, it's starting to feel like not so much.

 

[Ry]

Android is open.

The fix is in KitKat.

Google can't force anyone to update.

AOSP can be/is already patched. It's up to OEMs to incorporate the change, create new builds for their devices, and test those builds.

 

[frooglepoopillion]

This argument is common over at Windows Central and the answer is always the same no matter how much the MS fans there dislike it. It's business, if your platform (windows phone) has a lousy adoption rate, you don't invest your company resources developing for it.

I get that for WP8, but there really is no good excuse for lack of apps on Win8.1. I mean they let MS develop their own YouTube app according to their guidelines then shut it down pretty quickly after they changed the guidelines. That is nonsense! Sure you can open them in desktop mode, but if they were to develop a universal app catalog they could reach millions of people. At a certain point it just seems childish to me; they could be expanding their user base instead of potentially alienating people specifically when their entire business model is reach as many people as possible and push ads. They also attach Chrome to Adobe and Java updates (and plenty of others) while setting it as the default browser. Look, I love Chrome but that is shady and borderline malware especially in a work environment.

It just seems to me that they are starting to go against everything that I loved about them from the beginning. That said, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for now but there are definitely some things they are doing that I don't agree with.

 

[Ry]

I love Google and Google's services. But I think the way they've been treating Windows Phone is childish.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

 

[A895]

I love Google and Google's services. But I think the way they've been treating Windows Phone is childish.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

I don't. Why invest in a small platform especially when the parent company has been unkind in the past. They only recently shut down scroogled.com, that tells you something right there.

Google isn't obliged to help Microsoft by default. Just like how Microsoft keeps Xbox Video off everything except Microsoft devices, and how they keep Halo Spartan Assault to themselves and other Xbox mobile games, and how iMessage is Apple only, and how Google Keep is Android only.

They all don't share everything. Google let them have gmail and calendar integration still, and you can still go to Google.com on WP and Windows 8 and use Google Services. Google Keep is also accessible via the web on phones.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Ry]

I don't. Why invest in a small platform especially when the parent company has been unkind in the past. They only recently shut down scroogled.com, that tells you something right there.

Google isn't obliged to help Microsoft by default. Just like how Microsoft keeps Xbox Video off everything except Microsoft devices, and how they keep Halo Spartan Assault to themselves and other Xbox mobile games, and how iMessage is Apple only, and how Google Keep is Android only.

They all don't share everything. Google let them have gmail and calendar integration still, and you can still go to Google.com on WP and Windows 8 and use Google Services. Google Keep is also accessible via the web on phones.

Posted via the Android Central App

Google acted very petty with regards to YouTube on Windows Phone. Microsoft wants to send it's user's to a Google service. Google should make sure they have the best experience possible.

 

[frooglepoopillion]

Google acted very petty with regards to YouTube on Windows Phone. Microsoft wants to send it's user's to a Google service. Google should make sure they have the best experience possible.

Right? I just feel that they have no business being petty towards a company that helped them become as big as they are today. I mean, would they even be around if Windows wasn't around? Not to mention the mass amounts of people that still use their services from a Windows PC. I just feel that some of the things they are doing the last couple of years or so are starting to go completely against their "Don't be evil" and completely open platform mantras. In all honesty I wish they would sell of Android and just stick to developing their services across all platforms instead of trying to force people to use Android to access their services.

And to the person that brought up Xbox video and iMessage, those things were only available on Xbox and iDevices to begin with. Google services have always been available on the web to everyone regardless of OS or browser so I don't think it's right of them to try and keep everything Android at this point. I'm sure they are working on a way to make Google services only compatible with Chrome for desktop PCs. They've just become more and more of a walled garden and I don't think most users realize it. I've been supporting Google and their services since the beginning and while they've done a lot of great things, in my opinion they also got away from being the "little guy just trying to make it" and turned into "the big guy trying to prevent others from making it" which they swore they wouldn't become.

 

[DJantel Ware]

in my opinion they also got away from being the "little guy just trying to make it" and turned into "the big guy trying to prevent others from making it" which they swore they wouldn't become.

No (big) company will ever be able to be the "little guy just trying to make it". I do not see much difference between Google and Microsoft, both are big companies that do what they can to be as successfull as they can. It is brutal most of the time, but on the other hand - if companies acted as our ethics would suggest, they would go out of business sooner or later.

 

[frooglepoopillion]

No (big) company will ever be able to be the "little guy just trying to make it". I do not see much difference between Google and Microsoft, both are big companies that do what they can to be as successfull as they can. It is brutal most of the time, but on the other hand - if companies acted as our ethics would suggest, they would go out of business sooner or later.

Absolutely but to me there are shades of everything that was bad about MS in the 90s except most people are supporting them. I'm actually pretty shocked that no one is trying to break them up.

 

[DJantel Ware]

I'm actually pretty shocked that no one is trying to break them up.

I am shocked how all the international banks/financial institution that constantly produce one global economy crisis after another with their obviously illegal activities are not "broken up" by someone. In contrast to that I really care not too much about Microsoft and Google.

 

[A895]

I am shocked how all the international banks/financial institution that constantly produce one global economy crisis after another with their obviously illegal activities are not "broken up" by someone. In contrast to that I really care not too much about Microsoft and Google.

Same. Google is nothing compared to real monopolies that hurt the economy. Google wants to make driverless cars and make free internet balloons.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Ry]

Absolutely but to me there are shades of everything that was bad about MS in the 90s except most people are supporting them. I'm actually pretty shocked that no one is trying to break them up.

EU wants to break Google up.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

 

[mayconvert]

-Google already put out a solution - update to KitKat. This is also a free update from Google.

This. ^^ People hang onto these 3-4 year old devices and then complain that it doesn't have the latest OS. The s3 will be 3 years old in may.
Just upgrade already and be done with it. There are inexpensive upgrade options running the latest OS. Most carriers would give credit for the old device for trading it in.

it's like still using XP, it's just dumb. Google some articles on why XP is so dangerous. Anti virus on xp is like a screen door on a submarine.

 

[frooglepoopillion]

Same. Google is nothing compared to real monopolies that hurt the economy. Google wants to make driverless cars and make free internet balloons.

Posted via the Android Central App

Oh yes, they are absolutely not the worst thing out there right now but to me it's just ironic that a lot of people still hate MS for stuff that happened 20 years ago while seeing Google as some sort of savior. I don't even think Google is that bad in the grand scheme of things. However, some of their actions do concern me and I think eventually they will be forced to break up.