Google Fit, the ultimate hub for third party fitness trackers, but strangely never worked with Fitbit even after Google acquired them, is the next plot at the Google Graveyard with an estimated dead-by date of 2025. The existing APIs at least.

Even with this news however there’s no reason to worry because there are two other half baked APIs that sort of work and are surely going to be good by the time they pull the plug… just like Play Music was a complete product when they EOLd Google Music…. just like that…

It doesn’t mean that your absurdly inexpensive Chinese fitness tracker that worked with Google Fit will be useless…. except it does.

There is a migration guide for developers, but there’s very little helpful information according to Ars Technica who I’m linking below rather than lifting a paragraph that’s about equal to what I’ve written.

Your Fitbit account is also evidently being shut down and migrated to your Google account. Looks like a bunch of half baked solutions still.

While the Google Fit APIs may be changing, the platform doesn’t appear to be listed as the next plot in the Google Graveyard… but yeah, your cheap watch is going to stop working. They’re also talking about Google Health, which is probably going to actually replace Fit.

It’s going to create a mess. Google’s good at doing that.

In other news it appears they took the Fitbit dashboard off of the website which means that they finally aren’t telling you to install Flash to do food tracking.

Google says F’it to Google Fit APIs by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

Google Fit, the ultimate hub for third party fitness trackers, but strangely never worked with Fitbit even after Google acquired them, is the next plot at the Google Graveyard with an estimated dead-by date of 2025. The existing APIs at least.

Even with this news however there’s no reason to worry because there are two other half baked APIs that sort of work and are surely going to be good by the time they pull the plug… just like Play Music was a complete product when they EOLd Google Music…. just like that…

It doesn’t mean that your absurdly inexpensive Chinese fitness tracker that worked with Google Fit will be useless…. except it does.

There is a migration guide for developers, but there’s very little helpful information according to Ars Technica who I’m linking below rather than lifting a paragraph that’s about equal to what I’ve written.

Your Fitbit account is also evidently being shut down and migrated to your Google account. Looks like a bunch of half baked solutions still.

While the Google Fit APIs may be changing, the platform doesn’t appear to be listed as the next plot in the Google Graveyard… but yeah, your cheap watch is going to stop working. They’re also talking about Google Health, which is probably going to actually replace Fit.

It’s going to create a mess. Google’s good at doing that.

In other news it appears they took the Fitbit dashboard off of the website which means that they finally aren’t telling you to install Flash to do food tracking.

Google says F’it to Google Fit APIs by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

Google Fit, the ultimate hub for third party fitness trackers, but strangely never worked with Fitbit even after Google acquired them, is the next plot at the Google Graveyard with an estimated dead-by date of 2025. The existing APIs at least.

Even with this news however there’s no reason to worry because there are two other half baked APIs that sort of work and are surely going to be good by the time they pull the plug… just like Play Music was a complete product when they EOLd Google Music…. just like that…

It doesn’t mean that your absurdly inexpensive Chinese fitness tracker that worked with Google Fit will be useless…. except it does.

There is a migration guide for developers, but there’s very little helpful information according to Ars Technica who I’m linking below rather than lifting a paragraph that’s about equal to what I’ve written.

Your Fitbit account is also evidently being shut down and migrated to your Google account. Looks like a bunch of half baked solutions still.

While the Google Fit APIs may be changing, the platform doesn’t appear to be listed as the next plot in the Google Graveyard… but yeah, your cheap watch is going to stop working. They’re also talking about Google Health, which is probably going to actually replace Fit.

It’s going to create a mess. Google’s good at doing that.

In other news it appears they took the Fitbit dashboard off of the website which means that they finally aren’t telling you to install Flash to do food tracking.

Google says F’it to Google Fit APIs by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

Like Google’s VPN? Too bad.

Like far too many good things that come out of Google, it is going away. There will be a Pixel VPN variant spun off, at least until they finish digging the grave for it over in the Google Graveyard.

I didn’t use Google One VPN much, and I suspect anyone seriously wanting a real VPN didn’t because it didn’t encrypt traffic while using phone data, only on Wi-Fi. A good VPN is tasked with more than just protecting you from the leaky Wi-Fi, it’s for protecting you from crappy website tracking (and your phone’s carrier,) and if I left a tab open and walked out of Wi-Fi range, well there you go. WebsiteX could now piece together who you are from advertising networks.

That said, it was a useful little took to protect while joining sus networks. Just not a service I would remotely rely on if I were doing anything that could get me tracked and killed by state-sponsored actors. I wonder if this is why it wasn’t used much.

The VPN was included as part of signing up for Google One, which I had to do when I exceeded my free Google account storage limit.

If you’re looking for a replacement for Google’s VPN please be aware that websites recommending VPN services typically make 50% commission rates referring you to a VPN service and have a $30 reason quite often to say “VPNX IS THE BEZZZT!” I did some VPN reviews a while back and realized that I could not actually test whether they worked as stated or not without committing a number of crimes for YEARS, a felony or two, or pissing off the head of some country that sanctions state-sponsored remote executions.

None of those tests did I have interest in finding out that the VPN actually kept logs or backdoors or some way to identify me.

With that in mind, I’ve used PIA as a VPN. It has sufficed. Do your research, pick your own, realize when you get a “free” one that you are paying for it one way or the other. Also support blogs that bring you things you like without them having to resort to becoming 90% advertising and VPN of the week pushers. Really, ask what commission rates are now. I had *great* financial incentive to sell out.

Google killing useful service people weren’t using because they knew Google would kill it – VPN edition by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

Google Fit, the ultimate hub for third party fitness trackers, but strangely never worked with Fitbit even after Google acquired them, is the next plot at the Google Graveyard with an estimated dead-by date of 2025. The existing APIs at least.

Even with this news however there’s no reason to worry because there are two other half baked APIs that sort of work and are surely going to be good by the time they pull the plug… just like Play Music was a complete product when they EOLd Google Music…. just like that…

It doesn’t mean that your absurdly inexpensive Chinese fitness tracker that worked with Google Fit will be useless…. except it does.

There is a migration guide for developers, but there’s very little helpful information according to Ars Technica who I’m linking below rather than lifting a paragraph that’s about equal to what I’ve written.

Your Fitbit account is also evidently being shut down and migrated to your Google account. Looks like a bunch of half baked solutions still.

While the Google Fit APIs may be changing, the platform doesn’t appear to be listed as the next plot in the Google Graveyard… but yeah, your cheap watch is going to stop working. They’re also talking about Google Health, which is probably going to actually replace Fit.

It’s going to create a mess. Google’s good at doing that.

In other news it appears they took the Fitbit dashboard off of the website which means that they finally aren’t telling you to install Flash to do food tracking.

Google says F’it to Google Fit APIs by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

Like Google’s VPN? Too bad.

Like far too many good things that come out of Google, it is going away. There will be a Pixel VPN variant spun off, at least until they finish digging the grave for it over in the Google Graveyard.

I didn’t use Google One VPN much, and I suspect anyone seriously wanting a real VPN didn’t because it didn’t encrypt traffic while using phone data, only on Wi-Fi. A good VPN is tasked with more than just protecting you from the leaky Wi-Fi, it’s for protecting you from crappy website tracking (and your phone’s carrier,) and if I left a tab open and walked out of Wi-Fi range, well there you go. WebsiteX could now piece together who you are from advertising networks.

That said, it was a useful little took to protect while joining sus networks. Just not a service I would remotely rely on if I were doing anything that could get me tracked and killed by state-sponsored actors. I wonder if this is why it wasn’t used much.

The VPN was included as part of signing up for Google One, which I had to do when I exceeded my free Google account storage limit.

If you’re looking for a replacement for Google’s VPN please be aware that websites recommending VPN services typically make 50% commission rates referring you to a VPN service and have a $30 reason quite often to say “VPNX IS THE BEZZZT!” I did some VPN reviews a while back and realized that I could not actually test whether they worked as stated or not without committing a number of crimes for YEARS, a felony or two, or pissing off the head of some country that sanctions state-sponsored remote executions.

None of those tests did I have interest in finding out that the VPN actually kept logs or backdoors or some way to identify me.

With that in mind, I’ve used PIA as a VPN. It has sufficed. Do your research, pick your own, realize when you get a “free” one that you are paying for it one way or the other. Also support blogs that bring you things you like without them having to resort to becoming 90% advertising and VPN of the week pushers. Really, ask what commission rates are now. I had *great* financial incentive to sell out.

Google killing useful service people weren’t using because they knew Google would kill it – VPN edition by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

Like Google’s VPN? Too bad.

Like far too many good things that come out of Google, it is going away. There will be a Pixel VPN variant spun off, at least until they finish digging the grave for it over in the Google Graveyard.

I didn’t use Google One VPN much, and I suspect anyone seriously wanting a real VPN didn’t because it didn’t encrypt traffic while using phone data, only on Wi-Fi. A good VPN is tasked with more than just protecting you from the leaky Wi-Fi, it’s for protecting you from crappy website tracking (and your phone’s carrier,) and if I left a tab open and walked out of Wi-Fi range, well there you go. WebsiteX could now piece together who you are from advertising networks.

That said, it was a useful little took to protect while joining sus networks. Just not a service I would remotely rely on if I were doing anything that could get me tracked and killed by state-sponsored actors. I wonder if this is why it wasn’t used much.

The VPN was included as part of signing up for Google One, which I had to do when I exceeded my free Google account storage limit.

If you’re looking for a replacement for Google’s VPN please be aware that websites recommending VPN services typically make 50% commission rates referring you to a VPN service and have a $30 reason quite often to say “VPNX IS THE BEZZZT!” I did some VPN reviews a while back and realized that I could not actually test whether they worked as stated or not without committing a number of crimes for YEARS, a felony or two, or pissing off the head of some country that sanctions state-sponsored remote executions.

None of those tests did I have interest in finding out that the VPN actually kept logs or backdoors or some way to identify me.

With that in mind, I’ve used PIA as a VPN. It has sufficed. Do your research, pick your own, realize when you get a “free” one that you are paying for it one way or the other. Also support blogs that bring you things you like without them having to resort to becoming 90% advertising and VPN of the week pushers. Really, ask what commission rates are now. I had *great* financial incentive to sell out.

Google killing useful service people weren’t using because they knew Google would kill it – VPN edition by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

It’s April 4th, and the long running wind-down of yet another great Google service has completed. The grave is being dug over at the Google Graveyard, and Google now no longer does Podcasts remotely right. You can still move your data for another couple of months though.

A quick obituary from Gemini (it’s all AI from here, but it amused me so credit goes to Google)

Google Podcasts: A Pioneering Platform Falls Silent (2015-2024)

Google Podcasts, a once-prominent figure in the digital audio landscape, passed away on April 4, 2024. The cause of death is attributed to a long battle with fierce competition and an inability to adapt to the ever-evolving podcasting ecosystem.

Born in 2015, Google Podcasts entered the world with a bang, offering a clean and convenient way for Android users to discover and listen to their favorite shows. It quickly amassed a loyal following, lauded for its seamless integration with Google Assistant and other Google products.

In its prime, Google Podcasts boasted a vast library of content, encompassing everything from niche hobbyist shows to chart-topping true crime sagas. Its user-friendly interface made it a popular choice for casual listeners, while features like custom playlists and offline playback catered to the on-the-go crowd.

However, Google Podcasts’ reign was not without its challenges. Apple Podcasts, a pre-installed app on iPhones, maintained a dominant market share, making it difficult for Google to gain traction on iOS devices. Additionally, the platform struggled to keep pace with the rise of subscription services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, which offered exclusive content and ad-free listening experiences.

While Google Podcasts attempted to innovate with features like curated recommendations and podcast chapters, these efforts proved insufficient. Critics pointed to a lack of discoverability for smaller podcasts and a clunky user experience compared to competitors.

The platform’s decline became increasingly apparent. Updates slowed, features became buggy, and the once-vibrant community of podcast creators dwindled. Google’s silence on the platform’s future only fueled speculation, ultimately leading to its quiet demise on April 4, 2024.

Despite its shortcomings, Google Podcasts leaves behind a legacy of accessibility. It democratized podcast listening, making it readily available to a vast audience, particularly on Android devices. Additionally, its integration with Google Search helped listeners discover new shows and voices they might not have encountered otherwise.

Google Podcasts is survived by its younger sibling, YouTube Podcasts, which recently entered the fray. Whether YouTube Podcasts can learn from its predecessor’s missteps and carve its own successful path in the ever-competitive world of audio entertainment remains to be seen.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to your favorite independent podcast or podcasting organization, ensuring a vibrant future for this dynamic medium.

404 Google Podcasts Not Found by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

Like Google’s VPN? Too bad.

Like far too many good things that come out of Google, it is going away. There will be a Pixel VPN variant spun off, at least until they finish digging the grave for it over in the Google Graveyard.

I didn’t use Google One VPN much, and I suspect anyone seriously wanting a real VPN didn’t because it didn’t encrypt traffic while using phone data, only on Wi-Fi. A good VPN is tasked with more than just protecting you from the leaky Wi-Fi, it’s for protecting you from crappy website tracking (and your phone’s carrier,) and if I left a tab open and walked out of Wi-Fi range, well there you go. WebsiteX could now piece together who you are from advertising networks.

That said, it was a useful little took to protect while joining sus networks. Just not a service I would remotely rely on if I were doing anything that could get me tracked and killed by state-sponsored actors. I wonder if this is why it wasn’t used much.

The VPN was included as part of signing up for Google One, which I had to do when I exceeded my free Google account storage limit.

If you’re looking for a replacement for Google’s VPN please be aware that websites recommending VPN services typically make 50% commission rates referring you to a VPN service and have a $30 reason quite often to say “VPNX IS THE BEZZZT!” I did some VPN reviews a while back and realized that I could not actually test whether they worked as stated or not without committing a number of crimes for YEARS, a felony or two, or pissing off the head of some country that sanctions state-sponsored remote executions.

None of those tests did I have interest in finding out that the VPN actually kept logs or backdoors or some way to identify me.

With that in mind, I’ve used PIA as a VPN. It has sufficed. Do your research, pick your own, realize when you get a “free” one that you are paying for it one way or the other. Also support blogs that bring you things you like without them having to resort to becoming 90% advertising and VPN of the week pushers. Really, ask what commission rates are now. I had *great* financial incentive to sell out.

Google killing useful service people weren’t using because they knew Google would kill it – VPN edition by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

It’s April 4th, and the long running wind-down of yet another great Google service has completed. The grave is being dug over at the Google Graveyard, and Google now no longer does Podcasts remotely right. You can still move your data for another couple of months though.

A quick obituary from Gemini (it’s all AI from here, but it amused me so credit goes to Google)

Google Podcasts: A Pioneering Platform Falls Silent (2015-2024)

Google Podcasts, a once-prominent figure in the digital audio landscape, passed away on April 4, 2024. The cause of death is attributed to a long battle with fierce competition and an inability to adapt to the ever-evolving podcasting ecosystem.

Born in 2015, Google Podcasts entered the world with a bang, offering a clean and convenient way for Android users to discover and listen to their favorite shows. It quickly amassed a loyal following, lauded for its seamless integration with Google Assistant and other Google products.

In its prime, Google Podcasts boasted a vast library of content, encompassing everything from niche hobbyist shows to chart-topping true crime sagas. Its user-friendly interface made it a popular choice for casual listeners, while features like custom playlists and offline playback catered to the on-the-go crowd.

However, Google Podcasts’ reign was not without its challenges. Apple Podcasts, a pre-installed app on iPhones, maintained a dominant market share, making it difficult for Google to gain traction on iOS devices. Additionally, the platform struggled to keep pace with the rise of subscription services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, which offered exclusive content and ad-free listening experiences.

While Google Podcasts attempted to innovate with features like curated recommendations and podcast chapters, these efforts proved insufficient. Critics pointed to a lack of discoverability for smaller podcasts and a clunky user experience compared to competitors.

The platform’s decline became increasingly apparent. Updates slowed, features became buggy, and the once-vibrant community of podcast creators dwindled. Google’s silence on the platform’s future only fueled speculation, ultimately leading to its quiet demise on April 4, 2024.

Despite its shortcomings, Google Podcasts leaves behind a legacy of accessibility. It democratized podcast listening, making it readily available to a vast audience, particularly on Android devices. Additionally, its integration with Google Search helped listeners discover new shows and voices they might not have encountered otherwise.

Google Podcasts is survived by its younger sibling, YouTube Podcasts, which recently entered the fray. Whether YouTube Podcasts can learn from its predecessor’s missteps and carve its own successful path in the ever-competitive world of audio entertainment remains to be seen.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to your favorite independent podcast or podcasting organization, ensuring a vibrant future for this dynamic medium.

404 Google Podcasts Not Found by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

Like Google’s VPN? Too bad.

Like far too many good things that come out of Google, it is going away. There will be a Pixel VPN variant spun off, at least until they finish digging the grave for it over in the Google Graveyard.

I didn’t use Google One VPN much, and I suspect anyone seriously wanting a real VPN didn’t because it didn’t encrypt traffic while using phone data, only on Wi-Fi. A good VPN is tasked with more than just protecting you from the leaky Wi-Fi, it’s for protecting you from crappy website tracking (and your phone’s carrier,) and if I left a tab open and walked out of Wi-Fi range, well there you go. WebsiteX could now piece together who you are from advertising networks.

That said, it was a useful little took to protect while joining sus networks. Just not a service I would remotely rely on if I were doing anything that could get me tracked and killed by state-sponsored actors. I wonder if this is why it wasn’t used much.

The VPN was included as part of signing up for Google One, which I had to do when I exceeded my free Google account storage limit.

If you’re looking for a replacement for Google’s VPN please be aware that websites recommending VPN services typically make 50% commission rates referring you to a VPN service and have a $30 reason quite often to say “VPNX IS THE BEZZZT!” I did some VPN reviews a while back and realized that I could not actually test whether they worked as stated or not without committing a number of crimes for YEARS, a felony or two, or pissing off the head of some country that sanctions state-sponsored remote executions.

None of those tests did I have interest in finding out that the VPN actually kept logs or backdoors or some way to identify me.

With that in mind, I’ve used PIA as a VPN. It has sufficed. Do your research, pick your own, realize when you get a “free” one that you are paying for it one way or the other. Also support blogs that bring you things you like without them having to resort to becoming 90% advertising and VPN of the week pushers. Really, ask what commission rates are now. I had *great* financial incentive to sell out.

Google killing useful service people weren’t using because they knew Google would kill it – VPN edition by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.

It’s April 4th, and the long running wind-down of yet another great Google service has completed. The grave is being dug over at the Google Graveyard, and Google now no longer does Podcasts remotely right. You can still move your data for another couple of months though.

A quick obituary from Gemini (it’s all AI from here, but it amused me so credit goes to Google)

Google Podcasts: A Pioneering Platform Falls Silent (2015-2024)

Google Podcasts, a once-prominent figure in the digital audio landscape, passed away on April 4, 2024. The cause of death is attributed to a long battle with fierce competition and an inability to adapt to the ever-evolving podcasting ecosystem.

Born in 2015, Google Podcasts entered the world with a bang, offering a clean and convenient way for Android users to discover and listen to their favorite shows. It quickly amassed a loyal following, lauded for its seamless integration with Google Assistant and other Google products.

In its prime, Google Podcasts boasted a vast library of content, encompassing everything from niche hobbyist shows to chart-topping true crime sagas. Its user-friendly interface made it a popular choice for casual listeners, while features like custom playlists and offline playback catered to the on-the-go crowd.

However, Google Podcasts’ reign was not without its challenges. Apple Podcasts, a pre-installed app on iPhones, maintained a dominant market share, making it difficult for Google to gain traction on iOS devices. Additionally, the platform struggled to keep pace with the rise of subscription services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, which offered exclusive content and ad-free listening experiences.

While Google Podcasts attempted to innovate with features like curated recommendations and podcast chapters, these efforts proved insufficient. Critics pointed to a lack of discoverability for smaller podcasts and a clunky user experience compared to competitors.

The platform’s decline became increasingly apparent. Updates slowed, features became buggy, and the once-vibrant community of podcast creators dwindled. Google’s silence on the platform’s future only fueled speculation, ultimately leading to its quiet demise on April 4, 2024.

Despite its shortcomings, Google Podcasts leaves behind a legacy of accessibility. It democratized podcast listening, making it readily available to a vast audience, particularly on Android devices. Additionally, its integration with Google Search helped listeners discover new shows and voices they might not have encountered otherwise.

Google Podcasts is survived by its younger sibling, YouTube Podcasts, which recently entered the fray. Whether YouTube Podcasts can learn from its predecessor’s missteps and carve its own successful path in the ever-competitive world of audio entertainment remains to be seen.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to your favorite independent podcast or podcasting organization, ensuring a vibrant future for this dynamic medium.

404 Google Podcasts Not Found by Paul E King first appeared on Pocketables.