You would think they would let existing developers continue to use the free tier under the old API for good PR but it seems they're intentionally pushing devs away from the platform.
"Hey, you need to rewrite your app to use our new API and pay us for the privilege of doing so."
it's not. it's most likely that android apps are the ones using the google apis(since it used to be logical to goto google first for your api needs). even if these apps are taken off the playstore,they probably exist on someone's phone. cutting off api access means these apps stop working - resulting in an even more garbage experience on android. Finding an app you LIKE for everyday tasks remains as irritating as ever across playstores and these kinda changes usually means your favorite abandoned app stops working.
i guess google PM's probably think the trickle down effect is negligible since fuschia is probably going to be their next iteration of mobile OS
Anyone who's developed things using Google's APIs in the past decade has learned to expect them to shut down at some point. That's not a reason to avoid them entirely, but it is a reason to architect your app to make it easier to change.
According to recent discussion, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19004899 Google (and more importantly, Google's investors) are waking up the fact that they're a mature company in a mature market, and they are trying to cut costs across the organization.
Maps is already heavily monetized. On the developer side, it's monetized via API licensing and pay-per-request geocoding. [0] Any website with a google maps widget and meaningful traffic is paying google to use the maps and/or lookup addresses in a typeahead box. On the marketing side, it's monetized via advertisements, namely sponsored map icons, sponsored links, and (I think) "billboarding". When you scroll in/out in maps and see icons belonging to seemingly seemingly arbitrary businesses, they are likely paying for that exposure. [1]
Since it’s a government service, it’s entirely free and will likely stay that way. I have noticed occasional data quality issues (e.g. missing items), and I recommend a catching/proxy layer if you are planning heavy usage.
It’s astounding that we live in a time when this needs to be questioned, but with Trump’s recent NOAA appointment, there is actually some risk regarding what public feeds will continue to operate,
Barry Myers enriched himself by repackaging government-provided weather feeds and has long advocated that only private firms should be able to distribute forecasts based on those feeds to the public.
His argument is that it presents unfair competition if people can consume the forecasts from a government entity that has public funds and military support to deploy sensor networks, satellites, etc.
Ironically, he also holds the position that for any type of forecast, like hurricanes or severe weather, for which there could feasibly be legal culpability if an incorrect forecast leads to damage or loss of life, the government should be responsible for those warning systems and private weather corporations should not be required to provide data for these types of events.
It’s not ironic if one understands that his larger motivation is to “privatize the profits and socialize the costs” as opposed to a coherent worldview about the role of government in providing services.
Killing Google Reader in 2013 was what got this death march of Google EOL'd projects noticed, IMO. You now can't trust them for product longevity outside the core search and email.
Another shout out to https://darksky.net - using it currently for personal weather forecasting. Very simple API and 1000 free QPD seems like a decent amount.
Works well for the US, but I've heard it's not quite as accurate for Europe and other parts of the world.
"Hey, you need to rewrite your app to use our new API and pay us for the privilege of doing so."
reply