

Google drops XMPP support - john_w_t_b
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2013/05/hangouts-wont-hangout-with-other.html?m=1

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patrickaljord
Google still support XMPP, it's just that it's not federated (edit: according
to 0x006A, it still is so they may just be blocking Microsoft). It's been
federated for years though but what was the effect of that? Has Microsoft made
MSN messenger interoperable, have they done so with Skype? Have Yahoo? How
about Facebook?

Thing is, as Larry said, they support open messaging but why should they do so
with companies that don't reciprocate? Last week, Microsoft decided to take
advantage of gtalk federated XMPP to make it usable inside Outlook, this is
awesome. However, did they make skype usable inside of gmail? No. So Microsoft
is happy to use google's messaging federated openness but refuses to share
their messaging with Google which gives Microsoft an unfair advantage. As
Larry said, they support openness but not to the point of shooting themselves
in the foot by giving Microsoft a commercial advantage by integrating gtalk in
Outlook while there's no way for Google to do so with Microsoft's Skype.

I think this is pretty fair from Google to defend themselves. And it really
takes nerves from Microsoft for complaining about someone blocking them on
their messaging network when they have been the king of blocking messaging
network with MSN and Skype. Come on.

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Svip
I don't find the argument that 'if the other guys are jerks, then I too can be
a jerk' to be an argument that makes me see anyone in a more favourable light.
I thought Google wanted to avoid being Microsoft and Apple, with their
unofficial motto, 'don't be evil'.

I prefer it when someone showcases their willingness to be 'the nicer guy' by
opening up while the others are closing down. Like allowing to export your
GMail contacts, while Facebook won't go the other way around.

I always find Microsoft complaining to be hypocritical, they are usually
committing a similar overreach towards a competitor themselves. But still,
where are the 'good guys'?

I know, that would be naïve, this is business.

~~~
rbanffy
> I don't find the argument that 'if the other guys are jerks, then I too can
> be a jerk' to be an argument that makes me see anyone in a more favourable
> light.

Why would Google want to invest resources on giving Microsoft an unfair
advantage over themselves? Microsoft being jerks is the rule since that open
letter Bill Gates sent to the Homebrew Computer Club.

In other words, why would you invite a guest that is known to steal stuff and
not flush toilets into your home?

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reneky
> Why would Google want to invest resources on giving Microsoft an unfair
> advantage over themselves?

Because it's good for the users.

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chris_wot
It's not good for users to allow Microsoft to get away with vendor lock-in.
This may force Microsoft's hand. That's good for users.

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josteink
The irony of this coming from Microsoft, a company which has never had a
single mainstream XMPP-based product and owner of Skype, which has sent Cease
and Desist letters to people creating Skype-XMPP bridges, is not lost on me.

That said, if Google keeps locking down all their former open
products/platforms, I _will_ be fleeing ship.

If Hangouts (which replaces Gtalk) drops XMPP support, I see no reason to keep
using it.

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fdr_cs
The sad part is that you will, and some more people will to, but, the mass,
will not, because they don't care. If they did, they would not accept ms
closed format instead of odt, they would not accept facebook, and would w3c
would not create drm extensions as 'open standars' . That's what's sad.

~~~
blablabla123
> the mass, will not, because they don't care.

They don't know. Many of those people use multiple instant messengers in
parallel, some even use messenger that speak multiple protocols. If these
people knew they could interoperate all those, they'd find it awesome.

BTW, drm has nothing to do with interoperation. At least nothing negative,
because it _enables_ proprietary content to be delivered in a platform-neutral
fashion. Thus killing one more reason to use/create proprietary browser
plugins.

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gnoway
This kind of looks like a fight Google was never going to win. They either
continue doing what they were doing and allow MS to take competitive advantage
of their openness, or they shut the door and MS wins again because Google is
suddenly evil.

Maybe I am misunderstanding what happened here, but right now this looks like
a perfect example of "see, this is why we can't have nice things," played out
in the real world.

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Nux
Jump ship, guys! SMTP is next!

~~~
Derbasti
I jumped a long time ago. But to this day, there is no web app comparable to
GMail or GCal.

~~~
zmb_
When it comes to services like email, the quality of the user interface is
really secondary. The primary concern is the ability to trust that I will
remain accessible through the identifier (email address) that I've spread
around to many people and places over the years.

Given Google's service shutdowns, dropped support for protocols, and the
horror stories of seemingly accidental account closures with no recourse, I
simply cannot trust Google with something as critical as my email.

~~~
jamii
Register your own domain and sign up for the free version of google apps. I
have a gmail inbox for jamie@scattered-thoughts.net but if I need to change
services I just move the MX record and upload my backups elsewhere.

~~~
pchander
The free version of google apps has been discontinued. New users can no longer
sign up for it.

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comex
You can, however, get a similar effect by forwarding all your mail to your
Gmail account and configuring it to send mail as your domain email address
(including using your SMTP server if necessary).

~~~
udp
Definitely a wise move to use your own SMTP server, or you'll end up with
"From: ___@gmail.com on behalf of ___@yourdomain.com"[1].

[1] [http://gmailblog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/send-mail-from-
anoth...](http://gmailblog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/send-mail-from-another-
address-without.html)

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xor-ed-wolf
One more proof that any good organization becomes money-hungry zombie when
reaches certain size.

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jkhanlar
"Avaya and many others will also loose interoperability" as opposed to tighten
interoperability.

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blablabla123
So Google is becoming the new Microsoft and vice versa...

