Allo for web (not for web)
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Google made a webapp version of Allo! Finally I can give it a go and see what all the buzz is ab--
Wait.
it just says scan the QR code with your Android phone? But... I thought this was a web app, why is a phone required? If I had an Android phone, why would I need the web app-- WHAT THE FUCK IS EVEN THE POINT OF THIS GOOGLE!
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@blakeyrat From the TechCrunch article:
Because the web version merely mirrors what’s on your mobile device, if your phone runs out of battery and dies, you’ll no longer be able to use the Allo web app.
WHAT THE FUCK IS THE POINT OF THIS!
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inb4 Google says "It's for security, hurr durr."
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@blakeyrat Apparently, Allo is entirely based on your phone number. It can't be used on a tablet without a phone number. Your phone has to be turned on and connected to the internet for the web version to work. Because obviously, Hangouts was too convenient.
Anyway, why not just use YouTube chat?
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TIL: "The Web" only works on a phone, and only using the Chrome browser.
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I click on the "Help" button, click on "Set up Google Allo", then click on "Learn more about using Allo for web on your computer." That gets me to:
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In other words, Allo seems to work exactly how WhatsApp does? it's tied to your phone number, and to use the desktop/web client your phone must be connected and the web-app authorised.
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Sounds like a Viber, which is popular in Europe.
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Oh, good, another one that people will now ask me about having after I finally managed to redirect all such questions about Viber and WhatsApp to "You have an Android, just message me on Hangouts!"
Seriously, how many more chat apps do we need?
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@onyx said in Allo for web (not for web):
Seriously, how many more chat apps do we need?
Take the number of friends, add the number of colleagues, add the number of people in the extended family, add the number of ... uncategorized .. contacts, subtract the number of chat apps you currently use and then subtract one. (The last term is for that one weirdo who uses an app that another of your acquaintances already uses.)
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@blakeyrat It's probably the same thing as WhatsApp.
They had the retarded obsession to never ever allow anything other than a phone to run it. So they did that thing where your phone receives messages and sends them to your desktop browser (probably with another round trip through their servers).
WhatsApp is one of the worst things to happen to communication. I hate it so much.
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@onyx said in Allo for web (not for web):
You have an Android, just message me on Hangouts
I sure want to make a Google+ profile just to send you a message.
Also, anonymous chat should not be allowed I guess. Let's all use our real names, pictures, and social security numbers.
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@anonymous234 said in Allo for web (not for web):
I sure want to make a Google+ profile just to send you a message.
Do you need to? I mean, it's right there in GMail, and pretty much everyone who has an Android phone has a Google account anyway.
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@anonymous234 You don't have to use the Hangouts client or have an account at Google to talk to someone using Hangouts; though Google's GTalk/XMPP federation bridge is the pinnacle of shitcurity, it's still up and running.
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@onyx said in Allo for web (not for web):
Seriously, how many more chat apps do we need?
Tons.
If this sounds very familiar, it should – it’s exactly what Google did with Allo and Duo – which, by most metrics, appear to have failed rather spectacularly.
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@tsaukpaetra MOAR CHAT APPS!!!!!
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@el_heffe said in Allo for web (not for web):
TIL: "The Web" only works on a phone, and only using the Chrome browser.
Well that just seems overtly evil.
I'm surprised Edge and Firefox have both lasted this long without saying "fuck it, we'll pretend to be Chrome from now on".
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@anonymous234 said in Allo for web (not for web):
I'm surprised Edge and Firefox have both lasted this long
Edge was initially released 2 years ago. Not sure how you define "lasted this long"
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Dagnabbit! None of my chat apps are supported!
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@tsaukpaetra because what Kik and Skype need is more bots.
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@timebandit
I mean, that's 1 year, 364 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds than the longest he's ever lasted.
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@tsaukpaetra said in Allo for web (not for web):
If this sounds very familiar, it should – it’s exactly what Google did with Allo and Duo – which, by most metrics, appear to have failed rather spectacularly.
And I think I'll call it.... Google Talk.
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So, seriously, what is the point of this product? It ONLY works if you have an Android phone with the app, and then ONLY if your phone is on and has plenty of battery.
Why wouldn't you just use the phone? I'm still mystified.
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@blakeyrat I use the WhatsApp web client occasionally, and there are a couple of cases when it's useful
Sending a link or attachment you have on the pc but not the phone
A real keyboard is better than a touchscreen if you're sending a lot of longer messages
If your phone is charging and for whatever reason the charger isn't near your pc
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@blakeyrat said in Allo for web (not for web):
Why wouldn't you just use the phone? I'm still mystified.
Doesn't Apple's messaging thingy do some similar sort of integration between phone and computer? Are they trying to copy Apple?
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@boomzilla Yes, but Apple's works with SMS as well (not just iMessage messages). Others may as well, I don't know.
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@aapis said in Allo for web (not for web):
Yes, but Apple's works with SMS as well (not just iMessage messages).
OK, but the relevant question: Does it work when your phone is off?
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@boomzilla I'm pretty sure it does, you can bind not just your phone number but also your Apple ID (=email) to iMessage. You can use iPhone, iPad and Mac.
As long as you use one of those, it's ok.
There's no web client.
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Btw, this is a bit off topic, but am I the only one that doesn't care at all about bots in Skype and other platforms?
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This post is deleted!
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@zmaster said in Allo for web (not for web):
Btw, this is a bit off topic, but am I the only one that doesn't care at all about bots in Skype and other platforms?
You're not, I don't care about chat bots either.
Skype itself though... I'm required, against my will, to care about Skype because MSN Messenger Service was my first instant messenger (and yes, I joined back when it was still called that), and my only one until late 2007 (when I bought my first Steam game).
So despite having had to watch its slow descent into something less usable than before, it's still my primary instant messenger.
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@zmaster The only two bots I care at all about are NickServ and ChanServ. And that latter one not so much anymore.
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@boomzilla said in Allo for web (not for web):
OK, but the relevant question: Does it work when your phone is off?
It does. (That’s to say: I don’t even have a mobile phone, but I do have an iPad and a Mac, and use them to occasionally send and receive iMessages, or whatever they’re called nowadays.) They sync via iCloud, so you can read back or continue any conversation you’ve had on any device signed in with the same Apple ID or phone number.
However, Apple IDs and phone numbers seem to be treated as different recipients, so if you use an iPhone it’s probably smarter to use your Apple ID to log into iMessage. (This I discovered when trying to send a message to someone, only to find it didn’t show up on his computer but did on his phone, or vice versa, until he changed his phone to use his Apple ID as well.)
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@medinoc said in Allo for web (not for web):
MSN Messenger Service was my first instant messenger (and yes, I joined back when it was still called that)
What, no ICQ?
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@gurth said in Allo for web (not for web):
What, no ICQ?
For a lark, I just tried to do a password reset via ICQ. I don't remember my ICQ number, so I tried any email addresses I might have been using back then. No such luck, none of them seem to be linked to my ICQ.
Can't reset my password. Uh-oh.
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ICQ is still a thing?
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Speaking of stuff you need your phone for: needed Viber yesterday, I didn't have it installed on my phone. Downloaded the Win10 app from the store. It insisted on me having the mobile version installed so they can send me a verification code as a Viber message, and also wanted me to scan a QR code from the screen from within the Viber app.
They added a QR reader into their app just for this shit, instead of letting me log the fuck in. Do note that activating Viber on your phone involves them sending you an SMS or placing an automated call. WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST HAVE SENT ME A FUCKING SMS TO ACTIVATE THE PC VERSION AND BE DONE WITH IT?
Needless to say, uninstalled the PC version. Not like I needed it since I had to install the damned thing on my phone anyway.
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same shit as whatsapp for desktop
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Kinda wondering whether any of you young'uns us saw what I did there.
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@greybeard NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE COMMENTED ON MY BRITISH SITCOM FROM THE 1970s JOKES I BETTER POST ABOUT HOW MORE PEOPLE NEED TO WATCH BRITISH SITCOMS FROM THE 1970s BECAUSE MY JOKE IS SO CLEVER AND FUNNY!
Protip: in every country but the UK, people don't even watch sitcoms from 40 years ago because our TV networks aren't State-owned and actually create new content annually instead of playing decades-old content. It's pretty amazing. In short, your joke is not very dyn-o-miiite!
And now RaceProUK swoops in here trying to convince me that just because the TV networks are funded with tax funds, taxes authorized by the government, and enforceable by government issued fines, and is named the "British Broadcasting Corporation" doesn't mean it's state-owned because... magic?
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@blakeyrat said in Allo for web (not for web):
And now RaceProUK swoops in here trying to convince me that just because the TV networks are funded with tax funds, taxes authorized by the government, and enforceable by government issued fines, and is named the "British Broadcasting Corporation" doesn't mean it's state-owned because... magic?
Pretty much.
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@greybeard said in Allo for web (not for web):
Kinda wondering whether any of you young'uns us saw what I did there.
Hmm? What? Sorry, I was distracted by this painting of the fallen Madonna with the big boobies
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@lorne-kates I tried the same thing, but I did remember my ICQ number and somehow it was actually registered with an email that I still have access to. So now if I ever use ICQ again I can impress (very easily-impressed) people with my 7-digit ICQ number.
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@hungrier said in Allo for web (not for web):
@lorne-kates I tried the same thing, but I did remember my ICQ number and somehow it was actually registered with an email that I still have access to. So now if I ever use ICQ again I can impress (very easily-impressed) people with my 7-digit ICQ number.
Can you request your own ICQ number? I want mine to be 3057705!
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@onyx Then what's happened with the standards of this place? If, say, a Richard Gibson meme is too much effort then one could just put an almost-hononym under Arthur Bostrom and call it a day.
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@greybeard Good times.
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@blakeyrat said in Allo for web (not for web):
actually create new content annually instead of playing decades-old content
I never understood this. There are a lot of old movies and stuff that you could sell as new and most people wouldn't even notice.