Google blocks Windows Phone from Maps, limits Gmail
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 5th Jan 2013 14:53 UTC
Talk, Rumors, X Versus Y And so this situation is starting to get ridiculous - and consumers are, as usual, caught in the middle of it all. Google has just blocked Windows Phone devices from accessing Google Maps on their phones. In addition, it also seems Windows Phone users are now restricted to the basic HTML version of the mobile GMail website. While understandable from a defensive perspective - Microsoft's extortion scheme targeting Android device makers and all that - it's still a massive dick move that only hurts consumers. Update: the media attention has worked - Google is backpedalling, and will remove the redirect. "We periodically test Google Maps compatibility with mobile browsers to make sure we deliver the best experience for those users. In our last test, IE mobile still did not offer a good maps experience with no ability to pan or zoom and perform basic map functionality. As a result, we chose to continue to redirect IE mobile users to Google.com where they could at least make local searches. The Firefox mobile browser did offer a somewhat better user experience and that’s why there is no redirect for those users. Recent improvements to IE mobile and Google Maps now deliver a better experience and we are currently working to remove the redirect. We will continue to test Google Maps compatibility with other mobile browsers to ensure the best possible experience for users."
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it's about time
by bjb1959 on Mon 7th Jan 2013 15:36 UTC
bjb1959
Member since:
2012-03-29

LMAO.. I think this is long overdue. It is high time Microsoft finally get a taste of what they have been dishing out for decades and if the consumers are collateral damage so be it, Microsoft has never cared about that in the past when they were on the top of the mountain. And for those who say Google should be better than that or "don't be evil" If there was someone in your neighborhood that bullied you and kicked your ass on a daily basis and then came a day you were bigger and stronger, maybe you should be the bigger man and not retaliate. But it's much more fun, and satisfying to kick their ass on a regular basis to pay them back.

Edited 2013-01-07 15:38 UTC

Reply Score: 1

RE: it's about time
by WereCatf on Mon 7th Jan 2013 16:52 in reply to "it's about time"
WereCatf Member since:
2006-02-15

It is high time Microsoft finally get a taste of what they have been dishing out for decades and if the consumers are collateral damage so be it


"The mayor of this city is a total asshole and has been like that for decades, let's bomb the whole city along with all of its residents! I mean, they're just collateral damage and they deserve it for being there!"

You really have to be terribly childish in order to entertain such thoughts.

If there was someone in your neighborhood that bullied you and kicked your ass on a daily basis and then came a day you were bigger and stronger, maybe you should be the bigger man and not retaliate. But it's much more fun, and satisfying to kick their ass on a regular basis to pay them back.


Except that in this case you'd also be kicking anyone and everyone in any way related, even people who had done nothing else than mowed his lawn.

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE: it's about time
by lucas_maximus on Mon 7th Jan 2013 20:34 in reply to "it's about time"
lucas_maximus Member since:
2009-08-18

You have some real issues.

Reply Parent Score: 3

RE: it's about time
by UltraZelda64 on Tue 8th Jan 2013 17:29 in reply to "it's about time"
UltraZelda64 Member since:
2006-12-05

In case you haven't yet noticed, this is the unofficial "feel sorry and kiss Microsoft's ass" thread, where everyone willfully ignores Microsoft's rich and crooked history to instead perceive them as little angels who can do no wrong, instead ganging up to collectively slam Google. You're a few months/years too late; almost everyone seems to have completely jumped ship onto another hate train. It looks like it is time to move on, because by this point Microsoft bashing will only get you modded down... Google bashing is where it's at these days. It's like a sudden change of religion.

The very browser family/rendering engine in question would be much lower in importance in the world if it hadn't gained its position illegally in the first place, through the leveraging of another monopoly--but apparently the past no longer matters in the slightest bit. Never mind that this only effects the default browser of a relatively obscure phone OS, and other browsers even on that same OS would not have been affected.

Edited 2013-01-08 17:39 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[2]: it's about time
by smashIt on Tue 8th Jan 2013 18:23 in reply to "RE: it's about time"
smashIt Member since:
2005-07-06

The very browser family/rendering engine in question would be much lower in importance in the world if it hadn't gained its position illegally in the first place, through the leveraging of another monopoly--but apparently the past no longer matters in the slightest bit.


you can repeat it as often as you want, but ms didn't need any illegal tactics against netscape
netscape just killed itselfe after 3.x

a quote from wikipedia:
The aging Netscape Communicator 4.x was slower than Internet Explorer 5.0. Typical web pages had become heavily illustrated, often JavaScript-intensive, and encoded with HTML features designed for specific purposes but now employed as global layout tools (HTML tables, the most obvious example of this, were especially difficult for Communicator to render). The Netscape browser, once a solid product, became crash-prone and buggy; for example, some versions re-downloaded an entire web page to re-render it when the browser window was re-sized (a nuisance to dial-up users), and the browser would usually crash when the page contained simple Cascading Style Sheets. Moreover, Netscape Communicator's browser interface design appeared dated in comparison to Internet Explorer and interface changes in Microsoft and Apple's operating systems.

Reply Parent Score: 2

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RE[2]: it's about time
by WereCatf on Tue 8th Jan 2013 21:04 in reply to "RE: it's about time"
WereCatf Member since:
2006-02-15

In case you haven't yet noticed, this is the unofficial "feel sorry and kiss Microsoft's ass" thread, where everyone willfully ignores Microsoft's rich and crooked history to instead perceive them as little angels who can do no wrong


I'm sorry, could you please point me to where anyone here has said anything even remotely like that?

You're a few months/years too late; almost everyone seems to have completely jumped ship onto another hate train.


I see atleast you maintain yourself in the old train. But I don't really see these others you claim to have jumped onto another train; I see people who defend or bash whichever party or action that deserves it at any then-current moment. I, for example, do not hate either company -- I dislike both of their antics, I do recognize the wrongs Microsoft has done, but I will still choose to defend them when they deserve it.

Hating some party blindly is for children.

Reply Parent Score: 2

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