Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by corresation 4785 days ago
I find it particularly interesting when people complain about the ActiveSync thing. Did you know that Microsoft patented it, and Google has to pay a license for each user? I can entirely understand why they block it from Microsoft devices if they are also forced to pay a license for them.
1 comments
recoiledsnake 4784 days ago
I don't have an issue with them pulling it, but they did it suddenly and gave MS very less time for a workaround and increased the time only after public shaming.

MS implemented CardDAV and CalDAV standards as Google wanted, and as part of spring cleaning round 2, those are deprecated and replaced with their own proprietary new API!

http://www.zdnet.com/google-do-what-you-want-with-reader-but...

link
magicalist 4784 days ago
> MS implemented CardDAV and CalDAV standards as Google wanted

Not in any released product, they haven't. The update is expected "later this summer"[1] and, as you certainly know, CalDAV isn't being deprecated or replaced, you just need to get whitelisted to access it. They could certainly use that to shut out Microsoft, but there's been no indication that that's been done, and we would certainly have heard a leak about it by now if they had been...

[1] http://blogs.windows.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/archiv...

link
corresation 4784 days ago
I doubt it was suddenly, though of course I am just spinning conjecture: What I imagined happened is that Google told Microsoft that it's kind of ridiculous that they have to pay an ActiveSync license for Microsoft devices (which could have used other APIs...but wouldn't you know it Microsoft chose the one that made them even more money), some negotiating happened, Microsoft said stuff it, so Google pulled ActiveSync. It is truly a ridiculous situation that Google has to pay Microsoft to provide services to Microsoft users.

I'm no Google apologist (Page's statements about lets all work together etc were utterly ridiculous. I understand that he probably actually believes what he was saying, not realizing the destruction they lay in their wake), but Microsoft almost always has a nasty stink coming off of their complaints.

link