Looks like Chromebook is being replaced with something called "Googlebook" and it is full-scale Microsoft-style Surveillance PC.
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Since the Google announcement wording also poses this as not just the future of Chromebook but the future of Android, this raises serious questions, for me, about how much longer using Android will continue to be an option. Google's been escalating removal of Gemini opt-outs and Android is almost the only one of their products I haven't yet dropped as a result. (This is, of course, happening at the same time governments worldwide are making citizenship contingent on owning an Android or iPhone.)
@mcc Sounds like you haven't heard about the future of ChromeOS and Android.
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@mcc “Surveillance PC”
We need a system to name and categorize the distinct harms #AI will unleash upon humanity.
The "Magic Pointer" feature works by wiggling your cursor: it uses Gemini to offer contextual suggestions for whatever's under the pointer. The cursor is literally reporting what you point at back to Google (Gemini).
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@dekkzz78 I guess in Europe there’s some legal protections for users but this is many many steps into an Orwellian nightmare. Even if Microsoft copilot sort of fizzled into a joke in media coverage windows users have no choice. Google’s customers neither. No opt out from chrome to which ever other product. Tech media and mainstream media will regurgitate the misleading local on device llm line, as if processing locally means Google doesn’t collect all this information. A disaster and like social media, no regulation until it’s too late.
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Looks like Chromebook is being replaced with something called "Googlebook" and it is full-scale Microsoft-style Surveillance PC. Apparently anytime you "wiggle your cursor" anything that is underneath the cursor gets fed into Google's surveillance AI https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/meet-googlebook/
One of these things that makes me consider detecting the platform from my webserver and blocking it entirely because the probability of whatever I wrote becoming an LLM input is too high
@mcc wow I thought we were cooked before, but clearly the horrors have other plans
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@dreamos82 @mcc Jolla Phones were sold out, sadly...
@romion00bie @mcc there is a new batch full price, it has still 556 unuts available. https://commerce.jolla.com/products/jolla-phone-sep-ii-2026
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Looks like Chromebook is being replaced with something called "Googlebook" and it is full-scale Microsoft-style Surveillance PC. Apparently anytime you "wiggle your cursor" anything that is underneath the cursor gets fed into Google's surveillance AI https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/meet-googlebook/
One of these things that makes me consider detecting the platform from my webserver and blocking it entirely because the probability of whatever I wrote becoming an LLM input is too high
@mcc
'Does your computer work without internet' is literally an 'it's complicated' answer at this point.This is just...not good.
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Looks like Chromebook is being replaced with something called "Googlebook" and it is full-scale Microsoft-style Surveillance PC. Apparently anytime you "wiggle your cursor" anything that is underneath the cursor gets fed into Google's surveillance AI https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/meet-googlebook/
One of these things that makes me consider detecting the platform from my webserver and blocking it entirely because the probability of whatever I wrote becoming an LLM input is too high
@mcc everything visible anywhere is already a llm input, but I understand the initiative.
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Looks like Chromebook is being replaced with something called "Googlebook" and it is full-scale Microsoft-style Surveillance PC. Apparently anytime you "wiggle your cursor" anything that is underneath the cursor gets fed into Google's surveillance AI https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/meet-googlebook/
One of these things that makes me consider detecting the platform from my webserver and blocking it entirely because the probability of whatever I wrote becoming an LLM input is too high
@mcc can't wait until my kid's school gives them one of these
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@mcc In a recent update. Samsung is increasing their a.i stuff in Android. This with the Google a.i stuff is making Android unusable. I am forced to use Android for various reasons, also because there is no competition on the market.
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Looks like Chromebook is being replaced with something called "Googlebook" and it is full-scale Microsoft-style Surveillance PC. Apparently anytime you "wiggle your cursor" anything that is underneath the cursor gets fed into Google's surveillance AI https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/meet-googlebook/
One of these things that makes me consider detecting the platform from my webserver and blocking it entirely because the probability of whatever I wrote becoming an LLM input is too high
@mcc Fucking disgrace.
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Looks like Chromebook is being replaced with something called "Googlebook" and it is full-scale Microsoft-style Surveillance PC. Apparently anytime you "wiggle your cursor" anything that is underneath the cursor gets fed into Google's surveillance AI https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/meet-googlebook/
One of these things that makes me consider detecting the platform from my webserver and blocking it entirely because the probability of whatever I wrote becoming an LLM input is too high
@mcc And to think their strapline used to be: "Don't be evil".
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@mcc I wonder how locked down the hardware will be. In a couple of years, maybe these things will be cheap, and they can be wiped and have Linux installed on them.
Yep.
Never tried myself, but apparently installing Linux on chromebooks is doable.
A real PITA, but doable.
Which makes ARM ones very nice bacpack computers : very light and with incredible battery life. -
Looks like Chromebook is being replaced with something called "Googlebook" and it is full-scale Microsoft-style Surveillance PC. Apparently anytime you "wiggle your cursor" anything that is underneath the cursor gets fed into Google's surveillance AI https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/meet-googlebook/
One of these things that makes me consider detecting the platform from my webserver and blocking it entirely because the probability of whatever I wrote becoming an LLM input is too high
@mcc time to build a cyberdeck istg
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I don't appear to have Galaxy AI on my A54 (yet). Also Android 16
Gemini is disabled.
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@dreamos82 @mcc Jolla Phones were sold out, sadly...
@romion00bie @mcc I see you were mentioning the C2, usually they come back after few weeks (reason i preordered the jolla phone was because the c2 was sold out when i wanted to order it, i suggest wait few weeks, and it should be back hopefully)
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@mcc And to think their strapline used to be: "Don't be evil".
@dick_turpin @mcc If I may be pedantic: it was "Do no evil", which I think meant "Don't get caught doing evil". It is now clear that the people at the top were always evil and now feel they have enough money and power that they don't feel the need to hide it. Like Trumper.
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@dick_turpin @mcc If I may be pedantic: it was "Do no evil", which I think meant "Don't get caught doing evil". It is now clear that the people at the top were always evil and now feel they have enough money and power that they don't feel the need to hide it. Like Trumper.
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I don't appear to have Galaxy AI on my A54 (yet). Also Android 16
Gemini is disabled.
@TheLancashireman @jonfr600 @mcc I think it might be a S-Series thing. Samsung were very big on selling it as AI capable. All I wanted was the smallest phone possible, 3 camera lenses and a long support cycle. Though I'm starting to worry about the last if later Android versions remove the "AI" optionality and ruin the UI (like Apple seemingly has with Liquid Glass). I'd just be happy with getting security updates.
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Since the Google announcement wording also poses this as not just the future of Chromebook but the future of Android, this raises serious questions, for me, about how much longer using Android will continue to be an option. Google's been escalating removal of Gemini opt-outs and Android is almost the only one of their products I haven't yet dropped as a result. (This is, of course, happening at the same time governments worldwide are making citizenship contingent on owning an Android or iPhone.)
@mcc or a Linux phone is an option too
