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Re:Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app by random42 on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @10:15AM (#12548314)
> why isn't Allo just Hangouts 3?

I was wondering that too. I honestly suspect some executive in Google's team wanted to have more visibility, team and power.

Re:Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app by Yhippa on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @11:55AM (#12549343)
Resume Driven Development
Re:Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app by djsumdog on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:26PM (#12549671)
oh I thought this was some new Hangouts interface, but it's not is it?

So...Google Buzz.

If they want something really innovative, bring back open standards and a federated IM protocol. We went from AIM/Yahoo/MSN to XMPP .. and back to Google/FB. It feels like a regression.

Re:Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app by tw04 on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @01:16PM (#12550197)
XMPP was just to crack the egg. They had to dangle a big enough carrot to get users to switch. They knew once they had them switched that it would be VERY unlikely users would go back. So... lockdown! And they were right, how many people have switched back to AOL/MSN/Yahoo? I know I haven't.
Re:Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app by corobo on Thursday September 22, 2016 @07:48AM (#12556135)
I switched to FB Messenger because it's on mobile and desktop, and everyone I talk to is there. If MSN wasn't dead I'd probably still be using that.

Edit: Oh and more recently Discord has taken over my friend group's urge to talk with voices.

Re:Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app by DanTheManPR on Thursday September 22, 2016 @10:46AM (#12557126)
If only FB would release a proper desktop client for their messaging services. They could own that space.
Re:Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app by corobo on Thursday September 22, 2016 @10:52AM (#12557175)
I use messenger.com more often than I use Facebook at this point. I know it's not technically a desktop app but you could probably set up a shortcut with something like (assuming chrome. Don't know if FF has the same feature)

"path\to\chrome\chrome.exe" --app=https://www.messenger.com

Edit: Actually testing that, that's actually pretty neat. I'm going to do that when I get home!

Re:Say hello to Google Allo: a smarter messaging app by drroboto on Thursday September 22, 2016 @03:29PM (#12559560)
I use franz http://meetfranz.com/ specifically for that purpose