HACKER Q&A
📣 colesantiago

Why even use any Google services at this point?


Thanks to OpenAI, Google are playing catch up with Gemini and now their priorities have shifted to AI.

I am wondering what is next for Google to shut down after they announced the shutdown of Google One VPN. Google is the most frequent provider that shuts down services than any other service.

Services I can think of that Google might shut down are YouTube, Firebase, Fuschia, Chromebooks, Google Cloud, Google Classroom, Waze, Google News, Google Flights, Google Fonts, Google Groups, etc.

So why even use Google services at this point like Stadia and others if they are just more likely to shut down?

Is it even safe to say that Google itself might shut down?


  👤 pedalpete Accepted Answer ✓
Google shuts down services that lose money or that aren't big enough.

Google Cloud is a huge business, as are YouTube, and Chromebooks. Firebase is big enough and is a feeder into Google Cloud.

Many of these other adjacent businesses help Google to know more about you to make more money from you.

Google is a LONG way from shutting down. They are still printing money. It's like asking if Microsoft would shut-down when linux was gaining traction in the server space.

Though search is their bread and butter, they haven't ignored AI, they know what's at risk. In fact, they bought DeepMind before OpenAI existed. Are they on the back foot, a little bit, but you're calling this at Mile 1 of a 100 miler.


👤 a2800276
>Services I can think of that Google might shut down are YouTube, Firebase, Fuschia, Chromebooks, Google Cloud, Google Classroom, Waze, Google News, Google Flights, Google Fonts, Google Groups, etc.

You forgot: Search, Gmail, Maps, Android (OS and Pixel hardware), Go, Dart, Flutter

Also: why so anything at all when the universe will cease to exist sooner or later and you'll be dead long before.


👤 Grazester
Read up to YouTube and realize this wasn't a serious post and you're just trolling.

👤 lithiumii
AI needs data, so whatever provides data to Google (e.g., YouTube) is less likely to shutdown.