Google latest ploy with CalDAV

[ag1986]

I would guess Google probably decided they could no longer justify paying a licensing fee for EAS and then giving it away for free. Maybe if that cuddly champion of the users Microsoft would offer them a no-cost EAS license ("think of the children!") they would be able to keep doing it?

Exactly. If MS stepped up and said 'hey Google, here's a free EAS license' I'd applaud them for it (and diss Goog).

 

[kishorekumar_a]

EAS licensing works on a slab basis, i.e. if you have say from 100 -1000 users you pay X and if you have from 1000 - 100K you pay Y etc. I'm assuming that since consumer Gmail accounts probably account for like 90% of all Gmail, Google is saving a lot of money this way. I can't find fault with that.

Stop saying DAV support is DISABLED. It's still very much there and for a given developer to get whitelisted, it's a matter of filling out a form, and the process will be as simple as applying to publish an app for the Play Store, which is easy enough (source: friends who develop for Android heard from Google developer relations).

Why is whitelisting needed?

 

[ag1986]

Why is whitelisting needed?

Taking a wild guess, security?

An app that needs to access your Google account DIRECTLY (as opposed to via built-in OS account authentication) will need your Google username and password, instead of just needing the Read/Write Calendar permission (this is how it is on Android. I don't know if WP/iOS have similar permission models). This means that such an app will be able to access your entire Google account, including Mail, Drive, etc. So this way, Google can keep track of who has permission to access such data and prevent app developers with known violations from hurting users.

 

[kishorekumar_a]

Taking a wild guess, security?

An app that needs to access your Google account DIRECTLY (as opposed to via built-in OS account authentication) will need your Google username and password, instead of just needing the Read/Write Calendar permission (this is how it is on Android. I don't know if WP/iOS have similar permission models). This means that such an app will be able to access your entire Google account, including Mail, Drive, etc. So this way, Google can keep track of who has permission to access such data and prevent app developers with known violations from hurting users.

So why is it not needed for Google Calendar API or CardDAV or IMAP or even EAS? After all, all of them work in the same way (the application stores your password) on Android as well as WP.

And is not app authentication by you there for that tracking? You know that page asking your permission to allow the app access the first time you login from that particular app (Sorry, I don't know the name for that page. So I had to describe it.)

 

[hyderaly]

I don't like Google either. I feel being watched over by BigB when using Google Services... But when it comes to standards... I would say MS is no better.
Try setting up a hotmail account on a mac. At best you will get POP access. Does MS have CalDav, CardDav support? No. At the end of the day, it is about walled gardens... And none is better than the others.

 

[MinnesotaSteve]

Embrace, Extend, Extinguish