Another reason to end passwords as a method of authentication is the poor usability of strong passwords on mobile devices.

1. Typing a strong password like xry7s6Dx26Pz is nearly impossible on a mobile keyboard, particularly since for some dumb reason I can’t even see it when I type.
2. I can’t use a password agent like LastPass effectively on iOS because there’s no way for it to plug in to Mobile Safari. I’m stuck awkwardly copy and pasting passwords between the LastPass app and Safari, having to type my master password every time. LastPass does have its own baked-in browser but that’s far too limited on iOS.
3. Trying to log in to other apps pretty much requires copy-and-paste of the password, since there’s nothing like a pluggable authentication framework.

Sorry if this is stating the obvious, but the lack of usability of strong passwords on my iPhone and iPad is a big part of why I don’t log into sites on mobile devices.

Google has reduced itself to outright spamming users to promote its products. Here’s a screenshot of an email I got today about Google’s failing payments product, Google Wallet. Note the footer, the email is marked “You have received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google Wallet account”. What are those important changes?

1. A call for me to use Google Wallet more
2. An ad for the Android version of Google Wallet
3. The Google Play logo
4. Logos for stores that accept Google Wallet
5. A request that I subscribe to more Google Wallet ads

In summary: four ads for Google products, one ad for random other companies that happen to use Google Wallet, and zero important changes. I guess I should block noreply@wallet.google.com?

It’s cliché now to point out how disappointing Google, Inc. has become. But this seems bad even for the trend. All that’s missing is the “+1 on Google+” button.