I understand what the author was trying to say, and he was mostly right. One issue I take with him is i always saw, and understood"inbox" as experimental. In fact quite a lot of the inbox features have been added to the Gmail app over time. For example, message snooze, and canned responses, to mention two.
Google also just pulled the plug on "Google News & Weather" replacing it with "Google News"... It's awful! I lost all of my sources for news in English because the new service lacks language and region settings! All I get now is Japanese news.
Google killed a lot of their products and even when they have replacements those are usually inferior than the replaced products. News & Weather is one example. Another one I could think of is Picasa (specifically Picasa Web). Google Photos still can't sort albums by name like Picasa did.
William Robison several very useful features of Inbox are still not in Gmail. Automatic bundles (specifically the travel and purchases bundles) and the reminder system being integrated with Google Calendar and Keep
I'm also pissed at Google for killing off their Nexus line (i.e., pure Android phones that were actually affordable). But the thing that I find unforgivable was the bootloop issue on late Nexus and early Pixel phones. Even though it was known that they had manufactured phones that were defective, Google refused to do anything about the new Nexus 5X I had which went into bootloop after 9 months.
I was a huge Google booster from the very earliest. Now? I despise them.
Truth is -- read from a former G+ designer: https://threader.app/thread/1049523067506966529 -- Tech itself is like that: short attention spans on projects (why so many projects wither and die, the "vision" and/or direction has changed, until another new shiny that takes their fancy).
The Susan Fowler harassment issue also showed that Tech businesses are also incestuous (who harassed her was a former Google employee Google let go, and hired by Uber).
That environment is rarely conductive of "new" content that's for consumer interests, it's copy this to compete with that, with the same inhouse problems traveling from one job to another.
Now you know why your android phone has all those duplicate apps preinstalled too: never know when Google will nix one of their products, and cellphone manufacturers have to have duplicate backups just in case. It's nonsensical and a waste of money, but that is how Google operates.
I'll add this too: after what has happened with G+, ANY social platform I'm weary of ever joining again. I'm at MeWe but I don't like the wasted white space (it's still designed as a mobile app and looks horrible on desktop, 1/3 of the white space is nothing). All the engineers and managers in the world won't add to the value of their products if they don't hire a competent design team that understands interface workflows. Workflows that are hard to change from -- why you don't want OSes to radically change layouts. Designs are changed piecemeal. Engineers don't understand that, designers do.
So when you see a social medium wanting to change the UI radically, there was a radical change in management and their vision/direction. Designers know not to punch holes in the canvas like that. It looks ugly. People won't appreciate changing from their comfort zones. And the patch repair? It will never look the same again and people start moving away.
Why I favor in the future UIs that can be customized by CSS of the elements (JSON/JS or whatever), so if the engine has to be updated the UI can remain similar or the same in the process. Templates work easily to restore UIs as before, for the non-designer, too.
Julian Bond The time investment to learn the product vs at any time Google can cancel the product ... it's a bum deal.
For the app makers, to be dependent on APIs that can be killed on any whim at any time ... that's building on a house of cards. Apple nor Google is safe against cancellations.
Need a third party host of APIs that are platform neutral, secure, and end-users can block according to preferences -- a video game like Kandy Krush doesn't need access to the camera or mic to play, for example.
>And sure, you can always download all of your data from either — but c'mon...
This. Also, I'm annoyed to see when Android updated, the button I had slaved to search is now "assistant" or some damn thing which barely runs on my old phone. It's freaking useless. I'm through with having my data ratfucked. You really need my voiceprint? Why?
Anything that records your voice for later analysis. Google Assistant on the phone wants, very desperately, that you speak to it. Since the advent of these stupid Amazon/Google home speaker dealios I'm much more on my guard about voice recognition. Not that I think this will do any good.
You are all looking at the point of view of private users. But don't forget the ambition of Google : they are targeting corporate and governments. Both are looking for stability and certainty. And Google is sending the opposite message. Now imagine there is a big tender for one government agency or a multinational. It's usually 60% technical and 40% financial. Now, we are in the technical marking, 5-10 persons committee. 1 or 2 were in google+. How do you think they will rate Google Suite? I have been in such situation and I can tell you, maintenance and continuity is a big issue.
Peter Maranci I purchasd three Nexus 5X phones for myself and family. LG manufactured a defective device. Period.
By the way a falimy member bough Nexus 6P. Wonderful phone until it died. Google screwed up the customer interaction that the family member had to buy a replacement Samsung on an emergency basis. Needless to say that person was very pissed. They may eventually lighten up and get a Pixel 3 because of Most Excellent imaging.
When Nexus #1 bootlooped Google replaced promptly with a refurb.
Few months later it failed again. With some hassle LG repaired at no cost. Hassle was i did not have proof of purchase because IMEI was different than original purchase because it was a refurb.
Nexus #2 bootlooped & LG repaired it. Twice.
Nexus #3 bootlooped. LG repaired it.
Since then one of the N5X that I gifted to a elderly friend had the USB C power port burned out. E-waste.
New comments on this blog are moderated. If you do not have a Google identity, you are welcome to post anonymously. Your comments will appear here after they have been reviewed. Comments with vulgarity will be rejected.
Definitely grieving.
ReplyDeleteI understand what the author was trying to say, and he was mostly right. One issue I take with him is i always saw, and understood"inbox" as experimental. In fact quite a lot of the inbox features have been added to the Gmail app over time. For example, message snooze, and canned responses, to mention two.
ReplyDeleteGoogle also just pulled the plug on "Google News & Weather" replacing it with "Google News"... It's awful!
ReplyDeleteI lost all of my sources for news in English because the new service lacks language and region settings!
All I get now is Japanese news.
sanjuro ogawa Now that really sucks, losing the sources you've come to trust and depend on
ReplyDeleteGoogle killed a lot of their products and even when they have replacements those are usually inferior than the replaced products. News & Weather is one example. Another one I could think of is Picasa (specifically Picasa Web). Google Photos still can't sort albums by name like Picasa did.
ReplyDeletesanjuro ogawa I agree. In fact, I uninstalled "News and Weather" and didn't install "Google News".
ReplyDeleteWilliam Robison several very useful features of Inbox are still not in Gmail. Automatic bundles (specifically the travel and purchases bundles) and the reminder system being integrated with Google Calendar and Keep
ReplyDeleteI'm also pissed at Google for killing off their Nexus line (i.e., pure Android phones that were actually affordable). But the thing that I find unforgivable was the bootloop issue on late Nexus and early Pixel phones. Even though it was known that they had manufactured phones that were defective, Google refused to do anything about the new Nexus 5X I had which went into bootloop after 9 months.
ReplyDeleteI was a huge Google booster from the very earliest. Now? I despise them.
I used to stick up for Google, and I highly admired them. Not any more. They really blew it this time. 😝😝
ReplyDeleteTruth is -- read from a former G+ designer: https://threader.app/thread/1049523067506966529 -- Tech itself is like that: short attention spans on projects (why so many projects wither and die, the "vision" and/or direction has changed, until another new shiny that takes their fancy).
ReplyDeleteThe Susan Fowler harassment issue also showed that Tech businesses are also incestuous (who harassed her was a former Google employee Google let go, and hired by Uber).
That environment is rarely conductive of "new" content that's for consumer interests, it's copy this to compete with that, with the same inhouse problems traveling from one job to another.
Now you know why your android phone has all those duplicate apps preinstalled too: never know when Google will nix one of their products, and cellphone manufacturers have to have duplicate backups just in case. It's nonsensical and a waste of money, but that is how Google operates.
Remember Google Glass?
ReplyDeleteGreat information
ReplyDeleteI'll add this too: after what has happened with G+, ANY social platform I'm weary of ever joining again. I'm at MeWe but I don't like the wasted white space (it's still designed as a mobile app and looks horrible on desktop, 1/3 of the white space is nothing). All the engineers and managers in the world won't add to the value of their products if they don't hire a competent design team that understands interface workflows. Workflows that are hard to change from -- why you don't want OSes to radically change layouts. Designs are changed piecemeal. Engineers don't understand that, designers do.
ReplyDeleteSo when you see a social medium wanting to change the UI radically, there was a radical change in management and their vision/direction. Designers know not to punch holes in the canvas like that. It looks ugly. People won't appreciate changing from their comfort zones. And the patch repair? It will never look the same again and people start moving away.
Why I favor in the future UIs that can be customized by CSS of the elements (JSON/JS or whatever), so if the engine has to be updated the UI can remain similar or the same in the process. Templates work easily to restore UIs as before, for the non-designer, too.
This is another take on what I was trying to get at with
ReplyDeleteplus.google.com - Google is proving itself to be an unreliable and untrustworthy partner. We're...
You can only let your early adopters get burned so many times, before you end up burning their bridges...
ReplyDeleteJulian Bond The time investment to learn the product vs at any time Google can cancel the product ... it's a bum deal.
ReplyDeleteFor the app makers, to be dependent on APIs that can be killed on any whim at any time ... that's building on a house of cards. Apple nor Google is safe against cancellations.
Need a third party host of APIs that are platform neutral, secure, and end-users can block according to preferences -- a video game like Kandy Krush doesn't need access to the camera or mic to play, for example.
>And sure, you can always download all of your data from either — but c'mon...
ReplyDeleteThis. Also, I'm annoyed to see when Android updated, the button I had slaved to search is now "assistant" or some damn thing which barely runs on my old phone. It's freaking useless. I'm through with having my data ratfucked. You really need my voiceprint? Why?
Neal Durando , "voiceprint"?
ReplyDeleteWhat feature wanted that?
Anything that records your voice for later analysis. Google Assistant on the phone wants, very desperately, that you speak to it. Since the advent of these stupid Amazon/Google home speaker dealios I'm much more on my guard about voice recognition. Not that I think this will do any good.
ReplyDeleteYou are all looking at the point of view of private users.
ReplyDeleteBut don't forget the ambition of Google : they are targeting corporate and governments.
Both are looking for stability and certainty. And Google is sending the opposite message.
Now imagine there is a big tender for one government agency or a multinational. It's usually 60% technical and 40% financial. Now, we are in the technical marking, 5-10 persons committee. 1 or 2 were in google+. How do you think they will rate Google Suite? I have been in such situation and I can tell you, maintenance and continuity is a big issue.
Peter Maranci I purchasd three Nexus 5X phones for myself and family. LG manufactured a defective device. Period.
ReplyDeleteBy the way a falimy member bough Nexus 6P. Wonderful phone until it died. Google screwed up the customer interaction that the family member had to buy a replacement Samsung on an emergency basis. Needless to say that person was very pissed. They may eventually lighten up and get a Pixel 3 because of Most Excellent imaging.
When Nexus #1 bootlooped Google replaced promptly with a refurb.
Few months later it failed again. With some hassle LG repaired at no cost. Hassle was i did not have proof of purchase because IMEI was different than original purchase because it was a refurb.
Nexus #2 bootlooped & LG repaired it. Twice.
Nexus #3 bootlooped. LG repaired it.
Since then one of the N5X that I gifted to a elderly friend had the USB C power port burned out. E-waste.
Robyn Richards - spot on.
ReplyDelete