October 16, 2008

The New iGoogle, Publicly Launched

After months of painful testing, the new version of iGoogle has been launched for everyone in the US. iGoogle 2.0 moves the tabs to the left, brings a persistent Google Chat widget and it adds a canvas view that allows gadgets to become full-fledged applications.

"Canvas view allows developers to deliver richer content, games, and UI to users on iGoogle as well as the opportunity to monetize," explains Google. Not all the gadgets take advantage of the canvas view, but this page highlights some gadgets that can be maximized and the list includes: Google Reader, Google Calendar, Gmail, weather, Wall Street Journal and regular feeds. For example, the new Gmail gadget lets you read your messages and send replies directly from iGoogle, but it lacks some features that would've made it a good replacement for the full-featured Gmail: links and attachments are stripped from messages.

Google has been testing the new version of iGoogle for the past three months on a small sample of users and many of them complained about the new navigation interface.



"We're very excited about these changes because it makes iGoogle a more useful homepage and a better platform for developers. And this is just the beginning: expect to see more canvas gadgets created by developers and more new features on iGoogle soon. Not in the U.S.? Don't worry. We'll also be rolling out this updated version in other countries very soon," mentions Google's blog.

The next big thing for iGoogle is the support for OpenSocial that will make Google's personalized homepage more social.

Update: For those who don't have the new iGoogle yet, go to the settings page, change the language to English (US) and then go to this URL: http://www.google.com/ig/v2invite.

If you have the new version, but you prefer the previous interface, go to the settings page and select English (UK) from the list of languages. Please note that this is just a temporary fix.


{ Thanks, Pascal, Samuel, Chrissz and everyone who commented. }

261 comments:

  1. I had the *new* igoogle enabled through the iGoogle sandbox. Now I don't want to be in the sandbox, so I disabled it...but I reverted back to the *old* iGoogle. How to I get the official *new* iGoogle?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't have the new iG neither. Any ideas? Thanks

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  3. According to Google, if you are in the US, you should get the new version of iGoogle today. I can still toggle between the two versions by going to iGoogle and typing in the address bar:

    javascript:_dlsetp('v2=1');
    (new iGoogle, developer sandbox)

    javascript:_dlsetp('v2=0');
    (old iGoogle)

    The developer sandbox seems to include a more recent version of iGoogle that supports OpenSocial, but I don't think there are many other differences between the sandbox and the public version.

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  4. I don't see GTalk in the new version.

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  5. @Anonymous:
    To exit the sandbox, go to this URL:
    http://www.google.com/ig/sandbox

    @Steve Rubel:
    You're right, probably the widget is still too buggy for production use.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @ Alex Chitu
    Thanks for the advice, but that wasn't my question. I already did that, but now I have the *old* iGoogle.

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  7. I still don't have it. I am in the US. I tried creating/deleting tabs and adding gadgets to see if a change could jog something loose but no dice.

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  8. Go here for version 2

    http://www.google.com/ig/v2invite

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh. And it's only available in the US from what I understand.

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  10. Thank you, Samuel, your link is great. I think "available in the US" means that you can only get the new iGoogle for the English-US version at http://www.google.com/ig.

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  11. LOVE that you can now delete e-mail from the gmail gadget.

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  12. Absolutely hate it. I want my old igoogle back. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it and it did everything I needed perfectly.

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  13. aarrrggghh!!! I want iGoogle 1.0
    2.0 makes my page look all cluttered & squished.

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  14. I was in the sandbox but opted out earlier today and eventually was upgraded to the new V2. However I don't see chat. Is chat available int he public V2 or is it just in the sandbox at this point?

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  15. @ft:
    It seems that the chat widget is only available in the developer sandbox.

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  16. Opt out no longer works. Apparently the folks at Google did not listen to those of us who liked iGoogle because of the ability to customize the interface... now we don't have that ability anymore. The new sidebar, for those of us who only have one page, just sits there with nothing else on it but one lousy link that says "home". I don't want multiple pages, and can't get rid of the sidebar, so I'll have to find an alternative.

    Google lost me.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Two tips:

    1. the feed snippets can be disabled from the settings page: "Show a short description for each feed article".

    2. you can still get the old version at http://www.google.co.uk/ig/ (Google UK), but you may need to log in again.

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  18. I got the new iGoogle by clicking on one of the suggested gadgets on the Official Google Blog. When I went back to the iGoogle homepage, there it was.

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  19. Disabling the feed snippets doesn't bring back the option to expand them at will. I used igoogle constantly because I could read posts from one place by expanding the headline. Now I either get ONLY a headline or ONLY a preview and no way to get more at will. Please give us a choice here or, like many others, I will be moving on, which is difficult because I LOVED igoogle.

    It's a shame that Google didn't listen to us.

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  20. I don't like the new igoogle at all!!! Is there a way to revert back to the old one permanently? Its only a matter of time before .co.uk changes too...

    Poor form google, poor form.

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  21. I HATE THE SIDENAV!!!

    I can't stress this enough. It is incredibly annoying. I would much rather have the tabs at the top like they were before.

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  22. I can live with everything but gotta say, the left "Home" tab strikes me as a real step backward. (Old threads on the new iGoogle seem to imply that a LOT of people didn't like it, but it's been imposed nonetheless.)

    If you've gotta include the left tab, please give us the option of suppressing it, minimizing it, resizing it... ANYTHING to restore the customary true full-screen footprint.

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  23. The left tab has to go. Its of _no use_ what so ever.

    Please give us an option of moving it, (removing it would be best). I don't need a quick navigation menu on my what I use tp quickly navigate the web.

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  24. Google Calendar is not available in 'Canvas' format as your article suggests.

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  25. Please let us get rid of the tab on the left. All it does is show whats on my home page and takes op space for those things I already have displayed. It is really annoying. I too see no use for it (or at least HAVE no use for it).

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  26. Man, it may be faster, but links in my gmail messages don't show up. So, I have to load "full gmail" in order to click on a link in my message. In addition, I now have to see descriptions for each heading in my gadgets (wired top stories, slashdot, etc.). This takes up tons of space. How is this convenient? Is there a way to revert back to the old view?

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  27. GOOGLE IS TURNING INTO THE NEW MICROSOFT!!!! Way to go! Are you changing you address to Washington next? I HATE (yelled at the top of my lungs) iGoogle 2.0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  28. Well, I'm in Australia and have had the 2.0 version deployed to me. Like comments above, I find the sidebar most annoying. I never used tabs before, because everything fit on one page anyway.

    Also, whilst it's good to be able to delete mail from this page, having to go into full gmail to use links and attachments is laso most annoying. Hopefully Google will fix both of these issues.

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  29. Arrrgggghhhh!

    I Don't Want The "Tabs"! :-(

    Going Back To about:blank

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  30. I have to concur with all the negative comments about the new iGoogle.

    The side nav bar taking up a ridiculous amount of space (esp. for those of us who only use laptops).

    It takes an extra step to expand or minimize the widgets.

    Definitely a backwards move--I hope they give an option to keep the old version. They need to understand that this is like a utility--any changes should be phased in slowly and individually, not all at once.

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  31. I have the new IG up here in Canada and I love it!!

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  32. NOOOOooooooooooo......... I experimented with this version in the sandbox and it SUCKED worse than anything that has ever sucked before.
    If anyone can find a way to get out of this, please, for the love of all things sacred, tell us!
    Worst...homepage...EVER.

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  33. This is absolutely the most STUPID thing Google has EVER done. This is a HORRIBLE design, and Google has just VIOLATED the most important page on the whole web: our own very personalized and custom home page, that we use every hour of the day.

    STUPID STUPID STUPID

    Google is EVIL

    STUPID GOOGLE MORONS

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  34. And did they learn nothing from the previous failed experiment? Everyone complained then. What makes Google think this is any different or any better?
    (And I want my +/- back)

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  35. BTW...I went in to my settings and turned off the 'snippets'. I got my +/- back and I got rid of the ridiculous left pane. Now let's see if it sticks.

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  36. I'm chiming in with a THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! GET RID OF THE LEFT PANE! Why have you done this, Google? You even say in your press release that people didn't like the navigation... it baffles the mind. I didn't think such a simple change could make me so furious... guess I learned something about myself today. Things go back to the way they were, or I'm out.

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  37. I absolutely hated the new igoogle. I don't like that I couldn't expand my stories like I used to. The bar on the left takes up a ton of space.

    I've always considered igoogle to be a perfect homepage. I liked it the way it was before because it did everything I wanted it to perfectly.

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  38. And it's BACK!!! What the hell? I got my old home page back for about 10 minutes, but now it's back to the same craptastic v2.0 with useless left pane.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I got the old version back by changing my language from "English (US)" to "English (UK)".

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  40. Can I go back to having the tabs at the top? Having them on the side takes up too much space, and the font is smaller to fit the same amount of stuff in a smaller space.. I can't ready anything now!

    I want the old setup back! How do I get it?

    Is there an option to revert back to having the tabs on the top? I would really prefer that.

    ReplyDelete
  41. they need a south park episode about how much this things sucks.... Something like the George Lucas, Steven Spielberg episode and what they did to indiana jones....

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  42. I decided to try a different homepage service, and it said it's experiencing high user loads today...coincidence?

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  43. I am in Canada, and I got the new page to display when I switched between Classic and iGoogle.

    However, after I did some messing around in the settings, I now got the old one back. Just as well I guess. I have a "standard" screen at work, and a wide screen at home. I like the tabs on top, it's nice and clean that way. I don't like the left side bar as much.

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  44. "I got the old version back by changing my language from "English (US)" to "English (UK)"."

    Thank you!!! I have my old page back (For now)

    I'll pass this info to all my family and friends (Who have been calling me all day long complaining about this, and wanting to know how to fix it!).

    If google does not allow us to choose... I may have to find another start page! (And I really like the iGoogle one!)

    This is the first time that google has done something that truly pissed me off!

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  45. Ok, after looking more carefully at my iGoogle page, it seems I don't have the +/- beside individual RSS items anymore. So does this mean I am still seeing v2.0 instead of "reverted back" to the old version?

    I did take out the "show snippet" options in the settings. I am not seeing the side bar anymore. Hum...

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  46. Please please please! get rid of those useless tabs. They are redundant on multiple levels. First, there is no need for another app format between the small gadget size and the full size apps. Second, the full app sites already appear in their own browser tabs! That's right google, browsers already have tabs! This is redundant useless clutter. A stupid, stupid idea.

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  47. I despise this new layout. The tabs on the left hand column are terrible.

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  48. I don't mind innovation, but if a product is brand new, possibly not ready for prime-time or maybe just didn't have enough product testers to display frustration - you need to offer your customers the option to stay on the old platform that they have become accustomed to enjoying. Or at least offer them the option to switch new features on or off - and it's at their peril if they choose to stay on the old bandwagon. They might not be able to use the newest plugins or whatnot - but give people a choice before radically changing how their world operates.

    What I specifically dislike? The side taskbar wastes space in my screen, and generally annoys me because the screen's unbalanced. If I could turn the sidebar off, I"d still be annoyed because under this new engine my Weather widgit has decided that I now need to see some extra pictures of the weather, and it needs to be more spaced out -- so now it takes up 2x the space; so there's more real estate lost. The Gmail interface wants to be more like full-gmail, but lacks normal features like the ability to CLICK LINKS! Or use shortcut keys. Or even click the GMAIL title and jump over to gmail.com to GET these features. I'd rather have the basic Gmail reader than this castrated monstrosity that just wants to be a pet of the iGoogle 2.0 project.

    Give me the option to go back to my non-bloated and beloved start page, or I'll go elsewhere. I can only imagine the English-UK fix will work for a limited time before they bastardize the world.

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  49. Ditto! Listen up Google!! We love ya, but you got to let us get rid of that sidebar ;)

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  50. OMG. What happened to give the user a CHOICE!? I HATE the TABS!!!!! It infuriates me so much I am SERIOUSLY considering changing my home page to Yahoo. The tabs on the left do nothing but take up space I want for other things. Why did I get "upgraded" without being asked if I wanted it??? LET THE USERs DECIDE how, where and if they want it the tabs!

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  51. If changing the language doesn't work for you, try Pageflakes as a homepage.

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  52. Absolutely agree. If the folk at Google HQ spent less time rollerblading in the lobby or whatever it is they reportedly do, they might make some better decisions.

    Some of the new features may be fine, but the ugly new format spoils their potential. This is the age of netbooks, not screens the shape of the Bayeux Tapestry.

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  53. The left tab bar takes up too much screen real estate. It also disrupts the page symmetry which is distressing to anal retentive people such as myself :-)

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  54. Agree with most - lost landscape for a useless tab and can not personalize which is one of the great features of gmail - wow - super annoyed - at least give us the option to utilize this new format by opting out of the new format - may need a wider screen now that I lost 10% to a useless tab

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  55. How do we get rid of that stupid left tab? I can stand them; they're distracting. I won't use iGoogle until the tabs are back on top, where tabs belong.

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  56. BTW, I've dumped iGoogle as my homepage until this bug is fixed.

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  57. Tabs on the left sucks. I want my old google back.

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  58. Definitely badly put together, especially the gmail. The navagation for the most part sucks. I believe that you could have let the Google home
    page users know what was happening and how to use this. Instead no "by your leave," no nothing. I am a big fan of Google and think you can do no wrong. Change the gmail. This is not good!

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  59. I'm trying to give them a chance and see what Google thinks might be good about this layout, but I can't see it. I've tried all suggested fixes, but can't get it back how I want. Pageflake may have to be my answer.

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  60. I seriously hope Google is getting wind of all this negative feedback. The new iGoogle does anything but make life more convenient.

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  61. PLEASE take that left tab out. I loved using igoogle until NOW. I can barely stand to use it.

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  62. Get rid of the left tab. Waste of space. Don't need it. Will not use it. Thanks.

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  63. Gmail's not working for me. I have Google Apps and it just keeps saying "Have an account? Click here to sign in." And then when I do, it just goes right back to "Have an account?"

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  64. Four words -- "Pure and utter crap!"

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  65. Don't like it. Left tab takes up way too much room, I actually want a version with no tab at all. And I want to shrink the height of the header area, where search box is. Also drag and drop gadget from one tab to another is broken.

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  66. What the #$%@#. All's I can get is one thing at a time. Is there no way to get back my nice organized little home page with a little of everything? Sucks. I have more to do today than deal with this nonsense surprise!

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  67. Very unfortunate. With all the negative feedback, you would have thought Google would have at least made the 2.0 look optional going forward...instead of shoving it down everyone's throat. Perhaps Google has forgotten what made the company successful to begin with...

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  68. I Hate the new Igoogle! I dont have the ability to view pictures through the expand. Or expand the summary to see wether or not i want to read the full story. The side bar is bull shit. Really sad I was a google advocate. Microsoft heres your chance.

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  69. My whole family hates it.

    as stated on http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Web_Search_Help-Personalizing/browse_thread/thread/b5df801377ea5ce1/2b7eec794da918fd#2b7eec794da918fd

    "Suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked.

    If it stays like this, I'm definitely dropping iGoogle and headed to
    something else. I'll give them a week, and I'm gone. "

    ReplyDelete
  70. I HATE THE NEW iGOOGLE!!! Please bring back the old version.!!!

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  71. That sidebar is awful. It takes up too much valuable real estate and it isn't pretty.

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  72. I don't like the new google either, there are some benefits but I don't want the nav bar on the side.

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  73. first- I am not a luddite, I like new things, but this is not good. do not like that side bar at all- loved igoogle the way it was before- this stinks.

    I really hope that they make it an option, because once the uk version goes to 2.0, I will have no choice... can't think with all that crap... and I don't like having to click two things to get to the correct view of my email inbox.

    UGH!!!!!!! I hope you google-ites are reading these comments and taking the users input into consideration.

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  74. Please give us a way to disable the side navigation bar. The top tabs worked fine.

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  75. Please create an option to move the tabs from the left pane to the top, or better yet, turn them off if the user only has a single page, as I do.

    The page looks very lopsided and squished, and screen real estate is wasted.

    ReplyDelete
  76. What do I think? My stomach lurched when I saw my homepage, and still does every time I load it. This new sidebar on the left just repeats everything that was on my homepage, is visually disruptive, and the fact that there is no option to remove it is frankly OFFENSIVE. Especially from a company like Google which has always been about freedom and accessibility. I liked iGoogle so much I had three accounts. This option might be nice for some people, but it's ruined the feeling of choice for me. Developers should consider the people who use iGoogle are a wide demographic; most of us don't have a million gadgets that we need to keep track of. Tabs along the top was much less disruptive to the browsing experience. I mean come on, it's ruined my theme, which I loved. Users above are right. A lot of the symmetry and harmoniousness of the page has been taken away. I just hope that the option to remove this sidepanel will be available soon, because I really do believe this company likes its users to be happy and doesn't want to lose them.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Wow. This ruined my night.

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  78. The one gadget I really like and use all the time is Portfolio Monitor 1.55. The new layout compresses the width of all the gadgets on my screen and now I have to use scroll bars to see everything in the gadget. I suspect this side nav business is a kind of "push" thing - users are going to be made to see things they neither want nor need.

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  79. I also notice that some gadget headings are too long for their shortened tab labels. You ran this all by whom, now?

    ReplyDelete
  80. LOL! The post states, "Google has been testing the new version of iGoogle for the past three months on a small sample of users and many of them complained about the new navigation interface."

    Then it says, "We're very excited about these changes because it makes iGoogle a more useful homepage"

    "So what do you guys think?"
    "It stinks!"
    "Great! We'll get it so everyone will have to enjoy it as soon as possible."

    People like this make loads of money because they went to college to get smart.


    "Don't worry. We'll also be rolling out this updated version in other countries very soon." Don't you people know that most of the rest of the world already dislikes the US enough?

    ReplyDelete
  81. I hate the new layout because there is no control over the location of the tabs. The insertion of tabs on the left steals important screen real estate from my preferred layout, and there is no control over the choice of whether to have top tabs or left menu.

    Shame on google for having designed an inferior layout and allowing no user control.

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  82. OH MY GOD NO! The new iGoogle is useless like this. Google, what are you doing??? This is definitely unGoogleLike.

    There once was a book called "Web Pages That Suck" -- I read it in '98. If the new iGoogle were out then, it would have made the book.

    ReplyDelete
  83. You would think that Google would offer it's users, who are normally loyal to the company, a chance to keep something they loved, instead, not only do that "have technical problems" keeping people from accessing gmail for a day... but they throw this on us. I'll use it until the co.uk goes away, if it's not fixed by then, I'm gone.


    Good one Google!

    ReplyDelete
  84. Side tab is awful and has wasted my time trying to get rid of it! I hate it! Switch my homepage back to yahoo if it doesn't have an option to get rid of it in the next day or two.

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  85. Left nav tab compared to top tabs = poor usability.

    Bad design.

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  86. Unlike the other commentors, I actually like the potential of this new sidebar.

    I agree with the others though that keeping the old look is a must. I'd also like to suggest that there be a way to hide the sidebar like Google Reader.

    All in all, if Google can make it so the sidebar is hidden by default, is enabled only in certain tabs then I think it's a step ahead overall as the drop down menus allows for easier navigation through lots of gadgets.

    I'd also like to add that I feel that this version is much slower to load or at least feels that way so you might want to look into that too. My guess is that the view of waiting for the gadgets to load in the sidebar causes that.

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  87. Here's why I don't like it, it serves no purpose for my needs and takes up real estate that I enjoy. I like real estate. In IE and Firefox my address bar, menu and buttons are all on the same line. This maximizes my browsing experience without having to be in full-screen view. I have one tab with three gadgets; Bookmarks, Calendar(with weather) and GMail. I only use the GMail gadget to see if I have mail. If I have mail I go to my GMail page. For me, making a gadget full-page turns it into a page, not a gadget. Clicking on the GMail gadget on the left is no less difficult than clicking the gadget itself to get to the GMail page, and using the GMail page gives me full contact and mail functionality if I should happen to need it. The gadget is fairly limited but admittedly would suffice for most of what I do.

    With only three gadgets and one tab, this thing has absolutely no point and is merely in the way. I can easily see how someone who has a big screen and a bunch of tabs and gadgets might find this functionality appealing, and I applaud the thought and work put into it for those who can benefit from it.

    But this is something that obviously does not appeal to the masses and as stated in the posted article, complaints were aired long ago and obviously ignored. I really don't understand why. I did some BASIC and COBOL long ago and know nothing of newer programming, but I don't see how making this an option under 'Edit this tab' could be so difficult. Why the option wasn't considered as part of the roll-out to see how many users liked it and disliked it, is beyond crainial discombobulation. The idea that Google intentionally tossed a known hated feature into it's user's laps makes my brayn asplode.

    Oh and congrats, Google, on your trading boom. Someone recently told investors, "We have a duty and responsibility to run Google well." By the comments I'm seeing on the Blogosphere, this isn't happening on the user end of the business. I hope investors are looking at the blogosphere.

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  88. I liked the tabs but HATE them on the left...It squishes all my stuff...just when I had it all set up just the way I liked it..arrgghh

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  89. Wow, how did Google NOT know the Home Tab is THE WORST IDEA EVER? Didn't anyone at Google do a focus test? The Home Tab is catastrophically bad. I've been loyally using iGoogle as my homepage on all my PCs and all the PC's I manage at work.

    The easiest fix is using Yahoo! as my homepage now and for all my work PCs as well. I will not only no longer recommend iGoogle but I will advise against it. This is phenomenally poor form. No options to get rid of this eyesore spacehog? Really?

    Really Google? How evil, isn't against your policy? Really.

    ReplyDelete
  90. The tabs on the left are terrible! I have a laptop, with a small screen, and now one fourth of my screen is occupied with nothing. What a terrible design!

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  91. I hate it. I like scanning the titles for articles and deciding which ones I want to read. I do NOT need to see two preview lines for every article I know I'm not interested in. That's cluttered and annoying!

    I find the side nav useless as well.

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  92. I could live with the tabs on the left. What I can't live with is all the other controls taken away.

    I like scanning a list of headlines only. If something catches my eye, I could click on the +/- to get a preview. If it really interested me, I could click on the headline and go to the full story. That's gone. Scanning is now useless with previews for EVERY STORY there.

    If I wanted to see/hide a full module, that used to be one click. Now, I have to click once and find "minimize" in the context menu. The only buttons are now "maximize" and "menu." HORRIBLE!!

    ReplyDelete
  93. I'm replacing .com with .ie for two weeks, since they haven't ruined igoogle for Ireland yet. After two weeks, I'm done. netvibes looks compelling enough and far less "evil" than what I was forced to use today. Thanks for the warning btw.

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  94. Dear Google,

    You're my favorite search engine and that's why you are also my homepage. I have loved you for years -ever since you became the alternative to the ever annoying and ridiculously flashy Yahoo! that only seemed concerned with selling me stuff I didn't want. You were different Google, you anticipated my needs in a discreet, pleasant way with your oh-so-smart text ads. For all of this I have loved you and remained loyal for years.
    But today, you ripped my heart out. You put the needs of "developers" ahead of mine. In my eyes you're still the best, but how could you take advantage of our relationship like this? I mean, I love you but I just don't know if I trust you anymore. It's going to take some time to build this trust back.
    If you want me and don't want us to break up, please remove the left tab bar and the two line previews that take up so much precious space on the home page . . . space that used to be ours, Google . . . space that left us free to focus on each other.

    I want to believe in us Google. Help me believe.

    Your friend, lover, and partner,

    The Google User.

    ReplyDelete
  95. As said here already, it's messy, the left column takes too much space and Google doesn't seem to listen to users. Also, now Google is more Yahoo!-like with this update also. Sometimes "less is more" in layout. And "make it simple, stupid" as a software design saying goes.

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  96. I'll try it, but so far I hate it. I liked it the way it was before. I'm not a developer; why should I have to have something just because it's nicer for developers? The old way should be an option for everyone.

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  97. I HATE NEW IGOOGLE. all my widgets look different and my IGmail doesn't work properly. can't we have an option?????????

    YOU GUYS ARE BEHAVING LIKE FACEBOOK

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  98. omg i hate the new igoogle. wasted tab space on the left and i either must show all feed descriptions or hide them all. good grief, why do companies do crap like this?

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  99. Why do you launch this while you KNOW that many people in the test were AGAINST it?????

    Doesn't serve the purpose of having a Beta Test. ADVICE? Listen to your clients.

    ReplyDelete
  100. I wait few days and if it won't change I will be moving my feeds to somewhere else. I think I will give a try to netvibes.

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  101. I loved the old igoogle. Instead of making a brand new one they should work add features and test it like the labs at gmail.

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  102. I don't like the tabs on the left. I went back to the old version.

    ReplyDelete
  103. I DO like the tabs on the left. Most of my screens now are 16:10 or 19:9. making better use of the width of the screen while freeing some vertical space.
    What I miss is the ability to move gadgets from on tab to another.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Using Firebug with Firefox, you can temporarily delete the left sidebar. It will be back on the next HTTP request though.

    ReplyDelete
  105. Google.... if you do not get rid of that stupid nav bar on the left... and let me make up my own mind about how I want my page to look... I am out of here. After all of the comments and complaints about the beta, this is one of the most heavy handed things I have ever seen a company do... what are you thinking?

    ReplyDelete
  106. BOO! I despise the new interface. At the very least G should build in a button to toggle back to the old layout.
    I tried "javascript:_dlsetp('v2=1');" but that did not bring back the old layout - maybe Google turned it off.

    If Google does not allow the option to use the old page or at least make the new page more useful to me, I will simply stop using it as a home page. I can always bookmark Gmail, Calendar, etc. I just won't have the convenience of the widgets working the way I like.

    ReplyDelete
  107. BTW: re OpenSocial
    If I want my browser to be an interface to social sites, I'd use Flock instead of FF.
    I would not object (assuming the old igoogle) to having a tab with interfaces to social sites, so I could view when needed instead of having them shoved in my face.

    ReplyDelete
  108. Hate it! Loathe it! Despise it! abhorrent, abominable, anathematic, defamatory, despicable, detestable, execrable, fastuous, flagitious, hateful, heinous, invidious, loathsome, nauseous, objectionable, obnoxious, odious, opprobrious, outrageous, repellant, repugnant, repulsive, vile! Make it go away! Let us use the old version without making us feel like Luddites: "Well, for those who don't *want* to innovate or *can't handle* new technology, here's a way to keep with the same tired old display, but we don't think you'll like it very much."

    Tabs on the left chew up screen real estate - we don't all have 21" wide-screen monitors. There was nothing wrong with tabs on the top. Why the compelling need to break something that's not broken?

    If I wanted the first few lines of a blog entry eating up my vertical space, I would have asked for it. I didn't. Headline summary with expand/collapse is just fine!

    What the hell's the point of having links to the gadgets when you get all the gadgets on the tab displayed at the same time? Oh, right, because you chewed up so much vertical space that I can no longer see all my gadgets at once.

    So, what language will I have to use once this gets forced on the English(UK) users?

    ReplyDelete
  109. I'll try to make it as simple as possible:

    1) Let users decide whether the tabs are at the top, left side, or disabled altogether.
    2) Let users decide whether they want Snippets displayed or not, if they don't revert to +/-.
    3) Restore links! I want to click my emails, and articles, from iGoogle and have them open in a new tab!

    In short, let users decide. Give us options. We'll decide what's best for us.

    ReplyDelete
  110. Hate the new left Nav bar for my Tabs. The whole point of having a tab is to condense into tabbed sheets of paper. thx for the UK suggesstion, i will roll with that till they change back -- and if not, classic view for me...

    ReplyDelete
  111. Where were the UI experts in this?!!

    I agree with all the complaints stated above, and would like to add that users should ALSO be able to select whether they want gadgets to show in this new "canvas" form or not. I hate the way Gmail opens automatically in this new frame, because when I go to my inbox, I want to see ALL the features. The "canvas" version is terrible.

    ReplyDelete
  112. HOW TO GET RID OF THE LEFT HOME BAR:
    http://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/521/
    if you have firefox, get the extension "remove it permanently"
    it will let you satisfyingly click to remove that damn thing never to return
    hopefully google will fix this soon and you won't need to keep the extension forever, though it is useful for other similar annoyances

    ReplyDelete
  113. DON'T Like the tabs on the left side. Please put them back on the top.

    DON'T like all of my blogs new with two lines of preview. Please put them back to headers only. Or at least make it a customizable setting.

    ReplyDelete
  114. Holly CRAP this sucks! WTF google? What the hell were your 'usability' people thinking? That it would be ok to waste the left 2 inches of screen, showing me whats in a tab, when I CAN SEE WHATS IN THE TAB BY LOOKING AT THE DAMN SCREEN IN FRONT OF ME! Also, what the hell happened to the feeds? There is no more little plus symbol (+) next to the articles, forcing me to open a ton of tabs to read all the feeds. I loved having everything on one single page, its why I used iGoogle instead of Yahoo. This is more like Yahoo than it needs to be. Let us move the tab location, and bring back full feeds of the articles! Damn.

    ReplyDelete
  115. I completely agree with all the comments above about the sidebar. The old iGoogle was everything I wanted and needed. I was able to opt out before but now that doesn't work so I switched to the UK version. Not having an option to at least opt-out of the sidebar is evil.

    ReplyDelete
  116. What do I think?

    I think the employees and execs at Google must all by smoking the biggest water bong in the world to come up with this crap.

    ReplyDelete
  117. It seems that 2.0 hasn't been rolled out in Canada, yet:

    http://www.google.ca/ig?hl=en

    ReplyDelete
  118. Sorry Google. You really screwed this one up. Your left tabs bar is awful and making us preview our gmail on the page is wrong. No warning, no choices, nothing. Well, no one is forcing any of us to use it so if we don't like it, we should all just let them know and use something else. Remember, they need us more than we need them. I'm changing my default page back to the standard Google and removing igoogle. When they are ready to give us choices again, maybe I'll be back. Or maybe I'll try Yahoo...

    ReplyDelete
  119. The New iGoogle, Publicly shamed... more like it.

    ReplyDelete
  120. The persistence of which gadget you clicked is SO ANNOYING. Say I click a stock in Google Finance or Gmail gadgets, navigate away to a different page, then click my home button (to go back to my iGoogle homepage) - the stupid this goes back to the gadget I had open!!! This isn't the desired behavior. When I go home in my browser I want to go to the general iGoogle, not whichever stupid gadget I navigated to last. This just causes extra work for me. Not to mention the two gadgets I use most (Google Finance and Gmail) are so feature poor that I still have to navigate to the full versions. All you've done is added extra clicking for me, both coming and going, and it's not appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  121. I don't like the Side Tabs because they take up to much space on smaller computer screens.(1024x768 or smaller). At least give us the option of disabling them. I don't want to have to go to a 2 column layout and loosing 1/3 of the gadgets that I use.

    ReplyDelete
  122. Give me back my tabs on the top or I am giving up iGoogle!

    ReplyDelete
  123. The most useful feature of iGoogle (for me at least) was removed: The ability to get an overview of dozens of newsfeed headline, and if some look useful, expand them to read more.

    Now I can either get the first few lines of ALL articles (most of which I never want to read) and make is so I can no longer get an overview of all the articles OR I can get just the headlines, but then I have to click the link to read more and see if I really want to read this.

    What was wrong with the expandable articles? I loved that!

    I'm currently looking for an alternative that allows me to do just this, and if I can't find one, I'm gonna have to build my own. I can't believe they're not giving me the option to keep the old layout...

    I hate the new one!

    ReplyDelete
  124. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

    My screen real estate is valuable space - force me to give it up and I will go elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  125. Regarding the expandable articles from feeds: you probably didn't notice that feeds can be expanded by clicking on the "maximize" icon. You'll get a Google Reader-like application that has two UI options: expanded view (all articles are expanded) and list view (articles are collapsed).

    ReplyDelete
  126. Google, How could you launch the new iGoogle without letting users have at least the option to keep the functionality as it was? There are tons of complaints in the link that was posted in the above article. The users were commenting about how bad it was back in July and yet, in all your wisdom, you decide to lay this steaming turd on all iGoogle users and not even make the changes necessary to satisfy the reasonable complaints.

    I used to trust Google to do the right thing, but this incident has just broken that trust.

    ReplyDelete
  127. Seriously, all you big companies are alike. So arrogant. You all think you know what's best for your users. you tell all your users that they come first and that you'll listen to them and everything. You even invite them to take a sneak peek at your new stuff and to give honest feedback. Then what do you do when most of them tell you it sucks? You force it on everyone anyways! Its almost like if you see negative feedback from us, you think we really don't know what we're talking about and that we're just too stupid to understand your "big picture". Honestly, why even bother asking for feedback if you're not gonna listen anyways?

    As for myself, I have two major issues with this new version of igoogle.

    1. Tabs on the left side, drives me crazy. I normally have my browser window open as a small window. With the tabs on the left side now, that makes me have to scroll horizontally to see everything. Horizontal scrolling = BAD! Makes baby jesus cry.

    2. Only seeing a two line description of subject in a feed. Big flippin deal. Two whole lines. Now to see the rest of the article, I have to click on the link and go to another site. WTF, the whole reason I loved igoogle was because I could just click the expand button and read the whole thing right there without having to go to another site. Give us back the expand button! PLEASE.

    ReplyDelete
  128. I really HATE the new interface. Not only do I now loose 1" of screen space on the page, now I have to click around to expand a link. Also, now everything appears smaller. Thanks a lot! My screens on my PC and my laptop are already small enough, thanks to moving the tabs to the left, my content is now smaller! I really hate the new interface and wish that Google would have offered it as an option instead of just changing it. My mom always told me: Just because you can do something does not mean that you should. I love using Google, I think that it is fantastic, but I really HATE this new change.

    ReplyDelete
  129. Looks like Google tested this amid rants from test subjects and went ahead with it anyway. Thanks for not listening to your users Google. It made me realize that all the bad things people say about you are actually true.

    ReplyDelete
  130. The page was nicely balanced, now the sidebar makes it skewed. Also, more annoying is that it navigates away from the main page to gmail whenever I click on a mail in my preview (even though I told it to open up in a new window). And then remembers that for when I reload the webpage!

    BUT. For now I have a solution that works, hopefully until Google sorts themselves out. I am using the .co.uk igoogle webpage instead!! I hope they will delay releasing in the UK because I'll be very unhappy if they don't.

    I guess my searches will be bad until then since I am in the US, oh well. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  131. Absolutely terrible. Sidebar sucks! I never even used tabs because everything fit on one before! We should be able to choose to opt out.

    ReplyDelete
  132. Give us the option to go back!

    ReplyDelete
  133. The left sidebar sucks, and makes me angry. Even worse, however, is the lack of +/- and hover-pop-ups for my RSS boxes. Just permanently expanding or collapsing is not an acceptable option.

    Did Sony Online Entertainment buy Google and I missed it? That's exactly the kind of thing they are known for (beta testers hate it? Lets rush it to live then!)

    ReplyDelete
  134. There is a flood of Biblical proportions over at Google groups, running 100& against this moronic change:

    http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Web_Search_Help/topics?hl=en

    This is Google's "New Coke" moment: a completely disastrous decision.

    ReplyDelete
  135. Bad new iGoogle you stink.

    ReplyDelete
  136. Feedback from Google:

    "We've been gathering input on the new features for several weeks from this group, usability testing, statistical analysis, and survey data. All of this feedback is important to us and while we weren't able to respond to all of them, I want to assure you we've been listening.

    The new iGoogle features went through the same development process that all our products do: we prototype them, and put them through a vigorous set of usability tests and experiments to make sure we are doing the right thing for users. The iGoogle features we're launching today went through this exact process and we've made changes along the way based on feedback from users and developers. Specific examples of the impact of this group:
    * A narrower navigation area on the left side of the page.
    * An option to remove the snippets displayed with feeds.
    * Gmail reply added was added as soon as possible.

    Coming soon:
    * Proper links in Gmail
    * Drag 'n' drop gadgets between tabs
    * Chat
    * More canvas view gadgets"

    iGoogle Group

    ReplyDelete
  137. there is no way to add a new event to google calendar in the new igoogle canvas view. please fix this

    ReplyDelete
  138. Google just changed mine over on at least two accounts, and I am NOT HAPPY.
    Also, this trick: javascript:_dlsetp('v2=0') doesn't give me the old interface as some have reported it will. Using a non-US URL or language setting won't work for long either, as Google has announced plans to roll out this change worldwide soon.

    I wrote a lot of my own gadgets, and now the narrower column width due to the moving of the tabs to a sidebar have screwed up my custom gadgets. I though the whole idea of iGoogle was a USER_CUSTOMIZABLE page. Well, Google just screwed up my "custom" page royally!

    Not only that, but iGoogle runs unacceptably slow on both my work computer and my home computer now. Mouse response is ridiculous.

    GMail's (not so) new interface crashes both computers (Win2k at work, Ubuntu at home, Firefox 2 on both) every time I try to come back to the main screen from reading an email. At least I can revert to the old GMail interface, though it's a stupid process where I have to load the new interface first to get a link to click on to get to the old interface. The new interface also hogs up computer resources and runs much slower. I guess my older 512 MB maxed-out memory hardware just isn't good enough for Google's services any more. Damn shame.

    There should be persistent preference settings in GMail and in iGoogle where the user can choose the preferred interface. It is silly that I can set a preference for GMail to always use SSL but not to always use the older interface. I don't understand why Google isn't providing such an obvious feature.

    Well, Google can be the new Microsoft if that's what they want. I'll tell you this: I don't allow Microsoft to dictate to me when it's time to upgrade my computers, and I won't allow Google or anyone else to do it either. If Google won't give me reasonable choices, it's NetVibes here I come. And I'll set up my own mail server, which what I had planned to do before GMail came along and I got lazy because it did everything I wanted my own mail server to do for me.

    ReplyDelete
  139. I went back to igoogle.ca

    It seems to be working just as it was. I can't believe this. I had a lot of trust in Google, and pulling something like this without accountability is something those other companies do...

    ReplyDelete
  140. For those of us using classic Macintosh OS (many of us in the graphic arts/publishing industry), the new interface gives us ONLY the left tab menu and top search bar. The rest of the page is...blank. Admittedly clicking on an item on the sidebar does give me that one item, but that really isn't what anyone wants in a homepage. If I reboot to OSX, I get a page I can see, but I can't be doing that all day. Big thanks to the people who provided us with the temporary fix of changing the language to "English UK". Google, please leave this choice available, perhaps with a language choice called something like "english classic" that will let us keep our old-style igoogle page.

    ReplyDelete
  141. I'm switching to my.yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  142. Coming soon:
    * Proper links in Gmail


    Does that mean they are fixing that you can't click on links in your email viewing from the iGoogle expanded email? That's a bug I can't believe someone missed. Who tests this stuff?

    ReplyDelete
  143. - Let the user decide where he wants the his tabs. A tab positioned on the left may be good for people that have widescreen monitors, where vertical space becomes more precious.

    - The Gmail like chat is better than the flash GTalk gadget, but I still prefer it to be in a gadget, where you can choose to have it or not, and at the location you want. It seems that placed the chat on the left navigation bar just to fill the empty space.

    - The canvas view is not being used by me. The Google Reader site is still so much better than the Google Reader canvas view. Same for Gmail. Also when using Gmail, sometimes I dont want to leave my iGoogle main view due to some information that i need to read/copy from there to place in the email I am composing.

    ReplyDelete
  144. I hate the new interface. Give us a choice of the old or the new because I will have to stop using igoogle if the old interface is not restored.

    ReplyDelete
  145. I am totally frustrated with the move of the tabs to the left hand corner. I have 5 tabs and could view everything easily on a single screen for each tab. Now, I must scroll the equivalent of several pages since the new bar takes so much space. If there is no way to return to the old (top bar) version, I will stop using igoogle as my home page.
    BTW, I tried using the UK language trick but they said it was just temporary and evidently, the time has expired since it does not work.

    ReplyDelete
  146. Update: It *DID* switch back to the old version after a short time. I guess I will hang in there until they either make that change permanent or, if it is dropped and no other alternative is provided, I will just switch my home page.

    ReplyDelete
  147. Sorry about this herd, but I really, really like it. Don't say things like "everyone hates it" when there are tens of millions of people using it who haven't submitted negative comments.

    Kudos to those who are making constructive suggestions to improve the new iGoogle. I totally agree that those who don't like the left tab should have some way of minimising it or restoring a form of the earlier functionality, but the new interface really does give you a new way of using the page. My screen is small (1024x768) and I've simply switched to a two column layout and all is well.
    Google has never forced anyone to use its products and has never forced anyone to stay. For those who wish to switch to Netvibes, Pageflakes, Live.com, my.Yahoo or any other of the personal portals that are out there, then feel free. The web is a competitive market, choice is good.

    ReplyDelete
  148. Google is just taking a page from the Microsoft customer service manual: "Our developers think this is really cooooool, so you WILL use and LIKE it."

    Resistance is futile...

    I would be satisfied with just having the OPTION to decide which interface to use, but Google, in their infinite wisdom, has decided that only the new way is best.

    Just have to use the UK site for now...

    ReplyDelete
  149. TERRIBLE. It looks much worse. It makes everything else off-center! It makes the OCD in me go nuts!!! I hate looking at this pile of crap now.

    PLEASE either take it off, or all the option to change it to the old version.

    I've definitely thinking of changing my home page to something else now. It makes me cringe.

    ReplyDelete
  150. HATE IT.
    It's ugly, it takes up valuable space.
    Let me have the tabs at the top or I won't use tabs at all.

    ReplyDelete
  151. This is worthless. My page is all screwed up now and has less functionality in my opinion. The pathetic sidebar is worthless, I know what is on my page because I put it there...I do not need a list on the side that takes up space. The gmail widget now sucks...plain and simple. I think this new version is terrible...maybe I need to find a different home page.

    ReplyDelete
  152. I'm not sure I have a strong opinion one way or the other yet but the changes appear to have an impact on memory... The longer I leave the iGoogle page open, the more memory it hogs/requires. Does anyone know how to fix this? It only started happening after the changes were implemented to iGoogle.

    ReplyDelete
  153. When I turned my computer on this morning, the new iGoogle was there. After discovering that I couldn't change it back, I spent some time searching for a new homepage. A few minutes ago I restarted my computer and the old iGoogle was back. I hope they leave it that way or at least make it an option, otherwise I may have to find a different homepage.

    ReplyDelete
  154. I'm actually quite happy Google added the left tab. It's not as if I like the tab though. What I like is the Remove It Permanently extension someone's mentioned. Does a great job getting rid of the iGoogle left nav tab -- as well as a lot of other annoying things on the web. Kudos to Jerome O'Flaherty!

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/521

    And a bit of advise for the Google team -- the first rule of usability is LESS IS MORE.

    But thanks for the great home page.

    ReplyDelete
  155. If you have firefox and either greasemonkey or stylish plugins installed you can use this css code to remove the side nav bar:

    http://userstyles.org/styles/11351

    I'm still working on cleaning up the tabs and making them look like the old interface but its fully functional now.

    ReplyDelete
  156. I read about this site on John Chow http://www.43marks.com - its like Igoogle but better cuz you can add you own bookmarks and the bookmarks can be websites not just gadgets and RSS feeds although you can upload your favorite RSS feeds to. Its free and totally customizable. Plus you don't have to login to see your bookmars and RSS feeds

    ReplyDelete
  157. I HATE the left tab. Let me get rid of it!

    Don't force it on me!

    ReplyDelete
  158. I don't like the tabs on the side. I had all my pages set to display without having to scroll. With vertical navigation tabs, every page now scrolls. I would really prefer it if Google would:
    1. give users prior notice to changes
    2. the ability to choose vertical or the old horizontal tabs

    I don't mind the other changes. But who really cares if border corners are rounded or not? These "improvements" are like the ones they made to the Google calendar widget. I didn't like those changes, so I don't use the widget anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  159. Simply put....Now I am in Hell. Thanks Google

    ReplyDelete
  160. Experienced some terrible java(?) problems yesterday with very slow cursor changes, momentary screen and full browser freezes but I suspect some of this was due to bad code and some to Iceweasel's java implementation.
    Things are working much better today but the slow cursor changes continue.

    I like the changes to iGoogle and the implementation of Canvas view. This evening, the 'show this story' button was restored and I'm glad that was done. Oh, and the page, in general, looks fine on my 15" laptop.

    ReplyDelete
  161. Hate it!! Waste of space with new left column and what happened to the small window with just headlines? Now the icon opens a new window which is a waste of my limited time. Again, I reiterate, I Hate It!!! Revert or give the option of old or new! Now looking for a new home page...bye bye Google.

    ReplyDelete
  162. I too do not like new navigation sidebar on the left. It is useless for me. Expanding gmail does not really work well. Old page was more practical. Keep new UI but change navigation!

    ReplyDelete
  163. google please allow us to hide side tabs or move to top!

    ReplyDelete
  164. I hate it! iGoogle is supposed to be about flexibility. So, where's the choice here?
    I want the old layout back.

    ReplyDelete
  165. WTF?! I want to switch to old (or any other) view any time.
    This is real disappointment from Google. Not that design is poor but that there is no choice.

    ReplyDelete
  166. I don't understand why links in email do not work with this new format. I must not open full gmail to use email. I do like the ability to perform actions from the main window, but it seems very silly that email links do't work.

    ReplyDelete
  167. MY WIFE AND I HATE THE NEW IGOOGLE...PLEASE GIVE US THE OPTION TO BE ABLE TO PICK THE OLD OR NEW OR WE WILL NO LONGER BE USING IGOOGLE.

    ReplyDelete
  168. From what was said earlier, using the English (UK) is a temporary fix to return to the original homepage setup. When they screw that up too I'll be looking for a new home page. When you give me no choice (as to tab location), then I have no choice but to move on!

    ReplyDelete
  169. I agree with the Anonymous above, there should be a choice to tab location.

    Although i personally love the new position.

    Two things that are strange though:
    1) I can't drag and drop gadgets onto other tabs
    2) When a tab only has one gadget, and is capable of being maximised, it should do so by default (or at least provide the option. i like having a Gmail tab)
    Oh, well, actually, 3) no persistent chat interface D:

    ReplyDelete
  170. I got the new iGoogle page 2 days ago. Now it seems as if they reverted my iGoogle page back to the old one...is it the same for you??

    ReplyDelete
  171. I absolutely HATE this new interface, please give us the option of getting rid of this crap. It's too cumbersome.

    HATE IT

    HATE IT

    HATE IT!!!

    ReplyDelete
  172. Mouseover preview in my news gadget seems to have returned. Thanks.

    We're getting there . . .

    ReplyDelete
  173. Why is google thrusting this on us when all I can see and find is negative comments...

    Please EVERYONE you need to post your comments here and everywhere else to make sure google gets the message.

    I HATE the new sidebar. I is TERRIBLE

    ReplyDelete
  174. Yes, the new iGoogle sucks big time!
    I do not want the left "home" tab - also, I liked it better when gmail opned in a new tab... and on some computers the new gmail does not work at all.

    Thx a lot for the http://www.google.co.uk/ig tip!

    ReplyDelete
  175. i HATE HATE HATE HATE the new page design. i only have ONE tab, my home tab, why am i forced to keep an obsolete menu bar that takes up a large portion of my page AND, since i am using a 9 inch screen, squishes everything to almost non readable size?

    GOOGLE, MAKE THE NEW DESIGN OPTIONAL! I am very seriously considering Yahoo for a new homepage unless this problem is fixed ASAP

    ReplyDelete
  176. New iGoogle STINKS!!!

    I suppose that it will STINK around world soon.

    ReplyDelete
  177. just looked up evil in the dictionary...
    iGoogle

    ReplyDelete
  178. Nothing like taking a perfectly good, usable interface and turning it into a piece of crap. I suppose some user interface expert on drugs and with cranio-rectal insertion got paid an exorbiant sum for this abomination. Not only is the UI garbage, but an incredibly large number of the most useful gadgets now misbehave. Good going Google! You've almost caught up with Yahoo in terms of arrogant stupidity.

    ReplyDelete
  179. I have tabs in my browser, I don't want or need them in iGoogle too!

    Please don't force me to go use Yahoo or (heaven help me) create another new email!

    ReplyDelete
  180. HATE the left navigation bar -- give me back the option for top tabs or I'll have to give up iGoogle.

    ReplyDelete
  181. I hate the new tab design. Since igoogle is my own home page, I'm quite able to navigagte easily without a menu. I prefer the better space with the old tabs. How about giving users the option of tabs on the left or tabs on the to?

    ReplyDelete
  182. Note to Google developers: You guys know this new tab design sucks. Tell us the name of the idiotic executive who made you do this!

    ReplyDelete
  183. PLEASE give us the option to use the old igoogle interface or the ability to disable the new left sidebar. The sidebar puts the whole page off centre and chops the right side off of some gadgets. Most annoying, I'm looking at other homepages. I really enjoyed the old igoogle.

    ReplyDelete
  184. Please bring back traditional tabs, without making us jump through language settings hoops.
    How about a first-time-visit question to ask where the user prefers them?
    I left MyYahoo over there changes that I didn't like, so I suppose I can go to MSN livespaces next.

    ReplyDelete
  185. I have recommended iGoogle to many people but this new version is horrible. Give us an option for the old tabs that we loved!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  186. Google, you got it WRONG.

    I HATE the new iGoogle - please give me the option to go back to the old tabs...

    ReplyDelete
  187. Dear Google;

    I opened my personalized Google home page last night to discover that some one had stolen my precious screen real estate. All of my Google gadgets that I rely on daily were scrunched towards the right side of the screen because the nice clean tab line which ran across the top of the screen was now running down the left side of my screen.

    I thought perhaps I had somehow messed up my configuration when playing with my gadgets and searched in vain for the setting to let me change it back. Eventually I went looking for help and stumbled across a Google post about new features http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=107482&topic=13918

    This leads me to wonder just how much Google understands the computer market place. Laptops (traditionally smaller screens than desktops) are now outselling desktops. Recently the laptop market has been swept along with netbooks (lighter, smaller versions of laptops with screens which are cheaper and have a smaller overall resolution that laptops). Ultimately this means that screen space to display the things consumers want to see is a valuable commodity.

    And into this market Google introduces… a menu system that consumes significantly more screen real estate than the previous version.

    BTW: This new menu system has evidently impacted things like the Google finance pages and added the need for an additional click in order to get basic information for the stocks I follow, something I do numerous times a day.

    Come on Google, what were/are you thinking?

    ReplyDelete
  188. (I had comments on the GMail widget page, but they were either removed or don't go back far enough. I just posted this one as a replacement.)

    I'm posting to reiterate that this change is worse than unhelpful. It (and the rest of the iGoogle design) completely break my Google experience. You've built up a tremendous amount of goodwill over the years, but I'm willing to defend odd choices as long as the usability is still there. The problems I have can be traced directly to these issues:

    1) No way to bring GMail previews back to one line each. I only want to immediately read one out of every 5-10 emails or so that comes into my inbox, so I used to have the preview set as high as it could go. I logged in the other day to find that the widget now took up way too much space. I had to bring it down to 5 just to be of any use, but now I'm looking for alternatives.

    2) I use iGoogle as a portal to look at a lot of things I want to keep track of. I don't want widgets to expand to take up the full screen and hide the rest of iGoogle, especially since it saves that state when the browser closes. Whatever happened to my "Open links in new window" setting? The number of times I've opened an email, then closed to tab, then realized I had to go back to iGoogle and find the minimize tab again to get back to where I was is incredibly frustrating. Yes, maybe it's something to just get used to, but this is basic usability and it's rapidly making me look for something else.

    3) The links on the side are the least of the issues, but represent the overall problem. I've loved Google and iGoogle for years because it was simple, clean, and when I load up the page it's very easy to see exactly what I'm looking for. I am not looking for a rich desktop application, I'm looking for information. Everything I've loved to use iGoogle for has been because I can find what I'm looking for and forget about the fact that I'm on the web, looking at different sources. The new menu violates that simple rule by being incredibly visible, distracting and unhelpful.

    I'm giving this setup another few days while I explore alternatives, but it's rapidly getting to the point where I'm just going to switch to something without as many features just to get away from the frustrations. Probably Feedly or something similar.

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  189. Rule #1 - If it ain't broke don't fix it. I echo all the complaints in the prior posts. I hate the new sidebar. I am also looking for new place to live since Igoogle no longer feels like home to me

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  190. I hate the new homepage too. The kind of hate that makes me want to pick up my computer and throw it through the window, right at that genious whose idea it was to put that tab there. Now my page looks so awkward. I'll be using the canada version for as long as it's "normal", but if that changes, without google giving us a chance to get rid of that dumb tab, then I will probably go back to Yahoo.

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  191. Is there any way to revert back to the V1 iGoogle? The new one is awful. I really don't care for web sites that inflict unwanted change on their users...

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  192. Ok, I'm not going to say anything here that hasn't already been said but I strongly dislike the change to the tab on the left... never had a use for the tab in the first place, but at least it was minimal at the top of the page. Now it seems to take up nearly half of my page. This angers me.

    Also, having to find my way into full gmail in order to click on attachments, as others above have already noted, is a needless hoop for me to jump thru.

    I appreciate all the work that Google has put into making this a great site, but if things don't change soon I will be looking elsewhere.

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  193. Pleeese - just give me the option of keeping my "old" iGoogle - it was loyal & served me well!

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  194. "We're very excited about these changes because it makes iGoogle a more useful homepage and a better platform for developers." -- My widgets are broken and the new look, which appeared *totally* out of the blue, was extremely disruptive. Same is true for Google Apps intereface, for which I pay. -- I'm glad the developers you are courting are happy, but I think you should strive to make things useful for your customers first and foremost. If this is the scheme by which Google will be releasing supposedly useful updates to function and interface, I will definitely reconsider continuing my subscriptions to Google services. -- It's sad, really - I never expected to see flaming posts accusing Google of "arrogant stupidity." How about giving this another try at marketing??

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  195. I've been used new iGoogle for some times and I happy with it.

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  196. Also hating the new iGoogle here. If I wanted a freakin tab taking up a fat ruler full of unused space at the side of my page, I'd put it there myself.

    Bad Google, bad.

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  197. So does iGoogle want to crash and burn or what? They went from the greatest to the suckiest overnite. Just give me back my old iGoogle and we'll forget this whole thing ever happened. I mean seriously, tabs for gadgets that I already have wide open on the screen in front of me?? What are you guys, a bunch of reets? SUCKSUCKSUCKSUCKSUCKSUCKSUCKSUCKSUCKSUCKSUCKSUCK

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