Comment Afraid not (Score 4, Insightful) 90
I'd like to think they have a chance. Their goals are certainly noble. But I wouldn't be too optimistic.
5532 south 43rd, isn't that Harry Buttle's place?
ohhhh big points for getting a Brazil reference in there!
The cynical amongst web analytics professionals accuse Google of hiding organic keyword searches from website operators in order to force them into paying for AdWords with its paid keywords.
I was wondering this myself, as someone who is very annoyed with the "(not provided)" entry in my Keywords list in Analytics. I know, hardly a big deal in the grand scheme. Call me selfish.
If you work for the NSA, that might not be good enough, but it should be for the majority of people.
... all of the twins and triplet androids (Mudd's Women)
Actually the triplet androids are from "I, Mudd". The women in "Mudd's Women" were quite human.... too much perhaps.
Did I just let my "trekkie"-ness show?
Their wallet, checkout, or whatever really does suck.
As a merchant, I've found Google Checkout to be quite useful. It's API has more features than Paypal's, and it's Order Processing interface is far superior to any other I've used. It allows me to send multiple tracking numbers to a customer, which Paypal STILL does not allow. Searching and archiving is far easier in Checkout. And don't forget about speed. Paypal's site is abysmally slow, while Checkout is lighting quick in just about every function. Generating reports is immediate, while Paypal makes you wait anywhere from 10 minutes to 24 hours.
That being said, their Help and Support is virtually non-existent. No phone support whatsoever. Email support is usually canned answers only. You'll find many forum posts of Google Checkout users begging for help and rarely finding it.
Checkout definitely needs help, but it has Paypal beat as far as merchants are concerned. Now if only it had Paypal's market share...
You don't see a 'Hello world' program requiring a 3GB+ build footprint do you?
New York... when civilization falls apart, remember, we were way ahead of you. - David Letterman