Submission + - iGoogle Users iRate About Portal's Changes
bhhenry writes: "Information week reports on a recent unannounced change in the iGoogle portal: "Google insists that its revised iGoogle personalized home page generates better 'happiness metrics' than the old design, but a vocal group of users isn't happy about the changes." The recent change introduces what Google refers to as "canvas view," which the Official Google Blog claims "... makes iGoogle a more useful homepage and a better platform for developers." Unlike the last major change made to Gmail, there is no option to revert to the old version of iGoogle. iGoogle users are reporting that widgets and themes are broken, Gmail attachments don't work, and valuable screen space is wasted.
The Personalizing Google section of Google Groups is full of thousands of complaints about this sudden and unannounced change. One commenter suggests to Google, "Try sticking to your own guidelines: 'Above all, a well-designed Google product is useful in daily life. It doesn't try to impress users with its whizbang technology or visual style — though it might have both. It doesn't strong-arm people to use features they don't want....." Many posters have have stated that they are using the Canadian or UK version of iGoogle or even moving to NetVibes.com to get their preferred layout back."
The Personalizing Google section of Google Groups is full of thousands of complaints about this sudden and unannounced change. One commenter suggests to Google, "Try sticking to your own guidelines: 'Above all, a well-designed Google product is useful in daily life. It doesn't try to impress users with its whizbang technology or visual style — though it might have both. It doesn't strong-arm people to use features they don't want....." Many posters have have stated that they are using the Canadian or UK version of iGoogle or even moving to NetVibes.com to get their preferred layout back."
