Google Pages Reviewed

Tam Hanna writes "We got access to a Google Pages review account. Get the full scoop on what Google Pages can do." The gist of it is that "Google Pages Is Not For You." It's for your mom ;)

Riiiight..

[EBFoxbat]

Neato... is this much different than say Geocities was? Just means myspace-like sites on google domains I think. Not my cup of tea.

Oh my, yes.

[ZeroExistenZ]

The gist of it is that "Google Pages Is Not For You." It's for your mom ;)

So you not only have summarized TFA FOR me - so I don't have to RTFA - AND you're saying it's nothing for anyone but a sporadic user... Why are you wasting space on slasdot?

I'm so glad...

[pedantic bore]

... that I have slashdot to remind me several times about every little thing that Google does.

Gadzooks.

Use it as an image store

[LoKi128]

Upload all your images and other binary files, and use this as the bulk storage server for your website. Keep the PHP somewhere else, and use the free bandwidth offered by Google. Wonder what the cap on transfer/month is, or if there is a restriction on outside referals...

Not true

[ultrabot]

Google pages is alright for me. I'm not a web designer, nor do I care about all the gizmos you can do. I just want to push pics and text to the web, and even a basic Wiki would be fine for me.

What I need, and Geocities doesn't provide, is a fast ad-free ajaxy interface and "one login", i.e. gmail/gtalk/whatever login.

"One login to rule them all..."

For my mom? For me too then

[devilsbrigade]

Not really, my mom uses Front page to do her website for school. To be honest, this IS more for me. I don't classify myself as one of the elite uber geeks, who can code a webpage in perl while debuggin a SQL server and have time to post snarky remarks on /. at the same time. I HATE coding webpages. I can't think of a more boring exercise in the world. Why do you think there are so many poorly designed ones? People stop learing how to do. Its just a whole lot easier for me to post my 100 MB of internet trash to web when all the hard design work is done for me. I can post some pics, make some jokes that are funny to me and my friends, and still have time to go out and have a life that doesn't revolve around the glow of my laptop monitor. Elitist ruin every application regardless of what its for. When did the web bcome a place where on the instructed and capable can play. Why shouldn't anyone with a computer and internet connect be allowed to have thier own special little place to play, celebrate their own life and enjoy making webpage? Do you truly think that thier 100 MBs of usage and 1 - 2 view per month is really going to affect the upload bandwidth of your cable modem causing that critical sword strike you launched at lord Razak to fall wrong ruining the last 6 months of your life? Get off your internet high horse and let people enjoy it.

you guys are missing the point

[theStorminMormon]

As someone who's relatively web-savy (I've used Dreamweaver and Flash extensively in the past and I've grown to loathe Frontpage) I've got to say that I think GooglePages is a truly awesome innovation. Sure - there's no one thing about it that's really that great. But think about the fact that they've bundled the web-hosting, domain-name, and web-creation all into 1 package, made it simple, and made it free.

This isn't just for people who don't can't learn HTML. This is for anyone who wants to get a decent site on the itnernet but simply has better thaings to do than to learn to make attractive web pages from scratch. Face it - the GooglePages look pretty sweet (especially compared to Geocities, etc.)

There are a lot of people out there who would benefit from being able to create and maintain their own webpages who simply don't have the time to learn more tech stuff. I tried it out and was immediately convinced it would work perfectly for my dad (an English professor - http://terryl.givens.googlepages.com/ [googlepages.com] ). He doesn't need SQL, PHP, etc. No messageboards, no forums, no online-shopping, no registering. Just text, images, and some pdf/doc docs.

My dad's a smart man. He could learn all about web hosting, html, etc. if he wanted to. But he's got a PhD in Comparative Literature and he's a litle busy with doing his actual job to start learning how to do tech stuff. There are lot of professionals and other busy people out there like him. They would benefit from a very simple web site. Not just simple to design, but simple to order (try explaining domain names vs. web hosting to most non-techies) and maintain. Not to mention free.

GooglePages is not rocket science - but in my opinion it goes a long way towards hitting the sweet spot where convenience and function are optimized for people who want to be able to make web pages with no serious training.

I also think it's not a bad idea for techies either, if you're too busy with other stuff. I'm working full time, I do consulting part time, I have my own small company on top of that, and I'm about to start a masters program. I don't have time to mess with a web site, but it's important to keep a presence on the web (resume stuff). GooglePages is perfect for that.

-stormin

Theory:Slashdot's never been better thanks to Digg

[ThurlMakes7]

Slashdot has always had some great contributors, and some ornery old timers. A few years ago, when people said "I can't read Slashdot anymore," they were mostly referring to very young, or very extreme (or both) idealogues and zealots.

Today it's Digg which attracts these people, and Slashdot has improved immensely as a result. While it ain't perfect - too many dupes, and too many funny contributions get marked "-1 Troll" - I can't ever remember Slashdot being as good as it is now.

The default mode of discourse on Slashdot looks like this:

• User A: I think X
• • User B: I disagree, because of Y
  • User A: But what about Z?

While Digg's default discourse looks like this:

• User A: I love X!
• • User B: Me too. I love X!
• User C: I love X even more. Digg!

• User D: X is the greatest. Double Digg Plus!

Digg's a game and a social club, which is cool if you just want to meet people who think exactly like you. It doesn't have great discussions though, because it's designed to encourage groupthink.

Enough of the four-digit old-timers still contribute to Slashdot, too. Digg's never had wise tribal elders - and with the group reinforcement now so strong, it's not going to start attracting them now.

So we owe Digg a big Thank-You. ;-)