WYSIWYG

What You See Is What You Get. This is a journal blog, an explore-blog, a bit of this and that blog. Sharing where the mood takes me. Perhaps it will take you too.

Menoloopal; Ether Upheavals

A short one today. Just a bit of a rant review of recent 'upgrades' of Google things. I am not sure how global the changes have been. Some of this may pertain only within the Chromebook environment - let me know in comments if you are in Windows but still had the Chrome browser update that has now produced a fully functional calendar widget on the taskbar which takes one seamlessly into Google calendar. To be honest, I have not used that tool until now, choosing still to work with good old paper and pen. However, this is so nicely integrated, I can see myself being converted and that too, quite quickly. I did use the ColorNote app for reference when I got OctoKan, but may find that falls naturally redundant now.

There were other tweaks, the most notable (or the one most affecting my regular usage) was the launch tray where all the programs...sorry, applications... sit. I am not convinced that is an improvement as such, but it is definitely more showy.

Then, on Monday, I was gnashing my teeth because Gmail was playing up. I had been trying to send out emails and getting nowhere. I muttered to two pals on phone calls that I strongly suspected Google was tinkering under the hood yet again. On Tuesday morning, when I signed on, I was proven correct. Gmail has had quite a makeover with a new toolbar to the left of the page, typeface all changed, some fancification of the message tray. It seems that Chat has been upgraded somewhat, and is there to fill the gap left by Hangouts... which some may prefer to the Meet tool. But having become used to the latter over the past year, I shall continue to utilise that. 

The darktheme option has been expanded to work on everything over which Google has authority - so even the little pop-ups of right click are in black. I prefer this theme to white, as it is softer on the eyes of one who spends a ridiculous amount of time at the screen... I just wish that the Blogger comments issues had been sorted and more integrated but that one, I suspect, will have to wait for the next big 'upgrade' on that platform. 

Never-ending change, eh? Some of it good, some of it not, and a lot of it made simply because someone wanted something to look different, adding no value to the interface experience at all. Hey ho...

Now to move on with things and accept the inevitability of these tinkerings. 



8 comments:

  1. That pretty much sums it up, YAM!

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  2. I use windows, so the changes, while obvious, were less traumatic.

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  3. we had a big bug too, t said goodgle changed our network? huh? huuuh? huuuuuuh? I had to use a reset point and against all odds it worked...

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  4. the only thing I noticed was the silly tray change and that i could no longer scroll up from the bottom to see the apps but had to poke the button on the left. I hate that change but have adjusted. I already had the calendar on my bar so did not notice that. I use the calendar on my phone and it populates so I can check it on both computers. I like that. I still use the paper calendar on the wall but also have backup in chrome. everytime it says shut down for an update I shudder to think what they have changed next. just as I get used to something they change it. there may be other things I have not found yet.

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  5. If I live to be 187 years old I will NEVER no NEVER understand the need to 'fix' something that is working.
    Crazy.
    Hugs cecilia

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  6. I don't use Chrome and when they suggest to me to switch - no thank you.

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  7. I'm with C...if it ain't broke...well, you know.

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