Comments on: Where do I protest this new iGoogle?

Question: Where do I protest this new iGoogle?

DetonatedManiac — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:48:50 -0800

Ok, WTF. I go to my home page (iGoogle) and suddenly everything has changed. I hate it, it literally hurts my eyes, I can't find anything. I am not kidding. How do I fix it or where can I protest?

As an added horrible bonus they have also screwed up my gmail too. Where can I get a fix for THAT? This sux, I have had this gmail account for like 5 years now I have to find a new email service. Any thoughts?

By: dunkadunc

dunkadunc — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:55:09 -0800

What do you mean? iGoogle and gmail look the same as they have in the past for me.

By: ktrey

ktrey — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:56:32 -0800

This describes what has happened. I don't know if they're going to roll out a "switch to classic-mode" or not. Greasemonkey may be your only hope.

By: davejay

davejay — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:56:38 -0800

I'm personally partial to my.yahoo.com, which is probably because I work for Yahoo, but my wife also prefers it to Google's equivalent and she doesn't mind shoving her Google preferences in my face when they exist.

As for mail, you get what you pay for when you rely on free services, be they Google, Yahoo or any other. There are lots of low-cost email providers that can give you (arguably) better service for a low fee, and if you search the site, you'll find some recommended ones (that's how I found my current mail provider.)

By: zsazsa

zsazsa — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:57:55 -0800

Give it a while. You'll probably get used to it. This is not a snark.

By: Ike_Arumba

Ike_Arumba — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:58:54 -0800

Here's another article describing what's the deal with the new iGoogle.

By: Medieval Maven

Medieval Maven — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:08:12 -0800

FWIW I just got it today and it's pretty slick. No more multiple tabs open for gmail and igoogle . . .I can easily access all that on the one page, and reader works the same way. Give it time, it's like switching from Windows 3.1 to Windows 98 . . .a bit of a mind fuck at first but it's got a lot going for it. As for your gmail being messed up, we'd have to have more info on what the "being messed up is," I suppose.

By: TochterAusElysium

TochterAusElysium — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:09:47 -0800

This page has the key to turning it on or off:

Quick tip to access the new iGoogle:
- go to google.com/ig
- paste this in the address bar:
javascript:_dlsetp('v2=1');
- to go back to the old version, paste in the address bar:
javascript:_dlsetp('v2=0');

I haven't tried it but apparently some have with success. I didn't care for the new setup at first, but I think I will get used to it, so I'll keep it for a bit.

By: danb

danb — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:12:47 -0800

The official Google Blog has a post up about the iGoogle changes, and solicits feedback at the address gblog@google.com. Maybe they can pass on your concerns?

By: JohnnyGunn

JohnnyGunn — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:27:35 -0800

I was "given" (forced to a new version of iGoogle several weeks ago. There are many items I do not like such as the tabs on the left. Waste of good space. The mail view changed too. After sending them much feedback, like zsazsa said above, time healed all wounds. I like most of the changes now but for the left tabs. Changing to another service will force you to get used to something new anyway, so why not give these changes a chance before the hassle of getting an all new email address?

By: DetonatedManiac

DetonatedManiac — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:29:55 -0800

well i went directly to "www.gmail.com"... it turns out that gmail is ok, Thank god... But now I'm gonna have to have a book mark to open it up in a separate tab. Slightly aggravating since I used to be able to open it up in a separate tab when I clicked "in box" in iGoogle.

I guess if gmail is ok I can live with this new iGoogle thing. But I'm gonna have to find a way to collapse the text associated with headlines and ask-mefi posts etc.

By: DetonatedManiac

DetonatedManiac — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:32:45 -0800

I mean GEEEZ - a few years ago I tinkered with it for like 3 months to get everything I wanted to see on one page... and it has been fine ever since... now i have like 2.5 screens worth of scrolling

(still venting sorry)

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:37:32 -0800

Yeah, I agree that it sucks- I hate the tabs on the side. The new page appeared without warning and had no means to switch back. I tried http://www.google.co.uk/ig and it came up fine (old way), so that may provide some temporary relief...

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:39:34 -0800

you can collapse the text by going to http://www.google.com/ig/settings , scroll to the bottom and uncheck Show a short description for each feed article and then click save at the bottom right and side.

By: DetonatedManiac

DetonatedManiac — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:40:30 -0800

what is this canvas view buzzword? what is a canvas view?

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:41:04 -0800

oh also, it seems as though you can drag widgets to other tabs now. Arrrgh!!

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:42:34 -0800

It basically means that you can expand the widget to cover most of the page.

By: DetonatedManiac

DetonatedManiac — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:45:55 -0800

I feel like some sort of crotchety old man... but while that change in settings gets me back to original layout space wise, now I cannot enlarge to read the initial blurbs about articles I am interested in, where are the pluses and minuses?

By: DetonatedManiac

DetonatedManiac — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:49:36 -0800

whatever, I don't care any more... that has already eaten up too much of my time today.

By: Solon and Thanks

Solon and Thanks — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:50:19 -0800

To get to normal gmail quickly from your homepage, click on "gmail" on the white header bar.

By: zhivota

zhivota — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:13:18 -0800

I agree that the whole tab thing on the left is a waste of space. it's eating up so much space that my other stuff is squished and unreadable. When you're on a 13 inch notebook screen where you're multitasking and firefox doesn't even take up the whole window, you don't appreciate people F-ing with your space like that.

By: DetonatedManiac

DetonatedManiac — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:13:12 -0800

since writing this google, in its infinite wisdom, put the pluses back on the iGoogle home page. Coupled with the fact that I am still able to access the normal gmail I dropped my protest. This issue is resolved.

By: iivix

iivix — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:54:16 -0800

Hi. Looks like those of us in the UK (or some of us at least) got the switchover to iGoogle 2.0 today, and as I'm one of those people who hate the side tab placement, I've gone digging for answer for reversing it... Looks like you can use http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all to view it in "classic mode" with the tabs at the top, at least for now.