[anon(1049620)]

Well, it's early morning and I can't really sleep (perhaps in anticipation of DevCon? Nah, it was probably all those cookies...), so I figured I'd jot down some thoughts. This will probably come out as a bit of a ramble, I'm not going to proofread it, so forgive me if I'm a bit incoherent or it doesn't flow very well. 4 AM is around the corner.

Google has been bugging me for some time now. It's not because I have any problem with Android, in fact, I encourage the fact that there is an alternative to iOS that is open, mainstream, and accessible. Different people like different things, and the more options in devices and software, the better.

It's not because they've completely eliminated their AdWords support for large volume advertisers (I'll be spending just shy of a half-million dollars with them for one of my clients this year, and I can't even get a dedicated account rep to call once a month because there AREN'T any).

It's not because they're massive and have loads of cash. They want to grow, I say let them grow. The bigger, the better, a lot of their stuff is so beneficial to the world, to developers, to communities and citizens.

No, what's bugging me is the fact that as they have grown, their core culture has become watered down and altered. Google's mission was originally to create software and services that let people get things done faster and easier. I feel that they have strayed from that path, purely in the name of business strategy. They no longer make the internet easier and faster to get around, they have made it more difficult.

Case in point: As a user of a mobile device (Blackberry 9900) and tablet (Playbook/iPad) that are NOT Google/Android-based, I am severely restricted in what I can do with Google's services. AdWords does not even function on the Playbook or iPad without some serious tweaks and special software, and many of Google's websites are buggy even though these mobile browsers score ridiculously high on compatibility tests. Picasa Albums defaults to a mobile view with tiny little pictures that cannot be enlarged. Google Maps has not been updated on a BB smartphone in the last year, and will probably never make it onto the Playbook. I doubt we'll be seeing many more updates for iOS devices either. I have signed into Google services on my PC and gotten trippy redirects to the wrong pages -- all this while using the best browsers around (e.g. Firefox 6+). It seems like more and more, things just don't work right unless you're on an Android tablet or using Chrome.

So, what's this all got to do with Microsoft? Well, if you'll recall, just over a decade ago Microsoft reached the point where they were so massive, they dominated the marketplace and basically got to do anything they wanted. They dictated how developers built applications and how web pages were formatted and developed. Internet Explorer 6 has crippled the web since its inception, as many businesses are STILL running applications that depend on it. Then look at Office... the 2003 version of Word/Excel was awesome, then they decided to introduce the Ribbon. People were paying for software to disable/remove it, because they took something that worked great and changed it.

Personally, I feel Google is heading down the same path. They have diverged from their original mission and have begun adding useless features to products that worked perfectly from the get-go. Why do I have so many new options in Google search? Why doesn't pressing Page Down in image search do what Page Down does on EVERY OTHER web page? Google has to have a different approach to everything they do, but there's absolutely no consistency across products, and what's more, there's no flow with the rest of the web. They are content going their own way in a time when users want to be more connected and there is so much more content to absorb, things to remember, passwords, forms, social sites, etc.

As a personal plea to Google, I ask them to stop "fixing" things that aren't broken, and stop crippling the experience for users who aren't on Google-owned hardware or software. We WILL find alternatives, someone will do it better (the way you used to do it).

Just remember (and this goes to ALL DEVELOPERS out there). Changing a text-based button to an icon is not necessarily better. More features are not always what the customer wants or needs, while clean and simple is not always easier. With every iteration, every build, every design, you need to put yourself in a user's shoes. A non-tech-savvy, no-time-to-mess-around individual who you assume is using a computer for the first time. Make it so easy a child can do it. That's why Google was successful, everyone instantly knew how to use it (I enter a word and click search).

And in the end, this (luckily) also leads back to why BlackBerry will continue to survive among business users: people who want to get things done don't have time to poke around on touch screens or figure out what icons mean. Give me a menu button, a back button, and a keyboard, and that's the fastest way I'll ever be able to get around, and nothing will change that. And I think that many of the newest BlackBerries have schooled the industry in how to apply great design to something that has -- GASP -- lots of buttons!

[lssanjose]

I hear ya. I think that's what's going on with them, as they're continuously battling Apple for top spot, PERIOD. They're growing really quickly, and I see some complacency. That's why I'll be interested in what ICS brings to the table with the Nexus Prime



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[psufan32]

A better comparison is Apple turning into what they for so long derided Microsoft for being - an overbearing, locked down, proprietary driven company, stiff arming suppliers and sellers and attempting to crush the competition through parades of litigation.

[lssanjose]

Apple has always been locked down, and proprietary. They finally opened up to CISC based processors, a few years ago, after having gone with PowerPC architecture for so long


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[BoldtotheMax]

I think you proof read it. ...just sayin'. ....

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[12MaNy]

So let me get this straight....your mad because certain Google apps have occasional hiccups on a non-Google platform? Pretty sure their native platform takes priority. At least their trying to cater a little bit to multiple platforms. Lol