iGoogle IMHO was just following the "Portlet" fad that seem to infect many portal sites. I think Google Now is a much better interface for this kind of stuff, if only it were "extensible" the way iGoogle gadgets were.
I wouldn't call it a product, more like a feature. Google has literally changes thousands of features of their search page over the years. Maintaining them all without ever sunsetting would be an unimaginable technical debt.
This brings up the usual Reader meme, but even Apple unceremoniously kills features in products they charge money for and profit from. Remember the Final Cut Pro vs Pro X debacle? Or iMovie? Sometimes companies just decide its time to revamp a product and remove features that are no longer popular, or just poorly designed. Paying for a product does not protect you from that if you are a minority of users. Well, maybe it does, Microsoft seems to just keep on piling on features in its products without ever removing them.
Comments
iGoogle IMHO was just following the "Portlet" fad that seem to infect many portal sites. I think Google Now is a much better interface for this kind of stuff, if only it were "extensible" the way iGoogle gadgets were.
I wouldn't call it a product, more like a feature. Google has literally changes thousands of features of their search page over the years. Maintaining them all without ever sunsetting would be an unimaginable technical debt.
This brings up the usual Reader meme, but even Apple unceremoniously kills features in products they charge money for and profit from. Remember the Final Cut Pro vs Pro X debacle? Or iMovie? Sometimes companies just decide its time to revamp a product and remove features that are no longer popular, or just poorly designed. Paying for a product does not protect you from that if you are a minority of users. Well, maybe it does, Microsoft seems to just keep on piling on features in its products without ever removing them.