Why is Google Changing its Toolbar and Interface?

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Google is experimenting with a new black navigation bar, which some users find bothersome. This change may be part of ongoing tests to gauge user reactions or could be aimed at reducing energy consumption, as black backgrounds can save power on certain displays. However, the energy savings primarily apply to older CRT monitors, while modern LCD screens do not see significant differences in power usage based on color. Users express frustration with frequent changes to Google's interface, feeling that the platform is altering features that were previously effective. There are also discussions about the potential for Google to be targeted by cyber attacks, with some suggesting that the company might be inviting such incidents to track hackers. Overall, there is a mix of annoyance at the changes and curiosity about their implications for user experience and energy efficiency.
rhody
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Self explanatory... is it just me, or is everybody in the collective world seeing this ?

ahhh... method, sort of, to their madness...
So why is Google still proceeding? The company tests out many new interfaces and colors throughout the year, trying them out on a sample set of users and watching for reactions and asking for feedback. This could just be part of those tests. Google could also be looking to save a bit of money. A black navigation bar seems like a small change to make if the end-goal is just about aesthetics, but consider Blackle, the Google-powered search that uses a black background instead of white. When the site debuted a few years ago, calculations suggested that a Black Google would save thousands of Megawatt-hours every year as an all-white Web page uses about 15 more watts to display than an all-black Web page. And that's when Google was running about 200 million search queries per day, a number that has since grown considerably.

Rhody... :rolleyes:

P.S. I don't know about you, but I pefer the original coke, not the hybrid one Google is trying to pass on us...
 
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I noticed this too. That black bar is bugging the heck out of me.
 


gb7nash said:
I noticed this too. That black bar is bugging the heck out of me.
Then unleash the hounds and let google have it, they claim to be able to handle in the millions of hits per minute. If someone has 2011 stats, please post, I couldn't easily find it. I wonder what would happen if that number became 10 times that in the same time period. Maybe they are inviting an denial of service attack, then to localize and track cyber hackers, if that is their strategy, then I say let them have their fun, we are just along for the ride.

Rhody... o:)
 


Looks like they got hacked, because certainly they wouldn't do that on purpose...
 


Evo said:
Looks like they got hacked, because certainly they wouldn't do that on purpose...

Not according to the article Evo, unless someone is trying to mess with them. The link I provided clearly states they were experimenting with black because it saves tons of money displaying black pixels versus white. You may be right of course, they may not be doing this now to test. I am sure we will hear a ton of opinions on the blogs and news tomorrow, then have to sift fact from fiction. Sigh, what a PITA.

Rhody...
 


rhody said:
Not according to the article Evo, unless someone is trying to mess with them. The link I provided clearly states they were experimenting with black because it saves tons of money displaying black pixels versus white. You may be right of course, they may not be doing this now to test. I am sure we will hear a ton of opinions on the blogs and news tomorrow, then have to sift fact from fiction. Sigh, what a PITA.

Rhody...
I was joking.
 


Message to Google:

STOP! Stop messing with stuff that ain't broken! You're making us crazy out here!

/rant
 


lisab said:
Message to Google:

STOP! Stop messing with stuff that ain't broken! You're making us crazy out here!

/rant


OK, Greg, I am sure the professionals you entrust keep our site safe can pull a few shenanigans themselves. Let them loose on Google, if only for a few hours to send a message...

Rhody... :devil:
 


I use a led lcd monitor. I've read that there's no increase of consumption of energy for any color so this is worthless in my case. By the way, I don't have a high brightness but the bar isn't black (AT ALL) to me. It's a dark gray. Not even close to the darker I've seen.
However when I open a terminal (in linux), it is black. The darker my screen can "produce" (not as black as when I turn off my screen though, despite all the ads that led screen have the best contrast, etc.).

Oh and I'd love a totally black google :D I wish we could set this in some options... Any color we want. That would be awesome and I might stick with black.
Edit: By the way the dark gray new bar is broken. Enter gmail and... oh it's white again.
 
  • #10


fluidistic said:
I use a led lcd monitor. I've read that there's no increase of consumption of energy for any color so this is worthless in my case.

Yea, that only applies for people who still use CRT monitors. With monitors that have a backlight it doesn't make a difference since the backlight is on no matter what.
 
  • #11


Who plans to leave facebook for the new google+ social site?

I don't like social sites.
 
  • #12


KrisOhn said:
Yea, that only applies for people who still use CRT monitors. With monitors that have a backlight it doesn't make a difference since the backlight is on no matter what.

I think LCD pixels are naturally transparent, and need a voltage to polarize the light so that it can't pass through. So black pixels should take more electricity, not less, to draw.
 
  • #13


ideasrule said:
I think LCD pixels are naturally transparent, and need a voltage to polarize the light so that it can't pass through. So black pixels should take more electricity, not less, to draw.

Yes, that is correct. I think we had a miscommunication (my bad) I meant to say, the only people who experience a power consumption drop with black images vs white images, are those with CRT monitors.
 
  • #14


Evo said:
Who plans to leave facebook for the new google+ social site?

I don't like social sites.

I'll test it out for sure, but whether I switch completely depends on how many other people start using it. The promo videos they put out look much better than facebook. Looks like they are actually trying to let users have control of who sees their information, which is a big improvement already over facebook, where they bury the settings and hope nobody finds them.
 
  • #15
They changed Google! Nooooo! :cry:
 
  • #16
I don't see what the big deal is. It makes it easier to access all of google's apps.
 
  • #17
Personally I started to hate the changes google were making when they added that annoying select feature (you know the one, you try to use the arrow keys to scroll down the page and instead a little arrow flicks between options?).

The saving energy thing is nothing new, at school (an unthinkable 6 years ago now) we were encouraged to use blackle over google to save the planet and such.
 
  • #18
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20040330
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20040331
 
  • #19
ryan_m_b said:
The saving energy thing is nothing new, at school (an unthinkable 6 years ago now) we were encouraged to use blackle over google to save the planet and such.

Blackle is prolly making a ton of green by being "green".
 
  • #20
Greg Bernhardt said:
Blackle is prolly making a ton of green by being "green".

Yep. Green...it's a magic, golden marketing term :rolleyes:.
 
  • #21
Now they have new everything, new search buttons layout and when you do search, the side bar is different. Call me crazy, but I do like this.
 

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