Why is Google Changing its Toolbar and Interface?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the recent changes to Google's toolbar and interface, exploring the reasons behind these modifications, user reactions, and the implications of such changes. Participants express their opinions on aesthetics, functionality, and energy consumption related to the new design.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that Google's changes may be part of ongoing tests to gauge user reactions and feedback.
  • There is a proposal that the black navigation bar could be a cost-saving measure, as displaying black pixels may consume less energy on certain types of monitors.
  • Others express frustration with the changes, feeling that they disrupt a previously functional interface.
  • Some participants argue that the energy savings associated with black backgrounds may not apply to modern LED LCD monitors, which do not exhibit significant differences in power consumption based on pixel color.
  • A few participants express a desire for more customization options regarding the interface colors.
  • There are conflicting views on whether the changes are intentional or a result of hacking, with some participants dismissing the latter as unlikely.
  • Concerns are raised about the usability of the new interface, with some users reporting issues with the appearance of the toolbar.
  • Some participants mention their experiences with other platforms, like Google+, and how they compare to Facebook.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the reasons for the changes or their implications. Multiple competing views remain regarding the energy efficiency of the new design and its impact on user experience.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various types of monitors and their energy consumption characteristics, indicating that assumptions about energy savings may depend on specific hardware. There are also unresolved discussions about the functionality and usability of the new interface.

Who May Find This Useful

Users interested in interface design, energy consumption in technology, and community reactions to software changes may find this discussion relevant.

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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