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One of the first things I did this morning after booting my computer was to launch Firefox. The Web has become such a key tool in our lives that this action should hardly come as a surprise. However, I did get quite a shock when I noticed that my google.co.uk homepage, up to that point a reasonably clean, uncluttered page, now appeared with a background picture.
It is hard to describe how annoying that was to me. I don't want a background picture (my Windows desktop is also a uniform dark blue fill colour and has very little on it). Call me compulsive, but I like a clean working space, uncluttered and certainly not filled with pictures that offend my sense of order by spewing unwanted imagery in bright and (to me) offensive colours.
Well, it was no error on Google's part. It's a “feature”. They are showing off their new background picture function. However, I did not ask to get this forced on me. The worst part is that there was no way of turning it off. What a stupid idea! The “remove background” link only appeared after you had actually chosen a background. Choosing one, then removing it again also brought no relief, the random picture just reappeared.
I've been a Google user since its inception. For me, as for so many others, the clean uncluttered interface of the search home page was a major attraction (who remembers the Altavista “portal” days? You were lucky to actually find the search box amidst all the guff). Google's been making some pretty questionable decisions of late and their cuddly, do-good image has long since vanished. But this really ranks at the top of stupid and offensive actions. Not offering users the choice was an amateur mistake I did not think Google capable off. I hope someone got the sack for it (but am not holding my breath).
The episode also reminds us all of another annoying “feature”: there is no easy way to email Google or its top executives. They carefully restrict the type of comments and queries you can send them. Compare that to much maligned Microsoft, where it is actually fairly simple to mail comments and give feedback. The official Google blog, where the tiresome Marissa Mayer announced this feature also has no comment function. Stalin would have been proud of the Google Polit Buro.
I ultimately removed the annoying background via userContent.css until Google relented and removed the silly “feature”, seemingly well before the initially planned 24 hours of showcasing were up. By that time, there was a massive outcry all over the web, which I assume had something to do with it. Nevertheless, I guess it's time for me to look for another search engine.
