New iGoogle with Left Nav Bar is the SUCK!

Posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2008

One year and one month after first publishing this post there is a new rash of complaints about iGoogle tabs on top vs. tabs on left. Previous methods of reverting to the old style of iGoogle by setting it to a different country version is no longer working. Seems everyone now gets the US version.

But there is a new cure to Google’s tab disease! Posted in the comments of this post was reference to a Firefox plugin that will remove those left hand tabs and place them back on top. Yay!!!!

If you’re not using FireFox as your web browser you’re shit out of luck. If your using Internet Exploder as your web browser you should give your head a shake. Join the rest of the cool kids and switch to FF.

Amazing how much I instantly hated this when it changed on me today. It’s really really bad. I liked having my tabs up top. Now on the side they eat up realestate on my well used (read full) iGoogle pages.

Apparently Google rolled this new interface out and tested it on select iGoogle accounts a few months back. Did those testers happen to like it and give Goog the thumbs up? Are they, were they, on crack?

A quick little surf around for other’s opinion inside the Google groups and it seems the consensus is “hate” for the new interface changes. Many calls for making it optional (we’ll see if Google eventually concedes on that).

What do you think? I bet you think it sucks too.

Oh No! It Gets Worse, Gmail Inside iGoogle Changes Too. More Suck!

So upon receiving comments to this post, and those comments getting emailed to me for approval, I noticed another change. One that also sucks. When I click on a new email on my little Gmail inbox, in iGoogle, it now opens a box inside iGoogle itself. No longer a separate browser window. On its own not to bad, I suppose. But now all links inside emails are no longer clickable.

The comment notification has approve, delete and spam links in the email itself where normally I can just click the appropriate link and be directed to the Wordpress admin panel where I can then manage the comments. But now I can’t click links in the email. Boooooooooooooo!

Update: There are now live links in the iGoog version of Gmail. +1!

No Signatures in Gmail Either

If you have a signature set in your Gmail account it does not get applied to emails composed while inside the iGoogle version. I sent a few emails, some where i would want my signature line in there, before I noticed this. They BETTER fix that part. Sooner better than later.

Is this gonna turn into another big fiasco like the Facebook changes? The big bad corporation just pushes through its desired changes, everyone screams bloody murder, yet the big bad corporation just turns a deaf ear and waits for everyone to just put up with it?

Gmail Does Not Save your Drafts

This section is a new update as of Nov. 3rd

OMFG! I just lost an email I was carefully crafting in reply to a potential client. Something screwed up when I hit a wrong key and the browser window changed on me. When I go to hunt for the email in my drafts folder it’s not there! Nor was it sent.

If I had been composing it in the full version of Gmail it would have autosaved a draft as I was writing. But no. I just found out the hard way that the new iGoogle version of Gmail is the single worst piece of software on the planet.

Hey Google! IT’S TIME TO GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND FIX SOME OF THIS SHIT ALREADY!!!!!!!

And Adding Content Snippets to Feed Boxes, Yet More Suck

So I was looking at my new iGoogle and was wondering why I found it harder to read (scan) the headlines to all my favorite blogs and news sources that I had created individual iGoogle boxes for. It took me a while to notice. They now have little 2 line content snippets. You might think this would be good, but really its not. Nope, it’s not. Take my word for it.

It’s actually harder to scan through all the titles and look to see what’s worthy of a click. That’s what was bothering me but could not figure out till now. Now I have content overload on my iGoogle pages.

And… yet again it eats up space and I have to do a lot more scrolling down to see all my favorite blogs.

Why Google? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy??????????

Update: One day later and it seems Google fixed this one and the content snippets are gone. Horray!!!

The “New iGoogle Sucks” Keyword List

This post is getting lots of traffic from others, obviously unimpressed with the new iGoogle left navigation tabs. Here is a list of keywords I see in my server logs, and since people are actively looking for answers I respond directly to the following search queries;

new igoogle sucks (yes it does)
igoogle tabs on left (unfortunately, yes they are)
igoogle tabs on top (not any more)
igoogle tabs suck (that’s what I’ve been saying too)
hate new igoogle tabs (hate is the right word)
i hate the new igoogle left navigation bar (I feel your pain)
i hate igoogle left navigation (shouldn’t someone at Google get fired over this?)
i hate the new igoogle page (welcome to the club)
igoogle left navigation sucks (amen brother)
who hates the new igoogle page (I do, I do!)
igoogle tabs on the left? (yup, that’s where they are now. Sucks, don’t it?)
igoogle tabs moved to the left (really stupid spot for them)
new igoogle sucks oct 2008 (if they stay this way they will suck for much longer than just October)
why are igoogle tabs on left now? (with the global financial meltdown the execs at GOOG have been smoking crack to try to forget their stock market losses, that’s exactly why they’re on the left.)

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Posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Topic = Internet

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194 Comments to “New iGoogle with Left Nav Bar is the SUCK!”

kim on October 16th, 2008 wrote:

Ha ha! You’re wrong because I like it, though I must qualify that with a couple of things…..
#1- My iGoogle page has way less stuff on it than yours and about half the amount of tabs.
#2- I have bad taste for the most part and often must wear a helmet in public.

Naomi on October 16th, 2008 wrote:

HATE IT!!! I’ve been surfing around for a fix and the only one I found didn’t work. HELP!!

kim on October 16th, 2008 wrote:

I liked it until the gmail/comment approval issue having no clickable links in mail. I have officially exited the like it bus and have stepped aboard the hate it bus. Excuse me, is this seat taken?

kim on October 16th, 2008 wrote:

Yes! It sucks ass for blog comment approvals.

SEO Diva on October 16th, 2008 wrote:

Can’t stand ‘em!

Matt on October 16th, 2008 wrote:

Agree 100% with you. GOOGLE blew it big time here. Off to find a replacement.

Stever on October 16th, 2008 wrote:

@Matt, for guys like me in the Search Marketing industry I don’t think there is a real replacement. My iGoog account is tied to my Adwords accounts, Adsense account, Analytics account, Local Business Center account along with the Gmail & RSS feed readers. So keeping it all in one place is nice.

tanside on October 16th, 2008 wrote:

ANNOYING!! i just woke up and found the new Mail/News tabs on the left of my page, and of course you can only remove one of them. It would be fine if i had a 22″ widescreen or something but my 19″ @ 1280×1024 doesn’t have the real estate.

Pat on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

Any suggestions on an alternative to iGoogle? Any idea why Google opted for a 1995 retro look?

David on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

Hey man, I just noticed the thing you mentioned about the links not being clickable in Gmail. WTF, indeed.

Pieter on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

Google really missed out on this one. All the ‘preview’ stuff (newsfeeds, gmail) is gone. It’s no longer possible to scan the headlines. Its no longer possible to ‘hide’ the gmail contents. And the tabs on the left: waste of space.
There are some improvements, but the disadvantages outweigh them.

Seb on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

Ok, so Google will say that there’s always people who are pissed off when there’s a change and it will just take time for people to get used to the new tabs and start to love it etc.

Well… I have only one tab for my iGoogle page (”Home”)… So now, I have an entire column on the left that is blank… besides this stupid Home tab that shouldn’t be there in the first place anyways since I only have one tab…

But, the new Canvas page will allow wider/expanded gadgets… and In effect, Google is stealing a page from Facebook here and giving Gadget developers their own canvas pages. Within these iFrames, an entire Website can be exposed, with ads and all. Any money from ads on the canvas page go 100 percent to the content partner.

iGoogle thus becomes more than just a startpage that takes you elsewhere. Now this makes it easier for people to stick around and explore their personalized content without leaving iGoogle. (Although, most of the newspaper gadgets are set up so that clicking on a headline takes you to their sites, but that is their choice).”

So do you get it? First Chrome, now this… Google is getting control over all your browsing…

I’m done with this!!

Dennis on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

This new change is enough to make me stop using igoogle.

(And I even own stock in Google)

Zeno on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

Steve, thanks for creating this page - very funny take on completely unnecessary changes. YES it sucks!!! If he were dead, Edward Tufte would be rolling in his grave.

HUGE waste of space.
NO user customization.
UGLY page appearance.

WTF are they thinking…

Google, I am very disappointed in you…

Todd on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

Stupid move by Google.

One could make an argument that the new “tab column” on the left is a matter of personal taste. I hate it..

However, forcing a new design on everyone that incorporates a broken Gmail system (no hyperlinks) is flat out insane.

Vancouver Olympics on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

Just curious…. Do you hate the new facebook as well???

sarah on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

I thought I was losing my mind when they first changed it. To top it off, because it now loads gmail within igoogle, if you get into your mail through igoogle and then don’t click on the stupid home button on the left nav, when you nav away go back, it goes back to your gmail within igoogle…NOT to the main page of your igoogle account. Hate. HATE.

Stever on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

@Van Olympics, I’m indifferent on the new Facebook actually. I don’t use facebook, but I heard all about the stink with their new design. The huge amount of negative feedback changed nothing at facebook. I just wonder if Google will do the same and ignore the negative feedback regarding these changes.

Facebook made their changes to allow for better advertisement placement as the social networking industry is hard to capitalize on (advertising is more difficult to do effectively and profitably there). That said I see why Facebook is keeping with the new design and people are just going to have to get used to it.

The new changes at iGoogle on the other hand do not have anything to do with Google trying to better monetize it (there are no ads there). I think they may have genuinely thought they were improving the user experience here. In my mind, and in many others, they have failed on that regard.

Pete on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

i agree mate…

however, google.co.uk remains unchanged so far! if you can use that TLD, i would!

Them tabs suck.

Im prepared to move to another homepage if this doesnt get fixed!

willie on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

Welcome to the New And Improved™ iGoogle!

You *will* use our changes!

You *will* allow cookies!

You *will* accept our notion of what is Right and True™!

Sincerely,

Your New Lord and Master,

Google

Stever on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

@Pete, thanks for the tip. I just checked on google.ca and they still have the old iGoogle there too. But for how long?

Grant on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

They just changed it on me a few minutes ago and I’m furious. It’s really really messy and now I have to scroll just to switch tabs not to mention it’s now scrunched my boxes up and the look of the boxes is messier too. I checked to see if it were an option in igoogle settings and it isn’t. I’ll probably stop using it now. I still have to use gmail but this interface is far too much work. If I wanted more work I’d be using Yahoo.

Terry on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

I hate it too. Maybe if enough of us fill out the comments forms someone listen? Alas, that’s probably up there with hoping Santa and the Easter Bunny will still make visits. The best we can probably hope for is that someone will figure out a fix and post it-much like when they screwed around with the DrudgeReport link and wouldn’t respond to pleas to put it back the way it was, but somebody figured out a fix and posted it. Please, somebody, figure out a way to save us from this crappy “canvas” layout!

Bobby on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

I read about a site on John Chow today called 43marks.com - its like Igoogle but better cuz you can add you own bookmarks and the bookmarks can be websites not just gadgets and RSS feeds although you can upload your favorite RSS feeds too. Its free and totally customizable. Plus you don’t have to login to see your bookmars and RSS feeds

Stever on October 17th, 2008 wrote:

Bah! 43marks looks like 1993. And you read John Chow? People read that crap?

CMan on October 18th, 2008 wrote:

Totally agree with your assessment. I’ve been trying to figure out how to change or get rid of it but to no avail. Any ideas out there? I hate the left tabs!!!!!!!

Kelli on October 19th, 2008 wrote:

I got hit with this in July as one of the select chosen few. Trust me, they don’t care how displeased anyone is. There were over 11,000 comments at my last check of “personalizing igoogle”, 95% of them hating the new layout, particularly the redundant left sided navigation.

Legion on October 19th, 2008 wrote:

Gay! I hate it! I too only have a home tab so now there is this stupid gay strip of nothingness on the side FOR NO REASON AT ALL! I want to smash my monitor evertime I see it!

Richard90027 on October 19th, 2008 wrote:

I think you guys need to change your home page link to;
http://www.google.ie/ig?hl=en&source=iglk

This got my google home pge back to normal

Stever on October 19th, 2008 wrote:

But Richard, that now means your using a slightly different search engine when you do your searches from the .ie domain. For those that don’t know .ie is Ireland.

The same can be done with other country versions of Google like Canada (google.ca) or the UK (google.co.uk).

But these different versions of Google may show slightly different search results as they tend to skew the results slightly in favor of sites from those particular countries. So if you’re in the USA you may not get the same search results you’re used to getting on the .com version of google.

Also, you can rest assured that Google will eventually put these changes through onto all the other country versions of Google.

bob on October 19th, 2008 wrote:

Agreed, they SUCK hard, I wish I could have my old igoogle back, the tabs on the left are just… dumb. *sigh

mke on October 20th, 2008 wrote:

well, i suspect that goog has plans for the blank space on the left. mo money, mo evil, mo goog….

Matt on October 20th, 2008 wrote:

HATEFULL HATEFULL HATEFULL!!!! why oh why have google changed this! it wouldn’t be so bad if there was an option to change it back. As it stands I’m also looking for a different home page now. Perhaps back to Yahoo.

hey ho

Aamir M on October 20th, 2008 wrote:

This really sucks. I am usability guy and this doesn’t make sense. When this first happened, I thought that some preference file got corrupted and went crazy trying to fix it. Went how and it was the same story there.

Couldn’t expect something like this from Google!

Stever on October 20th, 2008 wrote:

@Aamir, I really should have posted this under my Web Usability category.

NaBabuja on October 20th, 2008 wrote:

Richard90027…YOU ROCK!!!

TiskTisk on October 20th, 2008 wrote:

I agree… I’ve gone back to classic view and only switch to iGoogle when I want to see something quickly. Total waste of space and don’t like the gMail gadget “upgrade” either. Sounds like their not going to put it back either, so I guess it’s time to switch to home pages! Death to iGoogle!

mary on October 22nd, 2008 wrote:

I hate the left tab - for all the reasons mentioned above - yesterday I managed to somehow make it disappear - now it is back, I eliminated two of my tabs - now the one tab sits there wasting screen space and driving me crazy.
What is wrong with the stupid engineers at Google that they make a unilateral change with no way to undo it - that people hate - and apparently refuse to change. I am mad enough to stop using igoogle.

Jen on October 22nd, 2008 wrote:

I absolutely agree with you! The new iGoogle is much more difficult to read and I HATE that the hyperlinks in e-mails are no longer clickable.

Stever on October 22nd, 2008 wrote:

In the new Gmail, while inside iGoogle, not only do the links not work when your reading incoming mail, but it appears that your signature, if you have one set, does not get attached to emails you compose. To me thats a SERIOUS faux pas.

Chris on October 22nd, 2008 wrote:

Google left tabs suck I want them gone or I will be gone!! Google stock should drop another 50% on that dumb ass change! At least microsoft lets you turn them off if you don’t want to use them. Let the search begin for another home page that lets me be in control!!!!!

Krishna on October 22nd, 2008 wrote:

One thing that worked is to change the language to English (UK) in the settings: http://www.google.com/ig/settings

It got the tabs back on top!!

Salo on October 22nd, 2008 wrote:

I’ve changed twice the number of columns on page (in settings menu), and my tabs we restored on top.. Tabs on left were unacceptable to me

hollymarg on October 23rd, 2008 wrote:

I am so glad that I decided to surf and see what others thought of the new tabs…now I know I am normal…I HATE THE NEW TABS!!!! I wrote to some part of Google and told them that I hated the new tabs…It’s bloody awful to have these left tabs…hey, they ain’t tabs anymore!!!!!! Are they trying to make it look like a menu on a website???

Who knows.?????? It wasn’t broken so why fix it?

hollymarg on October 23rd, 2008 wrote:

Krishna on October 22nd, 2008 wrote:

One thing that worked is to change the language to English (UK) in the settings: http://www.google.com/ig/settings

It got the tabs back on top!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WORKED LIKE A DREAM!!!

Zethril on October 23rd, 2008 wrote:

Just another unhappy iGoogle user chiming in. I HATE IT. PUT IT BACK LIKE IT WAS or at least allow users to have the option to do so. I love how Google has no contact for feedback. Their overall attitude is they are God and their will be done, forgetting about the fact that is is the users that make them what they are. I just may have to switch to Yahoo! for my homepage if Google leaves this messed up like it is. They have ruined gMail on the homepage as well, takes too many clicks to get to read the email and use links within the email. Google you suck.

Chuck on October 24th, 2008 wrote:

I also hate the new igoogle left navigation bar
looking for substitute.

Maya on October 24th, 2008 wrote:

What a hassle this new and completely dysfunctional gmail on the new igoogle! What’s the point to make us look for a normal functional version hidden from us???

grapeshot on October 25th, 2008 wrote:

I was furious at the change, and HATE HATE HATE it! I just don’t have the real estate on my screen to waste on these useless tabs. I switched to Yahoo, which isn’t the best, but at least THEY LET ME HAVE THE TABS ON TOP!!! I would rather give up some functionality in exchange for the TABS ON TOP!!!

I am really dismayed by Google, and have stopped using them for much of anything. Fortunately, I never really got in the habit of using Gmail, so it won’t be a big adjustment.

Sophie on October 25th, 2008 wrote:

Don’t blame the testers, we weren’t on crack, but I think Google was. I was one of the “lucky” few INVOLUNTARILY chosen to test the completely stupid new iGoogle, and believe me I gave it a completely total thumbs down. Within an hour I had googled a way to restore the old look. Too bad I can’t do that now.

Can anybody say “New Coke”?

iGone on October 25th, 2008 wrote:

Great alternative for all who hate the new igoogle - netvibes.com - Google has already stated that other countries’ igoogle formats will also be changed to the new and much hated format soon - send iEvil… er… google a message they will hear and leave! I deleted my account with them and my new netvibes home has all I had at igoogle and more - NO left nav menu, no wasted space and tabs on top!

Deborah on October 27th, 2008 wrote:

Anyone know where one can complain? I just got this today its HORRIBLE! Now my gmail shows the preview which I DO NOT want. How ridiculous!

connie on October 27th, 2008 wrote:

Somebody please help us get the the old iGoogle back! This just freaken sux!

Deborah on October 27th, 2008 wrote:

That person was right the UK version still has the tabs…for now…. I just switched but suspect the same will soon happen
http://www.google.com/ig/settings

jeff on October 27th, 2008 wrote:

I hate Google for shoving this down my throat.

WhoMe? on October 28th, 2008 wrote:

I really don’t like the side tabs. Why not let us choose where the tabs should be? Some can have theirs at the top and others at the side. Why does it have to be one or the other?

- Just my 2 cents…

Calis on October 28th, 2008 wrote:

I find it particularly annoying as I only have one tab. I thought I had it whipped using Platypus. Then when I went back, it was all there again

Calis on October 28th, 2008 wrote:

Update:
I tried again with a newer version of Platypus and got it to stick.

Stever on October 28th, 2008 wrote:

for those that are wondering what Platypus is, it’s a firefox extension that lets you make edits to a web page. http://platypus.mozdev.org/

I’ve not tried this myself.

In theory there should be a number of ways for FireFox browser users to edit the stylesheet on the iGoogle page and force those tabs back up top.

On the same note it should be rather easy for Google to create an option that triggers a different stylesheet for users to make their own choice of tabs on side or tabs on top. Tabs on top could use mouseover drop-down menus to display the canvas links of things you have inside that tab.

dbear on October 28th, 2008 wrote:

Well, Netvibes and Pageflakes are almost good enough alternatives. But it turns out there are a couple of Greasemonkey scripts that will remove that stupid left side tab bar and make iGoogle pretty much go back to the way it was. My favorite of the two is Rockmaster’s IGoogle Sidebar Collapse. The other one is Pimp My IGoogle.

SEGoat on October 29th, 2008 wrote:

So I see they’re now showing the “new features” of iGoogle at http://www.google.com/help/ig/tour/
This explains one thing to me, every employee at Google must have a widescreen monitor. Look at the screen caps, no 1280×1024 monitor could get that kinda width. So yes, we’re in the stone ages with our full screen LCDs and should upgrade…

Kurt on October 29th, 2008 wrote:

I hate the left menu bar. I want an option to use the old tabs at the top.

Adam on October 29th, 2008 wrote:

I agree! I hope they listen and get rid of the Left Navigation bar.

Colleen on October 29th, 2008 wrote:

I HATE the new tabs on the side. I wasn’t not as bothered by the facebook changes but this one is really annoying…again for the realestate issue. Why would they want to suck up that space? They want us to use more gadgets but we have no place to put them!

Sparkhard on October 29th, 2008 wrote:

You guys can still use google.ca and the UK site… hopefully this is fixed soon because i cannot stand it.

Pam on October 30th, 2008 wrote:

Putting in “English UK ” setting allowed me to keep the old page format - until today! They must have caught on. No more igoogle - I’m looking for a new home page.

John on November 1st, 2008 wrote:

Fear Not Oh Frustrated Ones:

Try This: http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all

That will restore your Home Page - that is until the idiots at Google Figure Out we do not intend to play along. Probably another reason to go to FireFox and lock the page down. This is very sad. We thought Google was the cure - it appears gettibg big means getting to big for their own good.

Chuck Cates on November 1st, 2008 wrote:

I absolutely detest the changes that have been made and I only use one tab, Home. My hart goes out to all of you power users. If Google does not provide an option soon to turn off the changes then I will turn off the changes the only way that I can; go somewhere else.

Deborah on November 1st, 2008 wrote:

I just switched to pageflakes, seems ok…

Hobbes on November 2nd, 2008 wrote:

I was one of the “testers” for new igoogle features. We all pretty much hated the left nav, but apparently the google know-it-alls just ignored us; check this out:
http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Web_Search_Help-Personalizing/browse_thread/thread/dad1756deccbae18

Stever on November 3rd, 2008 wrote:

I just added more info about the Gmail part of this crap. It wont save drafts as your composing an email like it does in the full version outside of iGoogle.

I mean really, those fucktards at Google can’t even get that right? As well as the signatures. Common, it’s already a function of Gmail itself.

Seriously.

Richard Allen on November 5th, 2008 wrote:

Navigation bar on left is very inconvenient. Do I have the option of having it across the top of the page?

Travis on November 5th, 2008 wrote:

Ok, I just found this site while trying to find a way to enable full Gmail in iGoogle. Add me to the long list of users who thinks the new iGoogle sucks. I don’t mind the tabs in and of themselves, but this new “Gmail lite” thing really does suck! Just give me the option to launch the full Gmail!!!

kim on November 5th, 2008 wrote:

ok- the suck level has reached a new high. After a couple of days of weird little “glitches” my sidebar tabs no longer function at all. I am stuck on one page. If I maximize the tabs contents to open one specific site (and bypass the fact that the entire tab won’t open as it should) the new tab goes straight to igoog again, not the desired site.
HATEHATEHATEHATE.

GrapeofWrathNYV on November 6th, 2008 wrote:

Great posting. I agree completely. Who can we write to at Google to remind them what jackasses they are??? Not even an option to turn it off… I said good day sir!!

Stever on November 6th, 2008 wrote:

@Travis, If you click on the “Gmail” link at the top of the iGoogle box for your Gmail it will then open the full version of Gmail outside of iGoogle.

But still, the same functionality should be in the iGoogle version too.

kim on November 10th, 2008 wrote:

Is it just me? This morning the heavens opened up and rained the old igoog on me. It is a happy freaking day, though one that I do not expect to last.

Dar on November 11th, 2008 wrote:

if you use ie7, there is a free download called ie7pro which has an add on for hiding the igoogle left side menu. it works.

chuck on November 13th, 2008 wrote:

Hate it!!!!!!!

Yanet HM on November 13th, 2008 wrote:

I have one more Keyword for your List

“Remove STUPID left bar from igoogle.” Unfortunately I did not find anything to fix this horrible mistake. I’m using igoogle uk for now, but I’m afraid that would not last long enough so they can fix the stupid bar thing; or someone figures a way to remove it.
I guess we would have to move out from igoogle, any suggestions?

Deborah on November 16th, 2008 wrote:

I downloaded the ie7pro…does anyone know how to find that add on that lets you hide the side menu?

Chad on November 17th, 2008 wrote:

Wow. It’s been over a month and it still sucks. I gave them enough time to face up to it. Time to move on.

Stever on November 17th, 2008 wrote:

Yes Chad, it still sucks. Still no links or signatures inside Gmail. Still no option to set tabs to top. Not only that but for past couple weeks the content boxes for blog feeds I’m subscribed to don’t show blog titles at top of the box. Sometimes a few of them show up, other times none.

There is some excellent feedback here, and on other sites, about these issues in iGoogle but it seems as though Google simply doesn’t care about the quality of this service. They must be too busy scrambling to cut costs as advertising revenue dries up as we head into recession/depression. iGoogle is just not the priority right now perhaps.

Gerry on November 17th, 2008 wrote:

Yes, it’s just bad. B-A-D. Having a half-cocked gmail inside iGoogle? Why? What’s the point? Wasting space on the left? Why? Adding extraneous checkboxes? Why?
We want our old iGoogle back!

stevan on November 19th, 2008 wrote:

John on November first recommended using: http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all

I use that and it makes the tabs go to the old format. Who knows for how long….? Thanks John!!

rachel - lisa on November 21st, 2008 wrote:

WE HATE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Greg on November 25th, 2008 wrote:

Agree.

The left tabs are horrifying. I can’t believe there’s a single person on this planet who thinks that is better than having them on top.

Sometimes, it just takes a while to get comfortable with something new. During this time, people are annoyed and frustrated. This is NOT one of those times! There has been HUGE outcry about this silly little thing, but the left tabs are a posterchild for poor UI. Worse, Google doesn’t seem to be listening. Why not just give people the option of one or the other? Is Google becoming stubborn and arrogant these days? Haven’t all organizations, ESPECIALLY GOOGLE, learned from the errs of Microsoft?

Heidi Miller on November 25th, 2008 wrote:

So, why is Google insisting on this? Does it somehow
generate more revenue for them? If you read their
explanation at http://www.google.com/help/ig/tour/,
they pretty much say, “Lots of people hate this, but
they’ll learn to deal with it eventually.” Why are
they pushing this so hard?

For the record, I hate the left navigation bar.

I’ve modified my profile to get rid of the extra
context lines in my RSS feeds, but I can’t figure
out how to get rid of the them in my gmail widget.

I currently use igoogle for free, but I’d be willing
to pay a reasonable amount for an igoogle home
page without this annoying stuff.

DellyBelly on November 25th, 2008 wrote:

Ugh, guess it’s not gonna change; i really was holding out hoping. I have been using protopages which was pretty good, but they have this big ad you have to close at the very top of the page every time it loads. Not really too bothered with ads placed effectively, but if i have to actually close it every time it kinda kills it for me.

RLC on December 3rd, 2008 wrote:

For a while, using other countries’ iGoogle sites was effective, but now some of the handy gadgets are being geared to work on the US site only (like the Finance Portfolio).

While I use a wide screen at home, the left tab isn’t so bad. But at work, I have no control over my screen size & the left tabs are a real detriment.

peter on December 6th, 2008 wrote:

JESUS how I hate it! I HATE IT SO MUCH! AAAARGH

erin on December 6th, 2008 wrote:

make this your homepage
http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all
and it will get rid of that stupid home tab.
or at least it worked for me.

Stever on December 6th, 2008 wrote:

There is an iGoogle gadget floating about. I WON’T USE IT. It simply sets the /ig?gl=all in your URL when you turn it on. And you’ll have to turn it on each time you enter iGoog.

I looked at the code for that gadget and I don’t like what I see. Has some analytics code in it so the gadget is probably tracking YOUR usage of YOUR iGoogle page. The gadget builder is probably using that so they can see how often their gadget gets displayed, but…..

Some of the same builders other gadgets are filled with ads.

Do as you wish but I don’t recommend it.

igooglegadgetblog.com on December 7th, 2008 wrote:

I do believe that the customization and layout of an iGoogle page should be completely customizable. Otherwise if you restrict people all you would have is a facebook…

Stever on December 7th, 2008 wrote:

Nice gadget reviews there gadgetblogger. Keep your eye’s open for security issues with the third party gadgets you review on your site. There are potentially some HUGE security holes in iGoogle gadgets.

Matthijs on December 8th, 2008 wrote:

The left tabs suck so much. I only use one tab, the home tab. So it just says home one centimeter lower than before and then the rest of the page below it is empty.

kchien on December 10th, 2008 wrote:

This is simple and works great:
http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all&t=0

roywlogan on December 10th, 2008 wrote:

Solution:
1. Install the Greasemonkey add-on (which allows you to overlay user submitted scripts that modify specific web pages):
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/748
2. Install this script:
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/36118

Problem solved people!

Bill on December 12th, 2008 wrote:

For sooooo long a google lover - I absolutely hate he new format!!!
They say go to help to submit your comments but if you try it there is no plce to do so.
Bill

zweepy on December 14th, 2008 wrote:

But I do not want to use a third party app. What the hell is wrong with google? They need to make it an option to just change it!?! There is no way to fix it so I think I’ll go kill myself!

Message to Google, Please Fix Gmail (iGoogle version) | Stever.ca on December 16th, 2008 wrote:

[…] Some interesting new features. And a few well hated changes. And I do mean HATED. I wrote a pretty popular post about those changes and the dreaded left tabs. So far that post has received 100 comments from others complaining. And the suck still […]

Mike on December 24th, 2008 wrote:

The WORST thing they did is that they broke the Gmail gadget I was using, it was far better than the original, and it made my whole page. Now, I just get ‘Error, Loading’ 24/7. The developer has contacted Google more than once to ask what he needs to do to fix it, and they have yet to get back to him-2 MONTHS after they rolled out this new version. It sucks. My iGoogle page was clean, yet had all I need. So far, my best bet seems to be netvibes, and THAT one looks like it was designed by Elmo.

Tim on January 6th, 2009 wrote:

Heres a work-around to get the I-google left tabs up to the top of the page where I agree they belong. Go to http://www.google.ca (canada), then sign-in. I noticed this while traveling there last week. Works from USA, and don’t notice any other difference.

Dave on January 12th, 2009 wrote:

If you use Firefox and cant stand the new layout, I have written an addon which hides the left tabs and replaces them with a small button, to show or hide them. Check it out, and leave some feedback.
You can find it here http://www.timedyn.com/igoogletabremover.htm

Enjoy!

Chuck on January 25th, 2009 wrote:

Try this http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all. I found it whilst searching for an alternative home page. I do not know who to thank for this but it has worked for me over the last few months and I am grateful. I sure when google find out they will develop a way to block it but in the mean time enjoy.

Chuck on January 25th, 2009 wrote:

Wow, I just clicked on the link I left for all of you and it sent me right to the page we all hate. Trust me it works, when you are on your igoogle home page cut and paste http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all or type it in and it shoud put your tabs on top

asdasd on March 5th, 2009 wrote:

I don’t want ANY tabs, if I can’t get rid of them (the first thing I am doing with a new browser), better be on top, waste less space.

bond on March 6th, 2009 wrote:

yes…its a piece of shit.

I have already switched back to “my yahoo”

Thanks for the above shortcut…It works great.

http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all

Appreciate it.

Dany on March 12th, 2009 wrote:

Haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed

Dave on March 12th, 2009 wrote:

The new iGoogle STILL SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS after all these months. I just use the plain old Google homepage and keep several tabs open for gmail, calendar, news, the Onion, etc.

Hooch on March 21st, 2009 wrote:

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

Mine was fine, it was lovely. I just added a new RSS feed and it all went MENTAL. I hate it hate it hate it.

I’m going to go try the suggestions above and hope they put things back to normal…

cfmuirhead on April 5th, 2009 wrote:

Yes the new changes suck! What is the use of that Home tab on the left, that can’t be removed, and takes valuable space. Google, wake up!!!!

jon on April 15th, 2009 wrote:

I JUST WANT STANDARD GOOGLE WITH WIDGETS! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

Eduardo on May 7th, 2009 wrote:

WTF, i just want my tab to be the way they were or at least give me the F…. option to choose. this is f… ridiculous, i have been trying to remove the tab on the left for hours now.

bob on June 3rd, 2009 wrote:

LOL i though my windows or IE install went fubar so i reinstalled windows etc etc - and ARGHHHHH its still there

Celsius on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all now has the left pain (sic) as well!!

WTF!

dealguru on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

The old =all version broke for me today, thank goodness for this page and the suggestions. the canadian one works: http://www.google.ca/ig?hl=en&source=iglk, putting my tabs back on the top

LiraNuna on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all seems to be disabled now. Google doesn’t like people to sneek out of their “AWESOME” way (eew)

ts monkey on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

at least
http://www.google.ca/ig?gl=all
has the old tabs (for now)

Anon on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

@above commenters:

Thanks for the .ca solution. I suddenly opened up iGoogle today and realized that the old ig?gl=all trick wasn’t working anymore…argh. Hopefully, this one will last longer.

Is there any way to get rid of the few lines that ask for “the web” or “pages from Canada”? I don’t mind it that much, but I like to keep the format as clean as possible.

Hate-the-new-igoogle on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

As of today, http://www.google.ca/ig?gl=all also now has the sidebar. Dammit!!!! Is there any other place to get the old unscrewedup igoogle?

Gil on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

Thank God the Canadian version still works, puttong the FREAKIN TABS BACK ON TOP, where they belong. When this version is also disabled (You know it’s just a matter of time) I’ll be saying GOODBYE to Google.

Moon on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all

change the gl to hl

works as of today

when will google learn?

joe on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

?gl=all version changed today. well, guess that’s it.

kuban89 on June 4th, 2009 wrote:

Go to the settings page and set your language preference to English (UK) instead of English (US). Save and return to main page. The tabs will be back on to again as with the earlier trick: http://www.google.com/ig?gl=all.

Probably just a matter of time until they catch this too and force the stupid tab/sidebar feature on us again.

Enjoy while it lasts…

Allie on June 5th, 2009 wrote:

Change the ‘g’ to and ‘h’ in the work around url seems to work.

http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all

Goes back to top. ‘Course, it’d be easier if they’d just stop screwing over small screen computers. With the influx of netbooks who basically use google apps as OS, one would think the issue woulda been brought up. Is it so hard to put another button somewhere?

Atom on June 5th, 2009 wrote:

Try ….

http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all

ts monkey on June 5th, 2009 wrote:

thanks for the “hl” all

Linda on June 5th, 2009 wrote:

This one still works just did it again. http://www.google.ie/ig?hl=en&source=iglk

dogboysam on June 6th, 2009 wrote:

Thank you for keeping this comment thread open. I’m glad there is still a work around. This site worked for me http://www.google.com/ig in the past. Now http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all is bookmarked. THANK YOU!

the_stag on June 9th, 2009 wrote:

I like the http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all fix, however my google latitude gadget no longer works. I get the error “The Latitude iGoogle gadget is not currently available for your location”. Is anyone else having this problem with latitude or any other gadgets?

Ron on June 22nd, 2009 wrote:

I don’t like anything about any version of igoogle. I didn’t ask for it. I was using Google’s search page as my home page and suddenly it changed into Mister Hyde! Pushy bastards.

Fliko on July 11th, 2009 wrote:

This is the way how to switch users from your product. Non-wanted stupid change. It is not feature - it is stupid! Take the tabs back! It seams that google is even more stupider than ms.

BraDRoBBo on July 13th, 2009 wrote:

Oh wow! Okay i noticed the left nav bar last october im sure but it was only for a little while! (I’m from the UK and i log in via .co.uk which redirects me to .com anyway) but yeah..

Today(well yesterday as its after midnight here) my iGoogle changed on me! all the things mentioned on this page happened - WTF! my GMail was SO MUCH HARDER TO READ (re: scanning through headlines, but snippets added underneath) UGH! It’s strange how its ONLY JUST HAPPENED TODAY :\ - for both me and my friend who also lives in England…i’m so glad there’s a fix on this page for it! the GMail snippets thing was annoying me mostly for the time being as i assumed they’d definitely change the navbar thing back soon but wow seeing this page now and other results on Google search being from last October! - i have my doubts :\… the side bar thing is really annoying its big and ‘clustery’/cluttered, and black! contrasting with the rest of the page in a not-so-good-way (maybe that’s just my skin though but still, it was fine before!) = I also disabled the chat thing that appeared in the navbar, bah!

http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all
^ FTW =) Homepage URL updated!

David on July 14th, 2009 wrote:

This is such a pain.

I’m in the UK as well, and it’s only just changed today for me (using IE7).

Interestingly I have Firefox set up for another google account and my iGoogle page on it is still fine…..long may it last!

Stephen on July 14th, 2009 wrote:

Ugh. Also in the UK and this change just hit me. Seriously, wtf were they thinking? yay for the above fix though

http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all

Let’s hope they don’t decide to remove that (hidden) option as well…

Chris on July 14th, 2009 wrote:

drop by:

http://www.google.co.jp - fin, it’s in Japanese, but the tabs are in the right place…

Colette Mason on July 16th, 2009 wrote:

I had this changed forced on me too (UK user).

If google are going to allow people to customise their homepage, they have to understand they have passed ownership of the igoogle homepage to the user.

Wading in with big boots and forcing people to use *their* preferred system really damages their credibility - I won’t trust them again not to screw up my igoogle design.

Why should I spend time optimising my igoogle, when they come in and change the functionality. I have to scroll down now to see all my tab links, which is a total pain - Hoizontally there was no need to scroll, as I made the names short deliberately. This really slows me down - not good!

I have tried the http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all workaround, but I lose the Shopping link from the top left, which I use quite a bit when researching prices.

I tried this: http://www.google.com/ig?hl=en-GB&t=0 which reinstates the top left links, but they go to google.com - hopeless for shopping because the shipping charges are often more than the product price….

Right now, I might just build my own portal, I only use it for organised links I can access when out of the office really, so I won’t cry if I don’t see the local weather forecast for the next 5 days….

They really should know better and give people the choice. I am struggling to see why this is significantly better for existing users….

Sean Ellis on July 16th, 2009 wrote:

Yes, it looks like they’ve just rolled this out in the UK, and I’ve just noticed it in the last day or two.

Aaargh, what a waste of space, especially on my little Eee PC. I only have one tab.

I’m not saying we should remove it completely - some people probably find it useful - but for those of us who don’t, all this needs is an “Enable tab toolbar” checkbox in the user settings. Put it next to the “Enable chat” setting.

I repeat: Arrrgh.

I’ve fed back to Google directly via the link at the bottom of the search results page. Perhaps if enough people do the same, they will change this.

paul on July 17th, 2009 wrote:

im still using this one and it still works ok in the old format on i google.

http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all

A Website Designer on July 17th, 2009 wrote:

It suprised me as it used to happen every time I logged off and back in to iGoogle.

I tried everytrick in the book to resolve this, Google forums etc and it looks like it is here to stay unless Google backdown to popular demand?

Google why not allow users to choose top tabs, left tabs or even right tabs. Surely that way is a win win situation.

Steve

paul on July 17th, 2009 wrote:

hey mate go to tools, internet options, general and type in tha addy i gave in the post before yours. it works for me just fine there. in case u dont see it it is

http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all its the uk one im pretty sure but the page is the way it used to be. i hate the new format too as do most others. regards, paul

Laurie on July 18th, 2009 wrote:

There should be an option for both. I want the tabs down the left, so I can eaily navigate to things like Calendar, Docs etc.

iGoogle-UK on July 19th, 2009 wrote:

This works for me. It puts tabs at TOP, keeps all the top left links and defaults them to UK for News, Shopping etc.

http://www.google.co.uk/ig?hl=en-GB&t=0

mister PIP on July 21st, 2009 wrote:

Thanks iGoogle-UK
That link works like a beauty
I will stop my search for a google-killer

Phil on August 1st, 2009 wrote:

I just received this mail from one of my customers, it says:

“Dear Phil,
I am sending you the attached, which should show you my Google Home Page screen. Recently Google has inserted a ‘Home Page’ listing box on the left side of my home page screen, which ends with a ‘Google Chat’ option. I much resent having this foisted on me, but daren’t just delete it, because it seems to cover all the other elements of my home page and I’m afraid of losing the stuff I have so carefully chosen. Can you tell me how to get rid of this interloper safely?”

So I have to tell her the new thing is called the Left Navigation Bar and it can not be turned off.

udrtrat on August 1st, 2009 wrote:

hey. this still works for me and everything i had on my i google before is the same here.

http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all&refresh=1

iHateiGoogletabsonleft on September 2nd, 2009 wrote:

This is the most ridiculous waste of space if you have your web browser on half your screen (tall and skinny) and doing something in the other half of screen. There is an entire blank area that looks ugly, and makes me want to convert to BING. At the rate there going making these pointless changes and enforcing them on their customers gives me images of an aggressive corporation. NO FIX = SWITCH. GG. Goodbye Google.

Jomu on October 9th, 2009 wrote:

I hate the new panel too!

And udrtrat thanks for this link, it WORKS!!!!
http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all&refresh=1

DickDelete on November 5th, 2009 wrote:

Stever, you’re so right!!!

When will there be an add-on available for IE to hide the WTF left sidebar….

Tricks as below will stop working soon!!
http://www.google.com/ig?hl=all&refresh=1

Cheers
DickDelete

iGoogleTabsSux on November 17th, 2009 wrote:

It’s gone… gone I say… gone! The wonderful workaround is no longer working, guess they really want me to look at dead space and narrower columns! Why can’t they release a “Classic” theme to bring back the elegance of the classic iGoogle! I wish I could move on, but I’m too dependant on my widgets! I guess it’s time to switch browsers to FF! If anybody can find the wise guy who designed this page at Google, I’ll volunteer to spam him with my complaints on a daily basis!

Allie on November 17th, 2009 wrote:

Dang it, they got the ‘hl=all’ again… Firefox users, there is this add-on:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/10113

But I can’t find an address line work around. Anyone?