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Now Wave is dead, here are 10 more projects Google should kill
Props to Google for ditching efforts that fall flat. But since we're housecleaning at Google, here are a few more projects that should be put out of their misery.
Google has killed off Wave despite initial buzz that the experiment was going to change communication. The problem: Wave just didn't garner much of a following.
Props to Google for ditching efforts that fall flat (Techmeme). But since we're housecleaning at Google, here are a few more projects that should be put out of their misery.
- Buzz: Annoying and just not quite right. Like Wave, it had some early juice and then just sort of fell flat.
- Orkut: AOL had Bebo. Google has Orkut. Perhaps, there's a following here, but at the risk of sounding downright anti-social I'd nuke Orkut too.
- Friend Connect: Build a real social network or go home. Google is still trying.
- Google Desktop: Can be handy, but mostly it's a resource hog.
- Google Base: You'd be surprised to hear that's still around (and in beta of course).
- Google Checkout: Is Checkout a mere distraction? It's a valid question considering there are other dominant payment forces out there like PayPal. Update: A few folks pointed out that Checkout is important to Google's mobile ambitions. Knol got a write-in vote to replace Checkout on the kill list.
- Google Toolbar: Why? Toolbars suck---all of them.
- Google Latitude: A few folks seem to like it, but the product inflates the search giant's creepiness factor.
- Google Pack: If we want a Google app we'll download them individually.
- Photo Screensaver: This screensaver is part of Google Pack, but can be downright annoying.
Honorable mention: Picasa. Jason Hiner suggested this one and Sam Diaz and I shouted him down. Who's right?
Related: Google kills Wave and chance to reinvent online communications