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10 projects that Google should kill (images)

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    We've decided to revisit Larry Dignan's controversial post on Google projects that ought to be killed. We've learned a lot from the talkbacks - most notably what's considered awful in one country may be very popular in other parts of the world.

    Changed your mind at all? Any new projects to add? Remember this is an opinion and we welcome your feedback.

    Google 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. 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.

    Screenshots: Google

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469009.jpg

    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. Orkut apparently does have many fans around the world.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 468998.jpg

    Friend Connect: Build a real social network or go home. Google is still trying.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 468999.jpg

    Google Desktop: Can be handy, but mostly it’s a resource hog.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469000.jpg

    Google Base: You’d be surprised to hear that’s still around (and in beta of course).

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469001.jpg

    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.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469002.jpg

    Google Toolbar: Why? Toolbars suck—all of them.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469003.jpg

    Google Latitude: A few folks seem to like it, but the product inflates the search giant’s creepiness factor.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469004.jpg

    Google Pack: If we want a Google app we’ll download them individually.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469010.jpg

    Photo Screensaver: This screensaver is part of Google Pack, but can be downright annoying.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469005.jpg

    Picasa: One of our writers thought this should be included but got outvoted.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469013.png

    Android: One reader had issues with the transparent android family.

    Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

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Larry Dignan

By Larry Dignan | September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT) | Topic: Google

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Being an industry leader means that everything you do is under constant scrutiny and criticism. Check these out and tell us if you Google is on the wrong or right track.

Read More Read Less

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. Orkut apparently does have many fans around the world.

Published: September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT)

Caption by: Larry Dignan

2 of 12 NEXT PREV

Related Topics:

Cloud Mobility Enterprise Software Artificial Intelligence Hardware
Larry Dignan

By Larry Dignan | September 27, 2010 -- 08:11 GMT (01:11 PDT) | Topic: Google

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