Ten projects Google should kill off

1 of 10 NEXT PREV

Google killed off Google Wave, despite initial predictions that the messaging and collaboration service was going to change communication. The problem was that Wave did not garner much of a following.

The tech giant gets a pat on the back for ditching an effort that fell flat. Here are our suggestions of a few more Google projects that should be put out of their misery:

1. Buzz

Google's social-media service has drawn criticism and a privacy lawsuit over its automatic inclusion people's Gmail contacts in their Buzz profile. We find it annoying and just not quite right. Like Wave, it had some early juice and then just sort of fell flat.
Screenshot: CNET News

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan
2. Orkut

AOL had Bebo. Google has Orkut. Perhaps there's a following in Brazil and elsewhere for the Google-owned social-networking site, but at the risk of sounding downright anti-social, we'd take out Orkut too.

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan
3. Friend Connect
This Google tool, which allows people to add social features to their websites without programming, is still in beta despite being unveiled more than two years ago. Our comment: Build a real social network or go home. Google is still trying.

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan
4. Google Desktop
This application combines desktop search with a sidebar that offers news and other links based on a user's habits. It can be handy, but mostly it's a resource hog.
Screenshot: CNET News

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan
5. Google Base

The company introduced its free classified listings service, which allows anyone to post and tag information for Google searchers to find, in 2005. You may be surprised to hear that this is still around — and in beta, of course.
Screenshot: ZDNet.com

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan
6. Google Checkout

Is Checkout, Google's online payment service, a mere distraction? It's a valid question, considering there are other well-established payment companies out there, such as PayPal.

However, a few people have pointed out that Checkout is important to Google's mobile ambitions.

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan
7. Google Toolbar
Why? Toolbars are just awful — all of them.
Screenshot: CNET News

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan
8. Google Latitude
This software lets mobile phone users share their location with their contacts. Some people seem to like it, but the tracking aspect of the product boosts the search giant's creepiness factor.
Screenshot: CNET News

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan
9. Google Pack
This four-year-old project bundles up free software from Google and other desktop application providers. If we want a Google app, we'll download them individually.
Screenshot: CNET News

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan
10. Picasa

Google's web-based image viewer and organiser, divided opinion in the ZDNet.com office. Is it worth bothering with when there's Flickr around? Or do features like facial recognition when searching images on a desktop point the way to greater things?
Screenshot: CNET News

Published: September 26, 2010 -- 09:33 GMT (02:33 PDT)
Caption by: Larry Dignan

1 of 10 NEXT PREV

Google had the strength to dump Wave after the bubble burst on the collaboration software, so here are 10 more of its projects that we reckon are ready for the chop