[jshen]

Beware splitting hairs when you are ignoring the main point. The new google image search is worse than the old one imo so dvorak's point stands even if he got a few technical details wrong.

I also agree with him that it's a bad sign when a company seems to be doing things just because their competitors did something similar.

[jamesaguilar]

> The new google image search is worse than the old one imo so dvorak's point stands even if he got a few technical details wrong.

It may be worse for you, but it is better for almost everyone else. Dvorak is getting two things confused here: first, he assumes that because of his special uses cases that aren't supported as well, GIS is overall worse now. Second, he assumes that because a certain Google property is worse, the entire company is headed for doom.

[jshen]

The old version, when you clicked an image it would take you to the page that contained the image and give you some controls at the top like 'view full size'. The page it took you to was fully functional. Now, when you click on the image it takes you to the containing page but it puts the image in an overlay on top of the page blocking the actual page. You can't see the page unless you close the overlay which takes you out of google image search altogether.

I don't think this is better for most people, and it certainly isn't better for me.

The scrolling instead of paging is a u no no in my book. For example I can look at 8 pages of images then quickly jump back to page 2 if I want to. I can't send a link to page 8, or bookmark it, and it breaks other u expectations. Maybe that's ok, but I don't see what gain overcomes those negatives.

[jamesaguilar]

You're forgetting a few properties of the new landing page. The image is at its full size, or at least at a much larger size, which is what most people want to see when they arrive at a landing page. In the old version, only a tiny thumbnail was visible. Many pages also don't have the image visible at the top, so this makes it so the image is always visible. So there are a few things that at least argue in favor of the new version.

Scrolling versus paging is a personal preference thing. I don't know the rationale behind that, but I know that some people prefer the smoothness of a scroll over the pages.

[ergo98]

Beware splitting hairs when you are ignoring the main point

Splitting hairs?

These are the specific things that he complains about being wrong with the new version, and they're ignorant bullshit.

The new google image search is worse than the old one imo

I think the new image search is vastly improved. I doubt I'm alone. For the purpose of finding images it is much more efficient and usable, and if you want advanced searching, it's still there for your advanced searching needs.

But of course, we're just two people with subjective feelings. If Google changed it back, however, I wouldn't cry like a baby and pound my fists because it no longer specifically targets me and my personal usage needs.

It is human nature that whenever something changes the complainers tend to be the loudest. The fact that you don't personally like it, and Dvorak affirms your opinion, says absolutely nothing to whether it was a good move for Google or the average user.

Though I have no doubt that everyone with a gripe with Google's image search changes will we drawn into this discussion to add their "Rah rah yah yah!" I hope we're all wise enough to know how to judge that and to not overestimate the scope of that group.

It's also suspect to argue that they did it "just because their competitors are doing it". Could it be that the state of the art on the tubes is improving? Did Apple add multitasking to the iPhone just because Android did it, or because it's actually a good feature to have?

[jamn]

I wouldn't first argue that Dvorak spits out 'ignorant bullshit' while claiming that all design preferences are equally valid.

I personally prefer the older Google Images. For one, I lose the ability to scroll the website immediately after finding it. I do this, for example, when I'm searching for some algorithm by first finding a diagram that I think is clearer and then going directly to read the explanation, or when searching for a recipe by looking for the image first.

I find the new interface to be slightly cluttered to use (with all the animations and uncomfortable feeling when scrolling), At some point, Yahoo (and others) had pretty cluttered interfaces and people eventually shifted to Google, commonly citing simplicity. For this reason, I find that taking the leap to 'everyone complains about changes' to trivialize the fact that many people may, in fact, appreciate simple interfaces.

There sometimes is a superior interface, and discussing the pros and cons of a new interface is very valuable.

[ergo98]

I wouldn't first argue that Dvorak spits out 'ignorant bullshit' while claiming that all design preferences are equally valid.

Indeed. So who claimed that all design preferences are equally valid? Oddly you seem to be inferring that I did, but I actually didn't, making your lead-in just some noise in hope of soliciting a bias from readers.

At some point, Yahoo (and others) had pretty cluttered interfaces and people eventually shifted to Google, commonly citing simplicity

But can you see that perhaps Google was pursuing simplicity by making their image search all about the images themselves? Further they made perusing large sets of images simpler.

For users who don't care about source pixel sizes or originating domains -- which I suspect is most -- that was just distracting noise on the page. Google simplified the search to a dense, and often beautiful, collection of images, with some powerful functionality on the left.

For this reason, I find that taking the leap to 'everyone complains about changes' to trivialize the fact that many people may, in fact, appreciate simple interfaces.

Everyone complains about changes, good or bad. That is a simple truism of the world. It does not trivialize the usability of the interface, which is why I specifically talked about the usability of the interface -- all Dvorak cares about is what used to be there and now isn't. He doesn't care about the advantages of the new interface, because all he's focused on is the negative change (for him).

It's ignorant bullshit.

[xiaoma]

I wouldn't cry like a baby and pound my fists because it no longer specifically targets me and my personal usage needs.

It's very doubtful that either jshen or Dvorak "cried like a baby" or "pounded their fists". It's very doubtful that sort of comment will make anyone feel better or add much to the conversation. I agree with your point about complainers usually being the loudest, though.

That said, the new image search still bites. It's more time consuming than it used to be, at least for how I use it.

[ergo98]

It's very doubtful that either jshen or Dvorak "cried like a baby" or "pounded their fists".

Dvorak was so incensed that someone moved his cheese (to draw from a terrible book) that he wrote an article predicting Google's "inevitable ruin" was beginning. This is the sort of over the top rejection of change that exemplified that childish response.