iGoogle Being Discontinued

[dantilley]

iGoogle will cease to exist in November next year. Although it's a long way off (and good of them to announce it this early), I think it's a shame as I think it's a useful tool. Anyone know of a good alternative which can provide the same (or better?) kind of home page / dashboard?

More on Google's announcement here.

[WhizBang]

And what, pray tell, is iGoogle? Never heard of it. Oh wait, maybe that's why they are ending it.

[FarangBuddha]

And what, pray tell, is iGoogle? Never heard of it. Oh wait, maybe that's why they are ending it.

iGoogle, which I too use on occasion, was a way to pull in various Google web-services, e.g., Gmail, Calendar, RSS/news feeds, Google Finance, Docs, etc., into one webpage (which could also be one's homepage) and it would be updated in real-time with notifications of new mail/notices. It is a handy service and I too wonder why Google is disbanding it. I mean, it's just some software code that resides on a Google server somewhere so why discoutinue it...it can't cost that much to leave online and running.

Getting a little tired of Google (and other cloud-based service providers) starting services (e.g., Buzz, Wave) and people start using them and then deciding to pull the plug on said service!

[dantilley]

It's a Google home page / dashboard on which you can set up widgets, RSS feeds, other gadgets. A nice tool. If you have a Google account, when you go to google.com (if you're logged in) you should see a link at the bottom to iGoogle. From there you can customise it as you wish.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect App

[bobl]

And what, pray tell, is iGoogle? Never heard of it. Oh wait, maybe that's why they are ending it.

iGoogle is my homepage, dammit...

Off the top of my head I can't think of an alternative. Some of the widgets I can live without but I've got my layout just the way I like it... [sigh]

[lazygourmet]

If your browser is Chrome: set up the New Tab Page as your homepage.

Then open Chrome Web Store and install all the google apps & extensions that you are using regularly with igoogle.

[dantilley]

Sounds good hopefully all can be replicated.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect App

[bobl]

Thanks Lazygourmet. Now that I've topped up my caffeine level and my brain's working again, yes it does seem rather obvious that they'd have a trick up their sleeve. "Persuading" people over to Chrome would seem to be a logical assumption for the basis of this announcement...

Being somewhat stubborn I'm going to see if there's an alternative in my beloved FF, otherwise maybe it's time to start playing with Chrome...

[jaysun]

we use google apps for business at my work, and the IT guy always hated igoogle so never let us use it. i don't know the details on why he hates it, but I suppose it's related to why google's canning it

[bobl]

we use google apps for business at my work, and the IT guy always hated igoogle so never let us use it. i don't know the details on why he hates it, but I suppose it's related to why google's canning it

IT guys...

1. look up BOFH

2. Download and watch "The IT crowd"

3. Never try to understand us...

[BuddhistVirus]

we use google apps for business at my work, and the IT guy always hated igoogle so never let us use it. i don't know the details on why he hates it, but I suppose it's related to why google's canning it

IT guys...

1. look up BOFH

2. Download and watch "The IT crowd"

3. Never try to understand us...

Lusers.

Learn something new everyday.

Thanks.

Edited July 4, 2012 by BuddhistVirus

[lazygourmet]

Thanks Lazygourmet. Now that I've topped up my caffeine level and my brain's working again, yes it does seem rather obvious that they'd have a trick up their sleeve. "Persuading" people over to Chrome would seem to be a logical assumption for the basis of this announcement...

Being somewhat stubborn I'm going to see if there's an alternative in my beloved FF, otherwise maybe it's time to start playing with Chrome...

You can easily import all your bookmarks from firefox to chrome... And use both browsers -if it's not too much cpu consumption- until you decide which one suits you the best.

[rijb]

2 alternatives

[bangkokrick]

Goole + is the way to go and now I google is not necessary, so not surprised that they have finished it.

[Maestro]

Google has been adding some links to the entry page of Google+. I haven't checked yet whether and to what extent the user can himself customise this page. Something worth looking into, perhaps.

Sent from my Nexus S using Thaivisa Connect App

[Puccini]

I'm thinking of changing my home page in Firefox to www.google.com/dashboard or plus.google.com when the time comes. At the moment neither of these pages lets me personalise anything but I hope this will be possible before google.com/ig gets shut down. I am also going to look and see what one can customise on Chrome. Thee are several widgets that I would like to keep on my home page.

Another thought: can Google widgets be put on a personal page of sites.google.com?

[rijb]

I have a website on sites.google.com. You can add widgets. But, there's not a lot available.

I also have google drive. When I try to add more apps/gadgets it tells me I need to install Chrome first. Then it shows lots of stuff.

[dantilley]

Worth remembering though that we've still got 16 months to go before it's closed. Probably loads of alternatives will spawn in the meantime.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect App

[Digitalbanana]

Worth remembering though that we've still got 16 months to go before it's closed. Probably loads of alternatives will spawn in the meantime.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect App

The Mobile version of iGoogle that you might be accessing on your Android ends this month. Rather sudden for some, me included!

[bangkockney]

I've always thought iGoogle was just a gimmick when Web 2.0 dropped.

[Digitalbanana]

I've found it a rather fast and efficient way to get all the news I want on one page on a mobile phone. Pissed they've decided to stop it with less than a months notice!! Like I have have better things to do with my time rather rummaging around for alternatives.

[dantilley]

For the mobile version, yes it is short notice...

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect App

[jaysun]

what the heck is a GT-I9300T... serious marketing fail by... well whatever GT-I9300T is

[dantilley]

Samsung Galaxy S3. Not sure why it comes out like that though in the signature, think it's auto-detected by the App and that's how it names itself. Will edit it when I get a moment to something more recognisable.

[Digitalbanana]

If anyone is interested, iGoogle (which ends Nov) can now be run on My Yahoo! new look home page with option to import the iGoogle settings.