Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look • Hacker News Board

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#111

Post by izacus » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:06 AM UTC

system2 wrote: post #74

begriffs wrote: post #31

Why not use a desktop/mobile mail client of your choice to access gmail over open protocols? Then they can clown up the web UI all they want and it won't matter to you.

If you are using multiple machines, your desktop client will be a huge headache to set up each. Business computers at work have outlook, but personally, I cannot use the client(s) for my 6+ separate computers. Browser email is the way to go.

Copying a settings folder is a "huge headache"? It takes s lot less time than writing a complaint post on HN.

Even if you have 6+ computers.

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#112

Post by dreamcompiler » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:07 AM UTC

themodelplumber wrote: post #56

JamesAdir wrote: post #43

The UI is horrible and it has already been discussed in many places, but to me the slowness is the no.1 problem. I thought it was just a hiccup when they had it on optional mode, but now it's plain slow. I've tried on different connections and different browsers and they all seem to generate the same result. Super slow loading times of the interface and the emails. I still remember when gmail was the fastest kid on t…

Man, last week a friend asked me to set him up with an email account through Dreamhost shared hosting. My first reaction was "who does this anymore" but after 10 minutes passed (he already had a website there) I was sending him IMAP server information and thinking, "I have got to move on something like this, I'll bet it's 200% faster than current GMail." It's not going to be a GSuite-level toolset for him, of course,…

I've been on a shared-host IMAP server for 20 years. I use my own domains and Tbird or another IMAP client. The host has excellent spam filtering (spam assassin & procmail) and doesn't spy on me. I even use gmail (but rarely) through an IMAP client. That way I never have to see their web UI.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#113

Post by _ttg » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:08 AM UTC

firic wrote: post #67

_ttg wrote: post #52

Am I blind or what? I have not noticed a single change to my account, not at least in the last 2 weeks. Is there a screenshot of said changes I can check?

Here's a side by side comparison https://i.imgur.com/Nm7LahL.png

Oh, right. I guess I did notice the change but sort of seamlessly just moved on. Aside from the sidebar(s), I still honestly don't notice any significant difference.

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#114

Post by dancek » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:11 AM UTC

chii wrote: post #48

sidcool wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I may be over generalizing but this is so true. The same People will yearn for the existing UI when you Google updates it six months down the line.

> I may be over generalizing but this is so true. may be the existing UI works fine, and having invested the effort in using it only to be forced to abandon it once again. Imagine if a car manufacturer keeps changing the wheel and the pedals around.

You have a good point, which is that cars have a horrible UI. One of the most important requirements is the ability to brake fast in an emergency, yet the UI requires you to physically move your foot to another pedal before you can even start to brake.

Why don't they change the UI, then? Mostly because of regulations, I think. It's unclear to me whether bringing a new driving UI to the market would be horribly difficult, costly and risky, or just plain impossible.

While you and a million others might not like the new $webapp UI, it's still a good thing that they can and do get changed. Especially in this case considering you can start using any email client anytime if you don't like the web UI.

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#115

Post by blux » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:12 AM UTC

jimueller wrote: post #59

dpcan wrote: post #5

Interesting. I switched to the new Gmail, and I actually can't remember what the old one looked like already. I'm sure Google will do just fine ignoring all these requests and their billion+ users will adapt.

I agree, that thread is a bit dramatic. With compact view, I'm failing to see a big difference.

The biggest problem in my opinion is not the new looks, but the degraded performance.

It seems after just opening GMail the website tries to cache every listed email in your inbox. After that is done, it becomes faster. My use case is not to leave GMail open in a tab all the time, so I have to suffer through this caching period every time GMail is opened now.

This, together with the recent Google-China upheaval, is the final straw for me. I've had a GMail account since the beginning, and am now looking into alternatives (ProtonMail, self-hosting).

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#116

Post by winrid » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:13 AM UTC

tjoff wrote: post #84

debaserab2 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What functionality did the old google maps have that the current one doesn't?

It had maps. No, seriously, you open up maps to use the maps and you can't because the map barely takes up any screen estate. On slower hardware it goes like thus: Start maps, wait for all the bloat, dismiss the pointless bloat you just waited for, do this two or three times for the GUI to catch up. Now you have slow maps! A truly horrendous experience! On fast hardware the UI is still very bloated but sure it works,…

Once you move the map most of the bloat is hidden for me.

Regardless I agree with your sentiment. I'm betting we'll come full circle at some point - or else they'll lose their maps users to some equivelant of duckduckgo.

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#117

Post by michaelmrose » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:13 AM UTC

vmware513 wrote: post #54

I'm a big fun of the latest GMail and of the modern Google Map. I think, their changes are usually based on thorough UX research. It is normal, there are a strong minority, who cannot get used to new user interfaces and cannot accept changes... Luckily there are alternative services, so they can use something else. ;)

You're living in a bubble full of fast, pervasive network connectivity, faster computers, and tech savvy, intelligent people.

The world is filled with people with slower connections, slower computers, and people who access their email in a different environment than Chrome on windows. Nearly all of them not a strong minority are adverse to change.

The latest google mail interface which they are on their way to killing so called "inbox" is slower not because it is so feature-full but because its poorly written. On a computer that is reasonably modern click on an email and wait 7 seconds is in a word crap. Inbox is only really designed to run well on chrome and switching browsers to run a single site is like changing religions because you like the other sides hats better.

You know what's comparatively amazing. Viewing email in emacs via mu4e and being able to access information in your mail even when you aren't connected to the internet and reading searching and composing as fast as your fingers and eyeballs work rather than waiting for a slow web only resource.

Via xwidgets it can even render pretty html if you need to.

https://imgur.com/a/crz3IoM

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#118

Post by EGreg » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:14 AM UTC

robin_reala wrote: post #82

EGreg wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does anyone know a good web based OpenStreetMap renderer? And a service that hosts tiles for it? I just wanted to make something like Google Maps Navigation but web based. Google Maps doesn’t really let you rotate the maps by heading, and more. We did some hacks but I would like more control!

MapBox? It’s been a few years since I’ve used it but I guess it’d fit your needs: https://www.mapbox.com/maps/

Is it web based though? I am looking only for web based renderers!

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#119

Post by michaelmrose » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:16 AM UTC

Freak_NL wrote: post #88

system2 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overcomplicated for an average user. Doesn't apply to 99.99% of the population unfortunately.

Frankly, neither do the complaints about the new UI voiced here.

You don't think anyone uses browsers other than Chrome or wants to access mail faster than 7 seconds to load contents?

Re: Please Google, let us revert to the classic Gmail look

#120

Post by Freak_NL » Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 7:16 AM UTC

matthewmacleod wrote: post #97

itake wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, every time big company does large UX change, there is a post like this asking how to revert. Sources: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=1020032... Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/redesign/comments/8w03ms/is_it_poss...

I think this response often comes up in response to complaints about UI changes. Sometimes it’s a valid response, and people are just being resistant to change. Sometimes the changes are genuinely bad. The point is - the fact that people complain about everything doesn’t mean that some of the things they complain about aren’t legitimate problems!

Legitimate or not, what the user perceives as problematic may make total sense for the business providing the service. Google (Facebook, Reddit, etc.) is not a non-profit or government agency that acts in the interests of the people. It's a business operating on capitalist principles, so profit is, by design, their main drive (of the business as such, not necessarily of the individuals who work there).

Somehow we insist on treating these mega-corporations as if they are always beneficent, and anytime one of them does something that doesn't align the user's and business interests, there is a storm of complaints like this.

Sure, it would be nice if a mega-corporation always acted in its user's interests, but that's not how the current system works.

Ideally, we'd end up with a system where you just pay a company to host your on-line end-points, keeping all data and the software you use personal, and you have the option to move to a competitor at a moment's notice, keeping all identifiers (like an email address now). Where just not there yet.