Google gave original Mac designer free rein on new Google+ UI
Google's new Google+ social networking project departs from the company's usually spartan interfaces with an animated UI designed by original Apple Macintosh team member Andy Hertzfeld.
Update: Hertzfeld has written a Google+ post giving credit to his colleagues who also contributed to the service's user interface. While he admits to having "almost single-handedly" designed the Circles editor, he also notes that he wasn't responsible for the design of the entire product. "Now some people are saying that I'm responsible for the broad visual refresh now rolling out across Google, which couldn't be further from the truth - in fact, I'm not even sure I like it," he wrote.
The search giant announced its Google+ endeavor on Tuesday. After the design of the service quickly drew praise, it was discovered that Hertzfeld played a significant role in developing it.
A self-described "Software Wizard" while at Apple, Hertzfeld joined the company in 1979 and was instrumental in the design of the Macintosh's graphical user interface. After leaving Apple in 1984, he co-founded several companies and founded Mac history website folklore.org, before starting work at Google in 2005.
The company appointed Hertzfeld as the design leader for Google+, which was codenamed "Emerald Sea." Given that Google is known for its stripped-down design ethos, Hertzfeld has at times felt "constrained," Steven Levy
Update: Hertzfeld has written a Google+ post giving credit to his colleagues who also contributed to the service's user interface. While he admits to having "almost single-handedly" designed the Circles editor, he also notes that he wasn't responsible for the design of the entire product. "Now some people are saying that I'm responsible for the broad visual refresh now rolling out across Google, which couldn't be further from the truth - in fact, I'm not even sure I like it," he wrote.
The search giant announced its Google+ endeavor on Tuesday. After the design of the service quickly drew praise, it was discovered that Hertzfeld played a significant role in developing it.
A self-described "Software Wizard" while at Apple, Hertzfeld joined the company in 1979 and was instrumental in the design of the Macintosh's graphical user interface. After leaving Apple in 1984, he co-founded several companies and founded Mac history website folklore.org, before starting work at Google in 2005.
The company appointed Hertzfeld as the design leader for Google+, which was codenamed "Emerald Sea." Given that Google is known for its stripped-down design ethos, Hertzfeld has at times felt "constrained," Steven Levy
Comments
But the chances of it getting my wife away from Facebook? Slim.
It's one of those catch-22 things.
Even if it is better you aren't going to move unless your friends do.
Plus do folks really want to manage all these circles? What if you post something to the wrong circle? It's the reply to all fiasco all over again.
With Facebook you know everyone is watching so always have that "filter" on.
And what if you see a photo in one circle and want to tag it for a friend in another circle? How does that work?
Google's been pretty slick with their products thus far, so I'll have to check it out.
I'm liking what I see so far.
But the chances of it getting my wife away from Facebook? Slim.
Still anything that has a chance of killing facebook must be cheered. I may have occasional vague distaste for some google products but I despise the book of faces. Myspace died so clearly it is possible, but you're right - facebook won't be easy to dethrone.
Sparks tracks a user's interests and recommends content it thinks he or she will like.
Dumb people who can't figure out what they like or want all by themselves will like that feature I'm sure. Soon, even lobotomized people will be able to surf the internet, since they won't have to choose anything or make any decisions for themselves.
Sometimes when I search for something in Google, especially foreign words, the retarded Google algorithm will override my request and it will show the results for something else that I didn't ask for. They're arrogantly assuming that I misspelled my search query and it shows me the results for a similar word that has more hits, when what I really wanted was exactly what I was searching for. I don't need the help of a dumb computer in the cloud helping me out, especially when I didn't request it.
Wow, Google with design flare! What a change. I guess everything do comes back to Apple in the end.
Wrong.
It means that good design does actually exist outside of Apple.
If you can't see that.....then keep drinking the kool-aide....
Wrong.
It means that good design does actually exist outside of Apple.
If you can't see that.....then keep drinking the kool-aide....
good design by hiring former Apple employees and putting them in charge
Sometimes when I search for something in Google, especially foreign words, the retarded Google algorithm will override my request and it will show the results for something else that I didn't ask for. They're arrogantly assuming that I misspelled my search query and it shows me the results for a similar word that has more hits, when what I really wanted was exactly what I was searching for. I don't need the help of a dumb computer in the cloud helping me out, especially when I didn't request it.
Chill out, it's a hugely helpful feature that stops you having to correct your typos every time you hit a Google search. It saves Google millions of wasted searches a day, probably trillions a year. If you want exactly what you typed in there's an 'arrogance' removal link underneath the search field when you get you results. Only a very unusual word would wrongly be corrected.
Wrong.
It means that good design does actually exist outside of Apple.
If you can't see that.....then keep drinking the kool-aide....
It's been designed by someone who spent 26 years at Apple. It says so clearly in the article. He's being silly, probably deliberately, but he has a point of sorts. Kool-aide notwithstanding.
It's been designed by someone who spent 26 years at Apple. It says so clearly in the article. He's being silly, probably deliberately, but he has a point of sorts. Kool-aide notwithstanding.
It was more like 5 years - Hertzfeld left Apple shortly after Macintosh was released.
Wrong.
It means that good design does actually exist outside of Apple.
If you can't see that.....then keep drinking the kool-aide....
WebOS design? Google+ design? Head Twitter app designer? Flipboard? LinkedIn? Pixar?
There is little question that design is heavily influenced by Apple's products and their alums. If you look at most of the ex-Googlers, the companies are very net centered and less design centered. Twitter, Foursquare and Instgram come to mind. Each impressive but Apple really does show off its strength in teach and understanding design.
Though I have no idea what happened to Android.
Wrong.
It means that good design does actually exist outside of Apple.
If you can't see that.....then keep drinking the kool-aide....
Andy was key at Apple, I think I was perhaps too subtle for you. Andy's signature is inside the case of a Mac I have on the shelf.
Chill out, it's a hugely helpful feature that stops you having to correct your typos every time you hit a Google search. It saves Google millions of wasted searches a day, probably trillions a year. If you want exactly what you typed in there's an 'arrogance' removal link underneath the search field when you get you results. Only a very unusual word would wrongly be corrected.
I'm chillin' like a villain, thank you very much. I can fully understand that there is some mechanism in place which identifies typos and helps sloppy people and people with fat fingers get more accurate search results. I just think that there should be an option where you could turn off all assistance if that's what somebody wanted.
Wow, Google with design flare!
Flare? Does that mean it's going to crash and burn?
Still anything that has a chance of killing facebook must be cheered.
Just about anything but Google. Google has demonstrated a clear disregard for privacy or intellectual property and I refuse to feed the beast.
I'm chillin' like a villain, thank you very much. I can fully understand that there is some mechanism in place which identifies typos and helps sloppy people and people with fat fingers get more accurate search results. I just think that there should be an option where you could turn off all assistance if that's what somebody wanted.
Put your search in quotes and that should solve your problem.
Put your search in quotes and that should solve your problem.
I already use quotes when searching for a specific phrase that contains more than one word. "hot redhead woman" gives completely different results than hot redhead woman, for example. That I do know about. That was just an example. I obviously have no interest in searching for hot redhead women online.
Do quotes make a difference on a single word though?
Is there a difference between apple and "apple" ?
I just tried it myself and I found out that there is a difference, I didn't know that applying quotes to a single word made a difference. I guess that I will apply quotes to all of my search phrases from now on, even if it's a single word.
Thanks.