The “Ribbon UI” (what I would call the “Tabbed Ribbon UI”) is miserable. It’s been miserable since they rolled it out in Office 2007 and makes me dread any new office products . Microsoft threw out interface conventions everyone was comfortable with and then introduced a brand new user interface that requires significant learning for experienced users to access common features. Even more frustrating is that one tab can have it’s own separate ribbon format and orientation (the e.g. the File tab in Microsoft Office). New and old users were all new to the “Tabbed Ribbon UI” in 2007 and they blew it. I also work mainly on a notebook at home and that means already limited screen space is wasted by a bunch of commands I never or rarely use placed to obscure all the commands I like use often.

It was enough to permanently move me to try other Office suites (Open Office and Google Docs). I use Google Docs and now I only use Microsoft Office sparingly at work (Excel and Word) and occasionally at home (say on the rare occasion someone only has Word and needs a document from me). With additional scripting capability added to Google Docs, I am extremely comfortable using it as my main Office suite.

As long as the “Tabbed Ribbon UI” is implemented in the current fashion, I will continue to use Microsoft Office products less and less.

Google has allowed this to happen by:

1. not cultivating a better relation with Apple as a top vendor for Google Maps through iOS Maps (eg denying Apple turn by turn)

2. not having their own Google Maps app for iOS in anticipation of Apple’s switch

It seems they can only fix the latter. Google already has native Earth, Latitude, Places and Zagat apps for iOS, they should be kicking themselves for not being ready to roll out a separate native Google Maps app ASAP. To me that would be worth the marketing on the level of their Chrome browser campaign. I hope they are working on it ASAP. Competition is always better for the users and although Google Maps mobile web version now includes a full set of features, the Google Search App for iOs is a lazy “all of the bookmarks above” linking App.

No street View or Public transit for iOS vs No iOS user data for Google:

So apparently, with iOS6b Maps there is neither street view nor transit directions for all devices. The real immediate punch in the gut for Google is that it does need access to the millions of Apple iOS (ipad, iphone, ipod touch) map users they no longer have access to as a result of this change. I doubt the newly Google+’ed Zagat app or Places will replace what all these users loved about iOS maps using Google Maps API or what Android users love about the awesome Maps application on Android. Traffic updates partially depend on active map users and without a bunch of iOS map users, Google’s traffic quality may deteriorate (although I think they user other geo-mapping services like NAVTEQ and/or TANA (aka Tom Tom) to supply real time traffic info as well).

Transit is a must have for me in Philadelphia, in the North East and when travelling. I am going to use it today to go to a graduation party, not just to know what Regional line I am getting on (you learn the lines fairly easily), but to know the exact time I need to walk out of my house and to the nearest Regional Rail stop. I used it on the Muni in San Francisco to go from the Mission District to the Ferry Building or to take the train from the airport to downtown. I guess they believe most iOS public transit riders will just use the excellent HopStop in conjunction with iOS6b Maps in the meantime. Even then Street View still helps me finish off these trips in full confidence. It’s a big feature deficit.

Full iOS 6 is only on iPad 2 and up and iPhone 4s, Meanwhile Google’s Maps are more accurate and precise

In addition, you have to have Siri to have turn by turn, so neither of my iOS devices (iPad 1G, iPod touch 32G) will be eligible for that. That is fine, but just saying this is a major phase out of those devices and that gives Google an opportunity to develop a native, full featured maps and directions app that can operate on all iOS6 devices, not just iPad 2 and up and iPhone 4S. 3D is beautiful, but I don’t fly a helicopter, street view is the 3D vantage point I desire and 3D is only on iPad 2 and up and iPhone 4s regardless.

In the end, even when looking at the detail of the actual street maps, Google Maps on Android is the one product on my Android phone and tablet, still running Android 2.x, that is still far superior to the Apple offering (and iOS maps with Google Maps is also better). The features I would get from Maps on an iOS6b device are “look at my swag” not “look how dependent I am on this” features. Especially when Google is finally adding offline maps (a feature Nokia’s Map’s have had for a while).

Remember Blackberry used to be undisputed king of corporate e-mail?

Google is the mobile Maps king, but Apple is selling too many new and fully upgrade-able devices that won’t feed data to Google Maps when iOS6b hits for any current supremacy in the Maps department minus involvement in the default Maps app to be any consolation to Google. Over 95% of Android users have never used the latest Android version “ice cream sandwich” after months after release while 61% of iOS device users were on the latest version two weeks after it was released. That means when iOS6 drops, 2 weeks or so later, 60+% users of iOS devices will no longer have Google Maps while 90%+ of Android users will be using an OS designed for 2 years ago. If Google wants to continue to rule Maps they need to have an actual Google Maps app in the iTunes store before most users forget the difference or Apple’s Maps App gets enough features post beta that it makes iOS users forget they ever needed a map from Google.

completely distracting display of search results

Google’s April Fools jokes would be funny if they hadn’t made so many missteps lately and my phone had the latest version of Android.

Google’s search product is becoming less valuable by the day:

Surrounding that link are nine ads, plus a link to a PetMeds user account at Google+. There are 10 links to Google services at the top of the page. Below that is my Google+ profile picture (which leads to my Google+ account settings) and a big Share box.

That’s a total of 23 links on that page, as it appears on a typical computer. Only one is a search result.

At Google, advertising is crowding out search results | Ed Bott.

I like my Android phone because I like having a keyboard for Texting, adding calendar items, contacts and the like. I can thumb the keys without looking. I tried the Samsung Galaxy Tab, it was miserable. iPad has no competition. My G2 was nice in 2010. It sucks today, not because I dislike the form factor or general performance, because the phones OS and default tools are stuck in a 2010/2011 limbo.

But today, I’m supposed to be happy about Android Market and some other Apps being called something else.

Today we’re eliminating all that hassle with Google Play, a digital entertainment destination where you can find, enjoy and share your favorite music, movies, books and apps on the web and on your Android phone or tablet. Google Play is entirely cloud-based so all your music, movies, books and apps are stored online, always available to you, and you never have to worry about losing them or moving them again.

Introducing Google Play: All your entertainment, anywhere you go | Official Google Blog.

Digital entertainment destination? STFU. If it’s one destination, how is it that my G2 and Galaxy Tab downloaded and updated three Apps today: Music, Movies and Videos are now Google Play Music, Google Play Movies, Google Play Videos.

So yet again, like when all of Google’s services were plus-ified, Google is re-branding a bunch of stuff I already use, and then pushing an update to me and every other user with some annoying interface changes. My Samsung Galaxy Tab and G2 are already upgraded. I’ve used all those services on my Android phone and/or tablet. Have used, not continue to use (big difference). This won’t make me a regular user of any of them (iTunes, Netflix and Kindle instead). I buy in Google Music, download it and then sync it with iTunes. I tried using Google Music for a week and it just was too clunky of an interface. There is no way to keep songs on my phone or tablet, so listening is dependent upon my psuedo 4G/3G connection or wi-fi access. Meanwhile, my G2 is so very two years ago.

Google Chrome is my favorite browser. To me, the others don’t compete. As a windows laptop user at home and work, it’s a great choice for me. I have Google’s phone, and I can’t use it on my phone. Not even an old version. I don’t have Ice Cream Sandwich, the only Android version with Chrome. Instead, I’m stuck with their default browser app named “Browser”. Using it is worse than than not browsing at all. It’s a piece of garbage. But I have Google Play now, which means nothing new or improved to me, just more inconvenience.

If Google Play came today after Ice Cream Sandwich came last month, I wouldn’t care. I would be unimpressed, but I wouldn’t be annoyed right now. But I am annoyed because hackers last years put ICS on T-Mobile G2’s and stabilized it while my carrier takes their sweet time and Google hasn’t figured out how to “de-fragment” the Android user base.

Best thing about the app driven mobile revolution (starting with Apple’s iPod) is that it made computing so much simpler for the average user. Microsoft seemed to get that (much better than Google did and later) with their simple, take it as you see it metro interface for Windows mobile. (Frankly, I like the Metro graphical user interface a bit better than the iOS interface and loads better than the android graphical user interface.)

The thing I don’t like about office products: the menus. I don’t need to mail merge, no one I know uses it on a regular basis and yet…the menus went from being cluttered toolbars with small icons to cluttered tabbed toolbars with even more icons. Its confusing to see, I consistently forget where certain buttons functions are. I hate using Outlook 2010. I don’t need that many options 99.9999%, most outlook users don’t need that many options 99.9999% of the time so they shouldn’t be in front of my face 100% of the time. I hope they’ve learned that prior to releasing Office for iPad or they are pretty much wasting their time.

Google is stealing info…MG Siegler sums it up:

…Google is doing things to bypass the privacy settings in Internet Explorer

…Microsoft had absolutely no idea that Google was doing this until the (somewhatmisleading) Wall Street Journal article last week.

via parislemon • Microsoft: We’re Also Pissed Off At Google Over Privacy.

Path is uploading your entire address book to their servers…they say “to help you out”. I say: to betray our user agreement.

Winer is right this is bad for Apple, especially after the whole Location issue and with the current SIM card issue (although locking SIM cards should prevent that).

We can, however, show that it does. And somewhat disingenuously, if I may. You see, Microsoft is a major player in the Business Software Alliance, along with Apple and 27 other companies. And the BSA supports SOPA. This is from a recent BSA bulletin:

The Business Software Alliance today commended House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) for introducing the “Stop Online Piracy Act” (H.R. 3261) to curb the growing rash of software piracy and other forms of intellectual property theft that are being perpetrated by illicit websites.

via 29 Tech Companies Back SOPA

Dumping Flash will make Android better, it will make BlackBerrys better, it will make the entire web better. iOS users have been benefitting from this ever since day one, in June 2007.

via Daring Fireball Linked List: Everybody Wins.

So very true. Flash is the earliest grave for websites. It’s overused by lazy web developers who want to impress unwitting clients. With HTML 5 and JQuery and Microsoft abandoning Silverlight, hopefully developers rely on it less and less.

I use a lot of Google products. Search. Gmail. Docs. Android 3.x on two devices. Maps. Navigation. Google+. Google Voice. GChat. One of my favorite was Google Reader through Google.com in Chrome browser (primarily), apps on my T-Mobile G2 (secondarily) and occasionally on my iPad 1 through the Google App and Samsung Galaxy Tab Tablet.

From the 1st to the 20th of October, I used Google Reader through all these channels this much:

From your 220 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 7,832 items, clicked 543 items, starred 140 items, shared 2,454 items, and emailed 88 items.

Since May 29, 2009 you have read a total of 300,000+ items.

Those shared items are there for an express reason. I use the aggregate of those shared items to populate the “recommended reads” list on my blog. I use(d) the share button to do two things:

• “Share” to my voluntary Google Reader followers (share)
• Curate my sources into an RSS feed (that is this blog’s recommended reading list (share)

And TechCrunch author MG Siegler is appalled:

It has almost been exactly one year since AOL acquired us. At the time, they promised not to interfere with the way we do things. For 11+ months, they’ve kept their word, and things have run beautifully from our end. Our business is one of the few sterling ornaments on their mantel. Now they may break their promise to us. And if that promise is broken, it will break TechCrunch.

via TechCrunch As We Know It May Be Over | TechCrunch

I hopes he’s not shocked and appalled, because this isn’t that surprising at all.

Avis’ RFID Tracker Turns Companies into Rental Lots

I know this may seem like a scoop to some folks, but car share companies like Zip Car and Philly Car Share (now owned by Enterprise) have staked their whole model on this and it has been pretty successful. You can’t mention Avis’ transition to this without mentioning that the airport, train and bus station centered car rental biz feels it needs to adapt the car share distribution model for a segment of its business. Must be something to it.