Google simplify product range by killing seven programs

Google continue their cleaning cull and have decided to remove another seven programs from their software portfolio including Knol, Google Gears and Google Wave.

This is the third time this year that the search engine giant has streamlined their operation by removing programs which haven't sparked the users imagination. They announced the dramatic move on their blog page.

They say “This is our third blog post in our off-season spring cleaning series. To recap, we’re in the process of shutting a number of products which haven’t had the impact we’d hoped for, integrating others as features into our broader product efforts, and ending several which have shown us a different path forward. Overall, our aim is to build a simpler, more intuitive, truly beautiful Google user experience.”

They then list the full array of software which is getting axed.

• Google Wave – an attempt to combine email and instant messaging for real-time collaboration
• Google Bookmarks List – a service which allowed users to share bookmarks with friends
• Google Friends Connect – allowed webmasters to add social features to their sites by embedding a snippet of code
• Google Gears – much-hyped effort to maintain web browser functionality when working offline
• Google Search Timeline – a graph of historical query results
• Knol – a Wikipedia-style project, which aimed to improve web content
• Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal – a project which aimed to find ways to improve solar power

There is also a time frame when the software will be deactivated, which varies. Wave is set to be shut down in April next year.

Kitguru says: Streamlining is always a healthy approach when things just aren't working.

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