Google+ rolled out its new interface today. It took me by surprise. I had a tab open to Google+ from my morning read and then opened a new tab by accident later on and saw the new design. I had a chance to flip back and forth to view the old and the new. It was a totally new experience for me. I’d never been able to compare the old and the new of anything on my screen as it happened before. Talk about dumb luck and being in the right place at the right time!
I must admit that I do like the new layout….
…but
There’s almost always a but.
Now, I don’t have a huge honking monitor. My Sony Vaio has a resolution of 1600×900 but the new layout for Google+ still leaves lots of white space. It’s almost like it was designed exclusively for tablet or older displays where 1024×768 would suffice. In my case though, there’s lots of white.
My first thought was about how Facebook handled it with moving to two columns. But, that would never fly to recommend that Google+ do the same thing.
Then, it occurred to me. Google already has the answer and a working solution in iGoogle.
So, I did a mockup (not a Sketchup) by opening a new window and overlaying it on the existing Google+ screen.
Ignore my Comerica Park theme on the right but just imagine the possibilities. Google+ would pull it all together is they would just allow the inclusion of widgets on the right. For people with wider screens, it makes good use of the right side of the screen. You could move the chat feature to the centre column or even the taskbar. A little calculation and if the display is 1024×768, then just don’t make it available.
It works for me. I wonder if anyone from Google drops by and see this?
BTW, thanks to Peter Beens – he pointed me to a lot of solutions from others!
The content of this blog is generated by whatever strikes my fancy at any given point. It might be computers, weather, political, or something else in nature. I experiment and comment a lot on things so don't take anything here too seriously; I might change my mind a day later but what you read is my thought and opinion at the time I wrote it! My formal education includes a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Toronto. Ontario Ministry of Education and Training qualifications are in Data Processing, Computer Science, Accounting, and Mathematics. My personal website is at: http://www.dougpeterson.ca Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dougpete I'm bookmarking things at: http://www.delicious.com/dougpete
The iGoogle widgets is a perfect idea! I’d love to be able to drop in my RTM list or upcoming events list from Google Calendar into that dead space.
I hope that it doesn’t end up being advertising.
More recommendations: http://mashable.com/2012/04/11/google-plus-white-space/