Slashdot Mirror
Slashdot Asks: How Do You Like the New Gmail UI? (vortex.com)
Earlier today, Google pushed out the biggest revamp of Gmail in years. In addition to a new material design look, there are quick links to other Google services, such as Calendar, Tasks, and Keep, as well as a new "confidential mode" designed to protect users against certain attacks by having the email(s) automatically expire at a time of the sender's choosing. Long-time Slashdot reader Lauren Weinstein shares their initial impressions of Google's new Gmail UI: Google launched general access to their first significant Gmail user interface (UI) redesign in many years today. It's rolling out gradually -- when it hits your account you'll see a "Try the new Gmail" choice under the settings ("gear") icon on the upper right of the page (you can also revert to the "classic" interface for now, via the same menu). But you probably won't need to revert. Google clearly didn't want to screw up Gmail, and my initial impression is that they've succeeded by avoiding radical changes in the UI. I'll bet that some casual Gmail users might not even immediately notice the differences.
The new Gmail UI is what we could call a "minimally disruptive" redesign of the now "classic" version. The overall design is not altered in major respects. So far I haven't found any notable missing features, options, or settings. My impression is that the back end systems serving Gmail are largely unchanged. Additionally, there are a number of new features (some of which are familiar in design from Google's "Inbox" email interface) that are now surfaced for the new Gmail. Crucially, overall readability and usability (including contrast, font choices, UI selection elements, etc.) seem so close to classic Gmail (at least in my limited testing so far) as to make any differences essentially inconsequential. And it's still possible to select a dark theme from settings if you wish, which results in even higher contrast. Have you tried the new Gmail? If so, how do you like the new interface?
The new Gmail UI is what we could call a "minimally disruptive" redesign of the now "classic" version. The overall design is not altered in major respects. So far I haven't found any notable missing features, options, or settings. My impression is that the back end systems serving Gmail are largely unchanged. Additionally, there are a number of new features (some of which are familiar in design from Google's "Inbox" email interface) that are now surfaced for the new Gmail. Crucially, overall readability and usability (including contrast, font choices, UI selection elements, etc.) seem so close to classic Gmail (at least in my limited testing so far) as to make any differences essentially inconsequential. And it's still possible to select a dark theme from settings if you wish, which results in even higher contrast. Have you tried the new Gmail? If so, how do you like the new interface?
Almost instantly reverted. The new UI wastes so much screen space -- and I'm running in compact mode (in both Classicy and New modes)
* Tabs (Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, Forums) no longer have a vertical line separating them. You HAVE to mouse over them to see where each button ends.
* The left column of Inbox, Important, Sent Mail, etc. is wider.
* The 2nd column which showed the Senders and the number of emails in a thread no longer shows (#) but just the # number by itself.
* The middle columns are now less wide
* A new right column which shows vertical icons of Calendar, Keep, Tasks now wastes space
* The number of lines in the Inbox is now less due to the spacing between threads being increased.
Lauren Weinstein is a corporate shill who thinks ad blockers are unethical :
Because modern UI design is a crypto-fascist plot. Think about it. Have you ever met a UI designer? No one has. They don't exist.
UI tweaks are a control mechanism. The NSA, working with MI6 and former KGB expats, have infiltrated Silicon Valley. Internet is the new mass media. Control the internet population and you control the world.
These UI changes are part of a long game to degrade people's ability to absorb accurate information. Pretty soon everything will be eggshell colored text on an ivory background. At that point, who's to say who is right? Fake news, real news, it all reads the same when everything is illegible. The CIA wins.
There is a resistance movement. We render everything as green text on a black background, just as god intended. Our callsign is ][. Look for us in the dark places on the interwebs, where mortals fear to tread.