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iGoogle -- not an April Fool's joke, not a merger

Quite a few early risers emailed us today about an interesting change overnight at Google. Seems that the personalized Google homepage they usually visit had been secretly replaced with... Folgers Crystals? No, iGoogle. Did Google buy Apple? Is there a merger in our future? Wha'appen?

Call off the dogs: Google's official blog notes the name change as simply the externalization of what had been company shorthand for the 'personalized home page' feature. Also released today are 22 new localizations of iGoogle and a 'make your own gadget' feature to add interactive blocks to your Google homepage. That's gotta sting for these other items called iGoogle (a Windows app and a Dashboard widget, respectively).

Phew. Wheeze. Where's my inhaler?

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Quite a few early risers emailed us today about an interesting change overnight at Google. Seems that the personalized Google homepage they...
 

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Nathan Sweeney

iGoogle? Why? Do we really need another 'i' product. I'm even tired of Apple using it, thank the gods that it is Apple TV instead of iTV.

Oh, and regarding the Folger's, "Tastes as good as fresh perked"... Everyone knows that a percolator is the absolute worst way to prepare coffee, right?

May 02 2007 at 7:55 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tommy

does anyone else have a problem on igoogle where if they click a link in one of the bars it thnks you're trying to move and won't let you open the link? in firefox that is.

May 01 2007 at 9:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Scott Falkner

>You cannot trademark the letter "i", I'm sorry to tell you.

Nor the word "pod". So we can all call stuff iPod.

Hardly. The customized home page is branded with the word "iGoogle". If someone has a trademark for that word, then the fight is on, if they want to tangle with 1200 pound Googlerillas.

Uh, dis anyone notice that the Add a Tab feature is gone?

May 01 2007 at 8:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Daniel Cheung

@ Kwahnoom:

I was wondering the same thing when I first started using the Google homepage. Now the mystery of "/ig" has been solved!

May 01 2007 at 7:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jim

@rp: "The Internet is serious business."

May 01 2007 at 6:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
rp

personally, i'm very sick of the "i" stuff. get rid of the lame cutesy stuff, it's soooo 90s.

May 01 2007 at 1:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brian Reading

I love seeing Google getting hip.

May 01 2007 at 12:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Seroth

I use google.com/ig for my homepage, and I didn't even realize they added the "i" there until it was brought up with this post. Heh.

May 01 2007 at 11:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Micah

The i stands for individualized, which can also be seen when visiting you google homepage @ google.com/ig (ig = individualized google).

May 01 2007 at 11:22 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bryan Brannigan

#4 & #7: not to mention that the folks already using the "iGoogle" mark were already infringing on Google's trademark because it is deceptively similar.

May 01 2007 at 9:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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