Filed under: Cult of Mac, Odds and ends
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.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Martin said 8:27AM on 5-01-2007
It's May where I am.
Reply
Kwahnoom said 9:06AM on 5-01-2007
Ah, this makes sense. I always wondered what the "ig" in the URL: google.com/ig stood for.
Reply
Rob said 9:15AM on 5-01-2007
If Google is using someone's else's Trade-mark (either registered or not), the existing Trade-Mark owner can stop Google from using it.
That is the purpose of Trade-Mark law -- to prevent confusion in the market place and prevent others from passing off their goods as someone else's.
But you better have big pockets. Google will drag it out through the courts.
Just goes to show that the IP law really only benefits those with money. (i.e. Those corporations with $$ use IP law to put small companies out of business).
IP law rarely does NOTHING to help the average tech consumer. Often monopolies created by IP law (Trade-marks, Patents etc) do nothing put raise prices and limit availability of tech related goods.
Reply
Greenline said 9:17AM on 5-01-2007
Thank god for the confirmation I was flippin out last night until I saw the same info you posted here. Now that I know what it is, I kinda hate it. (But I am addicted to My Google Homepage)
Reply
darleen Michael-Baker said 9:20AM on 5-01-2007
Just someone else trying to hitch a ride on Apple's coattails. We have the iPex (a bra for god's sake); iShadow (yes, makeup! ... eye shadow, get it?); iThis and iThat.
Remember when the first imacs came out and with 6 months EVERYthing plactic was in candy colors?
Apple innovates, the world copies.
Reply
Ben King said 9:29AM on 5-01-2007
"If Google is using someone's else's Trade-mark (either registered or not), the existing Trade-Mark owner can stop Google from using it."
You cannot trademark the letter "i", I'm sorry to tell you.
Reply
Bryan Brannigan said 9:53AM on 5-01-2007
#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.
Reply
micah said 11:22AM on 5-01-2007
The i stands for individualized, which can also be seen when visiting you google homepage @ google.com/ig (ig = individualized google).
Reply
Seroth said 11:43AM on 5-01-2007
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.
Reply
Brian Reading said 12:06PM on 5-01-2007
I love seeing Google getting hip.
Reply
rp said 1:35PM on 5-01-2007
personally, i'm very sick of the "i" stuff. get rid of the lame cutesy stuff, it's soooo 90s.
Reply
jim said 6:54PM on 5-01-2007
@rp: "The Internet is serious business."
Reply
Scott Falkner said 8:51PM on 5-01-2007
>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?
Reply
Daniel Cheung said 9:18PM on 5-01-2007
@ Kwahnoom:
I was wondering the same thing when I first started using the Google homepage. Now the mystery of "/ig" has been solved!
Reply
Tommy said 9:41PM on 5-01-2007
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.
Reply
Nathan said 7:55AM on 5-02-2007
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?
Reply