Slashdot Asks: How Do You Like the New Gmail UI? (vortex.com) 137
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?
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I found that I could switch to the new UI in the Settings dropdown. I looked at it. I switched back to "Classic" mode.
I'll probably explore the new UI more fully later on. My first impression is that other than some font tweaking, it seems unchanged. Except that now some of the controls are harder to see since the font color almost disappears into my background image.
Re: Not seeing it (Score:2)
G Suite is a separate code base. And it often lags Gmail developments. There are some exemptions to this, but it's a common complaint.
'HTML' mode. (Score:5, Insightful)
'Basic HTML' mode still works for me.. So I'm happy with the UI.. :)
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similar (Score:3)
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I think there is some unsend magiks and "cannot print/forward this email" data privacy feature, probably primarily for enterprise/business/premium users
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not understanding that if the recipient is not under Google's control, the "confidentiality" features are useless
or if the recipient uses the only usable Gmail UI (ie, IMAP)
Re:similar (Score:4, Informative)
Actually no, the "confidentiality" feature works regardless of recipient's email address. The recipient simply gets a link that opens in a browser to a site that Google has control over. This does force the recipient to create a Google account, of course, but it need not be a gmail account. And how they expect to prevent the end user from printing out the screen I don't know! If the recipient does use gmail and the gmail web interface then this "feature" is integrated into Gmail.
Re:similar (Score:5, Insightful)
This sort of security measure isn't any more absolute than a lock on your front door. I think it mostly just protects against clueless users who accidentally forwards sensitive documents to the entire company instead of the intended recipients. And a real benefit is to provide evidence that anyone who breaches confidentiality has obviously done so deliberately. You can't really "accidentally" take a screenshot and then forward it to others.
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The specific threat it is designed to protect against is hacked email accounts. If someone gets into the recipient's email account then they can see every email you ever sent to them, unless it was one of these links to an expiring web page.
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I was thinking the exact same thing. Then I saw screenshots of what the new UI looks like and mine doesn't look like that. Maybe I'm still using an older version of it.
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Figured it out. I had to "Try the new Gmail". They didn't automatically force me to use the new UI, that's how it's done folks. I can't decide if I like the new or old better. I have to try it out for a few weeks to get past the change before I can make a true assessment. My criteria is pretty basic. If I get pissed off for any reason then the new UI sucks and I'll switch back to the old.
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I've switched back. Ultimately it's the speed the of the new UI that I don't like. It seems sluggish. I like simple and plain. I'm glad they give is the option; at least for now.
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> I'm not sure I'd have even noticed the change
I posted screenshots and descriptions [slashdot.org] of what has changed. To the untrained eye changes would probably seem subtle -- but the changes stick out like a sore thumb to me.
> Why is this slight graphics refresh a news story?
Reasons.
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Why is this slight graphics refresh a news story?
Because it's more than just a "slight graphics refresh". The new Gmail UI brings in features from Inbox, such as snoozing emails and smart replies, and some new features like "confidential" mode, and add-ons on the right-hand-side (like Calendar, Tasks, etc).
I haven't notice any change at all (Score:1)
Maybe because I wipe out years ago any "tab" other than "mail" and used "compact" view always.
My gmail is exactly the same as always. No visual change at all.
New UI is crap (Score:5, Funny)
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 [google.com] :
Why are the new UI designs allowed ? :-( (Score:5, Insightful)
We have monochrome designs where we previously had full colour designs (Android, etc) with all the associated loss of valuable information.
We have flat designs where we can't see what's clickable.
We have thinner fonts and lines which are harder to read unless you have perfect vision.
Why isn't there massive pushback from all these changes which reduce usability instead of enhancing it ?
Re:Why are the new UI designs allowed ? :-( (Score:5, Funny)
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.
Re:Why are the new UI designs allowed ? :-( (Score:5, Insightful)
You forgot:
We now have light gray on white visual elements, because high contrast, easy to spot UI elements are so gauche.
We have mystery meat navigation elements (text doesn't show up until you mouse over), because even though designers 15 years ago figured out that was bad, a new generation apparently has to relearn the same lessons.
Sigh... Generally speaking, the new UI looks prettier and more professional / polished (the old UI was admittedly ugly), but it actually looks slightly less usable to me. It's a shame we can't get both.
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You forgot:
We now have light gray on white visual elements, because high contrast, easy to spot UI elements are so gauche.
We have mystery meat navigation elements (text doesn't show up until you mouse over), because even though designers 15 years ago figured out that was bad, a new generation apparently has to relearn the same lessons.
And it will be harder for them to learn it.
Designers in the 80's and 90's had to give people a reason to use their software, which meant it HAD to be easy to use, it HAD to make sense, and it HAD to convince the money men so business workflow needed to be the core selling point. UIs were still just as likely to be done by programmers as they were by artists who were only then making the migration to DTP software, but had made a career out of doing things by hand. Finally, the lack of broadband meant ship-th
Re: Why are the new UI designs allowed ? :-( (Score:2)
+1 insightful
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We have thinner fonts and lines which are harder to read unless you have perfect vision.
The first thing I noticed about the new Gmail is that the fonts are heavier weight than the old ones.
We have flat designs where we can't see what's clickable.
This is a consequence of touch interfaces. When browsing the web on a phone you only have a big fat finger, no precision single pixel pointer, so all the hit boxes have to be enlarged. This people have become used to tapping in the general area of what they want and not worrying about hitting it precisely. Making the user try to aim at a visible hit box is considered bad now.
Unfortunately this does lead to C
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Re: Why are the new UI designs allowed ? :-( (Score:2)
Almost all American software has declined in quality since that period.
Probably due to tech brain drain. Because of the massive drop in inflation-adjusted pay, and ensuing proletarianization of the tech industry. Facilitated by the H1-B program. And inbred venture capitalist twats spending QE money on thousands of loss-making "startups", who see their users as products to be sold, not customers to be served.
Remember - if you hate America, and want to see even more Americans impoverished - then we need to
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I tried it on Firefox. It froze for a few seconds, I tried to revert but the menu wasn't responding to my clicks. I F5'd and got to intro popup again, accidentally clicked an email. It froze again, then I disabled it. That pretty much killed my willingness to even try it out.
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Also:
* High contrast theme is even less high contrast than the prior iteration. In the list of emails, read emails have a slight grey tinge compared to the blinding white of unread emails.
* Zooming to 200% changes the list of emails from one line to two lines, even with compact density setting.
* Changing the theme doesn't change the blinding white background of emails. Go to the dark or terminal theme, let your eyes adjust, then try to read an email. Instant retina burn.
It's like they're progressively tr
I POP it (Score:5, Interesting)
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That's cause gmail has no concept of folders. Everything just gets tagged in some way and jumbled into one folder. Pretty much your only hope for finding something more than a few days old is hoping it turns up in a search. It's a fucking mess for productivity. I just started a job where they use gsuite and it fucking blows for productivity. Thankfully they are making a move to to office and I should be able to use outlook again. Say what you will about outlook but an actual email client is far more product
Re:I POP it (Score:4, Informative)
So i can careless, i POP all my email to Thunderbird until i cant. then will create my own email server but as long as i can POP it im happy.
I think you mean "I couldn't care less". :-)
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Thunderbird on PC, and Nine for android.
I wouldn't know. (Score:5, Informative)
I use an IMAP client to read my Gmail
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Same here, IMAP via Thunderbird client on my PC or app on the phone.
Just tried to log in to the website and it wil not let without my phone to authenticate! WTF, I never set up 2 factor authentication for mail!
if i need my phone to allow me to open a website, i might as well just us the gmail app on the phone !
What? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Visual differences comparing Classic and New (Score:5, Informative)
Since the bloody article can't even show the visual differences here are screenshots comparing the old and new:
* The left column/sidebar of Inbox, Important, Sent Mail, etc. is wider. Number of unread are now in their own sub-column instead of immediately after the Folder name.
Old left Sidebar [postimg.cc]
New left Sidebar [postimg.cc]
* 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.
Old Tabs [postimg.cc]
New Tabs [postimg.cc]
* The 2nd column which showed the Senders and the number of emails in a thread no longer shows (#) but just the # number by itself making this harder to read.
Old senders [postimg.cc]
New senders [postimg.cc]
The Topic column is less wide, meaning you can't see entire short emails now.
Old subject [postimg.cc]
New subject [postimg.cc]
Do. Not. Want.
--
"Get off my LAN." -- Grumpy old programmer
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Excellent post - these are the EXACT reasons I reverted to the old version.
Gaaah, those tabs! (Score:2)
Thanks for posting the pics.
How to fix the new UI (Score:3)
("You will not receive a response from Google" seems like it ought to be their new motto.)
However a heroic stranger happened along and developed a number of CSS hacks usable via Stylish that cleans up almost all the most
Web consoles suck (Score:3)
How to activate the new UI (Score:4, Informative)
Here are step-by-step instructions to try out the new UI:
1. Click on Gear top right [postimg.cc]
2. Click on the first menu choice [postimg.cc] Try the new Gmail
If you don't see "Try the new Gmail" menu choice -- it hasn't been rolled out to your account (yet).
3. Select the layout [postimg.cc] Default, Comfortable, Compact
Don't worry if you picked the wrong choice. You can click on gear icon in the top right and the non-descript Display density to choose between the three.
Thankfully we can Go back to classic Gmail for now -- until Google rams it down our throats, whether we want it or not.
Love the calendar but not the tooltips (Score:2)
I think it's great having the option to always have the calendar up within the Gmail screen. It's something I've wanted for a long time.
The one really annoying piece for me is that the main window tooltips stay up too long (like the Refresh button). If you hover over an icon too long and move the cursor away, the tooltip stays up for over a second. Sounds short but it's way too long. The tooltips for the icons on the right side are timed correctly though.
I use the compact option with a dark theme so I don't
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The one really annoying piece for me is that the main window tooltips stay up too long (like the Refresh button).
I didn't notice that until I read your comment, and now it's making me nuts.
Haven't noticed (Score:2)
Dont fret. Its like Pittsburgh weather. (Score:2)
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Lauren Weinstein is on the Google payroll (Score:4, Insightful)
I've no evidence for this, but the way he keeps defending big-G in the wake of all the privacy problems we've seen and continue to feel, he's been touting them as being stellar about privacy and that they would never, and bla.
Maybe it's true that unlike Facebook, Google doesn't sell your data. But the main reason for that is that they want to monetise you all by themselves. Also, nothing would stop them from doing so tomorrow.
Gmail innovations here or there, your best bet is to get rid of Google and Facebook, use plugins like uMatrix and Cookie AutoDelete and navigate the Web without splattering your fingerprints everywhere.
Apps accounts? (Score:3)
It doesn't seem to be pushed to apps accounts / G Suite unfortunately.
OK... But (Score:2)
Last time Google pulled this shit with G+ (Score:2)
...I abandoned G+ never to go back. I used G+ until it allowed me to use the old interface. G+ would revert back to the new, flat version every once in a while in spite of me going back to the classic version. One day I could not go back to the classic version, and that's when G+ lost a user.
I don't mind doing the same with the Gmail web interface. It's harder to abandon the e-mail system, but it is not difficult to abandon the WEB UI.
don't see any changes (Score:3)
*My* UI still looks just fine, thanks (Score:3)
IMAP/Thunderbird here. Web-based mail is so very Eternal September.
Only morons and clueless newbies see it (Score:2, Informative)
The rest of us uses mail programs to read their mail and couldn't care less.
Gmail UI is shit (Score:1)
Gmail UI is moronic shit, stands to reason that they're not going to change it much this time.
No changes here? (Score:1)
Searching: Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but... (Score:2)
When using the search function, the old interface does not highlight the previously-chosen (guessed) message in the search results when you return to it, making it difficult to pick up where you left off.
It's such a minor detail and so useful that I don't know why it is not this way.
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There are... differences. (Score:2)
Personally, I'm not overly impressed by the changes... but those changes aren't so horrible as to make me want to run away and hide in the old interface, either. In fact, the only difference which seems even remotely noteworthy to me, is that the entire interface appears to have become ever so slightly more sluggish -- but even that isn't horrific; it's just mildly annoying. The reality is, the new interface is going to be rolled out to all Gmail users eventually anyway, likely with little or no change from
It's never going to beat a dedicated mail client (Score:2)
Labs removed (Score:2)
Due to the removal of Labs, I no longer have an upcoming calendar events on the left side. I can open a today view on the right, but not just a list of upcoming events.
Collapsed threads (Score:1)
I don't see any noticeable difference on the web version. But, in the Android version on my phone, the program now collapses email threads into a single long concatenated message with portions hidden. It makes the replies in the thread, particularly the later ones, very hard to read.
Different (Score:2)
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No sir, I don't like it (Score:1)
No Sir, I don't like it.
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It's not plural in this case.
Their is a gender-neutral pronoun, singular.
Not going into the politics of it, I'm just a writer.
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Actual writers know that, in Standard English, the gender-neutral third-person singular possessive is his.
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Fortunately, the 'correct' gender pronoun is easy because there in only two genders. Men & women. Now, some men & women don't want to live in the traditional gender roles. That's fine, they can dress however they like - but they are still men and women. The gender classification apply to what you look like naked. What anyone 'think' or 'feel' doesn't matter. Classification must work even for dead people who don't think.
Pronouns is still easy.