Have you seen the recently redesigned Google Images? Apparently in an effort to make it more clean or something, they decided to only show resolution information on mouseover…
What were they thinking? Resolution is what I use the most when I use Google Images! So I figured I’d split it open and see if I couldn’t fix it with a quick CSS file or something…
I have no words. Much like the Matrix, no one can be told what that code resembles… Best you take a look for yourself.
Ah yes, I’m pretty sure it has been like this for a while already, but it is annoying nonetheless. Another effort to make things look cleaner at the expense of convenience. :-/
Indeed, it’s very annoying. If you turn javascript off it’ll stop the annoying effect but it’s too much of a sacrifice for something so simple.
This should be configurable by the user, for sure.
Regarding the CSS hack thing, I just had a play with the HTML using Web Developer in Firefox and it IS possible to make it show the information by default, it’s just a bit time-consuming and obviously dies when the page is reloaded.
Couldn’t agree with you more. A friend and I noticed the change only minutes after it happend, and we both agreed that it sucked. If Google cares about usability then they should better make that minimalistic looks optional. Otherwise, why would there be a “Preferences”-page anyway?
I found a Greasemonkey script here. Also, here and here. (I haven’t tried the last two because the first one worked, but only at images.google.com — I’m sure you can edit the script.)
There are some tips on disabling it here (found via Lifehacker), basically Google Images reverts to the old look if you disable JavaScript, which they give you tips for on a site specific basis rather than across the board.
Oh. No!
@Bryan/Lee: Thanks for the tips.
something’s been changing around Google’s interface. have you seen the minute changes around Gmail? like the “more options” switched to this lil rounded corner drop-down and the bottom of each “thred” has this “shadow” gradient?! Google Calendar crashed a few times on my Firefox last week… must be some backend thing.
You could simply install greasemonkey and a greasemonkey script called ‘style’ or something similar, there you will be able to set different styles for different pages and it will last until you disable the greasemonkey script and not just vanish at reload.
But agreed – I don’t want to be having installing plugins or scripts just to get it normal – so what do you say; We all file complaints to Google and ask other fellow designers do the same? ;)
It’s not completely horrible, but it does make things less usable, less easy.
What’s more bothersome, in my opinion, is that it highlights a box around each image, but clicking inside that box and outside the picture itself doesn’t open the link. It makes the box itself look stupid!
I hate the new Google search with a passion.
Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing when I first saw the ‘new design’. First I thought it looked cleaner, then I noticed why, less information…great idea, not.
Actually I don’t think that this is something really horrible, but in any case I don’t understand for what reason they’ve done it…
I used the tip above (link) and now Google Images displays the way it used to. Thanks!
YES! It was one of my biggest complaints about MS Live image search. And then google shove it in my face probably because someone had a hard-on for that stupid blue hover effect.
Morons.
I e-mailed complaining but just got an automated reply sending me to a page without a way of giving feedback. JERKS!
well, turn off javascript and you are done®
I like it.
If I need a particular resolution (mostly a big one), I’ll just select “only show big images”.
I absolutely agree with you. It takes away half the useability, I don’t want to be hovering over just to find out extra info. The design was very basic and useable as it was, God knows why the had to make it cleaner.