Saturday, September 3, 2011

New Blogger Interface and Google Chrome

I made a mistake yesterday.  After uploading my latest blog post, I saw a little "offer" at the top of my dashboard, asking me to try the "updated blogger interface."  Feeling more adventurous than usual, I dared to click it.  Little did I expect the first thing to pop up would be a warning, saying that the new interface "no longer supports my browser."  After some checking, I could not even access my dashboard page with IE7, and without access I couldn't switch back to the old dashboard interface.  I was locked out!

There was only one thing I could do.  I had to download the "Google Chrome" browser.  Now, that might be a simple thing for those of you with super duper highspeed, but it took me over 3 hours to get it with my dial-up connection.  I made sure to not set it as my default browser, because I still like IE7, and it works for everything else I access besides Google sites.  I wanted to try the new browser out before making such a drastic decision, and I'm glad I did.

Google Chrome did the trick for accessing the new dashboard interface, so I could switch back to the old one.  I will say that the new blogger interface needs a lot of work, and I personally like the current one.  Why do they have to screw around trying to fix something that isn't broken?  Who do they think they are, the Federal Government?

After fixing the dashboard problem, I tried out the browser some more.  One thing that is nice about the Google Chrome browser is it allows me to actually see my followers again.  For months, I haven't been able to see the Followers block on any Google blogs, which has been detrimental to certain social activities.  Score one point for the new browser.

However, moving around on some non-Google sites, I found the Google Chrome browser to be extremely slow.  We're talking a slug's pace here.  It doesn't come anywhere near the speed I had with IE7, so for my non-Google activities I'm sticking with Microsoft's old standby.  It does the job in less than half the time, and it has more features.

If you have dial-up, Google Chrome isn't going to be your best bet for browsing the internet.  As for the new dashboard interface, that's a personal preference, but I for one think it sucks.  I'd advise everyone to stick with the current dashboard.  Change for the sake of change is meaningless (and often detrimental to society).

Had any tech problems lately?

4 comments:

  1. I hate IE after I got a virus because evil virus creators know how many people use it and use IE to funnel virus's on. I then started using Firefox but after Chrome came out I began using it exclusively. We use Firefox at work but Chrome at home. Of course I don't have dial up so I guess that would make a difference... And agree with you one hundred percent on the change for change sake. I dumped IE because of the virus thing- not because it wasn't cool.

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  2. IE7 is an extremely outdated technology but so is dial-up. I think someday you may have to upgrade. Good to hear though that you haven't been completely rendered obsolete on the technology you are currently using.

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  3. I would certainly upgrade to highspeed if it were an option. Unfortunately, I live in one of the lingering pockets of civilization where the lines haven't been laid for service. No telling when that will change, if ever, but I'll keep muddling.

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  4. Glad I ignored that invitation! I use IE8 still and knew Blogger had announced it wouldn't support IE7 soon. Glad you got back in!

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