Philipp, Google Friends Newsletter still does exist.

Google Friends Newsletter
April 2006

Hello, Google Friends, and welcome to the April edition of this
newsletter. We hope you enjoy this update on our various services and
new products, and find it useful...

http://www.google.com/googlefriends/apr2006.html
http://www.google.com/googlefriends/archive.html

Thanks, corrected!

Added to Digg:
http://www.digg.com/technology/Google.com_1998-2006

You mentioned that the Google Directory is "now mostly discontinued" and correctly that they dropped the link to it from their main page (now under More >>) ... but they do update from ODP/DMOZ periodically and actually, I bet that refresh interval is more frequent thatn Google Images ... which argueably says more about Google Images .. ;-)

BTW, is it just me, or do the "Google Search and I'm Feeling Lucky" boxes come up with white interior colors versus the grey as shown in your 2006 snapshot Philipp?

I looked in both Firefox and IE – former logged in, later not personalized and it was the same – does seem consistant with their minimalistic approach.

You're right about the Directory Alek. Actually what I wanted to say is that they're not actively pushing it anymore, that they somehow gave up on it after realizing it doesn't scale well with the amount of new sites coming in, and I bet they also had low click-thru rates/ usage compared to other front-page services. So I guess they now continue it as one service of many, keeping it up for the user base who likes it...

As for the buttons, they are gray here, but buttons adjust with the OS and browser settings... I just checked BrowserPool.de, and on your typical WinXP/IE6, they will indeed show a little more 3D with a much lighter gray. Reminds us that my screenshots are only one possible rendering of the underyling HTML...

It seems that the time in the Internet passed faster the that of the real life.

8 years passed......

Google has done a lot to preserve its URIs which i think is interesting. For example:
http://www.google.com/google.jpg
The old logo is still there even though it's never used. That's one of the reasons they have so many random looking pages all over the place.

I remember recently (within the past 2 weeks) seeing a cool GIF animation of both Google's and Yahoo's homepages over the years and how they changed, but I'm not sure where I saw the animation...does anyone have a link?

> In 2001, some days after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Google offers condolences to the attack victims. Along with the Madrid bombings years later, this would be about the only time Google shows news and support links on the front-page.

Doesn't this happen every time there's a major catastrophe? I thought they'd linked to a donation page page / the Red Cross site after the Tsunami and I think they also added a link after the 7th July bombings in London.

Also, they occassionally add links to the home page to try and get you to download Google Toolbar or try a new service.

Ummmm ... I just did a view-source on www.google.com (even a font-size=-2 in there) and I don't see anything where they color those input tags – I wonder why they would be grey'ed on any browser?

www.google.com (famously) does not even come close to W3C validating ... so maybe that's part of it. Even so, yea, it's frustrating how browsers handle stuff differently.

this is a nice write up.. excellent views...and yes the 99 google(beta) log is stands out.. becuase the first time I saw it ... was wtf is this!! and I got the reply by the techi who saids thats its a "hot" new program!!

Since when has the "Google Friends" Newsletter Been "Extinct"? I and even Google seems to think its still going.

http://www.google.com/contact/newsletter.html

You can even go a little bit further back:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://google.stanford.edu

The first link, from 2 May 1998, doesn't work, unfortunately. The one from 11 November 1998 does, though, and on 6 December 1998 you can see that Google moved to its own domain.

(I actually used Google at http://google.stanford.edu ... I must be getting old... :-))

   – Michael

Perhaps the top result for http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=*+* shows the state of panic in the world.

> Ummmm ... I just did a view-source on
> www.google.com (even a font-size=-2
> in there) and I don't see anything where
> they color those input tags – I wonder
> why they would be grey'ed on any browser?

Gray buttons have been the default style for many browsers (including IE5 on Win98 and IE5.5 on WIn2000) before WinXP came along with rounder, brighter buttons. I have some setting somewhere where I switched this off in WinXP I guess. Basically any browser can decide what they want to do with unspecified colors... while white is considered to be "default" you probably still remember when the default page background in browsers was gray... (now I feel like grandpa telling of the war).

By the way I'm using http://BrowserPool.de to test older browser/ operating systems... great tool!

Mrrix, I used the delete tag on my "extinct" but I guess it doesn't show in the RSS...

> I thought they'd linked to a donation page page / the Red Cross
> site after the Tsunami and I think they also added a link after
> the 7th July bombings in London.

Right Tony now I remember the Tsunami also received a news/ support link...

I'm pretty certain Philipp I've never made that change in my PC – I use Firefix 99% of the time, so I like to keep IE as "generic" as possible.

So at least maybe Google's intent is no grey. Yea, roger than client-side can change stuff to anything – the old "should I let the user or publisher dictate how the page looks" issue.

Browserpool is cool – for those that don't know, they also have an English version at:

http://browserpool.com/kc/wob/portal.jsp

Just noticed that Browserpool has the different language support (with flags) across the top of their page – doopppp! ;-)

> I'm pretty certain Philipp I've never made
> that change in my PC – I use Firefix 99% of the
> time, so I like to keep IE as "generic" as
> possible.

To prevent any misunderstandings, I meant that I switched this setting off... not you. The white, round button style is the default in WinXP/IE... in older Windows versions, it was gray.

Loren Baker of Search Engine Journal has now done the same for the history of Yahoo:
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/?p=3306

What interesting the first "G" in the logo was green instead of blue at first: http://www.google.com/intl/en/logos/google3.jpg

On the bottom of this page are other pre-google logos – http://www.google.com/intl/en/customlogos.html

Hey Philipp, yeah the yahoo's screen shoots are kewl. Now, we need to see who will do the MSFT thingy!!! :)-

The Microsoft Homepage history is available here: http://www.microsoft.com/misc/features/features_flshbk.htm . (This is not MSN or Windows Live Search etc. though)

> Right Tony now I remember the Tsunami also received a news/ support link...

Ditto Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. As I recall, I was big into finding new and cool Google Maps mashups, and after Katrina blew over and N'awlins got flooded, there were many *very useful* mashups that came out.

If I remember right, there were 1-2 simple links on G's homepage, and G had a special page set up with 50 or so websites for people to see news, get info, help out, donate, interact, etc.

After a little looking, I see that Google's Tsunami Relief page is still up and running, at http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html

Strangely, the Katrina page is gone ... but another site did keep a copy of it live for awhile, though it's gone now, too. BUT, G does have a cache of this site's copy of G's Katrina page, and *that* is still available.

This is strange.

Do a query for: katrina relief inurl:www.google.com
and you'll see a link at a site called freesoft.org, which ends in katrina.html ... click on the Google Cache of this, and maybe you'll see what I'm talking about.

philipp, I wnet through this 2 years ago , the best things is to compare the top 10 reasons to work for GOOGLE back in time.

The top 10 Reasons to work for GOOGLE Have changed trough time.

1999
http://web.archive.org/web/19991013034717/google.com/jobs.html
Reasons to work at Google!

   1. Hot technology
   2. Cool technology
   3. Intelligent, fun, talented, hard-working, high-energy teammates
   4. In the center of the Silicon Valley
   5. Excellent benefits
   6. Stock options
   7. Casual dress atmosphere
   8. Free snacks and drinks
   9. An exciting place to work! Your ideas can make a difference
   10. Millions of people will use and appreciate your software

2002 / 3 Billions Documents
http://web.archive.org/web/20020223060226/www.google.com/jobs/index.html

   1. Hot award-winning technology.
   2. Intelligent, fun, high energy teammates.
   3. Great culture and amazing perks – massage therapy, roller hockey, game room, gym, and all the snacks you can eat.
   4. Backed by the two premier VCs.
   5. Free gourmet lunches served daily.
   6. Start up environment with excellent benefits.
   7. Pre-IPO stock options.
   8. Spacious, colorful, fun work environment.
   9. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley.
   10. Millions use Google – your ideas will make a difference.

2005
http://web.archive.org/web/20050331061757/www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/reasons.html

end a helping hand. With millions of visitors every month, Google has become an essential part of everyday life—like a good friend—connecting people with the information they need to live great lives.

Google rollerhockey break

Google's chef

Googlers
2.
Life is beautiful. Being a part of something that matters and working on products in which you can believe is remarkably fulfilling.
3.
Appreciation is the best motivation, so we've created a fun and inspiring workspace you'll be glad to be a part of, including on-site doctor and dentist; massage and yoga; professional development opportunities; on-site day care; shoreline running trails; and plenty of snacks to get you through the day.
4.
Work and play are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to code and pass the puck at the same time.
5.
We love our employees, and we want them to know it. Google offers a variety of benefits, including a choice of medical programs, company-matched 401(k), stock options, maternity and paternity leave, and much more.
6.
Innovation is our bloodline. Even the best technology can be improved. We see endless opportunity to create even more relevant, more useful, and faster products for our users. Google is the technology leader in organizing the world’s information.
7.
Good company everywhere you look. Googlers range from former neurosurgeons, CEOs, and U.S. puzzle champions to alligator wrestlers and former-Marines. No matter what their backgrounds Googlers make for interesting cube mates.
8.
Uniting the world, one user at a time. People in every country and every language use our products. As such we think, act, and work globally—just our little contribution to making the world a better place.
9.
Boldly go where no one has gone before. There are hundreds of challenges yet to solve. Your creative ideas matter here and are worth exploring. You'll have the opportunity to develop innovative new products that millions of people will find useful.
10. There is such a thing as a free lunch after all. In fact we have them every day: healthy, yummy, and made with love.
++++

Google.com Description differs from one database to another, from yahoo msn alexa even google itself ... we find different descriptions...

I love how Google got Yahoo's search engine praise once.