4 ms·

This is assuming malice when you could assume incompetence (to whatever slight degree this stuff is). Probably these things got put in a future release, or are

This is assuming malice when you could assume incompetence (to whatever slight degree this stuff is). Probably these things got put in a future release, or are in the backlog still. Well meaning product designers wanted them and can't have them or some other typical big-co reason a product gets little iteration.

wyre 5y ago
Google Docs has existed for a 15 years and it’s UI has barely improved from what I remember.
- legohead 5y ago
  Have you seen Google's latest icons? They aren't exactly known for doing what is competent, sane, or useful. It took them years and years to finally make the "Ignore Toll Roads" on Google maps not reset after you close the app, even after tons of bug reports with hundreds of responses.
- deregulateMed 5y ago
  Sheets has gone through massive improvements in features. It's no Excel, especially for bigger sheets or complex functions, but it's been a good way to provide my website users with a web spreadsheet. I'm reminded this every 4 years when I need to install Excel.
  - topicseed 5y ago
    I love that =QUERY()....
- topicseed 5y ago
  Smart Canvas are an amazing update coming later this year. Took years in the making, but well-worth it. Working with dozens of people through Docs and Sheets, I love their evergreen-ness. Sure, I wish there were more features but it's amazing to keep software simple, especially when it is used so widely.
pydry 5y ago
>typical big-co reason a product gets little iteration. That they DGAF if they're not facing competition. IE6 was the same. Threaten them with loss of market share and they'll fix these things.
- the_lonely_road 5y ago
  I think you have that backwards. It takes a strong stomach to claim Google isn't facing competition on Google Sheets and threatening their market share would cause them to start caring. The more likely scenario is they have given up on winning any market share as serious users refuse to switch from Excel and non serious users have pads of paper and pencil, leaving Google just a tiny slice of the pie between those two groups to even fight for. I would guess it has to do with what I have heard is the promotion path at Google. It seems you need to ship, and ship new things, if you want to be a serious contender. That leaves few engineers willing to take a look at Google Sheets issues and put together a PR to fix these things.
  - pydry 5y ago
    I was thinking of chrome bookmarks. I wouldnt put google sheets in the same category. I think it has been improved over the years (perhaps not as much as it should have).
  - thrashh 5y ago
    I don’t think competition in UX exists generally. Just look at all the products in any space out there (for example, Dell, Logitech, etc.) and how many of them would you say has a good consistent product design team? Honestly from my experience, people just don’t care. Devs will just say it’s by design and it’s the users’ fault, product owners don’t use the product so much as develop it, and everyone else is just detached from what they’re making. In the end, no one really owns the product.

wyre 5y ago

Google Docs has existed for a 15 years and it’s UI has barely improved from what I remember.

legohead 5y ago
Have you seen Google's latest icons? They aren't exactly known for doing what is competent, sane, or useful. It took them years and years to finally make the "Ignore Toll Roads" on Google maps not reset after you close the app, even after tons of bug reports with hundreds of responses.
deregulateMed 5y ago
Sheets has gone through massive improvements in features. It's no Excel, especially for bigger sheets or complex functions, but it's been a good way to provide my website users with a web spreadsheet. I'm reminded this every 4 years when I need to install Excel.
- topicseed 5y ago
  I love that =QUERY()....
topicseed 5y ago
Smart Canvas are an amazing update coming later this year. Took years in the making, but well-worth it. Working with dozens of people through Docs and Sheets, I love their evergreen-ness. Sure, I wish there were more features but it's amazing to keep software simple, especially when it is used so widely.

pydry 5y ago

>typical big-co reason a product gets little iteration. That they DGAF if they're not facing competition. IE6 was the same. Threaten them with loss of market share and they'll fix these things.

the_lonely_road 5y ago
I think you have that backwards. It takes a strong stomach to claim Google isn't facing competition on Google Sheets and threatening their market share would cause them to start caring. The more likely scenario is they have given up on winning any market share as serious users refuse to switch from Excel and non serious users have pads of paper and pencil, leaving Google just a tiny slice of the pie between those two groups to even fight for. I would guess it has to do with what I have heard is the promotion path at Google. It seems you need to ship, and ship new things, if you want to be a serious contender. That leaves few engineers willing to take a look at Google Sheets issues and put together a PR to fix these things.
- pydry 5y ago
  I was thinking of chrome bookmarks. I wouldnt put google sheets in the same category. I think it has been improved over the years (perhaps not as much as it should have).
- thrashh 5y ago
  I don’t think competition in UX exists generally. Just look at all the products in any space out there (for example, Dell, Logitech, etc.) and how many of them would you say has a good consistent product design team? Honestly from my experience, people just don’t care. Devs will just say it’s by design and it’s the users’ fault, product owners don’t use the product so much as develop it, and everyone else is just detached from what they’re making. In the end, no one really owns the product.