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wfaulk: merely to match it up with the rest of their services. Unsurprisingly, Gmail, Google Calendar, etc. all have them tucked away up top, out of the way and unobtrusive.

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Rob: The UK site hasn't changed, but I much prefer the new US layout. It looks even cleaner than it did before, and it was already super cleany clean clean.

Yeah, I actually like it, too.
And I think it was a good user interface choice, and will allow them to layer in more services in the future without adding much clutter.

My original "Oh No! A Menubar!" post was intended to be a slightly humorous and self-mocking post poking fun at my paranoia about privacy rights in general and of Google's growing tentacles in particular. And perhaps somewhat mocking my general disdain of Web 2.0 Hype and "style over substance" web design.

As such, my post failed on pretty much every count.
It wasn't very funny.
It wasn't clear I was sort of mocking my foibles.
And some people took it as a personal attack on the kind of web design they like to interact with -- or get paid to do.

No offense was intended.

And I'll try to remember that I sometimes have difficulty conveying a light-hearted tone and humorous spirit when writing for online viewing.

It's just that I live very near the Googleplex. And sometimes at night when I'm sleeping, when my Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie gets knocked slightly askew, I can feel their Brainwaves searching for me, reaching for me, taunting me....