This Notebook Will Self-Destruct In 60 Seconds
Yay for Google!
And, as colleague Barb Darrow notes, the company has now released its own voice and IM software, Google Talk, to compete with the likes of MSN, Yahoo, AIM and Skype.
But count me in as a Google skeptic. Not because Google Talk is not a terrific business strategy, and not because Google does some really cool stuff. But a few months back, when I tried to download the first Google Desktop beta, it crashed my computer and rendered it nearly useless.
But that's not the part that infuriated me. When I emailed Google techs asking how I could fix what their software broke, here's the response I got after a week. (A week!):
Our engineering team is currently investigating this problem, but in the meantime, please follow the steps below to uninstall Google Desktop Search to restore your computer to normal. 1. Turn your computer off. If necessary, do this by holding down the power key for 5-10 seconds. 2. Wait for the machine to boot up. This will take longer than normal; in some cases, it may take up to 10-40 minutes. 3. As soon as you see your Windows desktop, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and click the "Task Manager" button. This will bring up the Windows Task Manager. 4. Click on "File" > "New task (run)." 5. Type [ control panel ] in the box that appears. 6. Click "Add or remove programs." 7. Select "Google Desktop Search" and click the "Remove" button.
And then they offered this final word of advice: "NOTE: your computer is likely to reboot 60 seconds after you see your Windows desktop. Please move quickly once you see your desktop." (Emphasis added.)
"Please move quickly?" What started out as a hopeful experience to try out the latest, hippest software turned into "Mission Impossible." This notebook will self-destruct in 60 seconds.
Google runs one of the busiest sites on the Web. (According to Alexa, it's Number 3.) So when it puts out even a beta version of software, it should be somewhat stable.
A footnote to the story: working "quickly," I managed to remove Google's buggy beta from my notebook with about five seconds to spare. I'd be more than happy to talk to folks at Google about my experience, if they have any questions.
They can call me on my Skype account.