My apologies that I’m a bit late in commenting on this news item, but I had to cool down a bit.  As much as  I’m a Change Agent, there are some actions taken in the world of technology, that just plain piss-me-off.  And this was one.

Gizmo Project’s -  Gizmo5 -  is NO MORE.

The former Gizmo Project – renamed Gizmo5 in early 2009, the only real competitor to Skype worth looking into, was gobbled up by Google on November 12, 2009 (formal announcement).

Before gobbling up Gizmo, Google purchased another really good idea:  GrandCentral; the first centrally located one-number, one-contact, effort online – that really worked.

Gizmo5 was combined with the former GrandCentral and is now .. Google Voice.

So what you read in my original post will actually be reading a bit of  past-history.  And for my money,  sad, bad-past-history.

I had both GrandCentral and Gizmo5 accounts.  I used both regularly.  I really enjoyed the benefits and functions of these contact-communication tools.  However,  I’ve not be nearly as inspired by Google Voice.

In fact, though I have several Google Voice accounts, I’ve rarely .. if ever again! .. used them.

As the song told us years ago, “… you don’t know what you got, ’til it’s gone.”[1] I’m also hearing an endless loop of this R’n'R legend, “You can’t always get what you want.”[2]

I know, I know.  I might be pulling the trigger too fast here.  Google might just turn around and hit a home run with Google Voice.  But right now, all I see is a miserable pop-up to center field.

I don’t hope for it to be a failure.  I truly want this effort to be a real winner.  Sure it’s FREE.  But there is an old adage that warns about such illegitimate opportunity as well, “… you get what you pay for”.   This is a plague found deep withing the core of the Internet mentality.  It will change.  But that change will be very painful.  So we don’t need anyone adding to the future extraction excruciation.

Google does a lot of things very good.   I really like that about Google.

But no one, not even Google, does everything better.  That Google has not realized this,  I really DON’T like about them.

The main reason isn’t only the demise of something I’d grown used to; accustomed to; and enjoyed.

It’s more about their arrogance.  And most of all it’s the fact that their arrogance will lead to their downfall.  That ruination will REALLY piss-me-off.  I really like using their good stuff.  A lot!

Change is good.   But, extinction SUCKS.  And arrogance leads right straight to extinction.

—-

References

[1] Joni Mitchel’s 1970 hit, Big Yellow Taxi
[2] Rolling Stones 1969 hit, You Can’t Always Get What You Want