Google shuts down some more services

Google has its resources plugged into several places but not all of these services and projects perform in the same way as some of the successful ones. Google decided that it was a good idea to shut these and focus the resources on more popular projects. There have been several projects that were shut in the past and the next round of cleanup has arrived. Getting the axe are One Pass, Google Flu Vaccine Finder, Google Related, Google Sync for BlackBerry, as well as the mobile web applications for Google Talk this time around. The Patent Search site now redirects to Google’s home page. 

Some of these projects have been completely terminated while some others have been handed over to teams outside the Google organisation. The details of the termination of these services can be found on Google’s Official Blog. Google Related was designed to recommend other information while searching. Most of the teams working on these products will move on to other projects at Google. Google Sync for BlackBerry will function fine but you won’t be able to download it after the 1st of June this year.

Mobile users who were using the web app Google Talk on their mobiles won’t be able to use it anymore. Those users will have to install an XMPP client and configure it for Google Talk or install a Google client for their device. Users of Picasa for Linux will be disappointed to know that there won’t be any future updates to the software - the software started back in 2006. The same is the case with Picasa Web Albums Uploader for Mac as well as the Picasa Web Albums Plugins for iPhoto. Google recommends Mac users to install the dedicated Picasa for Mac. Some of the other popular projects to be shut down recently were Google Desktop, Aadvark, Notebook, Buzz, Wave, Picnik and Sky Map amongst many others.