May192009

Google’s Beautiful Unsupported Message

Not only does the Google Earth plugin let me know it’s not supported in my environment, but it provides me with a link to more information. All in all, I think it’s beautiful.

My coworker said it’s like applauding the chef for washing his hands, as if there’s an expectation that all software should tell you such information. To me, it feels more like the chef personally apologizing for not having the linguine — and then telling me when to come back later!

More importantly, it’s almost as if I have a relationship with the company.

googleearthplugin

When I see error messages like these, it presents a level of polish that even on my first impression suggests a quality product. As a user, I appreciate it.

3 Comments on “Google’s Beautiful Unsupported Message”

  1. 1 Geordie Keitt said at 1:11 pm on May 19th, 2009:

    Hi Tim – what OS are you running that Google Earth fails to support?

  2. 2 Tim Coulter said at 1:25 pm on May 19th, 2009:

    Firefox in Linux. You can download Google Earth standalone that runs on wine and works fairly well, but there doesn’t appear to be support for the browser plugin.

  3. 3 Jeff said at 2:36 pm on May 19th, 2009:

    Actually, a better analogy would be that the chef made a nice big steak. The only problem is that you were supposed to bring the dishes and the silverware to eat the steak….and you forgot the steak knife…

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