Forced changes: Gmail and Google

I came here to write. Instead, I've been sitting here watching the screen, stopped in my tracks by the completely unfamiliar interface. The same thing happened yesterday in Gmail, as I found myself stockstill as my brain and fingers froze while racing to find the delete button.

Don't snatch away the familiar and comfortable without any options.

I used to feel a certain sci-fi "sense of wonder" about design; design doesn’t lack for flashy theatrical histrionics — but what I’ve really come to treasure about it is that sense of *engagement.*  Design isn’t science and it isn’t fiction, but it’s is a way of knowledge and a method of action; [...] it’s a path into the poetry of things. ~ Bruce Sterling, 2007

[On preview] I'm sitting here wondering where the publish button is...