Stopping development on Google Notebook

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 6:30 PM


At Google, we're constantly working to innovate and improve our products so people can easily find and manage information. At times though, we have to decide where to focus our efforts and which technologies we expect will yield the most benefit to users in the long run.

Starting next week, we plan to stop active development on Google Notebook. This means we'll no longer be adding features or offer Notebook for new users. But don't fret, we'll continue to maintain service for those of you who've already signed up. As part of this plan, however, we will no longer support the Notebook Extension, but as always users who have already signed up will continue to have access to their data via the web interface at http://www.google.com/notebook.

If you haven't used Notebook in the past, we invite you to explore the other Google products that offer Notebook-like functionality. Here are a few examples, all of which are being actively improved and should meet your needs:
  • SearchWiki - We recently launched a feature on Search that will let you re-rank, comment, and personalize your search results. This is useful when you've found some results on Google Search that were really perfect for your query. You can read about how to use SearchWiki in this blog post.
  • Google Docs - If you're trying to jot down some quick notes, or create a document that you can share with others, check out Google Docs.
  • Tasks in Gmail - For a lightweight way to generate a todo list or keep track of things, we recently launched Tasks in Gmail Labs.
  • Google Bookmarks - For a tool that can help you remember web pages that you liked and access them easily, take a look at Google Bookmarks. You can even add labels to your bookmarks to better organize and revisit them.
While it's hard for us to make this announcement we believe it's the right decision for our users in the long run. And we're excited about all the new ideas we have for Docs, SearchWiki, Bookmarks and other products.

UPDATE, January 22.
Since this post went up, we've received lots of feedback. In particular, many of you seem concerned about what will happen to the information and data you've already put into Notebook. So we'd like to reiterate and clarify a few things.

First, since we're maintaining the service via http://www.google.com/notebook, every single notebook and all the existing features of the web interface will still be available. Those of you that already use the web interface should see no change in how the product behaves. Second, we guarantee that you will always have access to and control of your notebooks; we completely appreciate the effort and knowledge that your data represents and are committed to making sure you don't lose it. Finally, if you're looking for a way to easily export your information out of the product, the feature already exists. In the upper right corner of the web interface, under the "Tools" menu, there are two export options: "Export to Google Docs", and "Export as HTML".

We hope this addresses some of your concerns. Thanks for all your feedback and suggestions.

1,924 comments:

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A.M. said...

I usually don't comment, but this sad story propted me to join all the ex-happy users of notebook.

I'm not a power user, but I keep many drafts, thoughts, online games reminders, comics lists,... on notebook so that all this heterogeneous information can be available to me at work/home/etc.

I hope Google can at least keep current functionality and maybe in the future pick it up again (I don't think much more development is necessary anyway).

aaronius4 said...

What a shame. Off to Evernote then...

Unknown said...

Instead of killing Google Notebook, why not integrate it with Google Reader notes, and Bookmarks. That way, you can easily keep track of bookmarks, notes, and reader shared posts.

I use Google Notebook regularly for blog posts and to organize hundreds of articles collected from the web. As you know, many news organizations do transfer articles from their original location to archives, and this means that if you blog, many times you end up with dead links out of your posts. If that happens, I usually share a notebook note, with the original article in full, with a link to its previously known location.

It's been a great tool for me and I'm sad to see it go.

Lon said...

boo... if you can honor one last request and help us to import our notebook to evernote, we'd leave happier.

WT said...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, please! I use this service a lot! please do not shut it down! It does not have a rival nor any other thing similar on the entire net. I can't stand it when good ideas are kill just for the money. Really sad. Thank you though.

Mike said...

Please reconsider this decision Google. I use and rely on Google Notebook every day. I could probably put that info into Docs, but it's not nearly as convenient.

Yousef Salimpour said...

It's very strange and kind of frightening, Notebook is a very useful and handy product, and Google doesn't offer anything with the same functionality. I mean Google Docs is definitely no Notebook. I'm using it regularly and I really don't like to migrate to a non-Google alternative, Ironically I did choose it because I thought It will be more long lasting than Zoho and others.
Very sad.. Probably the most disappointing news ever heard of Google.

Unknown said...

I use Notezz! It doesn't have lots of features, but the site keeps my notes, and that's all I want.

Nate said...

Wow. Really? Google Notebook was (and still is) my favorite Firefox extension. Makes notetaking a breeze. I'm very sad to see it go.

Marco Mugnatto said...

One of the best Google products so far...

Quick notes are aways necessary for anyone... Everybody uses Windows notepad. Image it on the web, accessible everywere you go.

I think it's a wrong move by Google. People only need to truly KNOW this service to become an addict.

Unfortunately Google is more incompetent than I though.

When will Microsoft turn to web apps? We need competent people doing it!!!

My indignation! Dumb Google!

bloftin said...

Is there a way to convince Google to rethink notebook. The product is extremely useful when doing research, collecting and categorizing web pages. I turn to it frequently when working on projects and I honestly haven't found anything that works as well.

google team...

PLEASE SAVE NOTEBOOK!

areacode212 said...

This would be acceptable if Google Docs had edit functionality on mobile phones.

Mark Coppock said...

I've been using Notebook for several years and love it. Thank you so much for having provided this service, and for grandfathering current users.

I certainly respect your decision to suspend it, though of course I'm sad that you are. Still, thanks again.

Liveitupsa said...

I recently got turned on to notebook. I love it. I agree with other posts that the marketing for this tool is what's lacking. Put it on the back burner, don't pull the plug!

That Guy! said...

I think this is a mistake. If nothing else, notebook should be rolled in the main Google Apps, and the notebook extension should continue to be supported/developed.

Michelle said...

I wish Google would reconsider. I use Notebook and it's Firefox extension daily and will miss it greatly.

Lambie said...

Well I guess this is an unfortunate sign of the times. At least the service has not closed for existing users. I get a sense of severe economising if new users are not being allowed in to eat up more resources.

It's one of my most used online tools in conjunction with the Firefox extension. Most useful due to it's simplicity on online storage for global access.

Hope development comes back. Thanks for all the hard work so far.

Unknown said...

Could you just opensource Notebook Extension?

Damien said...

I'm greatly troubled by this one. I have been a user and fan of google notebooks for some time.

I was even looking to exploit the API and do some more with it.

*sigh* ... this is a sad day.

Wannabe Musings said...

I've been developing xperuse to do the same thing as Google Notebook and much more. It currently has a Firefox 2 addon, I'm working on Firefox 3. Over time, you will be able to save any data from anywhere, not just your browser. And you will be able to selectively share with your friends and groups, or publish them.

xperuse is a play on "reuse experience" as well as "peruse."

Any research you do, for work or for personal use, and from anywhere, will always be available to you. It's always going to be free. Check out www.xperuse.com -- currently, it's early stage -- it works, but the UI needs improvement.

Wannabe Musings said...

I've been developing xperuse to do the same thing as Google Notebook and much more. It currently has a Firefox 2 addon, I'm working on Firefox 3. Over time, you will be able to save any data from anywhere, not just your browser. And you will be able to selectively share with your friends and groups, or publish them.

xperuse is a play on "reuse experience" as well as "peruse."

Any research you do, for work or for personal use, and from anywhere, will always be available to you. It's always going to be free. Check out www.xperuse.com -- currently, it's early stage -- it works, but the UI needs improvement.

michperu said...

Don't pull the plug! ---Notebook is an amazing tool.

Alex said...

There is no doubt to me that Google Notebook functionality needs to be further developed and its capabilities integrated into GDocs. As was pointed out further up, this stuff is the future of productivity apps.

A few tweaks and it could compete with and beat Tumblr (public notebooks were a step in this direction already).

GNotebook was never even advertised anywhere as far as I can tell, simply by integrating it into GDocs you'd see an increase in usage. Right now few people even know about it.

Follow me on Twitter, I follow back:
twitter.com/AlexSchleber

Use hashtag #gnotebook on Twitter when talking about this

Unknown said...

Sad to see notebook go ... been using it for a long time now. Evernote has a great desktop client, but their mobile web client (for example, for Blackberry) plain sucks.

Can understand the decision, though ... Tough times.

Unknown said...

This Saddens to to know end.. I found Google notebook(+ the firefox Extension) 6 months ago and I find it so helpful because I use multiple computers.. My only hope is that Google may incorporate some of the features into Gmail/Google Docs, etc..

Unknown said...

IMO, it's ok to stop its development, but you should never kill the service. I use Notebook regularly, and I have tons of notes in it. If you decide to kill it though, please let us have the option to export our notes.

Unknown said...

Please don't do this. There is plenty of life left in this product. Wouldn't mind looking at some adsense advertisments if that would keep Notebook alive.

PhloydPink said...

Just unbelievably angry about this. Can't describe how handy it has been to right-click, note this. Bad idea to cancel this app. Won't push Google apps to others in the future.

Unknown said...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

most disappointed.... :(

I've been using it as project journals and a personal journal.

It has saved my butt in meetings where I could reference my notebooks on my iphone and quickly look up details on project work.


I will definitely be looking for alternatives and a way to backup what I have already...

Craig said...

I have used Evernote, but I greatly prefer Google Notebook due to the tight integration with Firefox. I love Notebook's ability to research collaboratively with others, then seamlessly export into Google Docs. I am shocked at this announcement! Is Google Reader and Gmail next??

Anonymous said...

I have a notebook for every story I'm working on with character notes, location notes and plot points. Most notes, in the comment section, have a link to a website used for research. I can work on my projects at school or at work without leaving Google, which in most cases is the homepage. It will be hard to find a lightweight replacement. The alternatives you suggest were integrated as one in Google Notebook.

As an active user of all Google services, I sincerely hope you either reconsider or make the Google Docs development worth it.

Nathan M. said...

Don't pull the plug on it. It is exactly what we need to have a centralized clipboard like service and I absolutely love it. Before I had notepad text files spread across multiple machines to keep track of various ideas or keeping track of some interesting topics. But now I do that on google notebook and across multiple workstations, my laptop, and even from work it has become truly the most beneficial thing to have a google account besides gmail.

Sucks to see it go. :(

Thor said...

From what I've read from the first 200 odd people, I haven't even been using as many of the features of Notebook as I might have.

I mostly used it as a task list organizer to keep lists of different things I need to do in different areas of my life - work, home, hobbies,etc. Worked great for that.

Also, I haven't seen this much of an interweb outcry in a long time. Perhaps 200 comments isn't enough, but maybe the outcry will snowball and prompt a reconsideration or integration with Google Docs as some have suggested.

DiegoLactic said...

PLEASE, don't...

...or at least come back to it at some point.

Notebook is one of the most amazing things Google has ever created.

I use it everyday.... I know it won't become unavailable, but I hope this is not the beginning of the end for Notebook.

rvpetta said...

I am bummed to hear about this, i think this is a great feature, i use it almost everyday. Please re-consider.

Juan Luis said...

SO SAD!!! Notebook and specifically the firefox extension is my killer app!!!

Chris said...

Since the next step will obviously be to close down Notebook entirely - What's the best way to export existing notes to other applications? And what other applications are going to be around? I like Evernote, but how fiscally stable are they? Zoho?

Anonymous said...

Una veritable llàstima. Fem servir Bloc de Notes de Google a la nostra empresa inclús per prendre notes a les reunions amb clients. Tenim moltíssima informació ordenada en aquest servei.

Desitgem que Google repensi aquesta decisió.

Si us plau, no abandoneu Google Bloc de notes!
Please, don't stop the development of Google Notebook!

Unknown said...

This sucks. I use Notebook the most on my mobile phone --- from taking immediate on-the-spot notes, to referring to a shopping/grocery list every time I am out and about.

Google just did a poor job at marketing it. It was the perfect mobile tool for me !!!

x said...

This sucks.

Erik Grotz said...

This is so disappointing! I loved using notebook via the FF extension! Please please please reconsider! Bring adwords in, heck give me customlinks from my private notes, I don't care but DONT STOP development!!

Jace said...

Google Notebook has been the easiest tool for saving web pages of interest, especially when factoring in the tagging ability, making it easy to refind items on particular subjects.

Seeing this disappear is very sad. The question now is how can I export all the information I have stored within th app?

Rabbit said...

I am so disappointed in google with this decision.
I can't shake the filling that all other services by google are not as safe as they use to be.
You guys had my complete trust in handling my online data. I'm sad to see it end like this.

Unknown said...

really sad... looking forward to get something like a mix of online cloud function with MS One Note feature...

Unknown said...

I agree, this seems to be a suprising write off of a product with a lot of promise. Please re-consider. I've been turning people onto Notebook for quite a while and it's become a solid tool for many.

Gord Wait said...

I use Notebook heavily from all of the web clients I work with - work PC, home PC and especially the Ipod touch. The mobile client was the clincher for me that got me hooked on it and using it extensively.
All my notes are "in the cloud", and now with google gear support, it "pretends" to be a native app on the windows PC's I use day to day.
Google docs is too sluggish, especially for quick note taking.
I guess there are not enough users to bother with notebook, but the concept was good guys. You don't have anything else that honestly replaces it.
The "native" note taker app on the ipod touch is nice, but doesn't "sync" with the "cloud" like notes does. (I also use linux so Mac/Windows only apps are not of interest to me).

Oh well, just thought I'd add my voice to the chorus of formerly happy notebook users..

Charlie Ahern said...

Thanks for keeping Notebook alive (although not growing). It has become one of my most frequently used Google apps, after Gmail.

Thanks to the developers and others who created and maintained Notebooks

Michael Olsen said...

Well that's just lame.

Unknown said...

sad news
shamlless easy came easy go
like taking candy from a baby
and I can't say nothing more that
I feel somethink like: Google has broken faith with me by stopping this project.
I've trust in Google, yet.
Times change, but Google ....
Can I trust that ... ?

--
AgeNoir

Unknown said...

Notebook is a great collaborative tool and fills a space that is empty in the Google lineup. I use it to format meetings and to make the minutes and general information available and editable wiki-style for everyone involved.

Bad news bears.

Josh

500 words said...

Do not kill notebook. Integrate into your other apps and let it sit. In my field (journalism) I know a great many people who rely heavily on notebook.

Keep it running. Just do it. Do it.

Sage said...

I would understand this more if Notebook was a Google Labs product. People use use Google Labs products knowing they might be shut down at some point.

But Notebook is supposedly a "Graduate of Labs". I used it instead of Zoho or Backpack because I assumed Google is more stable than those companies, so I would be less likely to have to start over with a new tool. I apparently assumed wrong.

So now I have to make the decision if I can trust Google to keep Google Documents open. I use Documents almost daily, but now I'm don't feel like I can assume it will always be there.

Brian

Justin said...

i just want to add to the lengthy list of people asking google to reconsider their choice to axe Notebook. it is such a productivity booster; i love it. please keep it around.

Joel Mark Witt said...

No no no please no no no. I use notebook constantly and have to rely on it for data management. Is there any way to keep it? What about adsense or make it a premium service?

Joel Mark Witt

Unknown said...

No no no, please reconsider. Ask the users before and reconsider !
People who like the Web like Notebook.
Google Notebok relly has the spirit of Google, please reconsider

Jeremy said...

does anyone read???

But don't fret, we'll continue to maintain service for those of you who've already signed up.

Scott said...

Like the others above, I'm disappointed to see support end for Notebook. Without a good clipping extension, it won't be that good anymore for me. Makes me hesitant to get too ingrained using other Google products, if it is possible they will go away! :(

António Luís Vicente said...

Very sad to hear this.

It is a wonderful App. Much better than Evernote for simple web-clipping and for organizing information. I think you should be patient - people take time to "get" the usefulness of this tool. If you need to cut back, stop improving it (it doesn't need anything else!), but please don't shut it down.

Unknown said...

No!! It was one of my favorite products!

Anonymous said...

I hope when the economy picks up, Google will pick this back up. Notebooks, is one of my favorite apps, its more useful to me than iGoogle.

Unknown said...

Like others said: Please do not kill notebook. Stop development if you have to but please keep it up and running or show migration path for my content. I have been using it for years to archive what is important to me. Please let it sit at least. In my field (marketing) and at universities I know "many people who rely heavily on notebook.

Keep it running. Just do it. Do it."

White Wolf said...

Any chance of open sourcing it?

Unknown said...

Reverse this decision. It's the only tool I found that kept me organized on the web. I quite literally noted every useful page I ever found - and there was potential for this tool to be so more useful.

Heck, I'd agree for you to use my data to improve rankings, privacy risk or not, just keep developing it.

Patrick Kelso said...

I hope Google reconsiders this one. I love the functionality of Google Notebook & with the bookmarklet for Chrome I was just starting to get back into it after dropping off when I switched to Chrome. Please consider keeping Notebook alive.

Matt Montag said...

Notebook is really cool. I use it to write down ideas and document stuff at work for others to refer to. It always comes to the rescue when I forget some account number or username. I also use it whenever I hear a song I like, so I remember to check it out later. It's just a really useful tool that more people would use if they only knew about it. Hope Google comes back to it...soon.

Matt Montag said...

SAVE GOOGLE NOTEBOOK

Unknown said...

Horribly disappointed that Google Notebook is no longer under development. Somewhat relieved that the service won't go away, but how long?

Looking for another solution: check this article on 50 Ways to Take Notes for some alternatives.

Karl said...

This is a serious shame. Notebook is a solid product and I love the FF extension. Why would I want to get involved with another service like Zoho?

Bummer bummer bummer.

Unknown said...

Oh no! I was really enjoying notes due to having an android phone and not having an editable interface with google docs. Notebook had a very clean moble interface, which made it easy to use. It would ease the pain for me if a lite/moble version for just simple plain text could be added to google docs.

Jeff said...

Another voice to the chorus -- I use G. Notebook across multiple computers and have found it very helpful for organizing all sorts of information (from office plans to books to chicken wings to vacation plans). Here's hoping that the web version stays around.

Steve McIntyre said...

Open Source Notebook. Let someone else maintain the code.

d3nten said...

Let's start a petition to bring it back.

Sign.

Taral said...

I have used Google Notebook extensively. It has all my day-to-day tips/tricks and handy pieces of information that I don't want to memorize. None of the alternative application mentioned in this blog does the justice. Does anyone has a better suggestion?

Michelle and Allen said...

I am an active user of Notebook and love it...this announcement makes me surprisingly sad!

What a great tool, I use it several times a day through the Firefox plug-in.

What a shame, I hope Google reconsiders, this is a wonderful app!

Devadutta Ghat said...

Dont kill the extension please!
It is very well worth keeping alive and thats the only way i access notebook.

Web interface is good, but not as slick as the extension.

I hope these requests don't go waste.

Unknown said...

I very sad day. I used notebook to keep daily notes of what I did that day. Complete with tagging and search I could easily find actions from the past.ARRGGH

Jono said...

I too am disappointed to find out about notebook being shut down. I've been using it since it came out--it's a great tool.

Too bad it couldn't be properly integrated into Docs.

I think Google is making a mistake on this one.

Acuariano said...

I don't see discontinuing Notebook as a good move. It's great tool. It hasn't got much attention, that's all. I understand the need to concentrate in the more used tools, but closing Notebook for new users, I really don't think is the way to go. Unless that the functionality of notebook is integrated with another more popular tool (can't find any candidate yet).

Unknown said...

I use both google Doc and Notebook. Notebook is quick and simple, that I use much more often compared to google Doc, for notes, ideas, to-do list, memo, etc. Google Doc is too heavy weight for these usages. I hope PM will rethink about this decision.

Eddie Monge Jr. said...

As a developer, Google Notebook was extremely helpful. I could save code and quickly, like really quickly, call it up so I can use it again. I could also then share it with others easily. It also made saving passwords for various places a breeze to access. I am very saddened and shocked by this.

Helder Toshiro Suzuki said...

Why not move notebook to docs and continue to support and develop it?

Talkabout said...

So sad! I've been using it a lot in conjunction with del.icio.us : http://mshook.googlepages.com/d4m.htm?/mshook/gnb

Unknown said...

Tell me it isn't so! I was in a conversation about Google Notebook just last night...talking about what an awesome tool it is. I want to stay with Google, not switch to Zoho or any others. Please rethink this decision.

Al Tucker said...

I just introduced Google Notebook to a group of ten educators yesterday having just discovered this handy little tool over the weekend.
It is a terrific research tool that seemed to bridge to Google Docs in a big way. I guess the reality is that we should almost expect this kind of plug-pulling given the economy and the need for belt-tightening.
Big loss that some other company will fill - but not as well without the Google integration.

Unknown said...

This is bad, Notebook was one of the good apps from Google.

Dushyanth said...

I consider myself to be a heavy user of google notebook. I love it. Even more than gmail itself ! I'll still continue to use it.

Hoping it'll start again when the economy revives !

Diigo said...

GNotebook users, you may wish to check out http://www.diigo.com

Diigo enables seamless bookmarking, tagging, highlighting, clipping, sharing, annotation, and information search to deliver a new level of productivity for knowledge workers. Diigo Groups are a simple & effective platform for collaborative research. Knowledge workers, work groups and schools around the world are embracing Diigo for better productivity.

This gives a brief Diigo overview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RvAkTuL02A

We’re working on our next major release. Stay tuned as Diigo continues to evolve!

The Diigo Team

PS. To Google ~ we're a big fan of yours! We're working on Chrome integration development :)

Darren Torpey said...

I always hoped this product would survive because enough Google employees used it to justify its maintenance.

What do Google employees use to jot down notes?

I haven't seen any other services that are:
* completely focused on *just* writing down *quick notes* and info to remember
* online and cross-browser compatible
* integrated into browsers

I've found this is an invaluable part of working effectively online, so I wonder what alternatives have prevented widespread usage of this at Google.

Anonymous said...

So Google... are you going to provide an export mechanism for Notebook data? Perhaps in something easy to parse (YAML, XML)?

Anonymous said...

It is awful that you guys are doing this. I know Google has to make cutbacks, but Notebook is one of the single-most innovative and useful things you offer. It is one of the simplest and powerful internet research aids available.

If profitability is a problem, adding advertisements would be better than no Notebook at all.

Mika Kukkonen said...

Notebook is a great tool, but I guess it's a tough sell. World needs unstructured data management tools for personal use just as it needs such tools to manage shared data. Like the web. With the google search tools.

Eventually, there will be a Notebook replacement in the web. But economics dictates that it will cost money in some form to be self-sustainable. I would certainly pay for one.

AlexanderA said...

Too bad! I hope you'll find a better way to preserve this service.. Notebook was very convenient to use for saving different lists easily and quickly accessible from everywhere.

James Gibbard said...

Please not get rid of Google Notebook I use it all the time :( especially on my phone.

Unknown said...

No!!! Please No!!!!

TonyB said...

This is awful news. I use Notebook about everyday. I have tried various other option such as Evernote, but nothing works as well or as simply for me as Google Notebook. I hope Google reconsiders, but I guess they probably looked at usage number before they decided to pull the plug.

lordfrikk said...

Drop Notebook? I totally adore it, it's simple, fast and integral part of Google - of which I use many parts. I don't wanna go to other services! I totally don't understand why Google especially needs to drop one of the most useful projects to "focus on core stuff". This is a big WTF.

Unknown said...

Totally unacceptable! If you're gonna rule out such a nice and unique product today what will stop you do the same with GMail or Documents tomorrow? Doesn't this suppose to happen to UNSUCCESSFUL products? I will rather pay for this service to keep it there and grow.

Unknown said...

Please don't go... I love my Google notebook!

Unknown said...

As a heavy user I really hope you reconsider. Google Bookmarks is not an adequate replacement for Google Notebook. And from a historical perspective I am sure I am not alone in the serious time invested integrating this tool to a design work flow.

Ridahoan said...

Another unhappy customer.

Notebooks I relied on. For me, this is the first real test in my faith in Google products. Sure it was Beta, like everything else.

Guess this is the downside of rapid growth and innovation.

Hope something similar will be picked up by others.

Chris said...

I want to add my voice to the protest.

You're letting us down Google!
Notebook is one of your most promising products, and google video one of the best video sites

Not to mention how you teased us with gdrive, but ended up canning that too

andrew newton said...

This is quite a loss -- I've been waiting to see it cross-integrated with Gmail and docs; but who knows now...

magsuite said...

I'm quite disappointed. This is a great product. I just did a comparison of similar tools and Google really stood out. They could show ads or smth to support it.

Anonymous said...

Notebook is a PERFECT Product!

I've rarely seen such a useful concept. The fact is EVERYONE encouters a tremendous amount of useful information on the web, and storing it, rather than having to search for it again is an excellent, useful concept.

I used NOTEBOOK to store ORDER IDs after puchases, JOB POSTING classified ads, RENTAL ADS, and so many other things that I wanted to save that either could not be retrieved later or I didn't want to search for.

Raj, I'm a Product Manager for web apps like yourself. You did a great job making this tool simple and useful. I'm sure Google will fit it in somewhere else...

hypernorth's bog said...

bad move... one of the best google application. I use it everyday via either phone or web.

mdjohnson1 said...

No ... Let's keep this baby alive. I'd love to spearhead an effort to either outsource the development of Notebook or simply purchase the product outright and develop this into an Evernote killer. It has the capability to be so much more.

Show your support at http://savenotebook.blogspot.com

Please ... and Thanks.

bk said...

This is awful. Throw in another cry for mercy, from a user begging you to keep the service around.

Unknown said...

Join the "Save Google Notebook" Group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45690739015&ref=mf


If you think Google Notebook is one of coolest, slickest, most intuitive, versatile and useful web applications that can help you collect data, ideas and snippets of information in a snap will let you and arrange it in a useful way with total ease - the you will feel the sting that this amazing and powerful tool is about to enter limbo land. Let's show Google that there is a loyal and large following out there, let us try and save Google Notebook.

Tom said...

I am very disappointed by this, and I think it's a bad decision. There is no other Google product that makes managing a lot of information and clippings as easy.

I think this was a killer app, in particular for education and research.

The main things that were missing from Notebook were Apps integration, SSL support, and Gears support.

Anonymous said...

WHAT? I use Google Notebook every single day. There are 50 million other alternatives out there and they all look promising but Notebook is nice and simple as well as fast and easy.
And to be honest, I really don't want to switch to anything else.

Unknown said...

Is this a chink in the Google armor? Count me as one of the disappointed on Google's decision to phase out Notebook. I find it incredibly useful to take quick notes, clip web pages and as a bookmark manager. It is head and shoulders above Google Bookmarks for that. Even Google admits that (See http://www.google.com/bookmarks - it states: "Check out a better way to organize your bookmarks using Google Notebook"). The integration with Firefox makes this the single most useful tool that I use. Using Google Docs or the other replacements Google suggests, is overkill and cumbersome to say the least. I for one will keep using this until its final days, because at this time there is no useful replacement that combines the ease of use, sharing and integration with Firefox. I'll look at Evernote and the other recommendations commentators have suggested, but unless it has a way to import stuff from Notebook and easy to use integration with Firefox, I won't even consider it.

As I write this, there are 306 comments on this topic, of them, a good 95-98% are disappointed with Google's decision. Let's hope that Google does the right thing and gives Google Notebook a stay of execution.

Jesper Bylund said...

Noooes.... :( This is my second most used google application... GMail, Notebook and calendar...

There is nothing as handy, not even evernote can be as everpresent and lightweight.. I'm sad to see you go notebook.. you were THE notebook for me...

E said...

I couldn't read all 308 comments, but wanted to add...

I use Google Notebooks for *everything.* I mean from planning my hus and my recent wedding (venues, dresses, invitation options, etc. etc.), to organizing research projects for work, to putting together recipes for Thanksgiving menu planning, to compiling housing listings when we were looking for a home. It is an *incredible* tool. I LOVE being able to save text/images from a site instead of just bookmarking a page.

Why not instead invest in a "Google Notebook in Plain English" video (like that available for Google Reader) so that people can understand how useful this is?

I'm bummed. I understand that these comments are probably after the fact and beyond the time that this decision can be unmade, but, well, boo. This is one of the more truely cool, unique tools in Google's arsenal. I don't want to learn how to use EverNote. *sigh*

Jason said...

I am deeply saddened that Notebook is going away, I am a heavy user of this service and rely on it daily. I felt a moment of extreme panic when I saw this linked from another site, as I thought my data would be gone!

I am glad its still there and will be working to migrate to something else, but I wanted to express (like so many others in these comments) how much I love that service and how useful it is to me.

Google, is it not possible to just put it on hold until the economy comes back and you can hire more people? I assume there is no profit model from Notebook, but why not just throw AdWords in it?

Your mantra is "don't be evil", but this is borderline evil-ness!!

Scott said...

Looking at the last paragraph of the post, I see two things. First:

"... we believe it's the right decision for our users in the long run."

Ok ... based on what? Also:

"And we're excited about all the new ideas we have for Docs, SearchWiki, Bookmarks and other products."

Perhaps it would help to know what Google's vision is. Granted, the chances of actually hearing that before Google chooses to unveil it is akin to my surviving a tap dance on the surface of the sun ... but if we don't know where Google's going (even in this small context of "Notebook-like functionality"), there's no way we (as users) can be excited about any of it.

Aditi said...

I am *so* disappointed at this one. Google Notebooks was one of my favorite all time web-apps and I used it all the time to save both quotes and the references to web information. Losing it (as will certainly happen down the road) is a *huge* loss. I just really can't over-emphasize this.

The best part - and the thing that makes it a win over Evernote and much of the other "notebook" software that has popped up recently is the lightweight browser integration. It just works. It always works. And the UI hits a real sweet spot in terms of organizational efficiency and flexibility.

I am not at all happy to learn of this.

Unknown said...

Like many here I've been a long time user of Google Notebook and have found it to be indispensable.

However, in this economy, I do understand how Google would want to cut apps and not jobs. But before Notebook, I could see other apps being cut back like Orkut, Google Sets or Google Earth/Mars.

I'll continue to use Google Notebook, but I guess it is not something to rely on anymore.

Google: I do hope that you take such a flurry of responses as an indication of how many people do use it.

illflux said...

Nooooooo!!!!!! I love Notebook!!!!!!

Rafael said...

Please do rethink this decision. Keep Google Notebook alive. As others have suggested, eliminate a different Google service instead.

David K. said...

I'm a heavy (i.e., daily) user of Notebook, so I'm glad it's not shutting down completely. Thanks at least for not dropping it for existing users. I guess I'll have to research the comp. alternatives a bit as well now.

A said...

I can't believe Google doesn't see the value in the Notebook browser plugin.

Try actually integrating it into the GOffice strategy. If you think users are going to open up a new tab, visit Docs then load up a new document or lightweight "Tasks" each and every time they need to jot something down or store a clip of web content to recall -- yikes, no way. Notebook is actually productive and obviously useful/fast. Why don't you also add a Notebook link/tab to the "GOffice" strategy? Then keep making it better along with the other office/communication tools!

The browser extension (what makes the whole thing useful/purposeful in the first place) won't work as Firefox continues to upgrade. That means being forced to use some other service that does what Notebook can do, thereby migrating more of my data/text/productivity activity away from Google. So be it then.

mdjohnson1 said...

Let's save Notebook! Join me. Seriously, they gave us something great, and now will stop development? Be realistic, it needs development ... this is their way of ending a product by letting it languish. No bug fixes, nothing. Join Me!

http://savenotebook.blogspot.com/

Jeremy said...

Notebook is the best. I use it all the time. Please reconsider.

SteelWolf said...

I use notebook regularly - the FF extension was definitely a must have for me. I love being able to instantly snip information I need from the web. Unlike the extremely basic functionality of Google Bookmarks, notebook really supports the integration of user-generated text with the web. I frequently use it to store snippets of code along with links to sites where it was successfully used.

The sharing feature was excellent - my wife and I use it to keep a joint shopping list that either one of us can edit from wherever we are.

Honestly, I think the better decision would be to discontinue Google Bookmarks and devote the time to the far superior Notebook. That's what the link on the GBookmarks page has been saying for a long time, and I think it's correct.

Notebook is an excellent product with functionality that is duplicated only in a few other services - and can certainly not be replaced by Docs or Bookmarks.

Hollosi said...

This was the service that truly differentiated Google from the Yahoo/MS pack. And probably the most easily supported in terms of development and hosting resources.

Really bad decision...

Colin Wyatt said...

This is a very valuable tool. I would think google could keep this one just for developer and research community that actually needs to get work done. I'd be curious how many Google employees use google notebook.

Greg Maurer said...

I use notebook every day. I'm in gradschool and it is the perfect tool to organize thoughts, data, and search info. Come on, don't kill it, PLEASE!

I suppose I could use Docs, but it is not nearly as easy or convenient for online note-taking.

Rodger said...

Of the many years I've been working as a developer of web applications, and of course as a general user of some apps, Google Notebook is probably the most useful web application I have encountered. While I appreciate that the service will be maintained for users such as myself who are already using it, I feel bad for those people who have yet to discover it's capabilities, and will be denied the opportunity. Please reconsider this decision

Bram said...

What will be next? GMail?

mod said...

Please please reconsider this. Notebook is a really good product!

Derren said...

What a shame.

Google notebook works fine on my mobile phone. Google Docs does not (keeps endlessly redirecting around the login loop), else I would use that instead.

Don't know what the hell I will use now. Whatever it is, it HAS to work on my mobile phone browser.

Unknown said...

What timing! Earlier today I had decided that I needed to consolidate more of my information into a single place and the logical place was Google given all the other things I use Google for, including notes and bookmarks. So I activated Google Notebook, thinking I'll never have to worry about Google getting rid of a service, and started inputting info. 20 minutes later I saw the article that says Google Notebook is being shut down! Mind boggling. And makes one rethink using Google for any data storage.

Colby said...

I am a scientist and I have been using Google Notebook for the last couple of years to organize studies. It has been an invaluable tool - I can quickly copy and paste things into categories. This is a huge disappointment to me, the notes I have amassed is huge.

spaceman.houston said...

This is truly sad. Notebook is part of my daily computing experience and with it I operate "in the cloud."

Just before I read I was migrating useless bookmarks to Notebook, and hoping, "why isn't Gears working with this yet?"

Unknown said...

Kill Notebook? Whoa, whoa, whoa...

This is the exact wrong reaction to a great tool.

I did not even know it had a separate web address. I use the feature through Gmail. It is buried two pages deep under the "more" (little "m") link. Who goes looking for that? Me and maybe ten other people on the planet. We know from years of observation that people do not bother changing defaults. NO ONE KNOWS IT EXISTS.

Notebook is an incredibly useful tool. It lets me quickly and easily save text snippets and urls when I am away from home without constantly e-mailing messages to myself. In fact, I have never understood why it is not a major part of the default main page interface in Gmail.

So, how about this? Instead of killing it, put it where it belongs. Make it prominent. ADD IT TO THE LEFT COLUMN OF GMAIL, under the mailboxes/labels/whatever-they-are-called.

I guarantee you that I would be using it all the time. And I would not be alone. Usage of this product would go through the roof if it were made obviously available.

Efi Ben-Dor said...

Sad Day
We want Notebook Back
the firefox plug in is great tool

Unknown said...

I just can't believe this is true,
I love Notebook, it is awesome.
Why, oh why do bad things happen?
Please reconsider, Google people.

HaNi.nl said...

According to http://notebook.google.com:

1/14/2009 6:30 PM
Starting next week, we plan to stop active development on Google Notebook. This means we'll no longer be adding features or offer Notebook for new users.

So current users will keep their notebooks functional, only without further development (which, let's be honest, was way behind anyway).

No current user yet? quickly run over to the notebook.google.com site, sign up with your google account and open your own notebook

:)

as always: keeping your notebook safe by backing up (notebook management - export) is to be recommended.

cheers,
hbe

my notebook: http://tips.hani.nl

Yury N. Telitsin said...

Please, change the mind!
Notebook is in my favor.

Adam Vaughan said...

Another disappointed user here. G Notebook worked really well for me for, well, notes.

I'll be exporting now and importing into Evernote, as one assumes Google will pull the plug on Notebook entirely in the next 1-2 years.

Shame, Notebook was good!

PS. agree with other commenters -- Docs etc are lame suggestions as alternatives. It's fair enough for Google to focus on other projects/areas, but it shouldn't try and dress bad news as anything other than that :-)

Bibi said...

That's very sad, because I use it every day, many times a day. I love the tags system and the feature that saved text / images with links.

All the other services suggested aren't the sad and don't fit my needs. And they aren't as easy to use and saved links with information as Google Notebook.

It's really sad that you decided to stop developing it.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to add to the masses: This is my favorite web app and probably my most used service after basic web search. It really lacked advertising or outreach or whatever because whenever I'm asked what my favorite web app is and I mention notebook, most people respond that they've never heard of it.

Greg Hendricks said...

And here I was just hoping there would be a notebook app for my google phone that would link up with my google notebooks. :(

HaNi.nl said...

A service I'm using for storing and "publishing" webclips but - as far as i know - hardly any one has even ever heard of, is Google Shared Stuff at:

http://www.google.com/s2/sharing/stuff

It offers space for storing webclips.
*NO* capabilities for online editing or manually creating links: only for adding webclips.

Kinda makes me wondering, why that rather unknown and kinda weird (but cool) webstorage is not on the list to be discontinued servicing and a well behaving, clear and lovely gem as Notebook is.
Guess Google too works in mysterieus ways.

gf said...

I CAN'T believe there are not enough (!!!!) users that using this product that Google decided to discontinue it!!!!!! And how come they choose to keep GBookmarks but not GNotebook?! If my memory serves me right, GNotebook was here before GBookmarks. So it somewhat puzzles me as to who Google was targeting with GBookmarks really.

Also I'm a bit appalled at suggestions listed in the post as alternatives to GNotebook. SearchWiki, Google Docs, Tasks in Gmail don’t have a snippet-functionality of GNotebook. But if you are curious you can check the comment from nivekrepus (January 15, 2009 8:14 AM) about unsuccessful account of trying to import GNotebook to GDocs.

I personally tired GBookmarks -> FAIL:
- Though they have an option of saving selected part of the text, to see that text listing you can only through a full page view whereas with GNotebook it’s a embed pop-up.
- You can't have different snippets from the same page as a separate bookmark.
- There is no concept of folders. In Gbookmarks labels ARE the folders (awful! feature).
- I couldn't find a way to share bookmark or label (read: folder). I think it save to say there is no way to do that now.

Google says that they keep the service running but I share the concern expressed by someone earlier about some likelihood of Google shutting down Notebook completely. (Today - no new development, tomorrow – no support, in a while – shutdown) This is the first time ever I regret being a Google-fan. I really wish I don't need to go through the pain of exporting stuff (not to mention to lose a hope that one day it would be integrated with GDocs.)

I'm joining all previous other fans of GNotebook in a plea to Google to reconsider their decision. GNotebook is an awesome product! (Stop the GBookmarks instead. I'd imagine it would be easier to accommodated users of GBookmarks by importing them all into GNotebook since GNotebook has already all functions of GBookmarks.)

SAVE GNotebook !!!!!! (PLEASE)

Briskin, Cross & Sanford, LLC said...

Tragic! I hope that Google will reconsider this. I use Notebook extensively, particularly through the Firefox Extension. I will truly moutn the passing of the powerful and useful combination! :-(

Vincent said...

Same here!
I am a heavy user and really love the app -please reconsider!

James said...

I am throwing my hat of support (or discontentment) into this ring with so many others who have already done so. I hate to see Google Notebook go. I've used it almost daily for the past couple years, and along with the Firefox extension, it has completely replaced my need to use a browser-based bookmark feature.

I'm going to try Evernote - but I'm going to really miss my Google Notebook.

Errol Mars said...

This is what I fear about cloud services, you never know when the service you get used to using is going to vanish. I better start backing up my other Google services. This is a wake up call for me.

Anonymous said...

Please reconsider! I would not mind seeing a few ads popping in my notebook if that is what it takes to keep this wonderful and very useful service going.

W. G. Brooke said...

and wait a second, you are promoting google bookmarks? you stopped supporting and dont even link the FF plugin for gMarks anymore. and on the google bookmarks page it even says, front and centre:

"Check out a better way to organize your bookmarks using Google Notebook"


and you seriously wnat me to creat a google doc every time i want to jot somethign down? no. the interface to google docs is too heavy. the whoel point of ntoes is that they are quick, light, non-intrusive. they remain personal until i move them ot a shared or published notebook, or i pull them together intoa finished document - which i can do in googel docs, but na note is a note, and a document is a document.

todo in gmail should just be a todo notebook... what advantage is there to developing and maintaining a completely new system to do something that is already done well (arguable better) in notebook. i can tag my publish or share my todo list from notebook. can i do that with gmail todo?

I really think you guys need to take a step back, understand teh array of tools that you have developed and available in your house, analyse what the functionality/usability of each tool is, and asses whether certain tools can be leveraged or integrated more effectively. I will tell you right now that notebook is a far better tool for what it does than bookmarks, docs or gmail-todo, the apps-wiki, blogger or any number of competitors tools.

if you need to monetize this stuff, fine, leverage adwords. tote the ability to use notebook as a 'wiki' in both google apps, blogger, and docs. leverage specially tagged/filtered notebooks in gmail to replace/enhance to-do. and for god sake, don't kill the firefox plugins. extend chrome to leverage the XPI stuff if you must, and then chrome might be almost as good as opera, or a tricked out FF.

this is short-sighted and needs to be rethought by management. i am distresed to see the engineering team roll-over so easily.
notebook is a better product than the replacements you suggest. so, why not fight to replace those products.

jim said...

I loved notebook - used it every day, it was invaluable and helped me do my job....I have google docs premium and regular and use notebook loads more...perfect tool - like google reader.

Sean Bannister said...

Google just alienated a heap of users. I now have less trust in Google's products and services, What's going to be discontinued next Chrome, Android, Google Reader, Google Docs? why should I invest my time into a Google product if it'll no longer be developed? I'm very disappointed and will be moving away from a number of other Google Services due to this.

Unknown said...

NOOOOOO Why???? I loved the firefox extension on this

Chad.Fox said...

I was really looking forward to seeing more development with google notebook, especially a fully functional mobile app like gmail mobile. I'm sad to see that hope end.

rainygoo said...

It is really the worst new I heard this year! Note book is useful to collect the information from the web with the extension. Wish google re-consider it and keep note book alive.

Todd said...

Truly a sad day... I will miss you :( Any chance of an exporter?

Jay Stevens said...

This is absolutely nutz! How in the world could a product that is so loved by so many people be taken away?

We need to organize a peaceful revolt. If enough people are using this, there's no reason why it couldn't be supported.

Keep the comments coming and maybe we can avert this disaster?

Unknown said...

Please don't get rid of Google Notebook, it's one of my favorite Google services!

Unknown said...

This is quite disappointing. I use Notebook and the Firefox plugin quite often. This is the first time I've really been bitten by a software as a service shutdown. I guess I can look forward to more.

nawi@gabriel.wang said...

please do not do that.

Jean C said...

Poor business decision.

Dumping Notebook infers that Google product lines are fly-by-night. A stab in the back and heart to cloud users.

Students heavily use this product. You've gotta be out of your minds.

balaam said...

I also found Google notebook to be an excellent service I used daily - shame to see it die off.

Hopefully it'll be reborn in something else cool - agents or similar? :D

Amy said...

Oh, Google, no! I ADORE Notebooks and I've been spamming all my friends with it, urging them to know the glory that is Notebooks! I'm so vastly disappointed. :(

Andy said...

NOOOOOOOO! I use Google Notebook EVERYDAY many times a day. SAVE GOOGLE NOTEBOOK!

Z00zibot said...

I agree with the consensus that Google Notebook is a useful and successful Web application, and in combination with the Firefox add-on it is super convenient. I use Google Notebook and I'm disappointed to hear that it's going away. I hope this decision will be reconsidered.

If not, thanks for the use of the cool tool for a while.

Patricia Moss said...

The suggested alternatives lack the utility of Notebook.

Many users myself included, have a substantial information investment in Notebook and rely on it.

I urge Google to reconsider its decision with respect to this application.

Other users who agree, please add your voice.

If decision stands, please provide a way to export accumulated notes.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE

Patricia Moss

Unknown said...

I have been using Google Notebook every day for the last few months to organise my life. Can't believe you are getting rid of it. Please reconsider!

Nilesh said...

This is extremely disappointing. , I use Google notebook for my career .I don't understand why Google has taken this kind of step.

Billy said...

This is Billy from Hong Kong.

This is not a good news for a Notebook Fans like me. I like to use it and it is really a notebook online application, I don't use the Window's Notepad anymore.

And I've told many friends about this great application.

Kathleen Ferenz said...

Noooooooooooo, I'm a teacher (a Google Certified Teacher) and this is one of the tools we all love, and this is the best tool for students - to clip, organize, cite their research. Plus I use it on my phone - OMG what will I do? Docs on the phone is too big - this is such an amazing invention - I express my disappointment - I LOVE notebook.

Obry said...

Man this really sucks. Besides Gmail and Google Maps, this was the third most used Google product in my "Notebook". The Firefox extension was great too.

I'm really sad to see this go. I don't really understand why though. It was such an useful application.

federix said...

Google Notebook is one of Google's best tool, it's really an unfortunate decision to close it!

vincentjones said...

I use it every day. I do not know why Google want to stop it. There are many other Google products which are free for custermers. Why stop Google notebook?

ojioji said...

Jehoshaphat!

Tristan Walker said...

I think that ending Google Bookmarks is the thing to do. I cannot understand why Notebook would not encompass everything Bookmarks does.

For what its worth, I think disabling the browser extension is a TERRIBLE idea, and hurts me deeply as a web user. This event has severely tarnished my opinion of Google, something I was not sure would ever happen.

Please save Notebook!

bluehz said...

Please please please don't kill NOTEBOOK!!!!

Sung Woo Kim said...

I am very sorry to hear about this. I use Notebook everyday and LOVED IT!!!

Hopefully even w/ discontinued development, it would still be around for a long time as I have a number of documents on it.

I am very sorry to see this go.

Tom said...

We're using Google Notebook for education and research, and I think this is a big mistake. Google Notebook has much better document-level management than Google Docs or Google Sites, and those are not suitable replacements.

Eduin Carrillo said...

1. You killed Google Browser Sync
2. Now killed Notebook

What follows? Gmail? You people, now look like Micro$oft. More money than people.

Johnxon said...

Marissa Mayer once said, at Google, we never kill projects. Right, you don't kill them, you just let them die alone.

Unknown said...

This is extremely sad. Google, the visionary, should see that Notebook is an application with tremendous potential to survive and with a huge scope for development!

It was such an useful application. I know many friends who use it to save notes while they are reading on the internet.

I am a die-hard Google fan and am deeply disappointed.

Yoja said...

thats really sad. i used Google notes to keep track of phone numbers and account information (no passwords..duh!)...since google docs is blocked and not notebook. I used the Firefox extension where popup was the quickest way to use it..

Please dont stop it!

Renee Zamora said...

I too am distraught at the apparent slow demise of Google Notebook. I use it everyday and it holds information on many facets of my life.

I'm looking at alternatives because I too feel it's only a matter of time before the plug is finally pulled on us.

I felt some hope when I read that
Ubernote is working on the capability to move your Google Notebook over to them. They also asked readers on their blog what features you would want on Ubernote. So maybe there is hope out there.

That said I still feel very shaken that I can't rely on anyone to store my information. At least if it's on my computer I can back it up and be responsible for it. I wish my TreePad program would install to my flash drive.

It's just going to take time to work everything out now. Thank you Google for supporting your current users. I'm glad this wasn't the notice that it's dead tomorrow or in two weeks. The writing is on the wall but it is at least giving your competitors time to pick up your slack.

Hopefully we will see your competitors work like sharks at a feeding frenzy trying to win Google Notebook users over. They at least know a great product when they see it.

Unknown said...

I'd also strongly urge the Google people to reconsider their decision. Google Notebook is a very helpful little application, and none of the mentioned substitutes is really able to replace it.

Especially with the browser add-on and integration into other applications, like Google Sites...

I definitely hope the last word is not yet spoken...

Expert said...

poor show, I mean they haven't made any mention of notebook closing on the notebook site.

When does it close, will we be able to access content already there? How can we export the data, perhaps an auto migration to Google docs would be smart.

I'm surprised that it's being closed to be honest, but I'm more concerned with how to migrate the data elsewhere either via a file I can export (xml perhaps) or to another google service like Docs.

Nick Soden said...

I'm truly upset by your decision to stop development on Google Notebook, it is one of the best tools that I've come across on the web. I use Notebook pretty much every day, and only do so using the firefox extension.
Google Documents just won't cut it. What makes Notebook so special, especially with the extension, is that you can simply cut and paste stuff from a webpage right away with one click, instead of having to go to a whole new page. Please reconsider your decision.

Ray said...

I liked the Notebook.
Too bad :-(

Anonymous said...

It's a very bad news :-(((

I'm using this Google applications everydays to share my comments and post on news groups and forums...

Ik. Instead I'll used the comment feature of Google Reader to share my stuff...

Why not shuting down somethings else? Like ORKUT ? Did you make money with this? I guess no.

Just to put targetted advertisements on shared pages of Google Notebook and that's it.

Google was reputed to have only "beta" applications, in 2009 you start a new Google style: abandonned applications...

:-(((

Unknown said...

Notebook is my #1 Bookmark/webclip/note-taking/etc tool... Please at least keep the firefox extension up to date... No other web tool works as well for me as Notebook.

I will cry when the little notebook disappears from my browser statusbar.

R.V.Turrell said...

Oh no. I cannot do without notebook. It is the one add on that i really really need. Please Google reconsider, reconsider

Todd said...

Unfortunately, the other Google products mentioned above are poor replacements for Notebook. I only use it to note URL's, sort them into categories, and add labels. You can do the same thing with Google Bookmarks/Toolbar, but it's not nearly as fast or convenient as the excellent Notebook Firefox extension. Also, Google Bookmarks doesn't seem to have a mobile site.

I also tried Evernote just now and was disappointed with this option. Their Firefox extension is sluggish, doesn't offer any way of viewing the contents of your notebooks, and forces you to clip all the contents of the page (rather than just the URL). This wouldn't be so bad, except that the page formatting is garbled when viewed within Evernote.

I suppose I'll have to keep looking for a proper replacement. Hopefully Google will eventually revive this project or migrate all its functionality into other products.

Kacper Perschke said...

Pitty.

For me it was one of the most usable google services.

Pål M. Lykkja said...

I hope Google change their minds about this terrible bad decision.

Unknown said...

Shutting down notebook is a great mistake, organizing links in notes with comments is hundred times better then doing it with just a label on a bookmark, and honestly, google notebook is just more handy than docs... I'll never use doc any more, I do not need it, I'll just use text editor on my PC!!!

if the problem is that of making money from notebooks just put a bar at its top, as in gmail with webclips!

if the problem is that few users use it, well, try to make some publicity to it, you have never done publicity to it!!

this is one of the greatest google mistakes and it is going against it's mission of making world information easily available.

Now I will look for some service offered by a different company, do you want core business? You will have core business: I will continue using google only for web search and gmail while I will stop using and making publicity to any other google product and I will stop backing the use of google docs and spreadsheet at my company... we do not know, maybe one day you will shut down also them in one week... better to be prepared and build our own apps on our own server.

Anonymous said...

Looks like everybody will miss google notebook. I used I used it a lot, and found it one of the most useful application google ever made. With FF extension was (is?) the best way to store info and bookmarks easily and quickly.
I'll try evernote and zoho and see which suits my needs best.
Sad.

Neolandscaper said...

Pls dont do that. I've always been using Google Notebook, which's definitely a good service i think.

Miroslav Štampar said...

Sign the petition and spread the word:
http://www.petitiononline.com/gnoteb/petition.html

Let them know how many of us are there that do care about the Google Notebook.

Miroslav Štampar said...

Sign the petition and spread the word:
http://www.petitiononline.com/gnoteb/petition.html

Let them know how many of us are there that do care about the Google Notebook.

avars4public said...

Notebook is by far the best personal bookmarking and web research tools. Speed, excellent firefox plug-in, mobile integration.
It should have become an integral part of Chrome also.
It will be a wise decision to either continue with it or transition all Notebook functionality into Bookmarks.

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