Google Wave .. gone

Yes, Google pulled the plug on Google Wave according to a blogpost yesterday :

… We have always pursued innovative projects because we want to drive breakthroughs in computer science that dramatically improve our users’ lives. Last year at Google I/O, when we launched our developer preview of Google Wave, a web app for real time communication and collaboration, it set a high bar for what was possible in a web browser. …

… Wave has taught us a lot, and we are proud of the team for the ways in which they have pushed the boundaries of computer science. We are excited about what they will develop next as we continue to create innovations with the potential to advance technology and the wider web. …

Continue at source : Google blog

Little over a year ago Gartner Group’s Tom Austin asked (himself) this question :

Will the Google Wave inspire a Revolution?

by Tom Austin  |  May 29, 2009  |  6 Comments

Google inspires and frustrates, leads and lags, marches to the beat of a different (non-enterprise) drummer and wants everyone (including enterprises) to love and adore it.

What a mix! I have been looking at Google Wave and I am really, really impressed. At the same time, I have serious misgivings about whether Google understands what it needs to do to succeed with enterprises (I have  research note that’s about to pop out – probably will appear around 3 June).

Wave is potentially a major disruptive discontinuity, a clean sheet design. It will be darned near impossible for vendors of existing or earlier-generation products  to morph their products to effectively emulate this. Wave will force others to do new clean sheet projects.

Unfortunately, the first on the block with an entirely new, disruptive discontinuity, isn’t always the long term winner.

Continue at source : Gartner.com

At that time there wasn’t really much to say about it. It was an innovative thought which  was overhyped to say the least. Overhyped because the intentions, or at least people’s perceptions, where that Google Wave would replace email, Unified Messaging, Unified Communications all together.

Robert Scoble analysis at that time “hinting” in the direction that Google Wave was really a hype. Not solving any communication challenges we might have, but creating new ones :

OK, I took a few hours off from playing with Google Wave yesterday. I read all my comments on the post I wrote Thursday about Google Wave, many of which were very ascerbic toward me.

I took the day off and said “what if they are right?” and “is Google Wave a really great way to collaborate with other people?”

On coming back to Google Wave with fresh eyes tonight and even after collaborating with people on a few things my answer is “no, they are not right” and “no, Google Wave is even less productive than email.”

Continue at source : scobleizer.com

Some day many of the ideas introduced in Google Wave may surface in other solutions. But this endavour also showed us that challenging email is one tough cookie …