Google Kills Google Video, iGoogle, Other Services

Google has announced it will finally close its original video hosting service, Google Video, and will keep both YouTube and its video search site running.

The decision, along with the closure of four other services, is part of Google's ongoing program to ditch ideas that didn't work out. The search giant says it has abandoned more than thirty programs since fall, 2011.

Google Video was first unveiled in 2005. It was originally designed to host videos for users who didn't have their own web servers or couldn't cope with the traffic, if a lot of people watched their clips.

After buying the rival site YouTube the following year, Google decided to revamp Google Video. It then put an emphasis on searches for video clips.

In its latest iteration, Google Video was a way for users to search many different sites for the video clips they wanted.

Google Video to Close August 20

Google hasn't allowed users to upload new clips to Google Video since 2009, but did leave existing ones operational. Google's decision will now transform the site into a pure search engine after August 20, 2012. (Source: blogspot.co.uk)

Until then, users who have uploaded videos to the site can delete their clips, move them to YouTube, or download them to their computer.

After the cut-off date, Google will copy any remaining videos to YouTube. However, they'll be set as 'private' until the clip owner logs in and makes them publicly available.

iGoogle Now Outdated, Too

Another service getting the axe is iGoogle, which was originally designed to provide a personalized "home page". It allowed users to access customized news, weather, sports, and other information.

Google says that specialized service is largely unnecessary today as smartphone applications and "add-on" or "extension" tools for web browsers fulfill the same function. (Source: forbes.com)

The company is also dropping its dedicated search application for users of mobile phones running the Symbian system.

Further down the 'hitlist', Google will also stop production of Google Mini. This is a small computer designed to be plugged into a corporate network, allowing staff to very quickly use Google to search for information across the network.

Finally, the company is abandoning Google Talk Chatback, a question-and-answer tool corporate users could add to their websites. The reason Chatback won't be back: Google recently bought Meebo, a company that offers a similar service.