Google's New Look

Some people love it, some people hate it.  I'm the former, I adore the new Gmail and Reader design.  Reader could use a few more functions built in, but I also understand this is the first of many shifts towards a universal Google design.  I won't bash them for what is missing just yet, I figure they have until the end of the year to run some follow-up tweaks and improvements.  This is the beginning of the path of all Googleness having the look and feel of an umbrella design, much like all Microsoft products have emulated the Office design that has evolved from square corners and one color scheme.  Google is going all the way with this design.  The "ribbon" at the top that lets you move from one service to another is one of the most understated and successful things I have noticed.  Nobody else seemed to be impressed with it so maybe that's just me.  

Here is a screenshot of old and new, thanks to CNET:

Gmail is now elevated to freaking awesome.  I am able to easily navigate the page, and the functions that were built in all worked flawlessly.  My Chrome plug-in and mobile website experience is smooth and uncluttered.  I have always been a Gmail fan from the first time I used it.  At the rate I'm filling up my storage, I will be 103 before I have to purge my archives.  Give or take a year, and factoring in my love for kitten pictures multiplying by decade, subtracting my tolerance for "send this to 100 people or your firstborn will be hit by a bus THIS REALLY WORKS" taglines.  I already loved it, but the new rollout and feel is an improvement in my book, though I can see why it may not be for others.

Reader is a bit of a mess right now, only because the major change is the one thing you can't change yet. The title and teaser fonts are large and no amount of scaling makes this as efficient as the old design.  Rather than scrap what they have, a simple toggle giving choices for the main article section will be enough to fix this.  For someone who subscribes to a paper or two it's no problem.   I get about 2,000 RSS headlines a day, so color and the skim factor is important to me.  What has spared me the most is that I use a phone app to keep my feeds caught up through the day, so I haven't had to feel the change so much.  The new sharing capabilities are cool and shows this is going in a good direction.  I still prefer the new design to the old one overall, with the ability to control my feeds and sort them having become easier and the improvement in contrast.

Google+ was a nice test drive for this template, and I expect to see it used as a testing ground because it is made to be social and easy to track.  It would be helpful if Google was a bit more forthright about what we should expect, so we can give input before releases.  I've been around long enough to see chains of development so I am willing to wait to see what comes out.  But without a little customizing and promise of changes the design won't fly long term.  The good news is, Google is requesting feedback and seems determined to apply it.

Do you guys like it or not?  And why?