Google has shown off another of its crazy logos, this time it's one you can interact with.
The logo comprises coloured balls which you can move around the screen – something which is annoyingly addictive to do... and then just annoying.
Try and figure out the meaning of the logo, though, and you may well fail. This is because there doesn't seem to be any historical significance tying the balls to anything. Which in itself is rather unique for Google.
Google has been tweaking with its homepage logo more and more of late – we're putting it down to far too much 20 per cent time.
This latest doodle comes after Google celebrated the launch of the Buckyball, which had been invented 25 years previous.
So what is the mystery of the balls?
Here are our five top suggestions:
Google Ball Google is to launch a new site where it will test the durability of the world's balls. Everything from beach balls to baseballs will be rated.
Google Bounce: Google is to get in the vehicle business with its rival to the Segway. Called Google Bounce, the contraption looks and feels like a space hopper, except it will track everywhere you bounce and will showcase your bouncy talents on Street View.
Bring on the ball: This is a new initiation test for Google employees, where they have to stand in a metre square and get hit by a massive (rubber) wrecking ball. If they stay standing, then they are worthy of a paycheck from Brin and co.
Masked ball: Google is to announce a worldwide celebration of its doodles by inviting all that has used its search page to a masked ball, where you have to dress up as your favourite doodle. Extra kudos if you turn up as Pacman.
Google Ballpoint: Fearing the internet is going to explode in a mushy mess of porn and double rainbows, Google will announce its branching out into the pen market with the Google Ballpoint. It's just like a normal pen but you will always lose it and will have to 'search' for it everywhere.
One thing the Google logo does use is HTML5, which is a first for the company - unless you count the Pacman game, which wasn't so much a logo but the biggest time-waster ever.
So, it may well be that Google is showing off just what it can do with HTML5 within Chrome and Firefox.
Your comments (10) Click to add a new comment
lovlid
September 7th 2010
10. @ iggy82.
How is it a contradiction? The buckyball is a toy who's birthday came up. Its a coincidence. They're just showing off a piece of software. We'll find out tomorrow, why.
And yes, it does run on Internet Explorer.
iggy82 = Fail.
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rickzkm
September 7th 2010
9. just plain annoying.
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iggy82
September 7th 2010
8. This is also really clever of Google as the page runs best on Chrome and doesn't even run at all on Internet Explorer. Gets people using Chrome!
Also, the Guardian website says that the balls are to do with the fact its Google's 12th birthday today. Marc Chacksfield = Fail
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iggy82
September 7th 2010
7. Doesn't this article contradict itself?
"This is because there doesn't seem to be any historical significance tying the balls to anything"
"This latest doodle comes after Google celebrated the launch of the Buckyball, which had been invented 25 years previous."
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nivekinski
September 7th 2010
6. Go to google.com/webhp?gl=us
It'll work on FF3 and Chrome.
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mombasa1969
September 7th 2010
5. You must be using a really sucky PC if you're having problems.
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badgerpog
September 7th 2010
4. How do you get to this logo? I've changed to 'Classic Home' instead of iGoogle, but only get the standard logo.
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snowy
September 7th 2010
3. If you double click why moving the balls, some of them turn into rectangles. I suspect this isn't intentional!
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nitrofan
September 7th 2010
2. I suspect they are planning on reinventing the ball and this is their way of warning ball users everywhere.
After all Google seem intent on reinventing the word processor! A Google employee explained that their decision to remove the "save as" option in Google Docs was an example of "Software Innovation" FAIL it is reinventing the wheel for the sake of it! in fact I thought it was a load of Balls which brings us back to the Google home Page.
One would have thought a company that has been getting far more wrong than they get right recently, would have had better things to do with its time ;-(
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markroll60
September 7th 2010
1. On September 7, 1927, Philo Farnsworth's image dissector camera tube transmitted its first image, a simple straight line, at his laboratory at 202 Green Street in San Francisco. Colour Television as we know it. The dots represent the way the image is comprised
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