Google drops its Wave

Modern digital platforms are required to do a wide range of sophisticated tasks and help make sense of vast amounts of information. It is therefore not surprising that the job of developing these platforms is complex and involves considerable information exchange.

For developers at MetaPress R&D the solution to managing all the development discussions and idea sharing came in the form of the new Google Wave tool. In the AugSep10 issue of Research Information Jeff Stewart of the company described how this tool from Google has been helping in product development and how it could help others.

Unfortunately, just as the print edition of Research Information was in the post and digital readers had been told about the latest digital version, Google announced it will pull the plug on Google Wave at the end of this year.

'The impact of this announcement on my team is substantial,' writes Jeff Stewart. 'Having used Google Wave to great effect to capture specifications, customer feedback, and group discussions, I now have to find an alternative that suits my team. Meanwhile, the substantial body of content my team has captured so far must be extracted from Wave before Google deactivates the system entirely.'

What sort of support in this Google might offer users such as the MetaPress R&D team is still not clear.

Does Google's announcement affect the way you work? Have you found a different tool to help your development projects? Read more about Jeff Stewart's thoughts on this development and add your own thoughts to the discussion here.