If you go to Google.com now, instead of the stark white page you’ll have a colorful, full-screen photo as the background. While some see this as a welcome change of pace and many others just don’t care, there are a number of very vocal writers up in arms about the change.

PC World has done a pretty good job of rounding up the most irate reactions from the blogosphere. Here are some highlights:

David Gewirtz @ ZDNet:
“If Google now looks more like Bing, will users cease to differentiate the two as clearly? Will the delay in page loading, combined with the loss of its iconic image serve to distract and confuse users enough that they now share their search love among other engines?”

Charles Arthur @ The Guardian:
“Why? What is Google trying to do? Google said of the feature (which at the time required you to sign in to a Google account) that it ‘brings a whole new level of personalization to Google by letting you add a favorite photo or image to the background of the Google homepage.’ Well, if that’s what turns you on.”

Microsoft Europe’s Twitter page:
“We’ve lost a background image, if found please return to bing.com ;).”

Personally, I don’t understand the outrage… Or the Bing comparisons, but maybe that’s because I’ve only tried to use Bing twice. Does anyone actually go to the Google page anymore? Ever since the inclusion of a Google search box in my browser, I’ve had no reason to visit Google.com.

But perhaps you think differently. Vote here and tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Google’s New Look: Why is Everybody So Upset? [PC World]

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