Google Background Image: Some Say No To Bing-Like Look

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - Google launched its Custom Background feature Thursday. The new feature allows users to change the site's signature, spare white background to something a bit more colorful.

Some are making the comparison to competing search engine Bing and its use of rotating exotic images on its homepage. Others are unhappy with the feature and want the old white background

Starting Wednesday evening users of Google's homepage are being treated for 24 hours to the artwork of some of the world's well-known painters, photographers and sculptors. If people think their own work is the greatest, they can add that too.

Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, announced on Google's blog that Google has created a gallery of background images for use to personalize users' homepages. Included are photographs of the works of Dale Chihuly, Jeff Koons, Tom Otterness, Polly Apfelbaum, Kengo Kuma, Kwon, Ki-soo and Tord Boontje. There are also photos by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and National Geographic.

Her blog post, posted at 7 p.m. Wednesday, said that Google will feature the images as backgrounds on the Google homepage over the next 24 hours.

The variety is meant to showcase Google's new feature that lets users add a favorite photo or image to the background of their Google.com homepage.

Several media accounts suggest it is also meant to compete against the Bing search engine, which has featured a rotating photo as its background since it launched.

PC Magazine said that "Google has been feeling some heat" thanks to Bing's search engine and has been adjusting its service to compete. The change to its stark-white homepage is the latest such change.

Users can pull their own photos, from a Picasso Web Album or from Picasa's Public Gallery. Users can click a link on the bottom left side of the page to change the background image.

Feedback is mixed. One commenter to PC's article states that it shows "how much threat Google is feeling from Bing. Else why in world they will make change they were resisting even users were requesting for."

"Come on Google ... get it together," wrote another reader. "You're an industry leader, not a follower. If I wanted Google to look like Bing then I would use Bing."

That reader asked for the option of not using the image provided.

"There's enough sensory overload out there – I want my nice calm Google page back."

Mashable reported that Google didn't offer the choice of turning this feature off. Hundreds of users are on Twitter searching for a way to remove it.

Mashable suggests ways to remove the image, including selecting the color white as the background. Also, Mashable surmised, the rotating images is just for Thursday, meaning by Friday everything will be back to the same calm white.