Google's PageSpeed Service is no more. It has ceased to be -- or, at least, it will have in early August. It's yet another Google service that the company's gotten bored with, it seems.
Here we go again. Cue: much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers experience severe déjà vu.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment.
Frederic Lardinois reports the sad news:
Google is shutting down PageSpeed...its hosted solution for optimizing websites...on August 3. Developers have until then to change their DNS settings. [It] launched four-and-a-half years ago. [It] applies a number of optimization techniques [that] range from compressing images to optimizing cache settings, JavaScript and CSS files. The service also caches static assets and then delivers them from Google’s servers around the world.
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[It's] similar to what CloudFlare does but without the focus on security. ... CloudFlare has definitely cornered this market. MORE
And Shaun Nichols is slightly less sober:
Come August 3rd your site is knackered. [Google] is planning to send notifications to all users who will be affected by the shutdown. [It] also offers PageSpeed plugins through Apache and Nginx, as well as in an SDK. Those plugins will still work.
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Google regularly purges its less-successful web services in semi-annual "cleaning" efforts. MORE
So Anonymous Googlers mourn thuswise:
The PageSpeed Service team regretfully decided that the time had come to re-focus their efforts elsewhere.
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Please see the detailed instructions here. MORE
Is there more to this than meets the eye? OpenDNS honcho David Ulevitch hints at his suspicions:
Weird that Google wouldn't mention the most obvious alternative...CloudFlare. MORE
Meanwhile, CloudFlare honcho Matthew Prince would be king: [You're fired -Ed.]
When Google launched the PageSpeed Service I had a VC tell me we should pack our bags. I said: "We'll see."
Glad to see focus still wins. MORE
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