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Google's spring cleaning ends support for BlackBerry Sync, Picasa plug-ins for iPhoto, and more

Google's spring cleaning ends support for BlackBerry Sync, Picasa plug-ins for iPhoto, and more

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Google has gotten in the habit of doing a seasonal cleaning of its many products and services, and this spring is no exception. Probably the biggest news is that Google's officially discontinuing its Google Sync for BlackBerry app, which has historically kept calendars and contacts in sync for BlackBerry users.

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Google logo (FLICKR)
Google logo (FLICKR)

Google has gotten in the habit of doing a seasonal cleaning of its many products and services, and this spring is no exception. Probably the biggest news is that Google's officially discontinuing its Google Sync for BlackBerry app, which has historically kept calendars and contacts in sync for BlackBerry users. As of June 1st, the app won't be available for download anymore, though Google notes that you'll still be able to use it if you already have it installed. Google helpfully suggests switching to the standard BlackBerry Internet Service, or trying its Google Apps connector for BlackBerry — however, that software requires BlackBerry Enterprise Server (standard or express), which might be a deal-breaker for some users.

Google's also pulling support for its Picasa Web Albums uploader for Mac, as well as its Picasa Web Albums plugin for iPhoto — it recommends you download the Mac-native Picasa 3.9 app, but that's little help to those who manage their photos in iPhoto. While Picasa 3.9 appears to recognize photos that you've added to iPhoto, it doesn't separate them out into the individual albums users may have created. Unfortunately, both of these pieces of software are no longer available as of today.

There's several other services being suspended, including the mobile web version of Google Talk is being shut down — which is just as well since most mobile platforms have dedicated Gtalk apps (either first- or third-party) at this point. For the full list of services getting the axe, check out Google's blog; we hope you don't find your favorite service listed.