Google Pack is a collection of various software programs wrapped in a single installer. This free bundle has been around since 2006 and includes some non-Google products as well including Firefox, Skype, and Adobe Reader. StarOffice was also part of the initial Google Pack but was later removed probably because Google Docs had matured enough.
Today, Google released a new version of Google Pack, and though the individual components of the bundle haven’t changed much, the upgrade does put Firefox and Skype in the background. Both these products essentially compete with Google’s own offerings.
To give you an idea, here’s the old version of the Google Pack website..
..and what you see below is the new pack.google.com.
What changed in Google Pack?
Google Talk got the axe, Google Cloud Connect (a free plugin that links Google Docs with Office) was added while most of the other non-Google products like Microsoft’s Skype, Firefox and Real Player have been moved to the background.
You can still download and install these products through Google Pack but they are no longer available on the main page and hence fewer people with notice them. And it makes sense – why would Google want to promote Firefox anyway when they have Chrome.
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