The new Blogger update ... sucks.

I've been using Blogger to host this site, and, frankly, its probably been one of my worst experiences with Google software, ever.

First of all, let me cover the the good things about it (i.e. why I chose it in the first place). Its very quick to get started with a blog, its easy to add AdSense if you want it, and that's about it.

What's wrong with it?

First of all, the widgets model is broken beyond all belief. All of the widgets that are provided are pretty much useless, and most things like syntax highlighting and LaTeX involve tacking on bits of Javascript onto the page, which Blogger doesn't mix with all too well. 

Secondly, the editor sucks. We're in 2012 here people, and it STILL escapes out when I hit tab. Why is this so difficult? Isn't Blogger now developed by the same company that makes Google Docs? 

Then, once Google+ came along, all of the other "social" buttons have been pushed off to the side and made quite tiny, which, is understandable when considering it from Google's point of view, but, from my point of view, it doesn't make much sense.

The themes are also far from amazing (http://www.bloggerthemes.net/ does try to remedy this), and the selection in font is pretty much non-existent. 

And, most of all, Blogger, in general, seems to try to get in your way every single time you want to just "write a short entry", or "get this article on the internet". 

So, what did the update fix/add?

It added some analytics directly on the front page; I was surprised to find out this blog had over 50,000 page views in the past 2 weeks. 

Also, it cleaned up a editor a *tiny* bit (it still escapes out on the tab), and, the main replacement was just making the editing textarea/contenteditable larger.

The design is also much better and clearer.

But, they still completely ignored the actual problems that plague Blogger; so, I just can't keep waiting any longer, I'm going to try and pick from the enormous assortment of options (Posterous had caught by eye, but, its been acquired, so, I don't want to risk anything on it).