In the process of testing every nook and cranny of Google for this book, I've noticed that Google Catalogs is much less robust than it was when I wrote Google For Dummies. An under-recognized, and probably little-used Google beta service, Catalogs presents scanned versions of hundreds of mail-order catalogs in a special online reader. Users don't order merchandise from the Cataglos pages; they must link to the merchant to buy anything. But the database is (was) a treasure trove in its scope for catalog enthusiasts. Now I see that most catalogs are sadly out of date, with nothing later than Holiday 2004, and very few even that recent. I haven't yet found out whether the problem is lack of scanning effort on Google's part, or whether catalog companies have stopped sending the books. I suspect the former, because participating mail-order companies probably established ongoing subscriptions to Google, and it would take an unusual effort to stop the flow. I image piles of catalogs in some Googleplex office, awaiting the scanner.

Perhaps it's no surprise that the service is being neglected (if that is the case). Gooigle Catalogs was always an unusually retro service, blending old media and new media. But that didn't make it any less cool, or less useful.