They had one job…

For my recently finished portfolio website, I needed to host the pdf file with my resume somewhere. The task is simple — you click on a link and the pdf opens up in a new window (or a tab). I tried five cloud services and only Google Drive pleased me. Surprisingly, the worst sharing experience I had with Apple. Dropbox was far from good as well. Box and OneDrive were somewhat decent.

Once again I can’t understand how such large companies like Apple and Dropbox can’t make such a simple feature usable. On the screenshots you can see how my pdf looks in Safari Private mode.

You may ask me why I even bother? Well, here you go:

1. I like when things are thought out. A signup form right in your face or inability to view a simple pdf online doesn’t seem very thought out in my humble opinion (and it’s definitely bad UX).
2. I like minimalism and common sense. If I share a file, I’d like that someone who clicks on the link, saw the file and minimum or no interface around it. Especially if it’s an uneditable file, like pdfs usually are.
3. Last but not least. I suppose that my resume will be viewed by busy recruiters, and no doubt they should get straight to the pdf without any unnecessary hustle.

Google, you’ve done the great job here. Kudos!