The older I get, the more I realise people just enjoy complaining.<p>People complained when they added the black bar, they complained when they removed it, they complain now when Google point you in the direction of the new feature, and I'm sure people would've complained if they <i>hadn't</i> have mentioned it changing.
The "new" gmail theme had that stupid thing at the bottom asking for feedback. What was stupid about it is that it would keep coming back after you closed it, when any sane person would have known the user didn't want to see it again.
No it isn't. It's not wrong to notify users of changes, and the notice resides on the same area occupied by the previous navigation tool so as far as those coming from the older design are concerned no extra screen space was used.<p>The notice disappears after you navigate away then come back or even reload the page so it's obviously <i>not a permanent</i> thing.