used to it <> as good as it was

I wish it had a sensible reason like that, but no: there are huge amounts of white space with or without adds.

That is off course true (see also healthcare.gov), however that seems a rather strange reason not to have core functionallity in place. If it isn't there how can you see how it works with users poking at it?

That's what annoys me most about the “people fear change “thing apart from the arrogant dismissal: yes people will get used to it, at least the ones that don’t drift away. That doesn’t mean the new design is better or even good. It just means people adapt.

That would be my biggest complaint as well. How is the new everything-in-a-long list-of-images more “useful in all areas of your screen”?

Why was the new design activated if it didn't play nice with key functionalities yet?