Google’s Experimental Homepage Fades To A Single Word

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/05/googles-experimental-homepage-fades-to-a-single-word/

by jmonegro • 17 years ago

31 20 17 years ago

mikeryan• 17 years ago

Do that many HN readers use the Google homepage anymore? My searches are all entirely through my browser search field.

It seems like a cool feature for "power users" but I'd think that most people that still use the homepage would be newer users.

jacquesm• 17 years ago

I never use the homepage unless I want to search 'news' or 'images'. All the rest trough the browser bar, but for follow up searches I'll use the form on the results page.

Timothee• 17 years ago

The only time I go to Google's homepage is when, after arriving to search results from a query typed in my browser search field, I see a special Doodle and am interested in knowing more of what Google is celebrating today.

If I'm interested in images, I'll still type it in the browser search field and click "images" afterwards.

axod• 17 years ago

I always go to google.com and type there. I just like seeing the logo changes, checking if they've changed any UI bits/extras, and I want to be sure I'm getting results exactly as I want.

raju• 17 years ago

I go a step further and use FF's nifty "Add a Keyword for this Search..." feature (Right click in the Google search box and pick that option).

The keyword that I pick is usually a single letter - G for Google, A for Amazon, I for IMDB, W for wikipedia.

I completely remove the search field from FF's toolbar. To search Google, its Alt (or Apple) + L (focus shifts to search box) type g followed by search terms. Similar for every other keyword I have defined

nitrogen• 17 years ago

Unless you find yourself short on screen space, or frequently have to type really long URLs, the Ctrl+K combination to get straight to the keyword box is equally useful for those who use one search engine (Google in my case) significantly more than the others. I don't know what the Mac equivalent would be.

hernan7• 17 years ago

Only when I need to translate something.

fname• 17 years ago

Interesting, considering, most people still haven't found out that you don't have to click the "Search" button for the query to execute.

jmonegro• 17 years ago

Maybe this will educate them?

xccx• 17 years ago

se aprende en el gerundio

NathanKP• 17 years ago

Really? I didn't realize most people were that ignorant. I've always typed then hit enter and everyone I know does as well.

Anyway....

stumm• 17 years ago

Many people also click the "go" button after typing a URL into the address bar of a browser.

rufo• 17 years ago

I noticed this earlier today. 95% of the time I use Google I use the search bar, but earlier today I went to the Google homepage expecting to click on a link - I thought something was wrong with the page and/or Safari at first. It took a few moments before I moved the mouse and everything faded in.

If it confused me, I'd have to wonder what less experienced users' reactions might be...

snorkel• 17 years ago

Reminds me a while back I was experimenting with a UI fading trick I called "proximity". UI elements would be faded out proportional to how far away the mouse pointer is. In my own jQuery-like API it looks like this:

        // Ramp up element opacity as mouse gets closer
	jf('#foodiv').resizable().proximity( { 
		mousenear : function(el,distance){
			var _opacity = distance/600;
			jfutil.setElementOpacity( el, _opacity );
		}
	});

I'm guessing someone has already made a jQuery plugin to do something similar.

hughprime• 17 years ago

Is the single word really necessary? I mean, it already says "google.com" up in the URL bar, so you know what you're looking at.

litewulf• 17 years ago

I'm pretty sure that in user tests most people don't know what the URL bar is.

Google’s Experimental Homepage Fades To A Single Word

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