How to try out Google's new homepage prototype
There's been a lot of blog hype about Google testing out a new, minimal homepage. It's true, some users have been seeing a Google.com main page with just the logo, the search box, and two buttons. If you're not one of them, but you want to try it out, here's how you can make it happen: Go to Google.com and put this little bit of Javascript into your address bar:
javascript:void(document.cookie="PREF=ID=abac7a90f5a3784b:LD=en:NR=10:TM=1254990196:LM=1254990236:S=uB6F4jDnMP_DuxtT;path=/; domain=.google.com");
Then hit enter, and then reload the page. The top bar, language tools link, and all other extraneous text should be gone, but it'll fade back in if you run your mouse over the top part of the browser window. This really isn't that big a deal, now that practically every browser has a search box built in, but it's a neat little trick if you're someone who still uses Google.com often.
[via Google Blogoscoped]
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jordan said 7:48PM on 10-08-2009
Or you could just bing it
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Simon said 8:22PM on 10-08-2009
I wonder why it's news every time Google makes some minor change to the UI of their homepage. First a bigger search box and now this?
Man, you can't buy that kind of publicity. I know no one would raise an eyebrow if Yahoo made their margins bigger or something.
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Steve said 10:00PM on 10-08-2009
I dont have two buttons!
http://www.imgshack.info/images/r4tv4ls1fl3rxulw6.png
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kojo87 said 11:39PM on 10-08-2009
don't you still want at least one button?
Steve said 12:42AM on 10-09-2009
Who needs a button.
Thats what the enter key is for.
kojo87 said 12:48AM on 10-09-2009
i know but it just looks so... naked
j35t3r said 12:01AM on 10-09-2009
Its a mouseover thing in Firefox.... when i go to google.com, all i see is the Goog logo and the searchbar on the page untill i move my mouse. No biggie, but IMO it looks pretty clean without all the extra stuff. Its almost like a splash screen lol.
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Kevin S. said 8:49PM on 10-09-2009
So what's the point of this? A search box is built into every browser these days, so the only reason to go to Google's page is to use things like the image search or language tools. Hiding those things is just annoying. It's cool as an option, but making it the default seems like a bad idea.
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ankit hah said 7:34AM on 10-09-2009
not happening on google.co.in :( and my browser is redirecting me to google.co.in even though i type google.com
help me...i want to view this change and google ROCKS.....
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rcarm said 10:04AM on 10-10-2009
Click on the link that says "Google.com in English"
ankit hah said 1:15AM on 10-12-2009
not hapning still redirecting me :(
smv_342 said 11:18AM on 10-12-2009
http://www.google.com/ncr
Koan said 9:01AM on 10-09-2009
At first I thought it would be handy for Google to save bandwidth if they could get the rest of the page to load only if the user is looking for it. Since that's not what's happening (all of the content is already in the source code), it seems to me like this is kind of a waste of bandwidth for Google, with the added JavaScript and such.
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NyaR said 2:22PM on 10-09-2009
Google has unlimited bandwith