What's happened to Google?!?!?!?!

[kimmer]

It's changed and that's been since noon my time -- and apparently on with Firefox!   Here's what I now see in Firefox (and it's too big to embed here, so you'll have to click the link):

http://spatulagraphics.com/googlewindow.jpg

Here's what the same page looks like in Safari:
http://spatulagraphics.com/googlewindow_safari.jpg

I do NOT like this. I don't like the look, I don't like that it's too wide, I don't like any part of it.   If there's a way to set a pref, I'd do it. UGH!

[Xairbusdriver]

I've read about Google pitching a new screen with wider search entry boxes. However, FF 3.5.4 and Safari 4.0.4 look almost exactly alike. The most obvious difference is that FF doesn't show all links with underlines (which I hate, anyway, they really mess up descenders on letters like y, j, p, g...). They both look like your Safari window. What seems to be 'out of place' in your FF version is a missing "Web +/- Show/Hide Options button just under the "Google". And for some reason, that has caused the "Results" text to slide down and it bleeds of the right-hand edge of your window.

Since it's not showing on my FF, it may just be a cached version you are seeing or a design they posted and then replaced.

Now, where is that cup of warm tea?

[krissel]

Kimmer, click the little icon or the words "More Options" and see if you can remove that left column.  I have that at the top of the results page in Firefox 3.5.7 and can eliminate the column if I click "Hide Options".  It's supposed to give you a choice of what Google will show as your results. Perhaps a newer version of FF is different?

[kimmer]

Krissel, that just gives me more useless (to me) stuff to click, and I don't have the "Hide Options". Drats!

QUOTE

Perhaps a newer version of FF is different?

This might be correct, as Sneakers is using an older version of FF and he doesn’t have the 3 column layout.

I did stumble across a blog discussion where this is the "newer, better, neater, keener" google and y'all will soon see this junky page. Some lady at google thinks it's just grand. Wish I could find a place to complain to google.

I'm now using yahoo as my default search engine.

[Paddy]

I don't know why Kimmer doesn't have the "show options" at the top on the left in Firefox (as per Safari) - it was there in FF 3.0.7 or whatever it was that I was running on the MBP. I just updated to 3.6 and it's still there too - and that's what makes that left column appear or disappear.

I'm confused when you say the window is wider - it's only as wide as you drag it to be. It doesn't resize on its own. And apart from the left column, the middle and right columns are liquid and will expand proportionally as you drag the window wider.

What I find interesting is that my search results are slightly different in FF than the results in Safari. What's up with that? And no, I'm not signed into Google with either.

Some discussion of it here: http://www.windmeadow.com/node/36 - there are some good comments too, if you get past the blog spamming.

My results are also different from Kimmer's, but you'd expect that to be largely caused by location. Anyway, it's weird.

[kimmer]

QUOTE(Paddy @ Feb 23 2010, 09:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't know why Kimmer doesn't have the "show options" at the top on the left in Firefox (as per Safari) - it was there in FF 3.0.7 or whatever it was that I was running on the MBP. I just updated to 3.6 and it's still there too - and that's what makes that left column appear or disappear.

Now that's just weird -- and unfair.

I just downgraded to 3.5.8 and now I have the "show options" and no more 3-column page.  

QUOTE

I'm confused when you say the window is wider - it's only as wide as you drag it to be. It doesn't resize on its own. And apart from the left column, the middle and right columns are liquid and will expand proportionally as you drag the window wider.

I sure can't explain why it's happening, but if you look at the jpg, you'll see the left/right scroll bar. For whatever reason, the liquidity isn't working.  

QUOTE

What I find interesting is that my search results are slightly different in FF than the results in Safari. What's up with that? And no, I'm not signed into Google with either.

I'm not signed in to Google either, and my search results are the same between FF and Safari. Maybe it's based on the topic I was searching?

[Paddy]

I searched the same topic you did. Apparently seeing different results in different browsers is not unusual (there are lots of reports - this is just one discussion): http://forums.site-reference.com/topic/989...erent-browsers/

I suppose I could dump caches, reset browsers, etc. etc. to see if I could get the same results, but it's more of an oddity than an annoyance, so I'm not going to bother.

See the screenshot below for the results.

Unless I make the window so narrow in Firefox that the left column (main content) is almost as narrow as the right (ads), I can't get a horizontal scroll bar to appear. I certainly don't get one when things are as wide as the window you show. Try clearing the FF cache (FF Prefs->Advanced->Network) and see if that helps.

BTW - I do have a different theme (Silvermel and Charamel) installed in FF, in case anyone is wondering why it looks different.

[Jack W]

here's what I get in FF 3.6,

and identical in Safari 4.0.4 (OSX 10.4.11) FWIW.

[attachment=1783:Picture_1.jpg]

[kimmer]

Well, the different searches are just plain weird.

I downgraded from 3.6 to 3.5.8 and that seems to have cleared up the "lack of liquidity" problem. Later today, I'll reinstall 3.6 and dump the cache to see if it will work "properly" again.

Paddy, I like the theme you have installed.