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Google unveils new homepage: did you even notice?

by Jay Hathaway on December 2, 2009 at 09:00 PM

Google has finally launched a new version of its homepage after extensive testing, so you can look forward to the following exciting new features: the text on the page fades in when you first move your mouse. And ... that's all. I guess Google didn't want to mess with a good thing, and the site does look a lot cleaner on first load, with just the logo and the search field, but I'm sure a lot of users won't notice the change.

You can sleep well at night knowing it's a perfect fade-in, though. Google tested 10 different versions of the fancy new transition, and ultimately chose one that was "positive or neutral on all key metrics." According to Google, the new fade-in does slow users down, but it also improves their efficiency at using the homepage over time. Apparently a few extra-milliseconds to stop and smell the features actually makes a difference.

Tags: fade-in, features, google, homepage, search

Comments

caleb.largoDec 2nd 2009 10:13PM

Neutral

for some reason a couple months ago it had that fade in for a day or two, but only on that specific browser, on that computer. well, it's nice :D

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2late2dieDec 12th 2009 12:51PM

Neutral

That's nice but I pretty much stopped using the "classic" google homepage. I search through either igoogle, google toolbar or awesome bar.

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iGateDec 3rd 2009 2:22AM

Neutral

hmmm i've been using this for the last 3+ months - maybe they chose my account for beta testing?

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SamDec 3rd 2009 6:24AM

Neutral

Me too, looks just like it always has.

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MattDec 3rd 2009 4:14AM

Neutral

The new new version is better.

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StormtrooprDaveDec 3rd 2009 5:46AM

Neutral

Mine hasn't changed

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kingabraham3Dec 3rd 2009 1:36PM

Neutral

delete ur cookies (or at least any from google), and walla!

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furryfoxboyDec 3rd 2009 9:14AM

Neutral

I can't say that I understand the point. As soon as you move your mouse everything comes up anyway, so why make it fade in? Just to make it look cool? I'm not sure if it fades back out again after awhile, but by that time, you've probably already typed in your search and hit Enter. It just seems a little silly to me.

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Ntw1103Dec 3rd 2009 10:14AM

Neutral

I honestly didn't notice. I've switched to bing for almost everything.

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SilverWaveDec 3rd 2009 10:58PM

Neutral

I'm intrigued whats this "bing" thing you speak of?

Oh and re the clean Google page - Like it :)
Going to just start typing from now on through...

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SilverWaveDec 3rd 2009 11:07PM

Neutral

wait... wait... I Googled it.
Oh I see, wow... but... wont your soul get real smelly using that thing :/

OMG! some of the slime has left a mark on my screen
eeeuww! Whats that smell?

Monkeyboy sweat :(

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