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Google Homepage "Fade"

 
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Andy_P
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Joined: Jun 04, 2005
Posts: 19991
Location: West and Southwest London

PostPosted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 1:18 pm    Post subject: Google Homepage "Fade" Reply with quote

You may have noticed some changes to the Google Homepage recently....

I'd just done a format and clean install on a PC of mine and wasted a day trying to find the malware that had screwed up my Google homepage.
Eventually I discovered I was "part of an experiment" to trial new, minimalist designs - this one had NO search buttons at all - you had to use the "enter key", and all the other links to images, maps, gmail etc. only appeared after a delay.

But the worst things were
1. there was no explanation that it was an experiment by Google themselves,
2. it didn't happen to everyone, so I had another PC right next to the affected one, still looking normal,
3. there was no obvious way to opt-out and go back to the normal homepage.

Anyway, now the changes seem to have gone global. The buttons are back, but there's still this incredibly annoying, time-wasting "fade" effect before all the page is shown.

If it annoys the hell out of you too, there's an on-line petition you can sign here:
Turn off Google Fade - Signatures

and some pretty vitriolic comment that you can add to in the original "experiments" topic on the Google support forum here:
Google homepage design experiments - Web Search Help

--------------------------------------------------

In that forum there are a few work rounds to get things back to normal. Amongst them are:

1. here is a classic Google page with no stupid fade effect Google

2. you can disable the fade by deleting all cookies from google.co.uk
I deleted the cookie called PREF which worked for a while... but it wasn't enough, it just replaced it next time I visited Google
I have now blocked cookies from Google completely, but this seems rather drastic...It will mess everything else up like if I want to change other preferences.

3. for Firefox users:
1. If you don't already have it, get the Firefox add-on, Noscript. You can get that here :
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722

Click 'add to Firefox'.
Once it's installed, close Firefox down, then re-start it.
Go to Google.
Click on the Noscript icon on the right of the bottom bar. The icon is a blue S in a pale blue circle.
Click on 'Forbid google.co.uk'
All Fixed Smile
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GerryC
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Joined: Mar 01, 2005
Posts: 1513
Location: West Mids

PostPosted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was aware that they were doing more culling of the homepage for no good reason when The Register reported it. Seemed worthless at the time and still does now. Luckily, it's the first time I've looked at that page for months as I use the FF toolbar search.

They can't tell you about the change because they can't put any more words on the homepage. Something else I've never understood. Rolling Eyes
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Mullet
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Joined: Dec 12, 2005
Posts: 1051

PostPosted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:49 pm    Post subject: Re: Google Homepage "Fade" Reply with quote

Andy_P wrote:

3. for Firefox users:

The default Google page from the search bar is http://www.google.co.uk/firefox which is not effected AFAIK.
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