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Google Preps Instant Search For Chrome 8
An anonymous reader writes "Google is apparently playing with a nifty integration of instant search inside of its Chrome browser. Typing in the URL bar will automatically bring up a search page, while URLs apparently can be completed much faster as well. It seems as if Google isn't running out of ideas for its browser anytime soon."
Likely the same place you turn off the suggestion service in the current Chrome: Options->Under the Hood.
Amazes me that people cry about Google knowing what URLs you type in because of this and are too ignorant to turn it off. Sure, it'd be good if it were off by default, but I'm quite happy as long as there is an *option*.
But then again, if they just made it so you can't turn it off, it would happen to everyone, so nobody would be getting embarrassed by it happening.
This would have the side benefit of giving you the "Google MADE me do it" excuse if you were ever caught browsing things you shouldn't have been at work. Just make sure they don't see you have 5 other tabs with equally suspicious titles.
-- Let us endeavor so to live that when we pass even the undertaker shall be sorry. -- M. Twain
Chrome already remotely sends that info for Google DNS (I think), URL suggestions, and malware detection services when you type an address into the URL bar. But it's easy to turn those three services off. So will this one be.
Things like "Print Preview" and "Properties" when you right-click an image come to mind.
If you'd like to see those implemented, please star/comment on these bugs:
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=173
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=9278
Actually, Chrome has been doing that for ages with the existing suggestions. I setup a Squid cache for my house and found letter-for-letter requests coming from computers using Chrome. Try it yourself if you're curious--or you can just turn off suggestions.
Chrome already does search-from-bar and live suggestions. What this does is put live search *results* over the page you're currently looking at. It's a browser extension of how google's .com search page works now. While it isn't a revolutionary feature, as far as I know nobody else has implemented it.
The ______ Agenda
The interesting thing about Google Instant is that it was really a vehicle for Google to permanently enable Search Suggestions.
Previously on their webpage search options, you could turn suggestions on or off.
Now that dialog has been replaced with Google Instant on/off. Turning it off leaves you with the old style suggestions enabled (no way to disable). That, in turn, allows them to track everything you type. Don't be evil indeed.
But Chrome's bar is still annoying in its own way. For example, I type "sla" and the first suggestion is slashdot.org, but then I hit "s" and suddenly the first hit is "google search for slas", and it takes it a good second to remember about slashdot again. And that's after disabling google suggestions; the default was even worse. It seems to do a really crappy job at indexing my browsing history, and gives priority to its useless searches instead.
No, Chrome has already done that stuff for a while now. This overlays a google search page over your web browser as you type.
Google has already said that instant search will not search for 'adult themed material' even if safe search is off. Go ahead try typing in some of the most common porn searches. Anal, teen, hardcore, none of it will return results in instant search. And yes, I'm sure you will be able to turn off google instant just like you can now. http://www.google.com/instant/
Or just disable javascript for google.com
I created a Slashdot entry with the URL being slashdot.org. then I gave it the keyword "sd". Now I just hit sd and enter and Slashdot is pulled up immediately!
Or you could use a perhaps more appropriate keyword for slashdot:
/.
Just sayin'.
Funtime Candy Wow! - my plan for eventually conquering Japan.
I don't think that having it display something NSFW should really be an issue. When someone first mentioned something about this I was curious (good thing I'm not a cat) about what would happen if you do type something like "milf" or "porn" into google instant search. As it turns out google doesn't display any results for things of that nature and just says "press enter to search" which is no different than the "old" google.
"To prevent this day from getting any worse, I'll just read ERROR as GOOD THING" 1GJU8xLuDKDxEs4KLf8fAGyptoDsqvEsBT