

Use the (really) minimalist Google front page. - garethfleming
http://lifehacker.com/5377098/make-the-minimalist-fading-google-homepage-your-default
If you think the Google front page is a little ... cluttered, try this cookie hack to see the uber-minimalist, fading front page that Google has been experimenting with.
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timf
I don't like going to the front page or even using the browser's search box.
Better to type CTR-L to get to the address bar and then use a shortcut
registered "g". "g terms" and you are quickly at the results.

alias "g" to
"[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%s](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%s)

Putting this in the address bar also means you get incremental history of
previous searches. If the term was long, you don't need to type it again. If
you need to modify a recent search slightly, it's there as a template.

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liquidben
I like using smart bookmarks like this for specialty searches, e.g. only
searching Wikipedia

<http://www.google.com/search?q=%s+site%3Aen.wikipedia.org>

But if I'm searching the entire internet, I just hit CTRL+K to jump to the
search box. Beatcha by two keystrokes! :-p

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timf
Agreed. But like I said, you won't get the benefits of the history incremental
search. Also, I maybe should have mentioned I have a lot of other one letter
shortcuts like that so "g" fits rights in.

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jerf
Actually, you do get history for your searches, _and_ Google's autosuggest, in
modern versions of Firefox. What you say used to be true, but from what I can
see CTRL-K strictly dominates a bookmark keyword if you're starting from
scratch. That said, if you've already got "CTRL-L g space" in your fingers,
it's not so much better that you should switch.

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timf
I'm on Firefox 3.5 and didn't see that behavior.

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jerf
In about:config, do you have browser.search.suggest.enabled set to True? I
have a firefox right here and it's working fine.

(since that's probably obscure as the joke is old, that's a reference to the
ancient copied at <http://www.ahajokes.com/lig069.html> )

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FraaJad
We already do this. It's the "Search" box on Firefox, Safari, Opera, Galeon
and Konqueror.

The only time I visit the google homepage to search something is when I'm
stuck with Internet explorer.

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InclinedPlane
Better yet, it's the location box in Chrome. Turns out, it's fairly trivial to
tell the difference between a url and a search string. I wish firefox would
adopt this design as well, it just makes sense.

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unalone
I don't think I'll ever use this, but I love it, for the simple reason that it
consolidates Google's famous blank design. Going to that page and seeing the
logo and the blank box feels really comforting, like Google's making an effort
to commit to their simplicity.

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dskhatri
<http://www.google.com/ncr>

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acg
Love this: it's about remembering why people come to the page. Grandparent-
proof.

