I think the utility is similar to instant search on Google. I get very little by Google autocompleting the term I'm trying to type. I get quite a bit by Google suggesting things I didn't even know to search for.
The automatic SO search pane I was describing might give the same benefits. Most of the time maybe it would be useless. Sometimes it would show what I knew I wanted and save me the trivial effort of a search. The real gain would come from when it hit something that I should have asked but didn't think to. Then, I'd have a valuable insight I never would've had otherwise sitting in some pane ready for me.
Maybe it's just my imagination - but that's how I think it could be good.
The automatic SO search pane I was describing might give the same benefits. Most of the time maybe it would be useless. Sometimes it would show what I knew I wanted and save me the trivial effort of a search. The real gain would come from when it hit something that I should have asked but didn't think to. Then, I'd have a valuable insight I never would've had otherwise sitting in some pane ready for me.
Maybe it's just my imagination - but that's how I think it could be good.