What’s new?
If you were in any doubt that Microsoft has got Google's attention with Bing, that should be erased today with the refresh of Google's look and feel.
In a blog post, Google said: "Today's metamorphosis responds to the increasing richness of the web and the increasing power of search - revealing search tools on the left and updating the visual look and feel throughout. While we are constantly rolling out small changes and updates, today's changes showcase the latest evolutions in our search technology, making it easier than ever to find exactly what you're looking for."
So, in essence, this major refresh of Google search pages amounts to the addition of a bunch of new search tools in a left-hand navigation pane. So, just like Bing then.
Furthermore, this appears to be primarily a cosmetic change, because these search tools - such as the ability to filter a search specifically for news, or images or whatever - have been available at the top of Google search results for years. Apparently there's all sorts of clever technology behind all this and, according to Business Week, this is the culmination of a protracted, exhaustive process, but it's not immediately obvious to us what the big deal is.
Google has extended this refresh to its mobile site but, as you can see from the image below, enabling the left-hand navigation pane (it's not the default on the mobile site) pushes half the search results off the edge of the screen. Yes, you can drag the screen over to compensate, but is that really adding value.
You can also find the customary Google explanatory video below. This one's nice and cheesy.
