Experience Google’s new look
Google has been testing a new look with a small percent of visitors. I wrote a bookmarklet that lets you make Google show you the new look:
(Drag it to your bookmarks bar, visit google.com, and click on the bookmark.)
It works by changing the ID in your Google cookie to 102c51875a8839e9, the ID of one of the visitors Google randomly selected to test the new look. If your ID is already 102c51875a8839e9, it sets it 0000000000000000 (anonymous), letting you switch between the old and new looks quickly. Since the bookmarklet only changes the ID part of the cookie, it preserves your settings, such as the number of results per page.
Thanks to jcurious for pointing out the Neowin thread in which "poind" posted the ID from his Google cookie.
Update March 28, 2004: Google is now showing the new look by default. The bookmarklet no longer has any visible effect.
Update January 27, 2005: iMilly has created a modified version of this bookmarklet to anonymize your Google cookie.
March 6th, 2004 at 9:37 pm
New Google Look
Jesse Ruderman has created a bookmarklet that lets you toggle Google’s look. Click it and it will switch you to the new Google look. Click it again and it will switch you back to the old one. Here it is: toggle google look Drag it tool your bookmark ba…
March 7th, 2004 at 12:43 am
For those of you who are redirected by Google to your regional specific Google domain (for example, I get redirected to http://www.google.com.sg/ because I’m in Singapore), try going to http://www.google.com/intl/en/ instead.
The new look doesn’t work in the .sg domain, yet.
March 7th, 2004 at 1:25 am
Heh, I saw this new design for the first time when i switched to firebird. I just figured they used the new look for firebird because IE screwed it up somehow. I never even knew I was special ;)
March 7th, 2004 at 1:32 am
Experience Google’s new look with a bookmarklet
Jesse Ruderman, bookmarklet creator extraordinaire, has written a bookmarklet that allows you to view Google search results in its new look. Google has been testing the new look randomly on a small number of users (I myself have only seen…
March 7th, 2004 at 7:11 am
Erm firstly, the new look do happen in .sg domain. I do not see the reason why not either. I using IE SP1 now with google.com.sg and it works perfectly well.
March 7th, 2004 at 9:05 am
Experience Google’s New Look
For the past couple of months Google has been testing out a new look. You have to look carefully to see the differences. Google has been testing the interface out on select users through the use of a special cookie.
March 7th, 2004 at 9:22 am
google’s new look
Google is testing a new look, which you can sample with this nifty bookmarklet (provided by Jesse Ruderman)
March 7th, 2004 at 10:12 am
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March 7th, 2004 at 11:02 am
Here you find new screenshots + source code:
http://www.zpravy.net/misc/google-redesign/
March 7th, 2004 at 11:07 am
I am from Singapore too, http://www.google.com.sg works for me.
Love the new look.
March 7th, 2004 at 12:20 pm
Lecturas de Domingo 7-03-2004
Las elecciones y Google desde el mundo.es (Vía foro buscadores). Crítica a Google desde loogic. ¿Quién es el mejor en el mundo SEO? Cre8asiteforums (Vía Search Engine Round Table). Vía Search Engine Journal, llegamos a Jesse Ruderman, donde se habla de…
March 7th, 2004 at 2:24 pm
Google’s New Look
Lots of recent press regarding Google’s new look, which apparently only a few people are seeing.
I first noticed this when using [b]Victor’s[/b] computer and had absolutely no idea why mine didn’t look the same as him. I guessed that it was…
March 7th, 2004 at 5:24 pm
Uh huh yes it does work at google.com.sg… My mistake, really. Thanks for pointing that out.
March 7th, 2004 at 6:42 pm
This is incredible that you figured out this neat hack. I love the Internet!
March 7th, 2004 at 8:49 pm
New Google Look
Jesse Ruderman has created a bookmarklet that lets you toggle Google’s look. Click it and it will switch you to the new Google look. Click it again and it will switch you back to the old one. Here it is:…
March 8th, 2004 at 12:10 am
try out google’s new look
http://www.squarefree.com/archives/000369.html...
March 8th, 2004 at 12:51 am
A Google új designja
A Google néhány hónapja egy új designt tesztel a látogatók egy kis százalékát bevonva. Jesse Ruderman nemrég írt egy bookmarkletet, amivel bármikor váltogathatunk a Google új és az alap designja között.
March 8th, 2004 at 1:55 am
Neuer Google Look per Bookmarklet
Wie vielleicht bekannt ist, experimentiert Google zur Zeit mit einem neuen Design für die SERPs. Dieses Design bekommen aber nur wenige, scheinbar zufällig ausgewählte Besucher zu sehen. Jesse Rude…
March 8th, 2004 at 4:01 am
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View : Jesse Ruderman: Experience Google’s new look ±¸±Û¿¡¼ ¸î¸î »ç¿ëÀÚµéÀ» ´ë»óÀ¸·Î ·£´ýÇÏ°Ô »õ·Î¿î ±â´ÉÀÇ Å×½ºÆ®¸¦ ÁøÇàÇÑ´Ù°í ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. -_-;;; »õ·Î¿î ¸ð½ÀÀ» üÇèÇϱâ À§ÇÑ ²Ç¼ö°¡ ¿©±â ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù. Toggle Google Look GoogleÀ» Ŭ¸¯ÇÏ¿© âÀ» ¿©½Å ÈÄ (¹Ýµå½Ã…
March 8th, 2004 at 9:05 am
The New Google
Take a look at the new Google design with this natty little bookmarklet.
March 8th, 2004 at 9:22 am
The New, Not Necessarily Improved But Different…*
I’ve been hearing a lot about “Google’s new look”. They’re allowing random people a chance to test it out. You can access it via a special cookie. If you’re like me, and you want to try it out, but don’t…
March 8th, 2004 at 12:38 pm
Google’s getting a makeover
As noted on a few news sites, Google are trying out a new look. It’s not much different (don’t worry, it’s not losing the minimalism, if anything it’s getting more sparse), butif you want to check it out, see Jesse…
March 8th, 2004 at 4:03 pm
It doesn’t work in google.com.au but just click go to google.com then apply the cookie
March 8th, 2004 at 7:04 pm
Yah, not much different at all.
March 8th, 2004 at 7:34 pm
That Google is so hot right now. Google.
Apparently Google is getting a makeover after several years of being the It-search engine. From what I’ve seen, they got rid of their tab-switch bar in favor of small text-links and slimmed down the text bar. Maybe it’s a move…
March 9th, 2004 at 1:38 am
i d´ont like
March 9th, 2004 at 5:49 am
Slightly new look for Google
Experience Google’s new look and be underwhelmed….
March 9th, 2004 at 8:45 am
Cheating the Internet & Google
Here’s an interesting thing that brings to the forefront of thought a couple things about the internet: Google is evidently testing out a new look (albeit very slightly changed) with a very small portion of random users coming to their site. However…
March 9th, 2004 at 10:36 am
Ugh. For all its dominance in the world of search engines, Google sucks when it comes to design.
They should stick their *entirely* spartan approach because they can’t get a couple of horizontal lines right (the colours are TOO BRIGHT!).
March 9th, 2004 at 11:04 am
The New Google Design
It does nothing for me. You might think differently, though, so check it out for yourself. If you want to test searches, use Jesse Ruderman’s bookmarklet. For palatable technical commentary, see Ars Technica….
March 9th, 2004 at 12:01 pm
Is here anyone that likes the new design? I don’t!
March 9th, 2004 at 12:29 pm
Google new look bookmarklet
If you’re intrigued by my Google screenshots and want to try the new Google look for yourself, Jesse Ruderman has posted a toggle google look bookmarklet, based on poind’s Google ID. via Chris Allen…
March 9th, 2004 at 12:41 pm
I’ll stick my neck out and say that I like it. It’s more minimalistc and the colors are brighter. Whimper.
March 9th, 2004 at 2:04 pm
dont like it either :/
March 9th, 2004 at 2:22 pm
The cookie does work in google.com.au as well - just the bookmarklet needs to be modified so that it can be run on the australian version of the site. Use this code for your own bookmarklet:
javascript:if(!/\.google\.com.au$/.test(location.host)) alert(’Use this bookmarklet at google.com.au, not here.’); else { anon=’0000000000000000′; newlook=’102c51875a8839e9′; C=document.cookie.split(’; ‘); for(i=0; c=C[i]; ++i) if (/^PREF=/.test(c)) { r = c.indexOf(newlook)==-1 ? newlook : anon; document.cookie = c.replace(/ID=\w+:/, ‘ID=’+r+’:') + ‘; domain=.google.com.au; path=/; expires=Mon, 07 May 2007 20:03:11 GMT’; location.reload(); } }”
March 9th, 2004 at 6:17 pm
Toogle
Ars Technica reports that Google is testing a new look and points to Jesse Ruderman’s bookmarklet that allows for toggling between the old and the new.
March 9th, 2004 at 6:25 pm
Thanks for an interesting cookie hack to view the new Google look, but why is everybody so excited? The new look is just text links instead of tabs and adding a few colors to the results pages. Hardly a change worth going on and on about…
March 10th, 2004 at 12:27 am
The new design removes the tabs from the results pages — so, for example, if you want to switch from a News search for “Helen Clark“ to an Images search for “Helen Clark“, instead of just clicking on the “Images” tab you have to return to the front page, then click the “Images” tab, then click “Google Search”.
Despite that, the new design looks just as complex as the old one, because the extra border and gradient on the results header adds visual noise.
So, a net loss.
(And blue gradients are an MSN hallmark.)
March 10th, 2004 at 12:32 am
Clicking “Images” still preserves your search as it switches from web search to image search.
March 10th, 2004 at 1:59 am
I would have expected the more link to just offer more options in the same format (search bar and tabs) - not to completely change the page layout and location of the search box.
If this is what they want then perhaps ‘tools and help’ would be a better label.
March 10th, 2004 at 3:38 am
Nuovo Google
Se ne parlava da mesi e ora finalmente lo si può vedere! Parlavo qualche tempo fa con un uomo di…
March 10th, 2004 at 12:52 pm
http://www.diversionz.net/archives/003264.html
Jesse Rudderman: Google may have a new look soon. Good for you Google.
March 10th, 2004 at 5:01 pm
How to Get the New Google Look
Jess ol’ boy has been blogdex’d for creating a bookmarklet per his expertise to toggle this cookie. Of course, I could’ve created one too, but I was busy at the time. Wink.
March 10th, 2004 at 7:24 pm
How do i apply a bookmaklet on google.com.au? its highly confusing i put my bookmarklet in the links section of IE 6 but it just shows me the code of the bookmarklet not applying it at all
Can someone help?
March 11th, 2004 at 3:50 am
“And blue gradients are an MSN hallmark.”
You know what this means - they’re preparing to be taken over by Microsoft!!! :-0
March 11th, 2004 at 7:59 am
I’ve proposed we call this new look Google XP since it seems to resemble the Silver Windows XP theme pretty tightly.
GXP? Maybe?
March 11th, 2004 at 11:34 am
Bookmarklet Allows you to Test Out Google’s New Look
Jesse Ruderman has written a bookmarklet to toggle Google’s new look, it allows us to see Google’s new look as it evolves. Thank Aaron Schwartz for the link….
March 11th, 2004 at 3:14 pm
I can’t believe it still doesn’t validate. Oy.
March 12th, 2004 at 9:37 am
Slightly new Google
Google’s preparing to put on a new face. It’s been selecting random people to try out the new interface, but thanks in no small part to the blogging community, Jesse Ruderman invites us to Experience Google’s new look. He’s set…
March 13th, 2004 at 5:38 pm
More blue and ‘O’s
Switch over to the new google look via means of a bookmarklet. I actual had this a while ago on…
March 14th, 2004 at 6:25 am
“Clicking “Images” still preserves your search as it switches from web search to image search.”
Seconded.
March 14th, 2004 at 6:41 am
Toggle New Google Look
This is very cool. Here is a bookmarket that you can use to “turn on” the new Google Look that Google has been testing: 1. Drag the following link to you “Links” toolbar (IE) or add to your favorites: toggle google look 2. Go to Google.com. 3. Click on…
March 14th, 2004 at 2:29 pm
seems crappy for me.
I prefer Elgoog: http://www.alltooflat.com/geeky/elgoog/
March 14th, 2004 at 4:08 pm
Nuevo Look de Google
Una nota un tanto vieja, pero he andado un poco perdido estos dias. Google ha rediseñado pero momentaneamente el nuevo…
March 15th, 2004 at 11:54 am
I was wondering why my google looked different for quite a while. Finally, I figured it out, thanks to this site. Anyway, it’s fun to say to your friends “ha-ha, mine’s cooler than yours.”
March 15th, 2004 at 6:35 pm
Google new look
Le moteur de recherche américain leader, Google, teste un nouveau look sur un petit panel de ses utilisateurs. L’attribution du nouveau style se fait sur la base du numéro identifiant compris dans le cookie du site.
Pour notre plus grand…
March 16th, 2004 at 8:24 am
Google new look
Google is testing a new look out on a few viewers check out how to be one here Here…
March 18th, 2004 at 12:18 am
Google’s New Look
I do not know when Google launched it’s “New Look”. I had read about it in a Webpronews newsletter sometime back. I came across it today on another computer and searched for it on Google (but, of course ;) )….
March 21st, 2004 at 12:35 pm
Ah, the new look sucks. i like the old one. BRING OLD GOOGLE BACK!!! support my campaign from “google.ferretisgreat.com” from the 28th March 2004. e-mail? google@ferretisgreat.com.
March 21st, 2004 at 6:28 pm
I’m a Google fiend! The new look is excellent, exceot the gradients (which aren’t bad), but are a more MSNish approach, and it kinda hurts their simplistic standards. I like the rearrangement around the search bar, especially the friendly “more”, which will attract more attention than the scary-to-dummies “Services and Tools”. The ads have been improved. It’s a win for everybody, because the companies pay per click, and now that only the title is a link, there will be less accidental clicks, which are unwanted by advertisers and Google users. All in all it’s a win, but it would be nice to see the gradients go, and if they are bent on changing it, simply use light single-colored bars.
Google is a caring company that wants to always satisfy the user, so even small changes are made with care.
Google always wins.
March 22nd, 2004 at 10:02 pm
New Google: My Take
This is old news, I know, but it’s worth writing about. Google is experimenting with a new look. There is…
March 22nd, 2004 at 11:31 pm
Is it just me or does this no longer work?
March 23rd, 2004 at 3:36 pm
It stopped working for me today too. I wonder if Google disabled the new look entirely or if they just blocked that particular cookie. Someone who had a different cookie showing the new look might be able to answer.
March 24th, 2004 at 12:27 am
It stopped working for me yesterday. Maybe Google got wind of this?
Check this out:
http://www.googleblaster.com
March 24th, 2004 at 1:27 am
Google Facelift
I have noticed this already, but it was only looking different from one of my computers not on others. It was like seeing an alien waving at you in your backyard, and no one believes this story. So I forgot…
March 24th, 2004 at 10:08 am
yea it stopped working =(
March 24th, 2004 at 12:07 pm
Yep, its stopped working :(
eAi
March 25th, 2004 at 2:19 pm
Hmm, it doesn’t seem to be working today. Perhaps I need to clear my cookies.
March 25th, 2004 at 7:07 pm
Google has disable the new look entirely. The cookie code doesn’t work but I also had a computer that used the new look without the cookie and that no longer shows the new look either.
March 26th, 2004 at 5:50 pm
So, RIP the new design (at least for now). But I think Jesse’s Bookmarklet idea has legs. Here’s how and why to consider anonymizing your Google cookie GUID: http://www.imilly.com/google-cookie.htm
March 27th, 2004 at 9:42 am
I Just wanted to comment that this bookmark no longer works. It broke sometime around March 24-25, 2004. By chance I was able to get a lucky Google cookie before that and that also doesn’t work. I believe Google has kept the new website away from general public viewing. Perhaps only internal testers can see it.
March 27th, 2004 at 11:15 am
The toggle no longer works. Maybe Google has ended the testing cycle?
March 28th, 2004 at 11:14 pm
Google estrena finalmente su nuevo look
Acabo de dar una vuelta por Google descubriendo su nuevo diseño que tanto se ha mencionado en el pasado y que finalmente está funcionando! Hasta hace algunas semanas este nuevo diseño solo se mostraba a algunos navengantes de forma aleatoria…
March 28th, 2004 at 11:29 pm
Can see the new google from india. it works out here. but the bookmarklet doesnt work. no switiching back to the oldie.
March 29th, 2004 at 12:09 pm
Looks like they must’ve finally implemented it, all the computers in the lab today had the new look. But where’s the gradients?
March 29th, 2004 at 8:09 pm
everyone has been talking about a microsoft and google connection. What’s up with this?
http://www.google.com/microsoft
March 29th, 2004 at 8:36 pm
it’s one of google’s specialised searches… they do it for “linux”, “unix” and some large universities
March 30th, 2004 at 4:23 am
Now we need a bookmarklet to get back the old look :)
March 30th, 2004 at 6:42 pm
Did they revert to their old look again? After appearing with the new look, it appears that it’s back to the old design from here, unless it’s just the one server I’m being connected to. On the other hand, the link to Elgoog above still uses the old design; I don’t know how Elgool works, but if its directly mirroring the pages it pulls from Google, I would suspect it’s just one server.
March 31st, 2004 at 11:43 am
why did google remove the buttons on the new look? i think that the text links don’t look any near as good.
April 6th, 2004 at 10:57 am
Hi there,
there is still a small difference when you toggle. you will see different text below the search textbox.
April 21st, 2004 at 11:49 pm
Thanks! This is very interesting. I will use this new knowledge to have some fun at Google Apps :)