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Hey Google, I want my cache links back

jacquesmattheij.com

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Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#111

Post by pbhjpbhj »

ugh wrote: post #71
zobzu wrote: post #49

i too dislike the previews. there's a few things that i find useful tho: - timeline - image search - cache (when it was there and working. lately, it didnt work aka it tries to fetch from the server and if its down, which is what i often use cache for, then it fails) hum, well thats it. special search commands used to be cool but they don't work so well now (i mean the filetype stuff and all). and the rest are just b…

You don’t use the timeframe option? I use that one all the time, it’s invaluable to me.

I very very rarely do a search where I don't timeframe limit it. This makes me wonder why Google insist on hiding that option every time I visit the search page. I guess they want me to go somewhere else unless I'm going to log in.

Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#112

Post by 0x12 »

mwexler wrote: post #83
0x12 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you please post the link to your classic version? I'd like to see what happens when I hit that link from a different platform.

Using User Agent Switcher on Firefox, I set my UA to iPad and went to Google. The link for the "Classic" version was: http://www.google.com/?hl=en&tbo=d&output=search&#38... However, when I set my UA back to Default (Firefox), this link did not appear to do anything. YMMV.

Ok, thank you for trying that.

Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#113

Post by chalst »

abraham wrote: post #56
chalst wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people who use Instant Previews are about 5% more likely to be satisfied with the results they click. This sounds too little to justify a UI change that increases complexity.

5% of a billion monthly users is more then enough justification. At Google's scale fractions of a percent are often worth it.

That's 100% of the same user base who have to deal with a more complex user interface with more usability snafus and one that evolves less well. If you make a couple of dozen such UI changes based on similarly narrow evidence of improvement, you will end up with a mess.

Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#114

Post by joelhaus »

wgx wrote: post #78
ugh wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s that cruft you are talking about? Ignoring for a moment the cache link (I’m not sure how many people use it, maybe it’s worth testing whether Google could do with it being a bit more hidden) Google’s results page is very sparse and only provides truly useful tools. I use Google’s ability to search for links from a specific time frame all the time, for example. I couldn’t do without it, it’s also accessible and…

For me, more than visual cruft (although I would argue there is more of that than before) - it's interaction cruft. Big annoyances for me: 1. Auto suggesting and searching for words I didn't mean - common with technical phrases 2. Ignoring "quoted terms" and searching for them as an AND instead 3. Auto refreshing the results page as I modify my terms - it makes the experience slower, and I don't need to see results f…

You can add a "+" before a quoted phrase to enforce a strict search, but share some of these same frustrations.

Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#115

Post by JonnieCache »

Easily solved with this chrome extension which gives you a dropdown with links to the google cache, as well as The Internet Archive, Yahoo Cache, MSN cache(Bing Cache), CoralCDN, Gigablast, and WebCite.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/coblegoildgpecccij...

or, as others have said, just google for cache:

Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#116

Post by johnbatch »

dave1010uk wrote: post #54
vasco wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it does. Click options, a little dropdown appears with "Cached, Similar and Mobile formatted"

I couldn't find that, then I loaded it in Chrome and saw the "Options" links. Viewing it in Chrome also enables search suggestions. I guess Google are sniffing for a WebKit useragent to detect a modern mobile browser.

Strange messing with user agents. The only one it shows an ad on is the "iPad" user agent.

Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#117

Post by abraham »

chalst wrote: post #113
abraham wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

5% of a billion monthly users is more then enough justification. At Google's scale fractions of a percent are often worth it.

That's 100% of the same user base who have to deal with a more complex user interface with more usability snafus and one that evolves less well. If you make a couple of dozen such UI changes based on similarly narrow evidence of improvement, you will end up with a mess.

It isn't 100% of the user base. I would guess the majority of users don't care/use/know about page caches so overall it is a simpler UI. The simpler UI will improve the UX for 80% users (lets say for the sake of the argument) and the other 20% will either be able to figure out the marginal increased complexity or will be outweighed by the improvement of the previously mentioned users.

Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#118

Post by scottkrager »

yesimahuman wrote: post #75
ars wrote: post #4

This does not bode well for the employees at google. You get extra features like this (instant preview) when you have too much manpower - you look for things for your employees to do. But if your customers don't want it, and you can't find anything else for them to do then you start reducing the workforce.

Instant preview had "Bing fear" written all over it. Probably the biggest feature on Google Search that I found the least use for. I don't understand why Google feels the need to play catch up to Bing.

Totally agree. There is a reason I don't use Bing...I don't like all the clutter. Now Google seems to think that adding more stuff to a SERP is going to help them save market share...I don't get it.

They must be testing this stuff, so maybe it's just me. I could get used to Google Instant....but not sure about Instant Preview.

Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#119

Post by djeikyb »

guelo wrote: post #23

Another thing that has been annoying me lately is that it seems like like I have to add a + in front of every word or Google might decide without any indication that it will completely ignore it.

This reason, wanting my search terms respected, is the reason I switched to duckduckgo. The way google completely changes or ignores my search is maddening.

Re: Hey Google, I want my cache links back

#120

Post by joe_the_user »

ugh wrote: post #70
tomkinstinch wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

String literals seem to be ignored now too. ("quoted terms")

No, they are not. Only if Google can’t find anything – which makes a lot of sense.

No,

In my somewhat brief testing, current Google is simply inconsistent. Sometimes it allows searches for fully quoted terms, sometimes is fails and warns you, sometimes it fails but not warning you...

Try: "society of spectacles"

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