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Google backtracks on search results design

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Re: Google backtracks on search results design

#351

Post by shadowgovt »

kennyadam wrote: post #349
shadowgovt wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To access the student intranet, they need to enter the URL (and you ain't finding it on Google) and that's a huge struggle for many of them. Sorry, copy and paste or clicking on a link they were emailed is a huge struggle? How are they receiving these URLs that they aren't immediately usable? >Not understanding URLs also affects their ability to see through any bad emails that make it through the spam filters. I've…

You're being downvoted, which I think is because you've clearly decided nothing I can say will make any difference to you and your replies seem a bit cranky, but I'm not downvoting you. Here's another example for you, that just happened today: On a shared iPad, the iPad was returned with a note saying 'no safari'. I worked out that one student had changed the default Safari search engine to DuckDuckGo. For reasons ,…

It doesn't seem to me the failure modes you're describing are ameliorated at all by making it easier to edit the URL, since the students in question have a fundamental lack of understanding of what URLs are. In that case, making understanding URLs a prerequesite to using the web simply bars access to users.

Better to have typing "Kahoot" into the topbar bring up a Google search that navigates to Kahoot.com than the user experience I had at that age, which was a DNS resolution failure because no TLD was specified. That was an era where none but the most technical users could go where they wanted.

Re: Google backtracks on search results design

#352

Post by kennyadam »

shadowgovt wrote: post #351
kennyadam wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're being downvoted, which I think is because you've clearly decided nothing I can say will make any difference to you and your replies seem a bit cranky, but I'm not downvoting you. Here's another example for you, that just happened today: On a shared iPad, the iPad was returned with a note saying 'no safari'. I worked out that one student had changed the default Safari search engine to DuckDuckGo. For reasons ,…

It doesn't seem to me the failure modes you're describing are ameliorated at all by making it easier to edit the URL, since the students in question have a fundamental lack of understanding of what URLs are. In that case, making understanding URLs a prerequesite to using the web simply bars access to users. Better to have typing "Kahoot" into the topbar bring up a Google search that navigates to Kahoot.com than the u…

I didn't make a case for easier editing of URLs. I agree, I don't see how that would help at all. All I've ever said is that I have observed many students lacking knowledge of what a URL is and that's a shame and gave some examples of when it would have helped them to know.

Regarding your second paragraph, sure it would be better for search results to be displayed if there's no TLD specified. However, when it's the ONLY way you know how to access a website and when that fails, as it did today, knowing how to manually enter a URL would be useful.

I agree that things are much more user friendly today, but because things are so easy people get really stuck when those ways fail and they have no way of troubleshooting anything.

I won't get in to how many students (and teachers) I see stumped because the ethernet cable has come out of their laptop or they can't open a file because they've copied the shortcut to a folder to a USB rather than the folder itself.

Re: Google backtracks on search results design

#353

Post by brokenmachine »

wffurr wrote: post #225
jonny383 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm saying it operates as mobile users have learnt to use over the past decade (and how the rest of the OS UI works).

Long press, especially on selected text, has always been a subpar user interaction. None of this UX design is perfect or totally settled, especially since it's only been 10 years since it's been mainstream.

Long press is fine, it's the autoselection of words that messes me up (on Android).

I click the url bar in Chrome, then the whole url shows up selected. Then I long-press to copy the url, but no! It auto-selects only a single word in the url and brings up the option to copy just that single word. Stupid.

Yes I know that I can click on the lock icon and then on the url, and that's what I usually end up doing, but that is also stupid.

Edit: sometimes it seems to bring the original url down in a dropdown with share/copy/edit buttons, but that doesn't seem to happen all the time. I haven't worked out why the dropdown often doesn't activate.

Re: Google backtracks on search results design

#354

Post by brokenmachine »

Invictus0 wrote: post #49
pieterk wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m so sorry to hear you have such a dark outlook. I totally agree, those companies are not about the consumer anymore, but that’s fine. That’s their problem. I see computers and the internet as an extension of ourselves, and so they still allow us to communicate with whoever and whatever we want. I’m so glad this community exists and we can express that. The worst part should already be over, you just joined hn. I’m…

This brand of techno-optimism is so tired. Who today still believes the old facebook line about connecting more people? It didn't work and it enabled automated surveillance on unprecedented scale.

If there was a checkbox that was ticked by default that meant people's data would stay private, then most people would not be unticking that box.

It's our job as techies to add that option, and make it easy.

Re: Google backtracks on search results design

#355

Post by okareaman »

lesquivemeau wrote: post #323
okareaman wrote: post #125

I just switched to Edge and Bing (Will do DDG in the near future) and I'm not looking back. Edge is very snappy and crisp compared to Chrome. Bing doesn't show tons of ads as the top links. I wonder if Google noticed many people like me switching and became concerned. Edit: Edge operates just like Chrome. Microsoft has made a better Chrome with less memory usage.

Do you use edge because you don't like firefox or because it's preinstalled ? I personally prefer ff but i'd love to hear what you prefer in edge

I haven't used Edge enough to compare it to Firefox, which I don't use. I like Edge over Chrome. I like Firefox but I don't see how they can compete over the long run against Microsoft and Google.

Re: Google backtracks on search results design

#356

Post by thirdsun »

thrwaway69 wrote: post #344
kennyadam wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For example, some students use their personal laptops in the sixth form. To access the student intranet, they need to enter the URL (and you ain't finding it on Google) and that's a huge struggle for many of them. Not understanding URLs also affects their ability to see through any bad emails that make it through the spam filters. If you understand URLs, you can hover over a link, see that it's pointing to bankcom.fz…

Which grade is this? That's quite a shock if students don't know about urls. Can someone confirm if this is a secluded case or this is what most people end up with now a days. I don't find this unbelievable but even here, I would expect 40% people to know about urls and 5% or so know about the technical details surrounding it.

I‘m not surprised at all. I remember countless discussions on Hacker News about the disappearance of the file system and how younger generations simply don‘t understand the concepts of files, folders and their hierarchy. I’d put URLs in the very same category of slowly fading and disappearing concepts, which is unfortunate and worrying in my opinion.
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