Old Google vs. New Google -- the company wants your feedback

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Google suddenly felt the need to tell everyone this week that it has been working on a ‘secret project: a next generation architecture’ for its famed search engine, according to a company blog.

This was met with much speculation on the Web that the timing of the announcement was an attempt to counter recent news about Microsoft and Yahoo combining forces in search, as well as the debut of a revised search engine at Facebook.

Be that as it may, Google is asking for your feedback on its in-development search engine, code-named Caffeine.You can go there, try a few searches and leave your reactions by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page that says, ‘Dissatisfied? Help us improve.’

But don’t expect any big differences between the old and new Google. The company seems to be avoiding the New Coke disaster by not much changing a tried-and-true product.

You might get fewer or more hits on a search, and it might happen a tiny bit faster, but no huge deal in most instances. And the page looks much the same.

Google says the changes are mostly ‘under the hood’ and aimed at power users.
For the rest of us, it will be, as The Who once sang: ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.’

-- David Colker