Google added a new option to the web search toolbelt: page previews. If you click on "Show options" and select "Page previews" after performing a search, Google will show a longer snippet and a thumbnail for each search result.
Google's thumbnails include a small part of the page, so they aren't always helpful. Another issue is that all the thumbnails from a search results pages are merged and the resulting image doesn't load instantly.
Example: search results for [
maps].
Labels: Web Search
Nic said on November 2, 2009 6:17 PM PDT:
Looks cool, but I don't see that option. When I try the example "Maps" link it just performs a regular search with the message "The search option you have selected is currently unavailable." at the top.
Don Jones said on November 2, 2009 8:54 PM PDT:
well it was BING who first came up with this.... this was introduced when BING was launched...
sorry google you are snoozing.... go to sleep... we dont need you...
Sicosis said on November 2, 2009 9:09 PM PDT:
Too bad BING is shitty
Don Jones said on November 2, 2009 9:39 PM PDT:
@Sicosis: shut up... dont get jealous on the FACTs ...
Ozzy said on November 3, 2009 2:19 AM PDT:
Thumbnails are addictive :-)
With this addon for Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/189 look search results curiously.
For me are google thumbnails big, but good experiment.
said on November 3, 2009 2:47 AM PDT:
Not bing, but Czech Seznam (seznam.cz) was the first.
It's not important who was the first who came up with this idea. Let's see who is the first search engine that has a great implementation.
The idea is far from novel:
snap.com launched in 2006 and its most exciting feature was site previews, Google's experimental site SearchMash
added previews in 2007 etc.
I had thumbnails at Findforward.com back in 2004 too, but I second Ionut's comment. (The idea of thumbnails is obvious, and I would be surprised if Findforward was the first.) Even Google tried them a long time ago, if I remember correctly (IIRC there was a quote by Sergey Brin saying that), but apparently Google decided against it back then. Can anyone dig up that Brin quote?
said on November 3, 2009 7:02 AM PDT:
Great tool for those who are looking for image, if you also want to identify the license agent and more details about an image take a look on PicScout ImageExchange at http://www.picscout.com
Joe said on November 3, 2009 7:10 AM PDT:
I am not seeing this when I search.
JAGb said on November 3, 2009 9:08 AM PDT:
Joe, you need to do a search and then on the top left hand side click on 'show options'. It at the bottom of the list.
Great tool, I already use Search Preview at home on Firefox but a great thing to use at work where we are restricted to IE.
said on November 3, 2009 9:56 AM PDT:
Google is becoming more and more bloated just like Microsoft, Apple, Linux, and OpenOffice.
Chris said on November 3, 2009 1:32 PM PDT:
It's a good idea. Bing shows selected text instead of thumbnails images. The author said the thumbnails "aren't always helpful." If the developers can resize the images, then focus on the content verses the navigation, it would be better.
I wonder how website's bandwidth is affected by these thumbnails. Are they realtime or cached? How often are they cached?
said on November 3, 2009 3:35 PM PDT:
The search option you have selected is currently unavailable.
Hey Guys
The page preview option is still not available here..
Is there a way to lock in the image preview option as a default setting? Unlike Bing, it looks like you have to manually enable it with each search.
I didn't know that Bing offers image previews. Where can you find this feature?
