Google browser

[Guest]

My Google browser appears to have disappeared and been replaced by an omnibox for using as a search facility. Has anyone else experienced this change today? Is there a facility for restoring the old browser? I really don't like this change, the accompanying instructions are muddly and they seem to be mostly interested in promoting a lot of boring new products on the home page.

[remdataram]

Google Chrome is working as normal.

The issue must be local to your machine. I'd suggest you run anti-spyware and antivirus scans before reinstalling Chrome.

bws

[Lateralthinking1]

Ignore this thread please. I've got it back. I have clicked on "never predict the results" are something similar. Getting rid of the predictive search option seems to have brought the old page back. Weird.

[Lateralthinking1]

Oh no, it has disappeared again.

[scottycelt]

Oh no, it has disappeared again.

You are not alone, Lat. I was only discussing this via e-mail with a friend today ... weird, as you say. Simple things like changing the homepage now appear to be an almost impossible challenge, and I no longer get straight to the Google Chrome search page, I'm presented with a series of boxes to choose from first.

Don't know what's going on, but Mr Google is fast becoming a lot more than a superb search engine ... it is now very much a social-media facility and is possibly trying to divert attention from the rival Facebook flotation today (now yesterday)?

[Lateralthinking1]

You are not alone, Lat. I was only discussing this via e-mail with a friend today ... weird, as you say. Simple things like changing the homepage now appear to be an almost impossible challenge, and I no longer get straight to the Google search page, I'm presented with a series of boxes to choose from first.

Don't know what's going on, but Mr Google is fast becoming a lot more than a superb search engine ... it is now very much a social-media facility and is possibly trying to divert attention from the rival Facebook flotation today (now yesterday)?

So it isn't just me then scottycelt. I am back, sort of, but I have just spent many minutes losing the shortcut icon, getting into some sort of tangled mess with internet explorer and add ons, appearing to lose Google, attempting to download it again but being told I have it already, checking AVG for blockages but there aren't any, being asked to sign in with a password which I'd forgotten, being asked to set a new one but not being able to get into Hotmail for verification............

........ being asked for mobile phone details when I don't own one, getting the icon back somehow, getting into Hotmail only by going into favourites and finding a search engine above one of the favourites - the BBC gardening calendar, sticking Hotmail in there, getting into Hotmail in that way, verifying the password, being asked to log in, and then getting that screen you refer to with umpteen boxes. Fortunately one says "search" and I have now got back onto the main search page again.

Awful.

[scottycelt]

Needless to say, things have returned to normal as soon as I finished my last posting ... I can only assume there is some 'real time' experimentation going on at Google ... or maybe it's some sort of Government Trojan-Horse spying on us ... ?

[teamsaint]

Plenty of scope for on line tracking and observation by our masters !!

Mrs TS insists on using ixquick, which is supposedly good for avoiding being spied on..doesn't record your IP address apparently......

[Curalach]

Think I'll stick to Firefox

[french frank]

Think I'll stick to Firefox

Me too, but it's irritating that the google toolbar is incompatible with their latest upgrades and they clearly have no intention of changing that in the future.

They all start out as good guys ...

[Curalach]

I just use Firefox without any add-ons or themes or anything other than the basic offering. Most of the time it works very well although a recent update introduced an annoying drop-down preview of each tab until I googled for advice on how to get rid of it. As you say, "They all start out as good guys ... ".

[scottycelt]

Think I'll stick to Firefox

Firefox is superb for handy add-ons but when Chrome first appeared it was faster so I started to use that as my 'default' browser ...

The computer industry is riddled with 'developers' who, in the absence of anything better to do, like to change things and make previously simple tasks rather more, er, 'challenging'.

Chrome was a straightforward joy when it first appeared and now it's fast becoming a complicated muddle ... as the wise old saying goes, If it ain't broke don't fix it!

[Globaltruth]

Still worth checking for spyware on a regular basis.

Although I am developing a theory that software itself is a replicating virus.

Any software.

[Curalach]

The computer industry is riddled with 'developers' who, in the absence of anything better to do, like to change things and make previously simple tasks rather more, er, 'challenging'.

I like to characterise this sort of thing as a triumph of design over common sense!!

[Lateralthinking1]

Still worth checking for spyware on a regular basis.

Although I am developing a theory that software itself is a replicating virus.

Any software.

Global, by this time next year you could be a mill-yon-aire.

The timing of this has been interesting. I have answered the phone on 50 odd occasions in the past month both to official Talk Talk people and people pretending to be Talk Talk who in actuality are convicted fraudsters according to an internet search. The latter appear to have a list of Talk Talk users. I have found both to be very aggressive. Sample conversation:

"Is that Mr Lateralthinking1? You are a valued customer and we would like to offer you a better deal".

"Sorry but I'm not interested".

"WHY NOT?" (with very pushy sounding, malevolent, slightly hysterical tone)

"Thanks" - Phone down!

I have been patient, often just ignoring the calls at the risk of missing a call from someone reasonable, or just putting the phone down quickly - frequently I say about three words quite normally and they unfathomably put the phone down on me, or else they ring and don't speak at all - but by yesterday I'd had enough and told them where to stick it. So perhaps that's the reason.