As promised, Google.com, the big page, the heart of the whole operation, looks different today. The company announced this a while ago. Instead of a plain white background, there is a fancy art photography background and you can also customize it with pictures of your own.

Personally I hate this. I’m going to look for a photograph of plain whiteness so it can go back to how it used to look.

When Google first got big, the dominant search engine was Yahoo and their home page was headache-inducing. Links everywhere, it made the internet seem like a vastly complicated place. You could surf but the waters were choppy. Similarly, Yahoo search results were a mess, presenting you with all these Yahoo groups to join. Ick. Google was a clean smooth alternative to all that. Geez, John, calm down, it’s just a photo on Google. Yeah, I know, but it’s the opposite of what set Google apart.

Update: They took it down.