How I Made Google’s “Web” View My Default Search
tedium.co
Forget AI. Google just created a version of its search engine free of the extra junk it has added over the past decade-plus. You just need one URL parameter.

The results are fascinating. It’s essentially Google, minus the crap. No parsing of the information in the results. No surfacing metadata like address or link info. No knowledge panels, but also, no ads. It looks like the Google we learned to love in the early 2000s, buried under the “More” menu like lots of other old things Google once did more to emphasize, like Google Books.

  • Settoletto 🍤OPM
    4•2 months ago

    I don’t think DDG is an alternative (basically bing in a trenchcoat), but your point is valid.

    • @TriflingToad
      3•2 months ago

      yeah, I’ve tried switching but their feature of “!a frog plushie” turns into searching Amazon for frog plushie is super helpful and it’s hard to leave it behind 🥲

      • Settoletto 🍤OPM
        2•2 months ago

        That IS a nice feature, !w for wiki !bc for bandcamp etc… I had good faith in this project. I made a lot of noise about it when it came out. To the point where they “rewarded” me with my avatar showing up blinking alternately with 🙌 emoji, right where the DDG logo is, if anyone queried for one of my nicknames. I’m not easily going to be doing something like that ever again. 😞