Google to change the look of its homepage

Google has denied that it is making the described changes to it's desktop homepage, but indicated that it plans to do something similar to what is described on its mobile page sometime in the future, but as yet doesn't have a firm idea of the design.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/new...

This sounds like a terrible idea to me.

- The original design stood for more than a decade because it is impossible to dislike. Tacking on more stuff to the homepage can only cause people to dislike it for one reason or another.

- When I want to perform a focused task with a clear intent --- "search the internet" --- why on earth would it make sense to have distractions in such a place? Is it the right place to hear about the latest sports news? I don't think so. It sucks that such a badly motivated design decision is coming to pass.

First reaction: "What? They can't do that!"

Second reaction: "Wait, I never use the homepage anyway (but search via address bar etc)..."

Did Goog fix the ugly kerning on the last change (a font change)? No.