using search as an addressbar (was Re: [Sigia-l] Are web users more sophisticated)

[Dave]

Ok, i couldn't resist and I'm utterly surprised by my results.

I use Gmail, so google is right in front of me w/ a nice "search"
field. So I said ... I'll do it!

I type in my site "www.htmhell.com" I get the following results ...
--------------
Sorry, no information is available for the URL htmhell.com

If the URL is valid, try visiting that web page by clicking on the
following link: htmhell.com
Find web pages that contain the term "htmhell.com"
------------------------
Where in the first line "htmhell.com" is not a link, but is bold.
Th3 2nd line it is a link to my site
The 3rd line it is a link to search for where that string is in other
pages. (retturns google results).

I found this really intriguing so I did 2 other things.
1. I used the desktop addition for Google and when I put in
"htmhell.com", it went right to my site. That's encouraging and
useful.
2. I put in "www.cnn.com", just see what would happen with something
slightly more popular than my little world. Here are the results that
I got:
----------------------------------
CNN.com
Click here to skip to main content. ...

Google can show you the following information for this URL:

    * Show Google's cache of www.cnn.com
    * Find web pages that are similar to www.cnn.com
    * Find web pages that link to www.cnn.com
    * Find web pages that contain the term "www.cnn.com"
-----------------------------------
Where "CNN.com" at the top is a link to, well http://cnn.com
Then you get all those other options underneath.

What I find curious in all this is that I tell myself ... In both
cases I end up at my destination. Sure it takes me one extra click,
but hey, I'm used it and its fast so what's the big deal.

I do find all this fascinating though. 

-- dave