The Christmas version shows Christmas ornaments hanging from the top bar:

The Hanukkah version shows Jewish stars across the top bar:

In the past they placed these decorations as a border for separating the AdWords ads and the free organic results.

Hanukkah started last night and Christmas is just around the corner.

I still do not see any decorations for [kwanzaa] – but that might come soon.

Postscript: Shortly after this post, Google added the Kwanzaa decorations:

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The search results will become so hard to see that you will instinctively want to wipe the screen clean with your hand. Instead, use the mouse and it will help you wipe off the snow. Don’t have any patience for that? No worries, click the “Defrost” button at the top and the snow will melt away.

Finally, you can draw shapes in the snow and share them on Google+ with your friends.

Here is a video of it in action:

This should work in all modern browsers.

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Instead of the +1 button being displayed by default, it is now hidden until you place your mouse cursor over the search result. Then the +1 button will show up and let you click on it.

Here is a picture of the animation seen when you mouse over the search result, which brings up the +1 button and the right gray arrow bar on the right of the search result:

Then when you mouse over the +1 button, it will turn blue and when you click on it, it remains blue.

This seems to be an effort to reduce the cluttered Google search results interface.

Postscript - Google sent us this statement about the change:

As we simplify the look and feel of the search results page, we wanted a way for users to easily see the +1 button when it’s most useful to them, such as when they hover over a result to recommend it or when a result has already been +1′d. By showing the +1 button when people want to click it rather than next to every result, the +1′d results stand out more. So far, this change has had an insignificant effect on +1 usage.

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• Google’s Facebook Competitor, The Google+ Social Network, Finally Arrives
• It’s Here: Google +1 Buttons For Websites
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Well, skip that. As the saying goes, what’s new is old. The black menu bar is gone. Or will be soon.

Google has announced a new Google Bar that sits in the same horizontal space as Google’s logo and search bar. I’m not seeing it yet in my searches, nor are others at Search Engine Land HQ, but here’s a sneak peek from Google’s blog post:

Why the change? According to Google’s video, because the “old” black menu bar “takes up precious space on your screen.” The new Google Bar also turns Google’s logo into what they’re calling “Google Menu” — that’s where all of Google’s vertical search options (Images, News, Maps, etc.) will be located.

Google says the change will be rolling out “over the next few days,” so you may have a little time to get unaccustomed to the black menu bar.

Mike Blumenthal tipped us to this latest change, which may (or may not) still be in testing.

Here’s how it works for me, which — as I’ll explain below — is slightly different from what Mike B. is seeing.

When a search result with rel=author appears in Google’s search results, the author’s avatar and the adjacent byline both now link to a new Google search results page that begins with the author’s Google+ profile. (As best I can recall, those used to just link directly to the Google+ profile page.) Below the Google + profile information is “More results,” all of which come from the author.

The Google+ profile integration is even more substantial if you’re searching directly on the author’s name. In this case, Google shows a couple recent Google+ posts in addition to the profile information.

Maybe what’s most interesting about this is that, once you click the author’s avatar or byline, it acts as a search filter that continues on future searches. After doing the above, if I change my search term to “seo,” I continue to see only results that I’ve authored and the Google+ profile box remains at the top of the search results. In fact, in the example that Mike Blumenthal shows on his blog, my name appears up in the search box as a filter with an “X” to remove the filter.

I’m not seeing that same “X” filter in any browser that I try. Your mileage may vary.

(Added: This “persistence” appears to be session-based. If I close my Google search tab and then search again in a new tab, the filter no longer remains in place.)

Google has been slowly and quietly inserting Google+ into its main search results recently. We recently wrote about a potential Google+ and Google Places integration that some are seeing, as well as Google+ content appearing as site links on some queries. It seems safe to say that we’ll continue to see more of this in the future.

The module appears to have been spotted first by Cyrus Shepard, who shared screenshots of the new display including this one from a search for pop singer Rihanna.

(You can click for a slightly larger version.)

As you can see, the right column is widened to allow several pieces of background info to show — things like biographical info from Wikipedia, her birthdate and other family information, plus links to songs and similar artists. A separate screenshot on a search for “twitter” shows things like Twitter’s street address, where the company was founded and even what programming language it uses.

A Google spokesperson tells Search Engine Land that this is a search experiment, and gave us the company’s standard “Google is constantly experimenting with new features” statement. That’s all the company shared with us; there’s nothing about how many users are seeing the experiment or when it might roll out more widely.

The data showing in the “Sources” content module seems to be similar to what appears in the Google Related toolbar that was launched this summer. And Google’s recent move to sometimes show ads at the bottom of search results opens up more space on the right for content like this.

Here’s a video that we’ve posted on YouTube:

If you’re wondering “why?,” well … we were, too. Here’s the official word from a Google spokesperson:

Today’s fun query, ‘do a barrel roll’, was created by a Google software engineer with the primary goal of entertaining users — while showcasing the power of CSS3, a presentation feature of modern browsers. The ‘do a barrel roll’ query, which causes the search page to spin, will remain in place for a while.

This is the latest of several Google search easter eggs. You can search for “tilt” or “askew” and see another one. Google’s ASCII art logo is still available if you search for ascii art. And, as Google Operating System points out, there are also a couple easter eggs where Google comically uses the “Did you mean?” feature on searches for anagram and recursion.

Update: This “do a barrel roll” search should work for anyone using a modern browser that supports HTML5.

As you can see, there is a little arrow down mark on the right of the Google + logo. Clicking on it drops down this black bar with the various Google logos.

What you cannot see in this image, but in the images shared by guao.hk is the new sharing section of the bar on the top right.

I am not sure if this interface is a test just for the Google + design or for the global Google top bar. I guess time will tell.

I would think many users wouldn’t notice that little down arrow and miss the other navigation and services options offered by Google.

Postscript: Within 24 hours after posting this, Google is testing yet another new design and it was reported by Google Operating System again. Here is a picture:

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In July, Google launched a new tablet design and now it appears Google will be launching yet another tweak to the design for tablet users.

Here is a picture of the new design from the Google Operating System blog.

Here is a picture of the current design:

For more pictures, see the Google Operating System blog.

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Here are before and after screenshots to show what I’m talking about.

Before:

After:

There’s a small triangle on the far right of the search bar and, when your mouse moves over it, that “Advanced news search” indicator appears. When you click on the triangle, a full set of advanced search options appears — no need to click through to a separate page.

As far as I know, the actual advanced search options in that dropdown are no different than what used to be on the separate page (but it’s not like I memorized them, sorry).

Google Docs already has a similar feature, where a small triangle on the right of the search box brings up advanced search options. The upcoming Gmail redesign will also have (advanced) search options that are accessible this same way.

Other properties, like Google Image Search, Google Calendar and Google.com web search continue to have advanced search options on a separate page. But it’s not a stretch to imagine similar functionality rolling out across all Google properties, especially considering their summer announcement of plans to update the overall Google user experience with a “consistent visual experience.”

At least three of our SEL editors are seeing the new advanced search drop down on Google News, so if this is just a test, it seems to be a pretty wide one. And it’s not just us seeing it — thanks goes to Steve Rubel for tipping us to this via Twitter.