Google Instant Not Working

Google Instant Not Working? What You Can Do

Google Instant, a new search feature that offers "results as you type," was unveiled Wed at a Google search event.

With Google Instant, now the default setting for the SE, "results appear instantly as you type, helping you see where you are headed, every step of the way," Google explained in a blog post (Learn more about Google Instant).

Although many are impressed with the new search feature, others feel it is less helpful and for some it seems not to be working: Thursday morning, "Google Instant not working" was a top query on Google Trends.

The rollout of Google Instant started Wednesday in the United States. and will continue across different geographies. Google's Marissa Mayer noted, "we will also be offering Google Instant to our users in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom. who are signed in and have Instant-capable browsers. Over the coming weeks and months, we will work to roll out Google Instant to all geographies and platforms."

You might also be unable to access Google Instant due to your browser (Google Instant works with Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE 8) or if you don't have the latest version of your browser. If this is the issue, users that go to "www.google.com/instant/" will receive a message from Google that reads, "Google Instant isn't available for your web browser. Please upgrade to the latest version of a modern browser to use Google Instant."

In a Google help forum, users with Google Instant problems were advised to try "clearing your browser's cache and deleting your cookies."

topeka google april fools

Topeka: Google pulls April Fools' prank after Kansas's renaming stunt

Topeka? Today's Google name change may confuse visitors at first. But check the date.

Google has a long history of April Fools' Day pranks. From upside-down YouTube clips and replacing videos with text to partnering with Virgin to create the Mars expedition team Virgle, Google has pulled more gags than the MIT frats to which many of its employees once belonged.

However today's spoof has a touch of real-world consequence. Last month, Topeka jokingly changed its name to Google, Kansas. This earlier renaming stunt, pulled well before April 1, tried to grab Google's attention. The company has offered to test a super-high-speed broadband network – 20 times faster than current commercial options – in one US city. This promise, which comes with plenty of publicity and probably new jobs, sent cities across the country into a lighthearted bidding war.

Topeka renamed itself. Duluth, Minn., mayor Don Ness jumped into frigid Lake Superior in just a T-shirt and shorts – then uploaded the video to YouTube, of course. "I've laid down the gauntlet," Mr. Ness says in the video. "All right, you other mayors, you want Google fiber? You jump in Lake Superior!"

In an April Fools' press release today, Google CEO Eric Schmidt explained the company's new name.

"We didn’t reach this decision lightly; after all, we had a fair amount of brand equity tied up in our old name," he writes. "But the more we surfed around (the former) Topeka’s municipal website, the more kinship we felt with this fine city at the edge of the Great Plains. In fact, Topeka Google Mayor Bill Bunten expressed it best: 'Don’t be fooled. Even Google recognizes that all roads lead to Kansas, not just yellow brick ones.' "

Acknowledging the broadband deal, Mr. Schmidt closed the letter with: "Finally, we want to be clear that this initiative is a one-shot deal that will have no bearing on which municipalities are chosen to participate in our experimental ultra-high-speed broadband project, to which Google, Kansas has been just one of many communities to apply."

As with most of Google's banner changes, everything will likely return to normal tomorrow. But for the chosen city, which Google will announce soon, April Fools' Day just caps a month full of stunts that could change a community's future for years to come.