Google’s search box is the new command line.
In 2004, John Gruber said that the browser’s location bar was the new command line, correctly predicting the massive wave of web apps we all now enjoy using every day.
I think in the 8 years since his article, a lot has changed, including the way we use the web itself. I watch co-wokers search for things like “Yahoo mail login” and “what time is sunset?” and then move on to whatever they wanted to do.
Back in the 90s and early 00s, web companies loved using the world “portal” to describe their services. I think, in many ways, Google has become just that — a way to get somewhere else on the web.
Google’s search box is the new command line.
Update: Shawn Blanc pointed out this Daring Fireball link to me, which is also applicable to this discussion.