Multisearch

Differences between revisions 2 and 9 (spanning 7 versions)
⇤ ← Revision 2 as of 2009-08-10 13:21:13 →
Size: 6292
Editor: 94
Comment: Add TOC + tweak
← Revision 9 as of 2009-08-10 14:17:50 → ⇥
Size: 7363
Editor: 94
Comment: Tweak "Removal" section for grammar and lack of definite removal date
Deletions are marked like this. Additions are marked like this.
Line 1: Line 1:
 * ''written by an outside, blame sladen for any errors''  * ''written by an outsider, blame sladen for any errors''
Line 6: Line 6:
Don't worry about searching for porn, or nuclear weapons---nobody other than Google is going to know exactly what anyone else has searched for, and there is no way that Launchpad cookies will get sent to Google (or anyone else) either. Don't worry about searching for Microsoft Windows, or Mac OS from Ubuntu---nobody other than Google is going to know exactly what anyone else has searched for, and there is no way that Launchpad cookies will get sent to Google (or anyone else) either.
Line 12: Line 12:
 ** Launchpad: [[https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+bug/402767/comments/24|Comment #24]] ("official reply")
Line 16: Line 17:
 * Blog upsdate: [[http://www.asoftsite.org/s9y/archives/162-What-is-this-Multisearch-thing-in-my-Firefox-about.html|What is this "Multisearch" thing in my Firefox about?]] ("official annoucement")
Line 17: Line 19:
=== Patches === == Patches ==
Line 30: Line 32:
==== Versions ====
The Multisearch statistics gathering plugin has only been added to the Firefox-'''3.0''' package. Because of the way that plugins are shared between Firefox browser versions, it will also probably appear in Firefox-3.5, if you also have the Firefox-3.0 browser installed.		 === Versions ===
The Multisearch statistics gathering plugin has only been added to the Firefox-'''3.0''' package. Because of the way that plugins are shared between Firefox browser versions, it '''will''' also appear ''in'' Firefox-3.5, ''if you also'' have the Firefox-3.0 browser installed.
Line 33: Line 35:
==== Removal ====
The statistics gathering exercise was started at the end of July 2009. It is intended to be removed within a week of 2009-08-10 after sufficient statistics have been gathered. The numbers coming in were checked once shorty after deployment (to confirm that it was working), but will not be analysed until the statistics gathering-code has been disabled/removed (see previous sentence).		  * ''Confirmed, I just installed firefox-3.5 package on a clean and up to date Karmic install, and multisearch extension is active, and the expected cse behaviour is observed'' --AlanPope
Line 36: Line 37:
==== Bugs ====
A number of bugs were filed that the use of the the Google Custom Search Edition (CSE) page rather than the default Google page had introduced loss of functionality. For the moment these have all been duped to the same bug report as they are all caused by the introduction of CSE and are probably only fixable by avoiding the use of CSE.		 === Removal ===
The statistics gathering exercise was started at the end of July 2009. The numbers coming in were checked once shorty after deployment (to confirm that it was working), but will not be analysed until the statistics gathering-code has been disabled/removed.
Line 39: Line 40:
===== CSE ===== The multisearch plugin will ''not'' exist in its current form in the final Ubuntu 9.10 release. What to do next, or for Ubuntu 9.10 itself will be reviewed after the the Alpha 4 milestone has been released.

If the meantime, if helping to testing the Alpha 3+4 (and helping to improve Ubuntu) is getting in the way of '''your''' daily workflow, we're sorry. It was not intended; you can disable the temporary plugin by going to:

 * Firefox->Tools->Add-ons

=== Bugs ===
A number of bugs were filed that the use of the the Google Custom Search Edition (CSE) page rather than the default Google page had introduced loss of functionality. For the moment, (Paul Sladen) has duped all of these to the same bug report, as they are all caused by the same root cause---the introduction of CSE---and are probably only fixable by avoiding the use of CSE.

Please add the "multisearch" tag to any bugs you find. When the main bug is closed, the dups will be checked individually and any not solved de-duped.

==== CSE ====
Line 46: Line 58:
=== Longer-term ===
The deployed research experiment is about getting some automated feedback on how people use the various browser functions; this may lead into work that can try to cut out even more clicks for when searching (eg. linking to a map if the search term is an address).		 == Longer-term ==
The deployed research experiment is about getting some automated feedback on how people use the various browser functions; this may lead into work that can try to reduce the time spent when searching (eg. going straight from a highlighted address, to map directions).
Line 54: Line 66:
Rather than aiming duplicate effort, the time and effort spent by Ubuntu users (and developers) should help feed into this process. As it stands, the upstream Mozilla code needs more work: Rather than aiming duplicate effort, the time and effort spent by Ubuntu users (and developers) should help feed into this process. As it stands, the current Ubuntu multisearch code needs more work:
Line 62: Line 74:
==== Revenue ==== === Revenue ===

  • written by an outsider, blame sladen for any errors

Multisearch is an attempt to improve the browser search experience in the default configuration of Firefox on Ubuntu. It may also be identified as me001@canonical.com.

The first step in improving an experience is to observe how it is used, for example usability testing performed by videoing people and their mouse-movements in a laboratory environment. The Ubuntu community is much larger than can all fit in a laboratory at once and are busy people who don't have time to. For a temporary period during July/August 2009, a sample of searching habits (not searching results) has been made.

Don't worry about searching for Microsoft Windows, or Mac OS from Ubuntu---nobody other than Google is going to know exactly what anyone else has searched for, and there is no way that Launchpad cookies will get sent to Google (or anyone else) either.

Contents

  1. Quicklinks
  2. Patches
    1. Versions
    2. Removal
    3. Bugs
      1. CSE
  3. Longer-term
    1. Revenue

Patches

There are currently four ways that Firefox browser searches are forwarded to Google;

  • Input area

    Upstream Mozilla

    Ubuntu 9.10 alpha*

    URL bar

    sourceid=navclient

    cx=partner-pub-2070091971271392:getzo5-xcfi

    Search box

    cx=firefox/cx=firefox-a

    cx=partner-pub-2070091971271392:hsw1kx-3zxg

    Default page

    cx=partner-pub-2070091971271392:6ra8wy-1zdk

    New (blank) tab

    n/a

    cx=partner-pub-2070091971271392:jhy8zj-qv39 *

Mozilla's partner IDs are "firefox" and "firefox-a"; Canonical's is "partner-pub-2070091971271392"... the "random" numbers after the colon (':') allow the source ("channel") of the query to be attributed to one of the four search inputs.

Versions

The Multisearch statistics gathering plugin has only been added to the Firefox-3.0 package. Because of the way that plugins are shared between Firefox browser versions, it will also appear in Firefox-3.5, if you also have the Firefox-3.0 browser installed.

  • Confirmed, I just installed firefox-3.5 package on a clean and up to date Karmic install, and multisearch extension is active, and the expected cse behaviour is observed --AlanPope

Removal

The statistics gathering exercise was started at the end of July 2009. The numbers coming in were checked once shorty after deployment (to confirm that it was working), but will not be analysed until the statistics gathering-code has been disabled/removed.

The multisearch plugin will not exist in its current form in the final Ubuntu 9.10 release. What to do next, or for Ubuntu 9.10 itself will be reviewed after the the Alpha 4 milestone has been released.

If the meantime, if helping to testing the Alpha 3+4 (and helping to improve Ubuntu) is getting in the way of your daily workflow, we're sorry. It was not intended; you can disable the temporary plugin by going to:

  • Firefox->Tools->Add-ons

Bugs

A number of bugs were filed that the use of the the Google Custom Search Edition (CSE) page rather than the default Google page had introduced loss of functionality. For the moment, (Paul Sladen) has duped all of these to the same bug report, as they are all caused by the same root cause---the introduction of CSE---and are probably only fixable by avoiding the use of CSE.

Please add the "multisearch" tag to any bugs you find. When the main bug is closed, the dups will be checked individually and any not solved de-duped.

CSE

In the case of purely wanting result statistics, CSE is not really the best tool for the job. It is sub-optimal because of various bits of "normal" Google functionality are removed. One reason for Multisearch being an experiment has been to get a detailed list of issues.

An example of a correct use of Google CSE is to restrict search results to a sub-set of pages; for instance this example by Dustin to narrow results down to Ubuntu Developer documentation:

Longer-term

The deployed research experiment is about getting some automated feedback on how people use the various browser functions; this may lead into work that can try to reduce the time spent when searching (eg. going straight from a highlighted address, to map directions).

Mozilla have been working (and funding) initiatives aimed at this:

Rather than aiming duplicate effort, the time and effort spent by Ubuntu users (and developers) should help feed into this process. As it stands, the current Ubuntu multisearch code needs more work:

  1. AwesomeBar does not have I'm feeling lucky support

  2. chrome changes the Google searchplugin
  3. New Tab is not configurable

In the process of making usability improvements, there may also be a way to get adverts added...

Revenue

Ubuntu is free aswell as Free, and it takes developers. If a way can be found for Ubuntu users to support Ubuntu via adverts on the default Google results page, then that means more Ubuntu talented developers can be funded to work on Ubuntu and upstream projects.

There are probably three possibilities:

  1. Arrange "special page" with Google (best outcome, equivalent to upstream Mozilla arrangement)
  2. Try to make the CSE page look equivalent to the "normal" Google results page.
  3. Drop CSE all together and work on other stuff.

The first would be ideal. In the case of the second options, there is a trade-off between seeing which options can be mitigated (if possible). The trade-off between that and the third option (walking away) is that less future developer time to make other improvements may be available.

As always, ideas are welcomed, both via the bug tracker, and at #ubuntu-mozillateam on Freenode;

Multisearch (last edited 2009-08-11 10:06:23 by 94)