I stumbled across this post, from someone who has apparently been chosen to participate in a [Beta] testing of a new Google design: http://www.jamesyu.org/archives/2006/03/possible_google.html I was really hoping for more, but it seems it's just a basic layout change. Still the same flat colors, no nice graphics like live.com
What? Beta? That's new? I've got that design for quite some time now, thought everyone has that new look.
I honestly do not see it as being a huge change or improvement. I worry more about my search results anyways over subtle changes such as that.
Sure it's small, but it's the subtle changes that can make big differences. Perhaps this design enables ads to be viewed more readily. I'm sure Google is monitoring results instead of just feedback and opinions