Here is an interesting article. It both praises and kicks Google around. It is basically looking at the Google front page and debating whether Google should "clutter" it up like Yahoo! or MSN -- you know, in another "innovative" move to catch up with its competitors and becoming a full-blown portal. The comparison that always bugs me with the media is when they compare the frontpages of Yahoo! and Google. That's like comparing apples with oranges -- the frontpage of Yahoo! is a portal page, the frontpage of Google is a search page. In order to get a valid comparison, they should compare Google's frontpage (search) with Yahoo! Search. The article brings up these numbers about Google's search page:
Five years ago, Google's home page contained 50 words, 11 links, and zero ads. Today, it contains 49 words, 17 links, and zero ads.Compare that with Yahoo! Search of today: 35 words, 13 links, and zero ads. Hmm...