I remember this. Also, if I remember correctly, seamlessly integrating search and address bar was the thing that really made Chrome take off. Sure, it was an all around better product than IE/Safari, but to get people to actually download it over just using the default requires it to be significantly more convenient, and it sure was.

Hey, Firefox's still alive and kicking. It's quite ancient, comparatively speaking. :-)

Old wisemen may refer to it as a fire-breathing reptile, others a bird clad in flames. And despite suffering from declining market share in recent years, prophecy foretold that it will one day rise from the red ashes, stronger and more resilient than ever!

(Apologies for running away with the joke)

I assure you it's not. :)

I think a trailing slash is what makes Chrome try to resolve instead of searching.

Add a slash to the end, less typing work than adding https:// to the start.