Google Chrome Uses the Scrollbar to Display Search Results
usabilitypost.com
usabilitypost.com
(Although I personally do like the placement, and the author clearly does too; just from Google's perspective, isn't it bad that the user doesn't immediately notice it?)
1) The color is too faint.
2) The scrollbar widget is standard. I think this is a good thing in general but as a user you expect it to behave a certain way and don't stand around looking auditing individual pixels, especially since they didn't keep the standard title bar design and size.
3) I spend most of my time using find thinking "I hate that slash doesn't start the search here. Grr." I know that ^F has been the standard on PCs for a long time, but / is definitely my preferred way.
Anyway, the earmark of good UI is that nifty features are there when you need them, and when they manifest themselves they're helpful. Features that get in your way when they serve no purpose only serve to clutter and bloat; so props to the Chrome team on this one.
I judge the length of an article by the scrollbar size, but when an article is four paragraphs followed by 800 comments on the same page my "should I take the time to read this" measurement gets thrown off.
* locations of last term searched
* other references to same variable currently highlighted
* TODO comments
One of my computers is a tiny netbook, and let me tell you, saving 10 pixels is what I worry about all day long.