[k-mcgrady]

Instead of putting a large box at the top of some search results with what you think I want, why not put it to the side (the way Google does) and make use of the large amount of waster whitespace. I have tonnes of horizontal space available, not much vertical.

[joosters]

This would also mean that the results don't suddenly jump position when the top box loads. Many times I've mis-clicked because of the page flow change.

[Joeboy]

Yes, this always seemed like a gross usability faux pas to me. If you don't wait for some unknown period after you see the first result, you risk clicking on an unwanted link that unexpectedly appeared under your cursor.

Maybe this is fixed with the redesign?

[JoshTriplett]

I agree entirely. I really liked the instant answer boxes above the search results in the old design, but using the same box to present images and videos in a film-strip design feels awkward. (And that box doesn't support horizontal scrolling, either.)

I do really like having the images and videos readily available; I just don't feel like the current presentation strikes the right balance between the text search results and "hey, you might want these images or videos", unlike the extremely valuable instant-answer boxes, which when present are almost always what I want.