People are forgetting about Pavlov and the basic idea of 'image' or 'brand', sacred to advertising. When I think about searching something on the internet, I subconsciously think about a blank Google search page. If that's no longer an option, I am no longer going to use Google by default. (Forget that I know that Google is a better engine. Now I'm thinking -- maybe I should try Bing, and see what advantages it has.)
People working on search and UX at Google probably think about Bing much more than the millions of people who use Google regularly. And thanks to Google's attempt to prematurely optimize (forcing people to try a new background based on local maxima tests), they've now accelerated the long curve of leveling the playing field.
Basic psychology 101 though. Same thing applies to other tech companies. Tread very lightly around any type of modifications to the core feature set and always make it optional at first.
People working on search and UX at Google probably think about Bing much more than the millions of people who use Google regularly. And thanks to Google's attempt to prematurely optimize (forcing people to try a new background based on local maxima tests), they've now accelerated the long curve of leveling the playing field.
Basic psychology 101 though. Same thing applies to other tech companies. Tread very lightly around any type of modifications to the core feature set and always make it optional at first.