I think this is exactly the point he is missing. I find it annoying/distracting, and disabled it after a couple of days... but I don't think it's a feature aim

I think this is exactly the point he is missing. I find it annoying/distracting, and disabled it after a couple of days... but I don't think it's a feature aimed at people who run their own technology blog. Picture people who hunt and peck their search query one painstaking key at a time, and finally look up at the screen in triumph once they're done... now the search results are already waiting for them.