To use Google.com use the uri
http://www.google.com/ncr.
The user JavaScript solution works for me. I'm using Google Suggest Australia with Opera 8.5.7700 on Windows XP SP2.
PS maybe you should add "misunderstanding" or "false alarm" into the subject of this thread, I didn't understand it when I read it. I thought it meant you were an ex Firefox user who was discussing new features that you hadn't ever seen, and was apologising if we thought it was old news and didn't care.
/ 
