I search from the address bar in Firefox. About the only reason I go to the Google homepage is to grab a quick map or check gmail.
I could make bookmarks for those or make one of the other my homepage, I guess, but once you start into a habit it's annoying to have to break it.

Why can't I just have a setting in Google preferences that gets rid of the 'fade-in' effect?
I have this option in Windows for menus...