This hasn't rolled out for everybody yet - I see it at work, but I don't see it (when signed into the same account) at home.

It is on google.com but most of the other country domains (.ie, .co.uk, etc...) havent got it yet. Currently its the same with google instant.

I'm on .ie and I have it:

http://i52.tinypic.com/2cf8kdh.jpg

I only noticed a friend with it on his account last week. The next time I singed into my account it came up, and it's been there ever since.

thats not it

.ie has google instant, but not the new statusbar. I've got it from Ireland on google.com though.

Cache issue? I see it on my account regardless of where I sign in.

Same thing happens to me. I'm assuming its a cookie or cache issue.

AB testing, I'd guess.

To get the new look, I just deleted cookies from google.com.

It's made usability worse though, in one important respect: logging out requires two clicks, not one. :(

That's true only under the assumption that the UI should be optimized for the Signing Out process. It shouldn't, the design has improved usability by hiding less frequently used options.

And have you noticed the changes to Docs? Their list display is finally useful!

I'm a student, and I find Google Docs is super useful. I just wish for a more consistent experience. For example, I like to edit with "Compact Controls." Sometimes that feature goes missing, and I'm forced to edit in full screen – not an incredibly useful feature because the controls are completely hidden.

Yeah, though I think they should cut buck on using bold font all over the place. That should be use for emphasis but the Goog wants to use it as the default.

I have the new top bar in gmail, but not in greader.

My case too. I don`t have it in Picasa either, but I do in Docs.