[...] on direct navigation. If users become used to typing search queries into the address bar, it could boost direct navigation. However, some web browsers append .com to terms typed into the address box. For example, typing [...]

I think this is the thin end of the wedge and I think you hit the nail on the head when you said
“But one thing’s for sure: the search engines want to get their hands on direct navigation traffic, and they don’t want to pay for it.”

Like Knol, I’m convinced google will steadily intorudce varied ways to manipulate search, now they know how to give you your search options, with chrome they now have a tool to also tell you where they (google) want you to go – or at the most subtle where they’d like you to navigate to.

I wonder if this will hold true.

Google blocks many parked domains from appearing in their search results although the domain exists and you had typed in the domain with extension.

Would they all of a sudden allow parked domains to appear in the results?

Patrick