When Ubuntu (the Linux/Gnu desktop/OS) moved the window buttons over to the left hand side it was frowned upon by the community. Top left placement is supposedly better from a usability perspective: buttons say in the top left, have more predictable placement and are easier to reach with a pointer (if you just throw the pointer to the top left), having buttons in the top left is good for cascaded windows etc.<p>I've noticed an annoying trend with popular websites. They place things like Sign in and Sign Out in the top right corner. And even with my modest laptop screen size, I sometimes struggle to find them - as they are found slightly off-screen. In part I think this is deliberate.<p>Yahoo mail has even followed suit. Stackoverflow has a rather irritating search box placement of top right. When I'm slightly zoomed in on that site, I have to scroll to the right to use it.<p>So I ask: is this a bad usability trend? Can we push essential controls back to the top left for crucial functionality, for us left to righters, top to bottomers?