Are separate "Ask a Question" and "Search" widgets necessary? Chrome shows us that separate search and location bars are unnecessary (the old-school-ness of Firefox now annoys me...), so cannot SE use the same?
In any case, I hate their location. I seldom use maximized windows, so "Search" is barely visible, and "Ask Question" is off the screen. Search, which I think should be a core, integral primary feature, is marginalized as something that comes after the "About" and "FAQ" sections! I'd like to see them (preferably combined) Prominently Displayed directly underneath the community logo. (Excuse the quick mockup)
Besides, with regards to the question suggestions when posting a question, it's amazing what people will do to ignore something that they don't expect and don't perceive to need. (Even when we devs spent countless hours brainstorming, designing and implementing an elegant and helpful suggestion... Grrrrr...) "Why is this coming up? I'm just trying to type my question! [ignore + scroll]..."