This plugin makes your search inputs more usable as per Apple UI guidelines.
See the demo.
It's implemented using jQuery, CSS3 (with Compass library) and HTML5 :p.

In order to install/compile (scss) the widget, just save this repo's archive to your computer and open the index.html file in your browser, or if you just want to test it, follow the demo link at the end of the README file.

Include the necessary JavaScript files in your project:

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.5.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="javascripts/jquery.searchBehavior.js"></script>

Include the following code in your HTML file:

<script type = "text/javascript">
    $('.search_field_container').searchBehavior();
</script>

Example

The search widget contains 3 elements:

• The search input: where you write the search keywords;
• The magnifier button on the left side of the text field: once you have written the keywords in the text input, you can click the magnifier on the left side of the text field (instead of pressing the Enter key) to launch the search action;
• The clear button on the right side of the text field: this button becomes visible when there is text in the text field and its purpose is to clear the field;

These 3 elements are placed in a nice container (search_field_container).