Similarly, I also wouldn't mind by default hiding the manufacturer info panel either ( which shows up above search results when the manufacturer is set in search criteria).
-- MPCman
This should already work. If you hide the manufacturer info panel it is saved in the user pref and should be restored even after a new login on a differen tcomputer.
For the search defaults: It's true that everyone prefers a different setting. Looking into it ...
Beep, Bopp, Bleep: info@modulargrid.net