According to an official announcement from Google, the method in which quality score (which influences how paid advertising is placed next to search results) is determined at Adwords is about to change.
Quality Score (according to Google) will now be more accurate as it will be calculated at the time of each search query (not a static per-keyword assessment), keywords will no longer be marked inactive for search (immediately creating more inventory) and the terminology "first page bid" will replace "minimuym bid" in advertiser accounts (arguably helping Google maximize revenue for every query).
Google will begin testing changes with a small set of users "within the next day or two" before deploying the changes for everyone.