Technology News: Search Tech

Bing Buddies Up With Wolfram Alpha
November 12, 2009

On Wednesday, Microsoft announced it's teaming up with answer engine Wolfram Alpha to beef up its Bing search engine. This will give Bing users access to Wolfram Alpha's algorithms and curated data. The team-up marks yet another step in Microsoft's battle with Google in the Web search market.

W3C Validation: It's Not Just About Rankings
November 12, 2009

In the SEO world, a perennial argument is whether Google's ranking factors look for clean code in a Web site. The W3C has developed two popular tools that check Web sites for errors: The W3C validation tool looks at HTML code, while the CSS validation tool checks the CSS Style Sheet. These free tools scan all of a site's code to make sure it is compliant with current Web standards.

Murdoch Threatens Google Blockade
November 09, 2009

It's not so much a war of words, but a war over words, between News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and search giant Google. Murdoch fired another broadside over the weekend by announcing his intention to eventually close off News Corp. content to Google's search technologies.

For Web Search, the Time Is Now
November 01, 2009

We all contribute to the news cycle when we post timely content online, even if it's 140 characters or fewer, and recently we learned that our little bits of information have substantive value when search giants Google and Microsoft announced that they will index our tweets and status updates. But the sheer volume of content that we produce could be a problem.

ICANN to Give Web Addresses International Flavor
October 27, 2009

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers may vote to allow internationalized domain names at the association's ongoing meeting in Seoul. Assuming the proposal is adopted, countries can apply to test country-code top level domains beginning in mid-November. IDNs are domain names that can use characters other than Latin scripts.

What Can Google Social Search Actually Find?
October 27, 2009

For Google, the recent effort to mix social media with traditional search results is all about relevance -- thus its efforts such as Google Social Search, which the company rolled out in experimental form late Monday. However, can the results really be that effective if they don't include the full participation of the world's largest social network, Facebook?

Bing and Google Fight Search Battle in Real-Time
October 22, 2009

Facebook and Twitter must have felt like the belles of the social media ball Wednesday. Both companies announced agreements with search engine suitors Google and Microsoft's Bing to integrate their status updates and tweets into search results, bringing with them the likelihood of more real-time results to search queries and conjuring up visions of next-level information gathering on the Internet.

Google, MySpace, Facebook Music Options Sprout as CD Sales Wilt
October 22, 2009

Internet power players Google, MySpace and Facebook are adopting strategies to better compete in a music industry that is rapidly shifting online. Google plans to launch a music search service, MySpace said its music videos will be spread on competing social networks, and Facebook said it will now allow friends to send each other song-streaming gifts.

Ask.com Clips Out New Niche With Coupon Engine
October 06, 2009

Search engine Ask.com has introduced a new feature that allows users to search for coupons and product discounts. The feature is embedded in the Ask.com front page, where visitors find an everyday-type picture -- in today's case, a man holding a camera and wearing a watch; a couple holding a computer box, and so on.

More Search Features for Google, Less Market Share for Bing
October 02, 2009

Despite a multi-million-dollar ad campaign, interest in Microsoft's new Bing search engine may be leveling off, according to new market share findings this week from two Web tracking services. However, the competition from Bing may still be weighing heavily on Google, if this week's addition of new search features and Web site gadgets is any indication.

Google Wends Its Way Into Web Annotation With Sidewiki
September 24, 2009

Google on Wednesday launched Sidewiki, a Web annotation tool that serves as a comment forum for Web pages. Sidewiki ranks entries according to their relevance, as determined by Google's own algorithm. It will also place those comments on Web pages that carry the information which sparked the comments. Google Sidewiki appears as a browser sidebar.

Bing Aims to Pull Visual Search Into Focus
September 15, 2009

Microsoft has plumped up Bing with Visual Search, a Silverlight-powered add-on that returns search results based on images instead of text. Introduced as a beta, Visual Search will become available to users on a rolling basis over the month, with general availability expected by the end of September.

Getting Ready for the Google Generation
September 11, 2009

Like every new generation, today's youth are unlike their predecessors, and they are poised to make a significant impact on society and business as they enter the workforce. While this may not seem like a revelation, what is important to keep in mind is who is pulling some of the strings that are already redefining how today's kids think and tomorrow's workers will behave.

Yahoo Keeps Polishing Search Tech Despite Bing Hook-Up
August 25, 2009

Yahoo will keep innovating in search and try to outsmart both Microsoft and Google even as the slumping Internet company prepares to lean on rival Microsoft's search technology. That message emerged Monday as Yahoo previewed a series of search engine upgrades that it plans to introduce before the end of the year.

Can Microsoft Keep Its Word?
August 14, 2009

A Toronto company aptly named "i4i" is getting its revenge on Microsoft by kicking it square in the monkeymaker. i4i has sued Redmond, claiming that Microsoft Word infringes on its patents. Judge Leonard Davis of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas -- where else? -- has given Microsoft two months to halt sales of the offending software.

Google Offers Testers a Sip of Caffeine
August 11, 2009

As if its widely acknowledged dominance of the U.S. search engine market is not enough, Google on Tuesday revealed that it's working on a next-generation architecture for Web search. The formerly secret project, code-named "Caffeine," is the first step in a process to improve the search engine in various areas, including indexing speed, accuracy and comprehensiveness, Google said.