Microsoft’s new browser IE 8 is now in general release. There are loads of features, which I won’t go into at length. Danny did a preliminary overview of the search and ad-related features of IE8 already, which I’m sure he’ll revisit at some point. And the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg offers a generally favorable […]
Venture Beat noticed that the Urbanspoon iPhone app has what looks like Google AdSense ads on them. I immediately downloaded the Urbanspoon app and went to a restaurant review and saw a similar ad. Here is a screen capture: I am pointing to the small lowercase G, which looks much like Google’s second favicon, which […]
The Yahoo Search Blog announced that my favorite search browser plugin, Inquisitor has made its way to the iPhone. You can get it right now on your iPhone in the iTunes Store for free by clicking here. The features include: Yahoo Search Assist search suggestions View search results in one click, within the application Site […]
Over the past couple of years Microsoft and Google have become increasingly intense (maybe even bitter) rivals. Most recently the two companies used Yahoo as something of a pawn their game. It may be somewhat unfair to all involved to characterize Yahoo as a “pawn.” But Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo primarily as a way […]
Google announced the release of the Google Toolbar 6 for Internet Explorer. This toolbar, when installed, adds the Google Quick Search Box (QSB) to the task bar of Windows computers. This is by far the most visible difference with this version of the toolbar. Other changes include enhancing the search suggestions and a new tab […]
Mike Blumenthal reports seeing Google test a new type of map within the search results listings. He said he is only able to trigger this map to show using Firefox with the Google Toolbar installed. So his theory is that Google is testing some geolocation technology in the Firefox toolbar. I personally cannot reproduce it, […]
The Live Search blog announced that Internet Explorer 8 is now showing instant answers from Live Search in the search box. This feature is on by default and will show instant answers for searches related to financial information, weather conditions, movie show times, calculations, equations, conversions, and definitions. Here is a screen capture:
One of the key features of Google Chrome is how it will list the sites you regularly visit on your home page when the browser starts. Now Google has brought that to Firefox, via the latest Google Toolbar update now available. With the update, if you open a new blank tab in Firefox, the sites […]
Did you come to our site and have a message appear before you could read a story? Those are called "overlays," and they’re becoming more commonly used by various web sites as an effective way to communicate with visitors. If you saw one of these, we’re sorry to have interrupted your reading, but hopefully you […]
Michael Arrington went on a rant about Google testing sound effect in the new Google SearchWiki. In short, Michael is upset that Google would spend the time adding sound effects over adding an option to turn off SearchWiki. I do agree with with Michael on this, but we do know that feature is coming in […]
As was reported yesterday, Google’s browser Chrome is coming out of beta — a mere 100 days after it was introduced. When I commented to Sundar Pichai, Product VP, that this had to be one of the fastest exits from beta for Google in recent memory he explained that “Google has a very traditional approach […]
It was just a few months ago when Google.com added search suggestions to the main page. Now, I am receiving reports that Google is testing enhancing those suggestions by showing URLs in the suggestions, in some cases. For example, Sam at Oh! Nuts emailed me a screen shot of Google showing his URL in the […]
With Yahoo layoffs underway, Forbes shares a reminder that there is life after a layoff, and it’s sometimes better. Forbes tells the story of ex-Yahoo bizdev guy Rob Bailey, who left the company in 2006, and is now an award-winning winemaker. While Big Business is laying people off left and right, Bailey’s wine operation has […]
Last night Apple announced a software update to the iPhone. This update was pretty major and there are tons of sites covering all the details of the changes. I thought I just focus on the features specific to searching. Apple made a change to the browser, featuring the Google search bar more and a few […]
The Google Mobile Blog announced a new version of Google search for iPhone 2.x users. The new version looks more iPhone like and the search results fit better within the iPhone’s mobile Safari browser. The local results also have “Get Directions” link to the Maps app and a clickable phone number. Here are some screen […]
Break out the birthday candles for Yahoo’s Search Assist and Google’s Toolbar. Yahoo reminds us today that its Search Assist feature was launched a year ago this month. Search Assist is the feature that suggests words and phrases while you type in the Yahoo search box; it also suggests related concepts — something, Yahoo tells […]
Not long ago, Google rolled out its “Geolocation API” (via Google Gears). Initially it was intended to enable third party publishers and developers to get location for their apps on mobile devices using a combination of the phone’s inherent location-awareness technologies (i.e., GPS) and Google’s cell-tower database (which has been expanded now to include WiFi […]
My favorite search browser plugin, Inquisitor, is now available for Firefox and Internet Explorer. Inquisitor was Apple Safari’s only solid third-party search browser plugin back in the day. Yahoo acquired them back in May and then provided an upgrade in mid-August. Now, Yahoo has announced they have made this plugin available for Firefox and IE.
The new iGoogle theme just launched, which adds “full canvas views for gadget and support for full feed reading.” In short, the new view places the tabs that you typically see at the top, under the search box, now on the left hand side. It then allows you to add gadgets that support canvas view, […]
On Friday, AdWeek reported that Google was creating and testing specialized ad units for full HTML mobile browsers, such as Safari on the iPhone. The idea is that the iPhone’s Safari browser (or Android, Skyfire, Opera) would be detected and alternative ads, and landing pages or iPhone optimized sites, would be substituted for conventional mobile […]
Below are Search Engine Land’s 10 most popular stories from September 2008:
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Google announced that the Firefox 5.0 Google Toolbar is now available for download. The toolbar adds many of the features and improvements Google added to 5.0 for IE several months ago including:
Michael Arrington noticed that Google Analytics is now showing “Chrome” as a browser in the reports. TechCrunch’s Chrome usage for yesterday was 6.23%, our’s was 10.10%. What is yours?
Most of the tech journalists in the San Francisco Bay Area were at Google this morning for a briefing and demo of Chrome. Danny earlier posted lots of detail on the search dimensions of Chrome. And there are quite a few posts and articles about features and first impressions.
Now that Google Chrome is live, I spent some time looking at the search features within it, especially to see — as I did recently with Internet Explorer 8 — whether Google was going to try to stack the deck in its own favor. Like Microsoft, Google’s playing it straight. As for search features, I’m […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Obviously the big story of yesterday and today in the technology world is the impending launch of Google’s open-source browser Chrome. It will likely be available for download here later today. (TechCrunch and Google Blogoscoped have a few screenshots.) There are dozens and dozens of stories on Techmeme.
So much for a quiet Labor Day off. Google Blogoscoped has news of Google Chrome, a new browser that Google plans to release. More coverage can also be found on Techmeme. No — it’s not just a rumor. Google tells me that it is indeed a real browser it plans to release. Expect more news […]
TechCrunch reports Google has extended a deal to be the default search engine in Firefox for an additional three years, to 2011. The news comes the day after Microsoft released a beta of IE8. The deal is somewhat ironic in that Google has lobbied to to prevent Microsoft from making itself the default search engine […]
After finally getting the new Internet Explorer 8 beta installed (demands to upgrade Windows, verify Windows, sigh), I spent some time playing with the new search functionality and checking to see if Microsoft was going to try to stack the deck in its favor with the new browser. So far, it remains pretty even handed. […]
Yahoo has built a mobile Safari version of Yahoo Search for the iPhone. Ryan Grove, a Yahoo developer, blogged about the experience of building out the application. In short, the mobile Safari version gives you almost all of the features the normal Yahoo Search gives you, but with fewer ads and on a smaller screen. […]
Google has launched a new tool within Google Webmaster Tools that allows Webmasters to create custom 404 pages. To access the tool, go to Google Webmaster Tools, then click on tools on the left and then click on “Enhance 404 pages.” You can then copy and paste the widget code from the Google site into […]
The Yahoo Search Blog announced that they have released a new version of my favorite search browser plugin named Inquisitor. The upgrade makes the Apple Safari search plugin faster, cleaner, and multi-lingual. By faster, Yahoo has integrated Inquisitor with BOSS, enabling a faster return on your Yahoo queries. Yahoo has cleaned up both the Inquisitor […]
Aaron Wall noticed Google is testing a new location for “related” search results. This time, the location appears to be directly under each individual search result’s URL. Here is a screen shot of it in action, from Aaron’s blog:
So Firefox 3 has a new release candidate making news, suggesting that the browser is nearly done. May I suggest that the browser is nowhere near being done until the Mozilla Foundation drops its favoritism to Google and allow users to pick their own default search engine? And that Microsoft ought to be among those […]
Microsoft has experimentally introduced “SearchTogether,” which allows people to use a browser plug-in (IE7 only) to literally collaborate on search. You need a Windows Live ID and Messenger, but you can apparently use any search engine you like. Here’s a tutorial and some screens.
I reported that Google has updated their favorite icon on Google.com, from the old multi-colored boxed in “G,” to a single blue lowercase g. New Favorite Icon: Old Favorite Icon:
Google Earth has always been a great product — and a popular one, downloaded more than 100 million times. Despite this volume it’s still not mainstream however. Microsoft Virtual Earth decided not to go with a big downloadable client and use a browser plug-in instead. This was a smart strategy to “mainstream” the Virtual Earth […]
Google very clearly recognizes how strategic the mobile internet is both for revenue growth and the company’s future. Hence the Android mobile platform, the bidding in the 700MHz auction and all the effort Google is directing toward mobile generally. CEO Eric Schmidt repeatedly emphasizes mobile as the next big frontier and opportunity. He also points […]