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My 2 featured articles for the week ending Sep. 1, 2006:

Archived blogs for the week of Aug. 28, 2006

1225 - Aug. 31, 2006 - 8.03 AM EST

Windows Live Search in Beta

Microsoft has completed the beta version of its Windows Live Search and created some new features that it hopes users will love.

As anyone who works in the software industry knows, the only real way to find out if you’re successful is to run a beta test, and see what people think of your new product.

That is just what Microsoft is in the process of doing. Since introducing its beta in March on Windows Live the company have been experimenting with all sorts of things and now has begun testing at a larger scale from MSN.

Microsoft wants to take a moment to introduce you to some things the blogosphere has started noticing from the testing. Check out the features, and keep an eye on both its MSN service and its Windows Live service.

It’s a fair bet that you’ll see more changes coming soon. If you like them, hate them, or have any feedback, please send them.

As Robert Scoble, Don Dodge and Brady Forrest noticed, Microsoft has updated its image search beta.

This update has improved relevance, an expanded index of images, faster AJAX code for the user experience, and a scratchpad for working on a collection of images.

Also, check out the new “related names” feature by searching on anybody you consider famous like Barry Bonds, George Bush, Bill Clinton or Oprah Winfrey.

Posted on Businessblog™

1224 - Aug. 30, 2006 - 11.26 AM EST

Google's CEO joins Apple's board of directors

Yesterday, Apple announced that Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google was elected to Apple's board of directors. Eric Schmidt also sits on Google's board of directors and Princeton University's board of trustees.

"Eric is doing a great job as CEO of Google and we are looking forward to his contribution as a member of Apple's board of directors," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Like Apple, Google is very focused on innovation and we think Eric's insights and experience will be very valuable in helping to guide our company in the years ahead."

"Apple is one of the companies in the world that I most admire," said Eric Schmidt. "I'm really looking forward to working with Steve and Apple's board to help with all of the amazing things Apple is doing."

Eric Schmidt joined Google from Novell, where he was chairman and CEO. At Google, Eric shares responsibility for Google's day-to-day operations, and is focused on building the corporate infrastructure needed to maintain Google's rapid growth while ensuring that quality remains high and product development times are kept to a minimum.

Eric's 20 years of experience as an Internet strategist, entrepreneur and technologist give him a well-seasoned perspective which perfectly complements Google's needs as a young and rapidly growing company with a unique corporate culture.

Prior to joining Novell, Eric was chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems, Inc., where he led the development of Java, Sun's platform-independent programming technology, and defined Sun's Internet software strategy.

Posted on Businessblog™

1223 - Aug. 29, 2006 - 1.08 PM EST

Flickr integrates geo tagging functionality

As many had expected, Flickr has added geo tagging search functionality to its service earlier today. Integrating geo-location data on Flickr is done through the Organizer, under the Organize tab. In addition to the “Your Sets” and “Your Groups” tabs in that area, Flickr will add a Maps tab where you can drag photos into a Yahoo Map area.

A marker will appear that shows the number of photos included with that marker. Once you have a location you can use the Organizer to search your photos and then drag them individually or by sets into the map.

Flickr users can search for photos by location in the Explore area. Set the map to a location (world down to street level) and type in a search query. Markers will appear on the map with photos that contain that query in the tags or description of the photo.

The geo-tagging features are Ajax driven. They integrate Yahoo Maps and Yahoo Search and include the following features:

1) Drag-and-drop photos onto a location where they are automatically tagged with location information (city/state/country) as well as latitude and longitude.

2) Create a map-based view of all their photos or specific photosets, to share with friends, family as well as the Flickr community at large. Read more...

Posted on Businessblog™

1222 - Aug. 28, 2006 - 5.33 PM EST

Should TV fear the Internet?

Marissa Mayer, Google's v.p. of search products says the growing popularity of the Internet is as revolutionary as the invention of the printing press, but she quickly added that old media like television shouldn't be afraid of it.

In fact, Mayer told an audience at the Edinburgh International Television Festival that the Internet was actually TV's friend, not its rival.

"At Google, we're computer scientists," she said.

"We're not brilliant storytellers or content creators" she added.

To be sure, many observers in the television industry fear the inexorable growth of Google, and of the the Internet in general, could spell the end of traditional media like television.

Overall, TV producers have observed with a sense of alarm at the meteoric rise of user-generated video.

Various stunts, spoofs and many other video clips posted on sharing sites such as YouTube or Google Video can potentially attract millions of viewers - people who might otherwise be watching traditional television.

In the past few months, user-generated content has spread to television through stations like MTV Flux, which broadcasts viewer-selected and viewer-created video clips.

Marissa Mayer said that Google has failed to predict the popularity of user-generated content - its original model for online video emphasised "premium content" which viewers would pay a small fee to access. The success of YouTube over the past year - rapidly eclipsing Google Video in popularity - took many by surprise.

Mayer said the growth of Google and the Internet were both user-driven - and that's what makes them so revolutionary.

Posted on Businessblog™

1221 - Aug. 28, 2006 - 1.41 PM EST

Google and eBay sign advertising deal

According to some reports, eBay says it will make a deal with Google to sell advertising that would appear on eBay pages shown to users outside of the U.S.

The transaction is important not only because Google and eBay are increasingly in direct competition but also because eBay signed a similar partnership three months ago with Yahoo that included ads on some of its domestic pages.

Such a partnership was seen as a way to counter the growing power of Google. The Mountain View company is the leader in selling text advertisements on the Internet. In this business, it dwarfs Yahoo, especially in Europe. So as eBay looks to build its international advertising revenue, Google was in a position to offer a better deal than Yahoo.

“Google is very strong in every country outside of the United States,” said Meg Whitman, eBay’s chief executive, in an interview Sunday night. “We felt this arrangement of assets made sense.”

But the alliance is a striking one from a competitive standpoint. Investors have worried that eBay’s growth could slow because buyers can increasingly use search engines like Google to find obscure products.

And Google has been moving into each of eBay’s main businesses: Google Base lists products for sale; Google Checkout competes in some ways with eBay’s PayPal; and Google Talk is an alternative to eBay’s Skype online phone service.

Posted on Businessblog™

Copyright © Serge Thibodeau 2006. All rights reserved.

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