Known is a drop

Google's CEO is Googled

2005-08-10T23:18:00.000+05:00

Google says its mission is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." But it does not appear to take kindly to those who use its search engine to organize and publish information about its own executives.

CNETNews.com, a technology news Web site, said last week that Google had told it that the company would not answer any questions from CNET's reporters until July 2006. The move came after CNET published an article last month that discussed how the Google search engine can uncover personal information and that raised questions about what information Google collects about its users.

The article, by Elinor Mills, a CNET staff writer, gave several examples of information about Google's chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, that could be gleaned from the search engine. These included that his shares in the company were worth $1.5 billion, that he lived in Atherton, Calif., that he was the host of a $10,000-a-plate fund-raiser for Al Gore's presidential campaign and that he was a pilot.Details about his wife has been collected.

After the article appeared, David Krane, Google's director of public relations, called CNET editors to complain, said Jai Singh, the editor in chief of CNETNews.com. "They were unhappy about the fact we used Schmidt's private information in our story," Mr. Singh said. "Our view is what we published was all public information, and we actually used their own product to find it."

He said Mr. Krane called back to say that Google would shutout CNET for a year.

IBM to offer Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA)

2005-08-09T00:12:00.000+05:00

Here is an intersting news.

While Google, Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft targets simple but powerful keyword searches, IBM targets an unique area. IBM is looking to transform how office workers sift through the piles of data stored inside organizations as no major players are moving into this. ie., Google, Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft have focused on the public Internet instead of private record data retrieval.

IBM plans to openly offer other software developers its Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA), a technology that can analyze text within documents and other media to understand latent meanings, relationships and facts. UIMA will allow many different suppliers of software used in knowledge management, search, business intelligence and text analytics to work with one another.

IBM is also offering its WebSphere OmniFind software for helping users perform searches on unstructured data in avariety of formats or languages, be they located in databases, e-mail files, audio recordings, pictures or video images

There has been an explosion in "unstructured" information on the web, taking the form of documents, images, comment and note fields, e-mail and even rich media like video and audio. However, the technology has not existed to allow software to search out and make sense of these disparate forms of data.

UIMA technology is expected to be made available through open-source software site SourceForge by the end of 2005. The UIMA framework can currently be downloaded free of charge from IBM Alpha Works at http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/uima/.

Wood to replace oil ...

2005-08-04T23:06:00.000+05:00

The answer to the world's crude oil crisis grows on trees. Yes, its the belief of Juan Andres Soria, a graduate student from University of Idaho. He has reasons to say so.

Soria is testing his theory with the help of Armando McDonald, associate professor of wood chemistry and composites in the University of Idaho's College of Natural Resources. Though the idea may sound far-fetched, Soria and McDonald say the theory has precedent in nature — coal is the result of trees being subjected to high amounts of heat and pressure.

So far, Soria's research has focused on sawdust from Ponderosa pine trees, although he said any variety of tree could be used, including fast-growing varieties like those being cultivated for wood pulp. Only about 2 percent of the mass is lost in the heating process, he said. After the bio-oil is produced, he separates it by boiling points, or grades. So far, he said, he's identified oil grades that could someday replace gasoline, tar, glues and resins that make things like lawn furniture.

The process — in which sawdust and methanol are heated to 900 degrees Fahrenheit to create the bio-oil — is already drawing some interest from energy and wood product companies, Soria said. Ponderosa pine sawdust is only the beginning, Soria and McDonald claim. Next, they will begin testing to see if they can get bio-oil from pine needles and bark.

Still, he said, the bio-oil isn't likely to be an immediate competitor to crude oil. Crude oil currently costs about $60 a barrel, and bio-oil will only be competitive when the cost of crude oil reaches $80 a barrel, Soria said.

The importance of trees would be felt if this attempt succeed and the demand for wood increase. Thank God Veerappan is dead.

Know about Jake - a 4 year old golden retriever

2005-08-02T00:23:00.000+05:00

I was able to come across an interesting article today. A dog challenging men, isn't it interesting?

South End Rowing Club organized their 10th annual Alcatraz Invitational — a 1.2 mile swim from the infamous prison island to the San Francisco shoreline. More than 500 men including a dog ie., Jake participated in it. Jake was the only dog who lept into the chilly, choppy waters on Saturday, coming in 72nd overall. His time was 41 minutes and 45 seconds.

The crowd cheered as the 4-year-old pooch made his way onto solid ground, shaking sprays of water and dodging a woman who tried to put a medal around his neck.He is the first canine known to have made the crossing. Its always a great feeling to be the first to do something.

Bill Wygant, president of the South End Rowing Club, said he was more than happy to allow a dog into the race, a first for the more than 100-year-old group. "This swim is about personal challenge," Wygant said.

I'm sure, "Whether you are dog or human, it's whatever you can achieve that counts."

Google Bombing

2005-07-29T23:51:00.000+05:00

Now, when you search for miserable failure on Google, it brings up the official George W. Bush biography from the US White House web site which is due to Link manipulation.

"Google Bombing" like this has happened in the past, and in general, it has little impact on most people. Making a site come up tops for a relatively obscure query such as "miserable failure," which brings back less than 200,000 matches, is much different than exercising some super-control over Google for popular or commonly-performed searches. It sounds frightening. Google "Bombs" are now going off, where web sites are influencing Google's search results by controlling where they link to and what they say in their links.

Of course, Google has always worked this way. What people link to and what they say in their links is a major component in how Google organizes its search results. Links can even be the predominant factor, in some cases.The classic Google Bomb, if we're going to use that word, was way back at the end of 1999, when it was discovered that a search for "more evil than satan himself" brought up the Microsoft web site.

In all these cases, what people linked to helped influence the results that came up in Google. Moreover, link analysis was probably more important than usual in determining these results because few pages in the results set probably had much link value to boost them, in addition to the more traditional measures such as the words on the pages themselves.

Google combats these attempts by identifying what it considers to be "artificial" link structures and adjusting or eliminating their influence in the rankings. Google has also recently taken action against reciprocal link pages, link "farms" and guest books, downplaying their importance in its link analysis algorithms. And there's no doubt that Google will take action against weblogs, if those weblogs are seen as manipulating results in a way that doesn't correspond with user expectations.

The popular Internet search engine Google said that it was keeping an eye on some practical jokers who had found ways to manipulate results of queries on its site. But it said it did not believe they were capable of doing serious damage. By the way, Inktomi also has Bush's biography coming up for miserable failure, underscoring that link manipulation isn't just a Google problem. It's a challenge that Google's most direct crawler-competitor also faces. But Teoma, which uses a unique form of link analysis, has escaped the bombing.

Google claims in this latest incident, the results that currently come up for miserable failure do not "reflect the opinion on the web". Dismissed by Google as not a problem, it points out a case where the real miserable failure is Google itself.

Reading such incidents has made me clear that one could improve his site ranking by fair link manipulation and not just dumping.

Courtesy : searchenginewatch.com

Google Maps vs. MSN Virtual Earth

2005-07-28T23:25:00.000+05:00

Recent hot topic is Google Maps vs. MSN Virtual Earth as Microsoft launched MSN Virtual Earth to take on Google Earth.

Google released a beta version of its 3D mapping application that builds upon the Keyhole 2 LT application it acquired in 2004. Google Earth features satellite imagery of the entire planet, and like Google Maps, it integrates Google search results right onto the globe. It allows you to zoom from space right down to your city, take a virtual tour of the globe, or share what you've found by utilizing the XML data exchange system, KML.

One of the most useful features is layers, which show users restaurants, banks, bars, gas stations, hospitals, and more in the area, all with a single click. You can add or remove layers to suit your search. Google Earth will even display crime statistics, congressional districts, or postal code boundaries for a given zone. The tour feature allows you to bookmark and append your own descriptions to numerous places all over the globe, then fly between them with the earth spinning below--a very cool and quite addictive effect. Google Earth also features 3D terrain mapping.

Unfortunately, Google Earth's high detail seems to be mainly centered on the United States; satellite imagery outside of the country is irregular.

Microsoft recently launched a beta version of the much-awaited MSN Virtual Earth today. ItÂs a Web-based product; no downloading required as with Google Earth. Indeed, the Web interface and map/satellite toggle makes this product more directly competitive with Google Maps than with Google Earth. Indeed, the 45-degree aerial photography we have been expecting is completely missing from this versijon of MSN Virtual Earth. If Microsoft eventually bundles that fabulous looking imagery into a Web-based service, significant waves will rock all boats. For now, MSN Virtual Earth is a worthy competitor to (and outright imitator of) Google Maps.

For a quick comparison of the look-and-feel of MSN Virtual Earth vs. Google Maps, check the following two links, which reflect an identical search with similar zoom settings:

MSN Virtual Earth
Google Maps

Note that Google has added a Hybrid button to its Maps/Satellite toggle, quite possibly in quick response to Virtual EarthÂs ability to overlay street names on its maps. GoogleÂs imagery is marginally clearer and definitely more colorful than MSNÂs. Both screens are maximally zoomed in. both sites alzlow local searching and display results in a similar fashion. MSN has copied GoogleÂs excellent draggable maps. MSNÂs Scratch Pad is a handy feature; the results can be e-mailed or blogged (to MSN Spaces).

In short, the two services are nearly identical. But Virtual Earth's standout feature is Locate Me, which figures out where you are so you can start to look for local information without bothering to type in your address. Locate Me is really for laptop-lugging mobile types who may not know their current address, and it does its magic by sniffing out nearby Wi-Fi networks whose location it can identify. Virtual Earth too seems more like it should be called Virtual USA--when I tried to venture outside the US, I only found high-up aerial renderings of other regions, not local info or street maps. Google Earth and Google Maps are spotty from an international standpoint too, but not this skimpy. In other ways, Virtual Earth feels a tad unfinished (which, given that it's prominently labeled as a beta, is entirely permissable).

The war of the worlds - Google's and Microsoft's, that is - will heat up again. For now, Virtual Earth is worth checking out for Locate Me. But Google Earth and Google Maps offer a more fully-baked look at the future of mapping.

courtesy : reviews.cnet.com, google.weblogsinc.com

My first post ...

2005-07-28T12:08:00.000+05:00

Hello world,

After several months of being a "blogging" observer, I have finally got around to giving it a shot myself. I decided to step it to it as I can offer perspectives, opinions, and
insights, and I can link to others and their views, etc. Others can link to me and send me feedback, creating a massively connected community and open dialog. For me, half of the exitement at this point is just learning all about the blog tools and experimenting with the technology available to someone like myself, i.e., someone with no previous computer
programming or web publishing experience.

As I said, I will meet you all with the initiative with my next blog....comments are always welcome.

sincerely,
rajaram