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News Quotes About Google 2005



Introduction


This page contains some news quotes about Google for year 2005.

Contents


Link Spam Detection Based on Mass Estimation
Google Publication Ads
Google Personalized Search
Google Analytics
Google Base
Google Click-to-Call
Google Space
Xooglers
Google Transit Trip Planner
Gmail
Matt Cutts
Google Desktop
Google Homepage API
Google Jobs
Server Costs
Blogger Blocked in China
Web Usability
Music Search
Google Extensions for Firefox
Google Talk
Google Reader
Google and AOL Collaboration
Sergey Brin and Larry Page
Google Museum
Viruses
Google Toolbar
Google and Opera Partnership
Search Engine
 

Link Spam Detection Based on Mass Estimation


Link Spam Detection Based on Mass Estimation
Stanford InfoLab
October 31, 2005
"Abstract"
"Link spamming intends to mislead search engines and trigger an
artificially high link-based ranking of specific target web pages.
This paper introduces the concept of spam mass, a measure of the
impact of link spamming on a page’s ranking. We discuss how to
estimate spam mass and how the estimates can help identifying pages
that benefit significantly from link spamming. In our experiments on
the host-level Yahoo! web graph we use spam mass estimates to
successfully identify tens of thousands of instances of heavy-weight
link spamming."
"1 Introduction"
"In an era of search-based web access, many attempt to mischievously
influence the page rankings produced by search engines. This
phenomenon, called web spamming, represents a major problem to search
engines [Singhal, 2004, Henzinger et al., 2002] and has negative
economic and social impact on the whole web community. Initially,
spammers focused on enriching the contents of spam pages with specific
words that would match query terms. With the advent of link-based
ranking techniques, such as PageRank [Page et al., 1998], spammers
started to construct spam farms, collections of interlinked spam
pages. This latter form of spamming is referred to as link spamming as
opposed to the former term spamming."
"This paper proposes a novel method for identifying the largest and
most sophisticated spam farms, by turning the spammers’ ingenuity
against themselves. Our focus is on spamming attempts that target
PageRank. We introduce the concept of spam mass, a measure of how much
PageRank a page accumulates through being linked to by spam pages. The
target pages of spam farms, whose PageRank is boosted by many spam
pages, are expected to have a large spam mass. At the same time,
popular reputable pages, which have high PageRank because other
reputable pages point to them, have a small spam mass."
"The strength of our approach is that we can identify any major case
of link spamming, not only farms with regular interconnection
structures or cliques, which represent the main focus of previous
research (see Section 5). The proposed method also complements our
previous work on TrustRank [Gy¨ongyi et al., 2004] in that it detects
spam as opposed to “detecting” reputable pages."
"2.3 Link Spamming"
"In this paper we focus on link spamming that targets the PageRank
algorithm. PageRank is fairly robust to spamming: a significant
increase in score requires a large number of links from low-PageRank
nodes and/or some hard-to-obtain links from popular nodes, such as The
New York Times site www.nytimes.com. Spammers usually try to blend
these two strategies, though the former is more prevalent."
"In order to better understand the modus operandi of link spamming, we
introduce the model of a link spam farm, a group of interconnected
nodes involved in link spamming. A spam farm has a single target node,
whose ranking the spammer intends to boost by creating the whole
structure."
"A farm also contains boosting nodes, controlled by the spammer and
connected so that they would influence the PageRank of the target.
Boosting nodes are owned either by the author of target, or by some
other spammer (financially or otherwise) interested in collaborating
with him/her. Commonly, boosting nodes have little value by
themselves; they only exist to improve the ranking of the target.
Their PageRank tends to be small, so serious spammers employ a large
number of boosting nodes (occasionally, thousands of them) to trigger
high target ranking."
"In addition to the links within the farm, spammers may gather some
external links from reputable nodes. While the author of a reputable
node y is not voluntarily involved in spamming (according to our
model, if he/she were, the page would be part of the farm), “stray”
links may exist for a number of reason:"
"Node y is a blog or message board or guestbook and the spammer
manages to post a comment that includes a spam link, which then slips
under the editorial radar."
"• The spammer creates a honey pot, a spam page that offers
valuable information, but behind the scenes is still part of the farm.
Unassuming users might then point to the honey pot, without realizing
that their link is harvested for spamming purposes."
"• The spammer purchases domain names that recently expired but
had previously been reputable and popular. This way he/she can profit
of the old links that are still out there."
"3.4 Estimating Spam Mass"
"The assumption that we have accurate a priori knowledge of whether
nodes are good (i.e., in V+) or spam (i.e., in V-) is of course
unrealistic. Not only is such information currently unavailable for
the actual web, but it would be impractical to produce and would
quickly get outdated. In practice, the best we can hope for is some
approximation to (subset of) the good nodes (say Ṽ+) or spam nodes
(say Ṽ-). Accordingly, we expect that search engines have some
reliable “white-list” and/or “black-list,” comprising a subset of the
nodes, compiled manually by editors and/or generated by algorithmic
means."
"Depending on which of these two sets is available (either or both),
the spam mass of nodes can be approximated by estimating good and spam
PageRank contributions."
"3.6 Spam Detection Algorithm"
"There are at least three reasons to apply a threshold on PageRank.
First, remember that we are interested in detecting nodes that profit
from significant link spamming. Obviously, a node with a small
PageRank is not a beneficiary of considerable boosting, so it is of no
interest to us."
"Second, focusing on nodes x with large PageRank also means that we
have more evidence—a larger number of nodes contributing to the
PageRank of x. Therefore, no single node’s contribution is critical
alone, the decision whether a node is spam or not is based upon data
collected from multiple sources."
"Finally, for nodes x with low PageRank scores, even the slightest
error in approximating Mx by ∼Mx could yield huge differences in the
corresponding relative mass estimates. The PageRank threshold helps us
to avoid the complications caused by this phenomenon."
"6 Conclusions"
"In this paper we introduced a new spam detection method that can
identify web nodes with PageRank scores significantly boosted through
link spamming. Our approach is built on the idea of estimating the
spam mass of nodes, which is a measure of the relative PageRank
contribution of connected spam pages. Spam mass estimates are easy to
compute using two sets of PageRank scores—a regular one and another
one with the random jump biased to some known good nodes. Hence, we
argue that the spam detection arsenal of search engines could be
easily augmented with our method."
"We have shown the effectiveness of mass estimation-based spam
detection through a set of experiments conducted on the Yahoo! web
graph. With minimal effort we were able to identify several tens of
thousands of link spam hosts. While the number of detected spam hosts
might seem relatively small with respect to the size of the entire
web, it is important to emphasize that these are the most advanced
instances of spam, capable of accumulating large PageRank scores and
thus making to the top of web search result lists."
"We believe that another strength of our method is that it is robust
even in the event that spammers learn about it. While knowledgeable
spammers could attempt to collect a large number of links from good
nodes, effective tampering with the proposed spam detection method
would require non-obvious manipulations of the good graph. Such
manipulations are virtually impossible without knowing exactly the
actual set of good nodes used as input by a given implementation of
the spam detection algorithm."
"In comparison to other link spam detection methods, our proposed
approach excels in handling irregular link structures. It also differs
from our previous work on TrustRank in that we provide an algorithm
for spam detection as opposed to spam demotion."
http://dbpubs.stanford.edu/pub/2005-33
http://dbpubs.stanford.edu/pub/showDoc.Fulltext?lang=en&doc=2005-33&format=pdf&compression=&name=2005-33.pdf

Links:

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/051108-144815
http://www.threadwatch.org/node/4605

Google Publication Ads


Google Publication Ads
"Broaden your advertising horizons. See your ads in print."
"Google Publication Ads enables you to place ads in print
publications, allowing your advertising to reach an audience that's
targeted to the demographics and topics you choose."
"Publication Ads is currently in a pilot phase. If you've been invited
to participate, it's easy to place an ad:"
"Select a publication."
"Use target demographics, circulation details or keywords to create a
list of relevant publications. Compare each publication's details and
pricing information to select the publication that's right for you."
"Create your ad."
"Combine text and images to build an ad that you can preview as you go
along, like the one shown below."
"Submit your ad."
"Verify your ad and publication, then submit it with one click. We'll
review your ad and provide it to the publisher for their approval, and
when it runs, we'll send you proof of publication and an invoice for
payment."
https://adwords.google.com/publicationads/login

Google Publication Ads
November 11, 2005
"Google releases Google Publication Ads, a service similar to AdWords
except it’s for print, and not the web (it’s invite-only at the
moment). Google says the service “enables you to place ads in print
publications, allowing your advertising to reach an audience that’s
targeted to the demographics and topics you choose.” Graphic ads are
allowed as well."
"According to MediaPost Publications, for now ads are only available
in two Chicago newspapers."
http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2005-11-11-n31.html

Links:

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/051111-093131
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/index.php?p=2498
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20051110GooglePublicationAdsAvailableForPrint.html
http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2005/11/10/google_tests_program_for_text_ads_in_print_pubs/
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=36187


Google Personalized Search


Personalized Search Graduates from Google Labs
November 10, 2005
"We're happy to announce that today Google Personalized Search
graduated from Labs and is ready for prime time. As part of our
continued efforts to improve the quality of search results,
Personalized Search will now be offered to all users when they create
a new Google Account."
"Personalized Search is an improvement to Google search that orders
results based on previous queries. Learning from the history of
searches and search results that have been clicked on, Personalized
Search brings certain results closer to the top when it's clear
they're most relevant to the user. For example, a user who recently
searched on iPod accessories who enters a query on [apple] would be
shown results related to the computer manufacturer before those
related to fruit."
"In addition to coming off Labs, Personalized Search also now includes
several new features, such as:"
"• Bookmarks & Searchable Labels: Users can now create bookmarks
and add searchable labels and notes to any item in their search
history to help organize their information. Since these are created
through a Google Account, this information is accessible from any
computer by signing in to their account."
"• Remove Results: This new feature offers users greater control
over search results by enabling them to remove unwanted results from
future searches. Users can remove a single page or an entire site, for
one search or all future searches."
"• International Expansion: Personalized Search is now available
in 39 domains, in 12 languages. The Personalized Homepage is also now
available in 17 domains, in 12 languages."
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/annc/personalized_search.html

Google Personalized Search
http://www.google.com/psearch

Google Personalized Search Help
http://www.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=1593&hl=en


Google Analytics


Google Renames Urchin Google Analytics, Makes It Free
November 14, 2005
"Google has renamed its Urchin web analytics unit to be -- yep --
Google Analytics (as Gary predicted), in a move that follows with
similar rebranding such as Keyhole being renamed Google Earth. And
just like with Keyhole and Google's Picasa photo software, Google is
turning Google Analytics into a free product."
"The On Demand product is free for anyone. If you don't have an
AdWords account, you're limited to five million page views per month
(which is a lot). Need more? Make a $5 one time deposit, open an
AdWords account, and you're set with unlimited page views."
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/051114-030100

Urchin Goes Free, Becomes Google Analytics
November 14, 2005
"Google has removed the fees from its web analytics package, which
should be a welcome bonus to AdWords users who may have shied away
from it previously."
"After Google picked up San Diego-based Urchin in March, it kept the
name and fees in place. Now the company has dropped both, renaming the
service Google Analytics and making it free."
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20051114UrchinGoesFreeBecomesGoogleAnalytics.html

Google Analytics
"Google Analytics tells you everything you want to know about how your
visitors found you and how they interact with your site. You'll be
able to focus your marketing resources on campaigns and initiatives
that deliver ROI, and improve your site to convert more visitors."
"Sophisticated, yet easy to use"
"We believe that web analytics should be simple and sophisticated at
the same time. We've designed Google Analytics to have enterprise
level capabilities and yet still be accessible to anyone who wants to
improve their marketing and site design. Google Analytics delivers all
the features you'd expect from a high-end web analytics offering, and
provides timesaving AdWords integration features."
"Integrated with AdWords"
"If you have an AdWords account, you can use Google Analytics directly
from the AdWords interface. Google Analytics is the only product that
can automatically provide AdWords ROI metrics, without you having to
import cost data or add tracking information to keywords. Of course,
Google Analytics tracks all of your non-AdWords initiatives as well."
"Free"
"Google Analytics gives us an opportunity to invest in our advertisers
and everyone else who wants to create quality content on the web.
Instead of spending money on web analytics, you can focus on creating
targeted, ROI-driven marketing campaigns, and on improving your site
design and content."
http://www.google.com/analytics/

Google Analytics Help Center
http://www.google.com/support/analytics

Google Analytics Forum
http://groups.google.com/group/analytics-help


Google Base


Google Base
(November 16, 2005)
"Google Base is a place where you can add all types of information
that we'll host and make searchable online."
"You can describe any item you post with attributes, which will help
people find it when they search Google Base. In fact, based on the
relevance of your items, they may also be included in the main Google
search index and other Google products like Froogle and Google Local."
http://base.google.com/base/

About Google Base
(November 16, 2005)
"Why should I use Google Base?"
"If you have information you want to share with others, but aren't
sure how to go about gaining an audience, Google Base is for you."
"If you don't have your own website, we'll host your content for you.
You'll be able to choose labels and attributes that can draw more
attention to the content you're showing."
"Google Base is free. Plus you're always in control – you can edit or
archive your items at any time."
http://base.google.com/base/about.html

Google Base FAQ
(November 16, 2005)
http://base.google.com/base/about.html#faq

Google Base Support Forum
(November 16, 2005)
http://groups.google.com/group/base-help-discussion

Google Base - Editorial Guidelines
(November 16, 2005)
"The most effective item communicates a clear message to a targeted
audience. Once you determine whom you want to reach and develop
appropriate text, you need to create an item that will inform users.
The Google Base Editorial Guidelines will help you create effective
items to meet your goals"
"Underlying all the Editorial Guidelines are two simple principles:"
"Be honest, accurate, and factual."
"Clearly and accurately describe your message."
http://base.google.com/base/guidelines.html

First Base
November 15, 2005
"Today we're excited to announce Google Base, an extension of our
existing content collection efforts like web crawl, Google Sitemaps,
Google Print and Google Video. Google Base enables content owners to
easily make their information searchable online. Anyone, from large
companies to website owners and individuals, can use it to submit
their content in the form of data items. We'll host the items and make
them searchable for free."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/11/first-base.html

My Experience With Google Base
November 16, 2005
"it seems pretty easy to post items. Its easier than eBay or
Craigslist. Now, easier than eBay you can expect, since it is less
complicated, but the fact that Base is easier to post to than
Craigslist is a problem Craigslist needs to solve. It can take twice
as long to post a free item to Craigslist, in my experience, than to
Base, and that is going to send a lot of people to Base."
"Currently, my “item” is number one on a Base search for “Google”.
Most of the rest of the results are people linking to articles. In a
way, besides being a cheap, fast and easy marketplace, this is also
the world’s worst implementation of del.icio.us. Since each item is
listed seperately, if multiple people decide to post
http://base.google.com/ to Google Base, they clutter the results,
instead of adding depth to it."
"there is no way to pay for the item through Google Base. So, the
product does some things better than Craigslist and some things worse
than eBay."
"It’s halfway in between “The World’s Marketplace” and the world’s
classified ads, and it wants to be both. When Google Purchases (or
Wallet) hits, this may be perfect."
"The most important thing is that Google gets enough items to satisfy
users and enough users to satisfy sellers, something Craigslist and
eBay have in abundance. While having item feeds is a start, it won’t
fulfill everything, but if anyone has a shot at rapidly growing a
service, its Google."
http://google.blognewschannel.com/index.php/archives/2005/11/16/my-experience-with-google-base/

Google Base Officially Live Now
November 16, 2005
"At this time, the service feels a little like a Froogle for everyone,
to offer anything, to be shown anywhere. (The actual Froogle, Google’s
shopping service, has strong limitations on the types of people it
accepts as merchants, as well as the types of items – just to give it
a try, I once submitted Authorama.com’s public domain books, but was
rejected – and, as far as I know, it only displays Froogle items on
Froogle.com.) Even more than Froogle, GBase is close to Google’s
mission statement (“organize the world’s information and make it
universally accessible and useful”)."
"Other than Froogle, Google Base reminds me of another initiative: the
Semantic Web, evangelized by the creator of the web, Tim Berners-Lee
and the W3C. In this initiative, web owners will share meta-
information on their available data using RDF files on their own
servers."
"Not only does Google Base have a centralized approach to adding meta
-data to items, unlike the Semantic Web you don’t even need to have
your own web server if you prefer"
"And who knows when they’ll add their own PayPal-like money
transaction service and start charging commissions. Google Wallet
could be the last piece of the puzzle here."
"I think over time more Google Base use-cases will pop up; the concept
is certainly interesting, and I’d like to hear what kind of
information you entered, and possibly, where else other than Google
Base it appeared. Can Google Base be used to enter blog posts? Can it
be used to release a daily cartoon? Can it be used as eBay
replacement?"
http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2005-11-16-n68.html

Google Base is Live
November 15, 2005
"Google Base, the now-you-see-it-now-you-don't free Web-based database
which first surfaced a couple of weeks ago, is now live."
"Google Base can be used to store information of any sort--the company
seems to like using recipes as an example. Already, there's commercial
stuff like classified ads and job listings in there; the service has
been described as an eBay killer or a Craigslist killer. At the
moment, it's clearly very far from being either."
"I recently sold a wristwatch on eBay and was struck by just how
highly-evolved that service is--it not only has scads of general
features for buying and selling (and in PayPal, the mechanism for
moving the payment between parties), it has tools specifically for
people selling vintage watches, and for folks doing many, many other
specialized tasks. It took eBay a decade to get so powerful and easy
to use, and I don't see Google Base catching up anytime soon, even
though its features for defining data types are, in a sense, an
attempt to get users to do some of the heavy lifting that eBay's done
itself."
"Some of the folks who think that Google is out to take on eBay and
Craigslist envision, I'm sure, that the company wants to take a
monetary cut of transactions that take place in Google Base. There's
no infrastructure for doing so at the moment. But the company doesn't
have to be a financial middleman, or to replicate the richness of
other sites, to change the game."
"Google has become the most powerful company on the Web by doing a
spectacular job at finding stuff in the messy, far-flung, essentially
unruly place known as the Web. With Google Base, the company is asking
the world to store information right on Google's servers, and do so in
a tidy, easy-to-understand way."
"If the world responds by entrusting Google with massive amounts of
data, and the company monetizes it with its usual amazing efficiency,
this could be the start of something big. And maybe--over time--a
threat to big established sites. We'll see."
http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/001098.html

Google Base service goes live
November 15, 2005
"Google's mysterious Google Base service went live late on Tuesday,
allowing people to post any kind of information they want for free and
to provide labels to describe it so others can easily find it."
"The new beta service allows people to post "all types of online and
offline information and images" that will be searchable on Google Base
and, depending on their relevance, may be searchable on Google Search,
Froogle and Google Local, the company said."
"While some observers have speculated that Google is targeting the
online classifieds market space, specifically eBay and Craigslist,
with the service, a Google executive denied that that is the company's
intent."
"Marc Leibowitz, Web search and syndication director, said Google
merely wants to serve people who have information to share that is not
already on a Web site and being crawled by a search engine to open it
up to the public. In addition, much of the information in Google Base
is expected to be noncommercial, a Google spokesman said."
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5954797.html

Google raises flag over Base
November 16, 2005
"Google is expanding its already ambitious efforts to organize all the
world's information with the launch of a service today that allows
people to upload a wide array of content to a central database so
others can find it."
"The free Google Base service at http://base.google.com will accept
just about any type of content from anyone, from recipes and events
information to large batches of job listings compiled by classified-ad
companies such as CareerBuilder.com."
"Company founder and Chief Executive Kendall Fargo said that before
Google Base, his Web site's product information could not be found
through Google. Now, though, people who are shopping for items such as
dishwashers will be able to locate Web pages that feature the products
sold by local retailers."
"Speculation has been widespread that Google Base is a way for Google
to dive into classified ads and listings, a market dominated by
newspapers, craigslist and San Jose online auction company eBay.
Individuals will be able to create free listings for items they want
to sell. And CareerBuilder, a national job-listings Web site, has been
helping Google test its service, Google said."
"Although Google users will be able to restrict their search to just
the content of Google Base, the Mountain View company's larger goal is
to push the content it receives to its various services, where
appropriate. Product listings, for example, might appear on the
Froogle shopping service, while restaurant listings might end up at
Google Local. Other content might end up in Google's main Web index."
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/technology/13179904.htm

Google Aims for the Classified Ads Business
November 16, 2005
"Google is poised to enter the highly competitive classified
advertisement business, posing a threat to online and traditional
businesses in that field."
"On Tuesday evening, Google, the dominant Web search site, was
planning to introduce a service called Base, which it said was
intended to permit Internet users to upload files and other
information to Google's servers and make them searchable by category."
"During an interview at Google headquarters last week, Salar Kamangar,
Google's vice president for product management, said the new service
was experimental and cautioned against viewing it as a imminent
assault on the classified advertising business because it could be
used in far broader ways."
"Still, several industry executives and analysts said they believed
that Google Base was an aggressive first step in a series of maneuvers
that would position the company as a powerful player in the $100
billion annual market for classified advertising."
"The general industry perception is that Google could potentially
transform that market, which has already been shaken by the rapid
shift to online searching and the free listing services offered by
Craigslist."
" Last week, the newsletter reported on a Google patent application
filed in March 2004 for a service called Automat, which the newsletter
said went so far as to use the URL address "classifieds.google.com" in
several drawings. The application was titled "System and Method for
Providing On-Line User-Assisted Web-Based Advertising." The company
said in a statement, "Prospective product announcements should not be
inferred from our patent applications." "
"The system is intended to simplify the process of making either small
or large amounts of digital information easily accessible. Google
Base, Mr. Kamangar said, offers fields that will permit users to
"label" and define the "attributes" of each piece of information they
upload to Google. The information can then be quickly indexed by the
company's search system."
"Mr. Kamangar said the service would enable users to store all kinds
of information ranging from DNA sequences to home recipes, allowing
both commercial and noncommercial uses."
" "We saw there were large instances of information we didn't have and
couldn't make searchable," he said, noting that, "we realized that we
could make it possible for people to make information on information
available." "
"A variety of Web services like Technorati and Flickr already use a
mechanism known as tagging, which makes it possible for computer users
to categorize Web pages they have found and to annotate them."
"Google Base would offer users a similar function."
"There is intense industry interest in what Google will do with its
Base and Automat services as well as an online payment system that is
reported to be under development."
"The company faces several challenges if it does decide to enter the
classified ad market, a move that would put it in competition with
companies like eBay, Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, which are
currently all major Google advertisers."
"In fact, starting Tuesday evening, Google searches were to direct job
seekers to specific listings on the CareerBuilder Web site."
"Google currently is dominant only in its Web search service, while
its other offerings like e-mail, news and maps, all significantly
trail competing services from Yahoo and others. Google's success in
gaining classified revenue might depend on the degree to which it is
able to integrate the information into its main search offering."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/16/technology/16google.html

Links:

http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3564506
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/index.php?p=2527
http://www.researchbuzz.org/2005/11/now_google_base_really_do_all.shtml
http://www.webpronews.com/insiderreports/searchinsider/wpn-49-20051116GoogleBaseArrives.html
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-11-16-google-base_x.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2005/tc20051027_587849.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/16/BUGCFFOPKT1.DTL
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=174300039


Google Click-to-Call


Google Click-to-Call
(November 24, 2005)
"1. What's the phone icon on Google search results? How does it work?"
"We're testing a new product that gives you a free and fast way to
speak directly to the advertiser you found on a Google search results
page – over the phone."
"Here's how it works: When you click the phone icon, you can enter
your phone number. Once you click 'Connect For Free,' Google calls the
number you provided. When you pick up, you hear ringing on the other
end as Google connects you to the other party."
"We won't share your telephone number with anyone, including the
advertiser. When you're connected with the advertiser, your number is
blocked so the advertiser can't see it. In addition, we'll delete the
number from our servers after a short period of time."
"2. Am I charged to connect to an advertiser?"
"No. Google foots the bill for all calls - local and long-distance.
However, if we call a mobile phone number, you may incur airtime fees
depending on the mobile phone plan. Check your mobile phone provider
for details."
http://www.google.com/help/faq_clicktocall.html

Links:

http://google.blognewschannel.com/index.php/archives/2005/11/24/googles-got-click-to-call/
http://google.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000343069498/


Google Space


Google Gives London Some Google Space
November 25, 2005
"Google has opened Google Space in London’s Heathrow Airport, giving
those waiting for their flights free internet terminals and a chance
to test-drive some Google applications. Google even has some live
employees helping out there."
"The employees are wearing shirts that have a button on their
shoulders and appear to say, “Press For Assistance”."
http://google.blognewschannel.com/index.php/archives/2005/11/25/google-gives-london-some-google-space/

Google turns Heathrow into testing lab
November 24, 2005
"Google Space aims to entertain passengers waiting at Heathrow, and
will also allow the search firm to road-test new products"
"Google has taken its first foray into the physical world with the
launch of an Internet cafe-style computing booth in London's Heathrow
Airport."
"The temporary installation, termed Google Space, consists of ten
Samsung laptops in the public lounge of Terminal One at London's main
airport."
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/ecommerce/0,39020372,39237536,00.htm

Links:

http://www.google.co.uk/googlespace/
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20051124GoogleSpaceIsVeryDownToEarth.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4463634.stm
http://www.telecom.paper.nl/news/article.aspx?id=105912&nr=


Xooglers


Xooglers
(November 26, 2005)
"A gathering spot for ex-Googlers to reminisce and comment on the
latest developments in search."
http://xooglers.blogspot.com/

Xooglers!
November 25, 2005
"check out Xooglers. It’s a blog that Doug Edwards started to
reminisce about his experiences at Google (other ex-Googlers may join
in at some point). Doug’s a great guy and he helped shape Google
culture in many ways. If you’ve read the copy on the spam report page,
you’ve seen some of his polishing work."
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/xooglers/

Links:

http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2005-11-25-n77.html
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/051125-091043
http://www.threadwatch.org/node/4795

Google Transit Trip Planner


Google Transit Trip Planner
(December 8, 2005)
"Create your own trip, complete with schedules"
http://www.google.com/transit

Google Transit FAQ
(December 8, 2005)
"Do you live in or near a city? Want to go someplace—to the airport,
to dinner, to work every day—and not worry about the hassles and
expense of driving and parking? Google Transit Trip Planner enables
you to enter the specifics of your trip—where you're starting, where
you're ending up, what time of day you'd like to leave and/or arrive—
then uses all available public transportation schedules and
information to plot out the most efficient possible step-by-step
itinerary. You can even compare the cost of your trip with the cost of
driving the same route!"
"At the moment we're only offering this service for the Portland,
Oregon metro area, but we plan to expand to cities throughout the
United States and around the world."
http://www.google.com/transit/help/faq_transit.html

Google Transit forum
(December 8, 2005)
http://groups.google.com/group/googletransit

Public transit via Google
December 7, 2005
"One of the best things about working at Google is a policy known as
"20 percent time," which you can read about on our jobs page or in
this post. Having the freedom to pursue projects during 20 percent of
our work week means engineers can pursue a breadth of unique and
interesting ideas without having to wait for anyone else."
"So not too long ago, a few engineers from San Francisco, New York,
and Zurich -- all of whom regularly use public transportation --
decided that being able to plan local trips without having to go to
multiple websites, and done in an easy, intuitive way would be a
useful product. So they devoted their 20 percent time to building it.
As it happens, a lot of people thought this was a great idea, and our
small team quickly grew with "twenty-percenters" from across Google."
"Today, we are happy and proud to tell you that their efforts have
resulted in a new Google Labs experiment: Google Transit Trip Planner.
With it, commuters will be able to easily access public transit
schedules, routes, and plan trips using their local public
transportation options. This first release covers only the Portland,
Oregon metro area, but we are working to expand our coverage very
soon. (If you're from a local transit agency interested in being
included in Google Transit, we would love to speak with you. Just
write to us.)"
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/public-transit-via-google.html


Gmail


Gmail Web Clips
A cure for the common inbox
December 8, 2005
"Ever get the feeling that your email experience is a little too
predictable? I certainly have. Over the past few months, I've been
working on Gmail Clips, a new feature that can help mix things up a
bit. Starting this week, you can see headlines from your favorite
blogs and news sites right above your Inbox. Gmail tips and relevant
text ads appear from time to time as well."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/cure-for-common-inbox.html

What is 'Web Clips'?
(December 8, 2005)
"Web Clips shows you news headlines, Gmail tips, blogs, any RSS and
Atom feed, relevant sponsored links, and more -- right at the top of
your inbox and messages. Receive updates from your favorite sites
without having to leave Gmail!"
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=18219&topic=0&type=f

What's new on Gmail?
(December 8, 2005)
Feed me
"View your favorite RSS feeds right in Gmail as “Clips” along the top
of your Gmail screen. Display clips from blogs, news sites and other
online sources. Pick from the latest headlines, random popular feeds,
or add any RSS/Atom feed you want."
http://mail.google.com/mail/help/about_whatsnew.html

Gmail Mobile
(December 16, 2005)
"Now you can access your Gmail messages from the web browser on your
mobile phone or device. Read and reply to your Gmail messages any
time, anywhere."
" Point your phone's web browser to http://m.gmail.com "
http://www.google.com/glm/gmail
http://mail.google.com/mail/help/about_whatsnew.html


Matt Cutts


Matt Cutts Interview
Sarah Mackay (Ms. Write) of Webmaster Radio
(http://www.webmasterradio.fm/) interviews Google's software engineer
Matt Cutts (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/). Audio file:

http://www.webmasterradio.fm/episodes/audio/2005/MW120205.mp3

Some of the topics discussed:

- indexing time
- ranking high in search results
- how to get banned
- re-inclusion after getting banned
- SEO companies
- Matt Cutts' blog
- Google free search
- Froogle
- googlers in conferences

Links:

http://www.threadwatch.org/node/4925
http://www.seobuzzbox.com/webmaster-radio-matt-cutts-interview.html
http://www.boydcreative.net/google/recapping-sarah-mackays-interview-with-googles-matt-cutts/
http://www.seologs.com/archives/2005/12/06/audio-interview-with-matt-cutts/
http://www.sempro.org/2005-12/matt-cutts-audio-interview/

Google Desktop


Desktop goes international
(December 14, 2005)
"Today we're pleased to announce the out-of-beta release of Google
Desktop in 16 languages, including Chinese (simplified), Chinese
(traditional), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian,
Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese/Brazilian, Russian, Spanish,
and Swedish."
http://googledesktop.blogspot.com/2005/12/desktop-goes-international.html


Google Homepage API


Google Homepage API
(December 14, 2005)
"The Google Homepage API is our effort to open the Google homepage to
developers. Use it to turn your web content or application into
modules that users can add to their personalized homepage. You can
also develop features that affect other aspects of the page, such as
font and color schemes."
http://www.google.com/apis/homepage/

Google Homepage API FAQ
http://www.google.com/apis/homepage/faq.html

Google Homepage API Developer Guide
http://www.google.com/apis/homepage/guide.html

Google Homepage API forum
http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Homepage-API

Discover Homepage Content
http://www.google.com/ig/directory

Build your own Google homepage
December 13, 2005
"The personalized homepage was created to bring together the stuff
that interests you from across the web. From an engineering
perspective, this became an opportunity to create a framework for all
types of content and information. Supporting RSS and Atom feeds was
one step in that direction, and today we're excited to start
supporting richer web apps as well. With the Google Homepage API,
developers can now create modules for the personalized homepage. It's
designed to be flexible and easy to use, and you don't need to
download anything to create a module. To get the ball rolling, the
team's created a few modules to add to the directory."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/build-your-own-google-homepage.html


Google Jobs


Google To Create Over 600 New Jobs in Ireland
December 13, 2005
"Google is to create over 600 new jobs, with the support of IDA
Ireland. It was announced today by Micheal Martin TD and John Herlihy,
European Director of Online Sales & Operations at Google."
"Dublin is Googles European Headquarters and its largest operation
outside the US, with employees from over 40 nationalities.  It
provides a range of technical, sales and operations support, financial
and shared services to Googles customers in over 35 countries."
"Over 600 new high level positions will be created in total over the
next two to three years.  Google will be recruiting across the
business from operations, customer sales and engineering to legal,
finance and human resources."
"Google aims to become the number one choice for all nationalities
wanting to pursue a career in the European media or technology
industries.  Google recruits employees at a very high skill level and
many of the positions will require third level educated graduates with
multilingual skills.  Google currently employs over 800 people across
Europe."
"In order to accommodate its growing work force, Google has also
signed a lease for a further 100,000 square feet beside its current
European headquarters building on Barrow Street, Dublin 4."
http://www.irishdev.com/NewsArticle.aspx?id=1527

Google to create 600 new jobs in Ireland
December 14, 2005
"Google is to create 600 new jobs at its European HQ in Dublin. The
new jobs will bring the total number of Googlers in Ireland to around
1400."
"The company is also reported to have signed the lease on another
9,300 square meters of office space in the Irish capital."
"Ireland was already known as a favourite destination for US companies
looking for a European HQ with both Dell and Intel basing their
operations there."
"Not only is the population well-trained and speak English, it serves
well as a tax haven from the United States. Ireland's corporate tax
rate is 12.5 percent, compared to 35 percent in the US."
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/81331/google-to-create-600-new-jobs-in-ireland.html

Links:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0512140121dec14,1,2062395.story?coll=chi-technology-hed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/13/AR2005121300819.html
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8EFFSA88.htm?campaign_id=apn_tech_down&chan=tc
http://software.silicon.com/applications/0,39024653,39155028,00.htm
http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2005-12-13T140331Z_01_KWA350441_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-GOOGLE-IRELAND-DC.XML
http://www.forbes.com/business/services/feeds/ap/2005/12/13/ap2389758.html
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20051212IrelandMayLuckIntoMoreGoogleJobs.html


Server Costs


Google warns of runaway server costs
December 12, 2005
"Google has warned that servers could soon cost more to run than to
buy."
"Luiz Andre Barroso, an engineer for the company, warned that if
performance per watt does not improve then servers could become
prohibitively expensive, a chilling thought for his parent company
which relies on hoards of servers for its own business."
"Mr Barroso suggested that processors should incorporate more cores
and threads to allow them to execute instructions at the same time.
Sun's Niagara processor, included in the recently launched T2000
server, follows similar engineering ideas."
" "The possibility of computer equipment power consumption spiralling
out of control could have serious consequences for the overall
affordability of computing, not to mention the overall health of the
planet," Mr Barroso wrote in the Association for Computing Machinery's
Queue journal. "
http://www.itwales.com/799663.htm

Links:

http://hardware.silicon.com/servers/0,39024647,39154982,00.htm
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/hardware/soa/Power_could_cost_more_than_servers_Google_warns/0,2000061702,39227248,00.htm
http://news.techwhack.com/2659/131202-google-claims-servers-power-bill-might-exceed-their-initial-cost/


Blogger Blocked in China


Google's Blogger gets blocked again in China
December 14, 2005
"Access to Google Inc.'s free Web log service, Blogger, appears to
once again be blocked by official censors in China, less than two
months after the service became accessible to users here."
"Web logs, or blogs as they are more commonly known, are personal Web
sites that are similar to online diaries, allowing people to record
events in their lives, share pictures, or comment on politics current
events."
"The Chinese government has a policy of blocking access to Internet
sites that it deems undesirable but the specifics of these efforts,
which can change over time, are not generally acknowledged by
officials in public."
http://www.infoworld.nl/idgns/bericht.phtml?id=00256F6C005C22FC482570D60081A9DE
http://addict3d.org/index.php?page=viewarticle&type=news&ID=14549&title=Google's%20Blogger%20gets%20blocked%20again%20in%20China


Web Usability


Google’s Golden Triangle
December 12, 2005
" "It's not the searcher, it's the engine," said Gord Hotchkiss,
President and CEO of Canadian search engine marketing firm, Enquiro.
Hotchkiss, presenting at SES Chicago last week, was relaying some
telling eye-tracking data, comparing where users' eyes fall on major
search engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo. Google, with its "Golden
Triangle" eye-tracking pattern, seems to produce results faster than
the others. "
" "Google has trained us how to search. Sorry MSN. Sorry Yahoo,"
Hotchkiss continued. "
" The data suggested that Google's homepage was set up exactly right.
Users' eyes landed directly on the search box. With busy portals like
MSN and Yahoo, eye patterns were more diverse, distracting users with
a barrage of imagery. The imagery causes the pattern to scatter as
users look around the page between query and result. This is a pattern
Hotchkiss called the "accidental tourist." "
"Users scan Google's results page in a triangular pattern now called
the Golden Triangle, a shot of which can be found here, from the top
left to the top right, connecting to the bottom left just above where
searchers begin to scroll. Eyetools reports that in its initial study,
100% of study participants looked at this area of the SERP."
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20051212GooglesGoldenTriangle.html


Music Search


Searching for music
December 15, 2005
"we created a music search feature. Now you can search for a popular
artist name, like the Beatles or the Pixies, and often Google will
show some information about that artist, like cover art, reviews, and
links to stores where you can download the track or buy a CD via a
link at the top of your web search results page."
"We do this sort of thing a lot -- adding a bit of special information
to results for important searches. For example, we have movie
showtimes and stock quotes. The more information we can make easily
accessible with a simple search, the better."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/searching-for-music.html


Google Extensions for Firefox


Google Extensions for Firefox
"Welcome to the Google Extensions for Firefox page. Extensions are
small applications that you download and install into your Firefox
browser to add new functionality. We hope you enjoy these extensions!"
http://toolbar.google.com/firefox/extensions/index.html

Google Extensions for Firefox forum
http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Firefox-Extensions

Google Safe Browsing for Firefox BETA
"Google Safe Browsing is an extension to Firefox that alerts you if a
web page that you visit appears to be asking for your personal or
financial information under false pretences."
http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/safebrowsing/index.html

Blogger Web Comments for Firefox BETA
"Blogger Web Comments for Firefox is an extension that makes it easy
to see what bloggers are saying about a page you're viewing in
Firefox"
http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/webcomments/index.html

Google Toolbar for Firefox
"Take the power of Google with you anywhere on the Web"
http://toolbar.google.com/firefox/index.html

Google Send to Phone
"Send text messages of web page content to your mobile phone (U.S.
numbers only)."
http://toolbar.google.com/firefox/extensions/sendtophone/index.html

Google Suggest for Firefox
"Google Suggest for Firefox is an extension that completes your search
terms as you type them into the search box located to the right of the
address bar."
http://toolbar.google.com/firefox/extensions/suggest/index.html

Google FireFox Extensions Collect Data, Share it With Spammers and Scammers
December 20, 2005
"Every request is transmitted to Google over HTTP, i.e. in clear-text.
This is not good. Here is why:"
"Consider a web application that uses SSL to encrypt the session. If
this web application were to submit private information about you via
a GET request (i.e in the URL, such as a credit card number), this
will now be transmitted to http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/lookup
in clear-text, allowing someone on your network segment, or any router
in between yourself and google.com to sniff the information off the
wire."
http://addict3d.org/index.php?page=viewarticle&type=news&ID=14885&title=Google%20FireFox%20Extensions%20Collect%20Data,%20Share%20it%20With%20Spammers%20and%20Scammers

Two Things That Bother Me About Google’s New Firefox Extension
December 15, 2005
"Google just released a new Firefox extension called “Safe Browsing
for Firefox”."
"what information does the extension send to Google? To find out, I
intercepted the traffic between my Firefox browser and google.com. For
every request you make, the extension invokes /safebrowsing/lookup on
http://www.google.com."
"Here are two things that bother me about this extension:"
"1) Every request is transmitted to Google over HTTP, i.e. in clear-
text. This is not good. Here is why: Consider a web application that
uses SSL to encrypt the session. If this web application were to
submit private information about you via a GET request (i.e in the
URL, such as a credit card number), this will now be transmitted to
http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/lookup in clear-text, allowing
someone on your network segment, or any router in between yourself and
google.com to sniff the information off the wire."
"2) The extension sends the entire GET request to Google. If a web
application were to send private information via GET parameters, this
will now be transmitted to Google."
"I am more worried about the issue #1. However, I do realize that web
applications should be designed to use POST in order to send sensitive
information, but the fact of the matter is that many web applications
do not follow this guideline. Google's extension makes this situation
worse by transmitting this information over clear text (assuming the
web application uses SSL). This extension is designed to help protect
users from illegitimate resources, but the irony is that it has the
potential to expose sensitive information about you when you visit
legitimate resources!"
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/8760

Links:

http://www.traffick.com/2005/12/when-safe-isnt-safe-google-firefox.asp
http://www.smartguypress.com/2005/12/more-phishing-info-googles-firefox.html
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28384
http://www.threadwatch.org/node/5060

Google Talk


Jingle All The Way
December 15, 2005
"By using XMPP, an open standard protocol, we give Google Talk users
the choice of what client to use, and make it easy for developers to
implement their own clients and innovative services on top of our
network."
" we've released a library we call "libjingle." "
"Libjingle is the very same code Google Talk uses to negotiate,
establish, and maintain peer-to-peer voice sessions, packaged as a
library for other developers to use in their own projects. By
incorporating Libjingle into your project, you enable its users to
voice chat with other users of the Google Talk service."
"I'm really thrilled to be able to release this source code to the IM
development community."
http://googletalk.blogspot.com/2005/12/jingle-all-way.html

Google Reader


Why should text have all the fun?
December 15, 2005
"We at the Reader team like to receive some visual stimulation with
our reading, so we're subscribed to a bunch of photo feeds. It's great
that RSS and Atom can deliver more than just text, but it gets boring
to view everything in the exact same fashion."
"We've therefore come up with what we call "photo templates," which is
a special display mode we have for photo sites. When it's triggered,
we try our best to expand thumbnails to full-size photos.
Additionally, on the right side of the screen we display a list of
clickable thumbnails of other photos from that feed, so that you can
cherry-pick the best ones to view."
"Our plan is to support the Media RSS extension to RSS and Atom (the
thumbnail and content tags are most relevant to photo feeds). This
way, if you include the right tags, Reader will be able to display
your feed with the photo template without us having to do any work.
The Media RSS spec is pretty thorough, and you can use Flickr's feeds
as examples of usage."
http://googlereader.blogspot.com/2005/12/why-should-text-have-all-fun_15.html

Google and AOL Collaboration


Creating Global Advertising Partnership
December 20, 2005
"Google to Invest $1 Billion for a 5% Stake in AOL"
"Companies to Collaborate on Online Video Offering and Make More AOL
Content Available to Google Users"
"Google Talk Instant Messaging Software to Communicate With AIM Users"
"Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and America Online, Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), today announced that they
are expanding their current strategic alliance. The agreement creates
a global online advertising partnership, makes more of AOL's industry
-leading content available to Google users, and includes a $1 billion
investment in AOL by Google. This strategic alliance expands on the
original relationship between the two companies launched three years
ago."
"Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said: "AOL is one of
Google's longest-standing partners, and we are thrilled to strengthen
and expand our relationship. Today's agreement leverages technologies
from both companies to connect Google users worldwide to a wealth of
new content. We've also created a simple way for AOL Marketplace
advertisers to buy and place search-related advertising across the AOL
network."
"Under the strategic alliance, Google and AOL will continue providing
search technology to AOL's network of Internet properties worldwide.
The agreement's broad range of new features for users and advertisers
include:"
"Creating an AOL Marketplace through white labeling of Google's
advertising technology - enabling AOL to sell search advertising
directly to advertisers on AOL-owned properties;"
"Expanding display advertising throughout the Google network;"
"Making AOL content more accessible to Google Web crawlers;"
"Collaborating in video search and showcasing AOL's premium video
service within Google Video;"
"Enabling Google Talk and AIM instant messaging users to communicate
with each other, provided certain conditions are met; and"
"Providing AOL marketing credits for its Internet properties."
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/twaol_expanded.html

Sergey Brin and Larry Page


Google’s founders named Men of the Year
December 22, 2005
"Google’s founders may have conquered the internet world in 2005 – but
given their outsized ambitions, this may only be a start."
"Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who are on Friday named as Men of the
Year by the Financial Times, harbour hopes that reach well beyond
their search engine business to “make the world a better place”, a
promise made at the time of Google’s initial public offering last
year."
"The Men of the Year recognition reflects the effect the company
created by Mr Brin and Mr Page only seven years ago has had on
internet users, as well as the worlds of business and technology, in
the past 12 months."
" The men, who are only 32, see plenty of scope to improve Google’s
core product. “It’s clear there’s a lot of room for improvement,
there’s no inherent ceiling we’re hitting up on.” "
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/86e14656-7315-11da-8b42-0000779e2340.html

Links:

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/12/24/business/12955077&sec=business
http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=112346
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/12/23/googlebrin.shtml
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1580451,00020015.htm
http://news.com.com/Google+creators+named+Men+of+the+Year/2100-1038_3-6006918.html


Google Museum


The Original GOOGLE Computer Storage [Page and Brin] (1996)
(December 26, 2005)
"The development of the Google algorithms was carried on on a variety
of Computers, mainly provided by the NSF-DARPA-NASA-funded Digital
Library project at Stanford. Click to see the equipment in its
laboratory setting on the basement floor of Gates Information
Sciences. Crawling the web to obtain its link structure required an
enormous amount of storage in comparison with typical student projects
at that time. We show here the original storage assembly, containing
10 4 Gigabyte disk drives, giving 40 Gbytes total."
http://www-db.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/pictures/display/0-4-Google.htm

Computer History Exhibits Photo TOP Index
"This page first created January 2000 by Gio Wiederhold. They are
incremetally updated as more information is validated and new
artifacts are acquired or returned to their owners."
http://www-db.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/pictures/display/index.htm

Computer History Exhibits Photo Tour
http://www-db.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/phototour.html

Viruses


A Trojan Horse program that targets Google ads has been detected by an Indian Web publisher
December 27, 2005
"Trojan in action Techshout.com reports that a new, deceptive Trojan
Horse program has surfaced. The program is engineered to produce fake
Google ads that are formatted to look like legitimate ones. The ads
are incorporated in Google AdSense, the program that lets website
owners display ads from Google’s list of advertisers. The Trojan Horse
apparently downloads itself onto an unsuspecting computer through a
web page and then replaces the original ads with its own set of
malicious ads."
" Since the Trojan Horse makes the deceptive ads look like normal
Google ads, the program was nearly impossible to detect by the general
public. However, Raoul Bangera, an Indian web publisher, discovered
the bogus program and contacted the Google AdSense team. Bangera
emailed the team a number of cases, including various screenshots, log
files of an infected computer and system files as proof. The AdSense
team validated the news saying, “We can confirm from the screenshots
that these are fake Google ads, formatted to look like legitimate ads.
We agree that this phenomenon is likely the result of malicious
software installed on your computer.” "
"The working of the Ad has a specific procedure. Wherein when the ad
is clicked it forwards the user to 3 different sites one after
another. What follows next is that the user finally lands himself to a
page having a bevy of ads and links to more ads. Through this
malicious program advertisers and publishers are the ones who are
being deprived of their revenue."
http://www.techshout.com/internet/2005/27/a-trojan-horse-program-that-targets-google-ads-has-been-detected-by-an-indian-web-publisher/

Links:

http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/003036.html
http://www.jensense.com/archives/2005/12/malicious_softw.html


Google Toolbar


Google Toolbar for Mozilla Firefox 1.5
(December 29, 2005)
In the summer Google released Google Toolbar for Mozilla Firefox 1.0:

http://groups.google.com/group/google.public.support.general/browse_frm/thread/fd32d177bd0fd69f/6f44607913f1e939#6f44607913f1e939

On late November Mozilla announced Mozilla Firefox 1.5:

http://www.mozilla.com/press/mozilla-2005-11-29.html

Now there's also Google Toolbar for Mozilla Firefox 1.5:

"Firefox 1.0+, 1.5"
http://toolbar.google.com/firefox/index.html


Google and Opera Partnership


Opera Software chooses Google as search partner
December 29, 2005
"Norwegian Opera Software has agreed that Google Inc. will be the
default partner for its mobile Internet browsers, Opera said on
Thursday."
" "Google will be the default search partner for the mobile browsers:
Opera Mobile and Opera Mini," Opera Software ASA said in a statement.
"Under the one-year contract, Opera will make Google Search a major
part of the browsers home screen." "
"Oslo-based Opera Software is a tiny competitor of Microsoft in the
Internet browser market, but the fast-growing part of its business is
in browsers for mobile phones and other mobile electronic devices."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2005-12-29T084101Z_01_FLE931186_RTRUKOC_0_US-OPERA-GOOGLE.xml

Links:

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20051229OperaGoogleExtendSearchPlacement.html
http://www.betanews.com/article/Google_Opera_Partner_on_Mobile_Search/1135873365
http://www.playfuls.com/news_0531_Two_for_a_Search_Opera_Choose_Google_As_Default_Search_Option_.html

Search Engine


P.R.A.S.E Page Rank Assisted Search Engine
(December 29, 2005)
"Select the range of Page Rank that you are searching for in PRASE. If
you chose the default option of 0 - 9 you will get the listings with
the highest Page Rank first and the results are sorted in descending
order. For more targeted results you may increase the minimum Page
Rank and decrease the maximum. This is especially good for those who
are either link building or who are wanting to bypass the larger Page
Rank sites."
"© 2005 Don Johnson Design, LLC. all rights reserved."
http://www.prase.us/



Last modified: March 20th, 2007

Author: Tomi Häsä (tomi.hasa@gmail.com)

URL: http://sites.google.com/site/tomihasa/news-quotes-google-2005


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