Sunday, November 12, 2006

Google's Test Search Engine. Bengt noted Google's SearchMash which is a testbed search engine. Google spokesbot says: "The goal of Searchmash is to test innovative user interfaces in order to continually improve the overall search experience for our users. The experimental search engine looks very different from Google's Web sites and lacks Google branding. In this way, Google believes the site will yield more objective feedback from users."[Slashdot] 8:59:31 PM      Google It!.

Firebird 2.0 Final Released. Samyem Tuladhar writes "After 2 years in development, the Firebird Project today officially releases the much-anticipated version 2.0 of its open source Firebird relational database software during the opening session of the fourth international Firebird Conference in Prague, Czech Republic."[Slashdot] 8:55:43 PM      Google It!.

Have you noticed that there's a formula out there, for Flickr-like sites, that, instead of providing social networking around pictures, try to do it for podcasts or videos. Examples include Odeo, Podshow, Dabble. However, none of them are gaining traction like Flickr did, and I think I now understand why. A picture is something you can appreciate at web speed. Go to a page with a photo on it, and it loads slightly slower than a page without a picture. Hit the Back button, leave a comment, link to it, whatever you want to do, it's all over quickly and that fits the pace of the web. However, podcasts and videos don't work like that. It takes a long time to "consume" one of those media objects. So why did YouTube catch on? Simple -- free storage. [Scripting News] 8:52:12 PM      Google It!.

Videophoning From an Unexpected Source . We don't have jet packs, flying cars or food pills, but the videophone has finally come home -- no thanks to the phone company. By Rob Pegoraro. [washingtonpost.com - Technology - Industry News, Policy, and Reviews] skype 8:49:57 PM      Google It!.