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PanImages Search Handles Hundreds of Languages
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Google, Internet,
The University of Washington and its Professor Oren Etzoni released PanImages at the recent Machine Translation Summit in Copenhagen. Instead of searching for photos by text that may not be recognizable, the system recognizes a string of letters in about 300 different languages and looks for them in Google and Flickr. In a recent test of the process, PanImages found 57 times more results than on an average search.
The procedure works by scanning machine readable wiktionaries. As an example, Etzioni said that if you type in the Zulu word for refrigerator (“ifriji’) you would get almost 500,000 results as opposed to 2 on available search engines. While we seem to be over-saturated with images by using English, it is a comfort to know that the Zulus will be able to find appliances with less of an effort now.
Read More 
| Tech News Watch
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Google Bloggers Target of Storm Worms
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Google, Internet,
Google Blogger, beware! Fake entries containing links to downloads can infect your Windows run PC. Computers that catch the virus are checked for saleable data or used as carriers. The links began in January by hackers dubbed “Storm Trojans” and may actually been have set up for allowing others to view e-mail entries on their Blogger Journals. Here are some of the storm worm subject lines:
- are you kidding me? lol
- Dude dont send that stuff to my home email…
- Dude your gonna get caught, lol
- HAHAHAHAHAHA, man your insane!
- I cant belive you did this
- LMAO, your crazy man
- LOL, dude what are you doing
- man, who filmed this thing?
- oh man your nutz
- OMG, what are you thinking
Some of the messages feature links to YouTube while others claim to be offering testing software or digital greeting cards. The group has reportedly infected over a million PCs in that time. We suggest it might be time to get a Mac, run Firefox, or find another outlet for your blogging.
Read More | BBC
Google Sky Now Available
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet, Science,
Who needs a planetarium when you can explore the Google Sky? With it you can view 200 million galaxies, 100 million stars, constellations, a supernova, and planets in motion. You can also see the heavens with over 120 high-res images from NASA’s Hubble telescope. All you need is a download of the current Google Earth, then click on the Sky button on the toolbar. Available in 13 languages, check out the Gallery and discover space from different sources on Earth. We think we would like to experience the Milky Way from Paris, even if it is only on our PC.
Read More | Google
Babies Go Ga Ga Over Goo Goo Onesies
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Wearables, Google,
So we’ve already told you about iPod My Baby, cute tees and onesies that make your infant resemble a cute, giant iPod. Awww. Now comes Goo Goo, the aptly-named onesie for Google/internet/tech fanatics who love the world’s most ubiquitous search engine. Very cute (we especially love the “I’m Feeling Silly” button), we just hope your bundle of joy isn’t labeled a “geek” by the ruffian infants at Mommy and Me class.
Read More | Dimples and Dandelions
Google’s Hot Trends Shows What People are Searching For
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Google, Internet,
The hard-working folks at Google have just introduced a new feature called Hot Trends, which combines aspects of their “Zeitgeist” and “Trends” products, both of which offer insight into internet search habits. But while Zeitgeist and Trends are based on weeks-old data, Hot Trends lists the 100 fastest moving “search trends” and is updated several times a day. Hot Trends should not be confused with the term “most popular topics”, which according to researchers, always revolve around—you guessed it—sex (Hot Trends weeds out porn and “inappropriate language“). Searched trends can range from a newly popular political phrase to a lyric in a hit song to what kids are researching to prepare for tomorrow‘s big exam. And of course, if you click on a Hot Trend, Google provides links to relevant web, news and blog sites. Furthermore, Google is expanding Hot Trends to include charts and additional data, so we can see how a trend changes over time, or even how it varies across US regions and 70 different countries. Curious? Click here to check out Hot Trends.
Read More | Google Trends via MSNBC
Google’s RSS Reader Now Wii-Compatible
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Internet, Nintendo, Wii, Wireless,
Google Reader has always been a personal favorite of mine among online RSS readers. It’s light, is a part of your Google account, and works well – can’t really ask more than that. While porn and gaming sites have been quick to implement Wii-friendly versions of their sites in order to garner more traffic, Google has now done the same with their RSS reader.
4 Color Rebellion found the page, which has an adjusted resolution and improved functionality for the Wiimote. As Google says, “Google Reader can take advantage of the buttons on your Wiimote, letting you navigate easily from the comfort of your couch.” The controls are as follows:
- up/down: scroll up/down
- right/left: next/previous item
- 1 button: show subscriptions
- 2 button: show links
When showing subscriptions:
- up/down: previous/next subscription
- right: select current subscription
- left: close
- -/+: collapse/expand folder
The page can be found here. The number of reasons to actually move from the chair in front of you TV is dwindling.
Read More | Google Reader Wii via 4 Color Rebellion
YouTube Banned in Thailand
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet,
Here we go again. We recently reported on how YouTube was banned in Turkey (for a few days), due to clips deemed insulting to Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Prior to that it was Brazil, which banned the website after sexy videos of a Brazilian actress were constantly being uploaded. Now it’s Thailand’s turn, which has blocked the popular website because of a short, crude clip mocking their king, Bhumibol Adulyadej—after YouTube owner Google refused to remove the clip. Insulting the king is a criminal offense in Thailand, as a Swiss man discovered the hard way last week, after being sentenced 10 years for defacing images of Thailand’s monarchy. The offending Thai YouTube clip was viewed more than 16,000 times, and was uploaded by someone using the moniker Paddidda, now one of Thailand’s most wanted.
Read More | New York Times
Google Desktop for Mac Impressions
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Google, Software,
Google just launched the beta version of Google Desktop for Mac, and we have spent a bit of time getting aquatinted with the new Spotlight competitor. We have put together a full Google Desktop for Mac gallery walkthrough if you just want the visuals, but for those who want our full impressions, read on.
Installing Google Desktop for Mac took a bit more than the standard drag-and-drop affair that most Mac programs boast. Obviously, this is because Google Desktop does a lot of it’s work in the background, under the hood. The good thing, though, is that while you wait, you are able to set various preferences for how Google Desktop will operate on your machine.
Click to continue reading Google Desktop for Mac Impressions
Google’s April Fool’s Day Prank is Flush with Humor
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Google, Wireless / WiFi,
So were you the victim of any April Fool’s Day pranks? We certainly were after we innocently went to Google.com the first day of April, and became intrigued by their offer for “Google TiSP”, their new FREE in-home WiFi service—utilizing your toilet and plumbing to connect to fiber-optic cable strung through sewage lines. After viewing the photos, our dumbstruck confusion yielded to laughter after we realized that it was all an incredibly elaborate April Fool’s Day prank. With detailed diagrams, how-to photos and even a FAQ, it’s impressive how much work went into this prank—and we can assure them their efforts didn’t go down the drain. If you’d like, check out Google’s previous April Fool deceptions, and click the links in the last sentence.
Viacom Sues YouTube for $1 Billion
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet, Videos,
In the continuing struggle with YouTube, Viacom, which is owned by Google, has taken YouTube to court for the astounding sum of $1 billion. Viacom claims that the site has shown 160,000 of its videos without express permission.
“Their business model, which is based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws,” Viacom said.
We’re thinking that this may be the first in a long series of lawsuits to get YouTube to respect the legal rights of copywritten material. The list will probably include such companies as GE and NBC. News Corp and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban have already begun legal proceedings against the media giant.
Read More | MSN
