GUESS WHO??
ANDY AND SOLBI-COUPLE OF THE YEAR!
HERE IS THE VID WHERE SOLBI AND ANDY ACCIDENTALLY KISS....
DONG WAN SO NAUGHTY....HAHA......I TOTALLY LOVE THIS COUPLE....
ERM...EVEN I WISH THEY ARE REAL!...huhu....
ANDY RESEMBLES CHUNNIE A BIT..ESPECIALLY WHEN HE SMILES..
SERIOUSLY...ENJOY WATCHING OK.....
DONG WAN SO NAUGHTY....HAHA......I TOTALLY LOVE THIS COUPLE....
ERM...EVEN I WISH THEY ARE REAL!...huhu....
ANDY RESEMBLES CHUNNIE A BIT..ESPECIALLY WHEN HE SMILES..
SERIOUSLY...ENJOY WATCHING OK.....
New Google Favicon
Many people noticed a small change: Google has a new favicon. A favicon is a small image that is generally used to reflect the identity of a web site. You can find it in the address bar, in your browser's tabs, in the list of bookmarks or in some feed readers like Bloglines.
Google's favicon is hosted at google.com/favicon.ico and it's a 16x16 pixels image, a standard size for favicons. Google replaced the upper-case "G" in blue border, green and red borders with a lower-case purple "g" in a rounded corner rectangle.
The first time when I saw the new favicon at Google Image Search, I thought there was something wrong with my browser's cache or I typed an incorrect address. Google's new favicon is less cheerful and comforting, but it makes a lot of sense: the small g is a symbol for infinity (∞). A googol (10100) is just a poor approximation for the huge amount of information that needs to be indexed, organized and made useful by Google.
{ Thanks for the tip, Louis, John and Aleksandr. }
Update: If you want the old favicon back, try this Greasemonkey script (requires Greasemonkey for Firefox, Opera or a userscript plug-in for other browsers).
Update 2: Search Engine Land has an official position from Google. "We recognized there was a need for a Google icon that would better work across multiple applications including web, mobile and client applications. We felt the small 'g' had many of the characteristics that best represent our brand: it's simple, playful, and unique. We will be looking to improve and enhance this icon as we move forward."
Update 3: Google says this is not the final favicon. "We tried in total more than 300 permutations [some of them are displayed below]. It was much harder than we thought at first. We wanted something distinctive and noticeable, so we aimed toward transparency or semi-transparency, so the image would have a more distinctive noticeable shape than just a block. We wanted something that embraced the colorfulness of the logo, yet wouldn't date itself." If you have some suggestions for Google's favicon, send them here.
Update: The favicon was updated in January 2009.
Google's favicon is hosted at google.com/favicon.ico and it's a 16x16 pixels image, a standard size for favicons. Google replaced the upper-case "G" in blue border, green and red borders with a lower-case purple "g" in a rounded corner rectangle.
The first time when I saw the new favicon at Google Image Search, I thought there was something wrong with my browser's cache or I typed an incorrect address. Google's new favicon is less cheerful and comforting, but it makes a lot of sense: the small g is a symbol for infinity (∞). A googol (10100) is just a poor approximation for the huge amount of information that needs to be indexed, organized and made useful by Google.
{ Thanks for the tip, Louis, John and Aleksandr. }
Update: If you want the old favicon back, try this Greasemonkey script (requires Greasemonkey for Firefox, Opera or a userscript plug-in for other browsers).
Update 2: Search Engine Land has an official position from Google. "We recognized there was a need for a Google icon that would better work across multiple applications including web, mobile and client applications. We felt the small 'g' had many of the characteristics that best represent our brand: it's simple, playful, and unique. We will be looking to improve and enhance this icon as we move forward."
Update 3: Google says this is not the final favicon. "We tried in total more than 300 permutations [some of them are displayed below]. It was much harder than we thought at first. We wanted something distinctive and noticeable, so we aimed toward transparency or semi-transparency, so the image would have a more distinctive noticeable shape than just a block. We wanted something that embraced the colorfulness of the logo, yet wouldn't date itself." If you have some suggestions for Google's favicon, send them here.
Update: The favicon was updated in January 2009.
Labels:
User interface
OCTY HAS TAGGED ME~
First Name - nur aizah
Nickname - aizamia, aiza, aizah...
Birthday - 13th january 1989
Birthplace - malacca-land of history
Time of Birth - night..around..9.54 p.m
Single or taken - single lorh...hihi
Zodiac sign - CaPriCorn
Your Appearance
How tall are you - 165cm
Wish you were taller - yeah.....but i stop growing edi ler...huhu
Eye color - black or dark brown..
color you want -erm......any colour dat suits me...
Hair color - Brownish black
In The Opposite Gender
What color eyes - Any colour should be fine..
What color hair - Black.....black hair suits asian guys...
Shy or Outgoing - Outgoing
Looks or personality - Personality
Sexy or Cute - jae is exy..so..i go with sexy..haha
Serious or Fun - Fun
Older or Younger than you - preferable older ler....if guy younger than girl..erm..look awkward..
This or That
Flower or Chocolate - prefer chocolate...
Pepsi or Coke - pepsi for me...
Rap or Rock - between this two..prefer rap...hehe
Relationship or One night stand - Relationship...one night stand?...wth r u thinking?
School or Work - School life is better and fun too.....
Love or Money - Love...but money also important....w/o money can't survive....admit that!
Movies or Music - music or movies...how to choose??...
Country or City - erm......country i guess
Sunny days or Rainy days - i like rainny days..
Friends or Family - omo..how can i make a choice....right hand side got family n left hand side is friends....what happen if i lost one of them??....
Have you ever Lied - everybody does....
Stole something - yeah...from my dad when i was small..haha...
Smoked - prefer drug...haha.....
Broke someone's heart - not sure about this..but i think never coz i'm the one who has broken heart..haha
Had your heart broken -always....
Wish you were a prince/princess - princess??..haha..never in my life...fairy tale will be forever a fairy tale.....
Liked someone who was taken - is jae taken??...haha...
Shaved your head - anyone wanna marry me if i shave my head?..haha.
Been in love - currently...hahaha
Used chopsticks - yeah...when i'm eating mee, maggie..
Sang in the mirror to yourself - sometimes....hahaha....vocal test...wakaka
Favorites Flower - all kinds of flowers in the world's gardens....
Candy - all sort of candies chouls be ok with my teeth...haha
Song - toooo long to be listed....
Scent - nice n good scent..
Color - PURPLE, RED and BLACK
Musical Instrument - piano and drum
Movie - too many to be listed...
Series - too many to be listed too...
Singer -ha!..my fav part..haha...tvxq!..suju!..big bang!..ft island!..ss501!..se7en!..rain bi!..shinhwa!..epik high!..wonder girls!..snsd!..hyo-ri!..chae yeon!..etc!
Acter/Actress - bikyo, eugene, lim ji hoon, chae kyung, ju ji hoon, etc!..so many of them!
Word - "omo!.."
Junk food - i like may types worh...
Website - http://setupmyworld.blogspot.com
Location - whereever jae is, i'll be there...
Animal - rabbit, panda, koala, tiger, kittens, birds n so on......
Ever cried over someone - of course ler.....
Is there anything you wish you could change about yourself -laziness...wanna loose weight a bit..
Do you think you're attractive -hahaha...am i?..nah~..dun think so...
If you had to choose a fairytale as your life what would you choose - erm..cinderella too common...how about creating my own tale?....
Do you play any sports - i play tabletennis very well..^^
List (8) random facts about yourself and tag (some) people-
1. i don't like crowds..
2. like history and economy and various languages...
3. would like to travel one day..
4. internet and pc can say like very important in my daily life..
5. love jae n dbsk totally.....other kpop celebs too....
6. love families and friends....
7. watching tv and sleeping are my hobbies...hahaha
8. i'm an athmathic patient.....
tag: derrick, roch, hiki, cyndee, tya, farra unnie and people who view my bloggie!
Nickname - aizamia, aiza, aizah...
Birthday - 13th january 1989
Birthplace - malacca-land of history
Time of Birth - night..around..9.54 p.m
Single or taken - single lorh...hihi
Zodiac sign - CaPriCorn
Your Appearance
How tall are you - 165cm
Wish you were taller - yeah.....but i stop growing edi ler...huhu
Eye color - black or dark brown..
color you want -erm......any colour dat suits me...
Hair color - Brownish black
In The Opposite Gender
What color eyes - Any colour should be fine..
What color hair - Black.....black hair suits asian guys...
Shy or Outgoing - Outgoing
Looks or personality - Personality
Sexy or Cute - jae is exy..so..i go with sexy..haha
Serious or Fun - Fun
Older or Younger than you - preferable older ler....if guy younger than girl..erm..look awkward..
This or That
Flower or Chocolate - prefer chocolate...
Pepsi or Coke - pepsi for me...
Rap or Rock - between this two..prefer rap...hehe
Relationship or One night stand - Relationship...one night stand?...wth r u thinking?
School or Work - School life is better and fun too.....
Love or Money - Love...but money also important....w/o money can't survive....admit that!
Movies or Music - music or movies...how to choose??...
Country or City - erm......country i guess
Sunny days or Rainy days - i like rainny days..
Friends or Family - omo..how can i make a choice....right hand side got family n left hand side is friends....what happen if i lost one of them??....
Have you ever Lied - everybody does....
Stole something - yeah...from my dad when i was small..haha...
Smoked - prefer drug...haha.....
Broke someone's heart - not sure about this..but i think never coz i'm the one who has broken heart..haha
Had your heart broken -always....
Wish you were a prince/princess - princess??..haha..never in my life...fairy tale will be forever a fairy tale.....
Liked someone who was taken - is jae taken??...haha...
Shaved your head - anyone wanna marry me if i shave my head?..haha.
Been in love - currently...hahaha
Used chopsticks - yeah...when i'm eating mee, maggie..
Sang in the mirror to yourself - sometimes....hahaha....vocal test...wakaka
Favorites Flower - all kinds of flowers in the world's gardens....
Candy - all sort of candies chouls be ok with my teeth...haha
Song - toooo long to be listed....
Scent - nice n good scent..
Color - PURPLE, RED and BLACK
Musical Instrument - piano and drum
Movie - too many to be listed...
Series - too many to be listed too...
Singer -ha!..my fav part..haha...tvxq!..suju!..big bang!..ft island!..ss501!..se7en!..rain bi!..shinhwa!..epik high!..wonder girls!..snsd!..hyo-ri!..chae yeon!..etc!
Acter/Actress - bikyo, eugene, lim ji hoon, chae kyung, ju ji hoon, etc!..so many of them!
Word - "omo!.."
Junk food - i like may types worh...
Website - http://setupmyworld.blogspot.com
Location - whereever jae is, i'll be there...
Animal - rabbit, panda, koala, tiger, kittens, birds n so on......
Ever cried over someone - of course ler.....
Is there anything you wish you could change about yourself -laziness...wanna loose weight a bit..
Do you think you're attractive -hahaha...am i?..nah~..dun think so...
If you had to choose a fairytale as your life what would you choose - erm..cinderella too common...how about creating my own tale?....
Do you play any sports - i play tabletennis very well..^^
List (8) random facts about yourself and tag (some) people-
1. i don't like crowds..
2. like history and economy and various languages...
3. would like to travel one day..
4. internet and pc can say like very important in my daily life..
5. love jae n dbsk totally.....other kpop celebs too....
6. love families and friends....
7. watching tv and sleeping are my hobbies...hahaha
8. i'm an athmathic patient.....
tag: derrick, roch, hiki, cyndee, tya, farra unnie and people who view my bloggie!
Gmail Labs?
Google pre-announced a mysterious new feature for Gmail. "On Thursday, June 5th we're going to be launching a new Gmail feature that we like to think of as a next evolution of 20% time. It's a change in our development process and in the way users will be able to influence Gmail's design."
20% time is one of the many peculiar things about Google. "The 20 percent time is a well-known part of our philosophy here, enabling engineers to spend one day a week working on projects that aren't necessarily in our job descriptions. You can use the time to develop something new, or if you see something that's broken, you can use the time to fix it."
Google's engineers may work on many side-projects related to Gmail and this could be an opportunity for users to try them, send feedback or influence which features should be further developed and added to Gmail. It's not clear if that's the right interpretation for Google's intentionally-ambiguous text, but we'll find out next Thursday.
It might even match one of my predictions for this year: "Gmail will launch a Google Labs-like site with experimental features that could be added by those who are curious to see the next features before they are officially launched." Instead of releasing entirely new applications on Google Labs, it's more practical for Google to create mini-labs for each important service and expose experimental features that could be added or removed, like in Google Experimental Search.
Update (June 5th): TechCrunch covers Google's announcements. "At 6 pm PDT Gmail will launch Gmail labs under a Gmail tab - all users will have access to it. The first batch will have 13 features." Here are the features:
* a module for quick links (saved searches, important messages)
* superstars (additional star icons)
* pictures in Gmail chat
* fixed width font
* custom keyboard shortcuts
* mouse gestures
* random signature
* signature tweaks (places the signature before the quoted text)
* custom date format
* muzzle (hide the status of your contacts in Gmail chat)
* play Snake inside Gmail
* email addict (blocks the screen for 15 minutes)
* hide unread count
You'll be able to find them in a new tab from the Settings section. Probably the most useful features are: quick links, superstars and custom shortcuts. More about Gmail Labs in a future post.
20% time is one of the many peculiar things about Google. "The 20 percent time is a well-known part of our philosophy here, enabling engineers to spend one day a week working on projects that aren't necessarily in our job descriptions. You can use the time to develop something new, or if you see something that's broken, you can use the time to fix it."
Google's engineers may work on many side-projects related to Gmail and this could be an opportunity for users to try them, send feedback or influence which features should be further developed and added to Gmail. It's not clear if that's the right interpretation for Google's intentionally-ambiguous text, but we'll find out next Thursday.
It might even match one of my predictions for this year: "Gmail will launch a Google Labs-like site with experimental features that could be added by those who are curious to see the next features before they are officially launched." Instead of releasing entirely new applications on Google Labs, it's more practical for Google to create mini-labs for each important service and expose experimental features that could be added or removed, like in Google Experimental Search.
Update (June 5th): TechCrunch covers Google's announcements. "At 6 pm PDT Gmail will launch Gmail labs under a Gmail tab - all users will have access to it. The first batch will have 13 features." Here are the features:
* a module for quick links (saved searches, important messages)
* superstars (additional star icons)
* pictures in Gmail chat
* fixed width font
* custom keyboard shortcuts
* mouse gestures
* random signature
* signature tweaks (places the signature before the quoted text)
* custom date format
* muzzle (hide the status of your contacts in Gmail chat)
* play Snake inside Gmail
* email addict (blocks the screen for 15 minutes)
* hide unread count
You'll be able to find them in a new tab from the Settings section. Probably the most useful features are: quick links, superstars and custom shortcuts. More about Gmail Labs in a future post.
Labels:
Gmail
Google App Engine, Open for Developers
Google announced that App Engine, the service that allows you to create web applications and host them on Google's servers, can be used without an invitation. Unfortunately, you need to verify your account by entering a code sent to your mobile phone.
The only programming language supported at the moment is Python. Google offers 500 MB of storage and enough bandwidth for 5 million pageviews per month for free, but in the future you'll be able to purchase more resources. Here are the expected prices, according to the App Engine Blog:
* $0.10 - $0.12 per CPU core-hour
* $0.15 - $0.18 per GB-month of storage
* $0.11 - $0.13 per GB outgoing bandwidth
* $0.09 - $0.11 per GB incoming bandwidth
For comparison, Amazon SimpleDB costs $0.14 per machine hour, $1.50 per GB-month of storage (8-10 times more than Google App Engine), $0.1 per GB incoming data transfer and $0.1-$0.17 per GB outgoing data transfer. Except for the storage cost, the pricing is somewhat similar to Amazon's offering, even if the services are quite different.
If you need ideas for an application, browse the gallery - you'll find a lot of simple apps for URL shortening, reading lists, unit conversion, time management or just for fun. You should also check Niall Kennedy's article about App Engine before reading the documentation.
"Google App Engine is a new and interesting solution for Python developers interested in adding features, not servers. Google spends hundreds of millions of dollars developing its custom infrastructure with 12-volt power supplies tapped into a hydro-electric dam next door and fat fiber pipes owned by local governments carrying requests and responses to their proper home. Google's physical infrastructure is vast array of highly optimized web machines, and we'll now be able to see how such infrastructure performs across more generic applications on App Engine," writes Niall.
{ Thank you, Tim. }
The only programming language supported at the moment is Python. Google offers 500 MB of storage and enough bandwidth for 5 million pageviews per month for free, but in the future you'll be able to purchase more resources. Here are the expected prices, according to the App Engine Blog:
* $0.10 - $0.12 per CPU core-hour
* $0.15 - $0.18 per GB-month of storage
* $0.11 - $0.13 per GB outgoing bandwidth
* $0.09 - $0.11 per GB incoming bandwidth
For comparison, Amazon SimpleDB costs $0.14 per machine hour, $1.50 per GB-month of storage (8-10 times more than Google App Engine), $0.1 per GB incoming data transfer and $0.1-$0.17 per GB outgoing data transfer. Except for the storage cost, the pricing is somewhat similar to Amazon's offering, even if the services are quite different.
If you need ideas for an application, browse the gallery - you'll find a lot of simple apps for URL shortening, reading lists, unit conversion, time management or just for fun. You should also check Niall Kennedy's article about App Engine before reading the documentation.
"Google App Engine is a new and interesting solution for Python developers interested in adding features, not servers. Google spends hundreds of millions of dollars developing its custom infrastructure with 12-volt power supplies tapped into a hydro-electric dam next door and fat fiber pipes owned by local governments carrying requests and responses to their proper home. Google's physical infrastructure is vast array of highly optimized web machines, and we'll now be able to see how such infrastructure performs across more generic applications on App Engine," writes Niall.
{ Thank you, Tim. }
orkut Themes
When orkut doesn't borrow features from Facebook, it gets inspired by other Google services. This time, orkut added themes, but not all the users can see the new option. The themes should be familiar, since most of them were created for iGoogle. When you select a theme, only you and your friends can see it in your profile page.
The unofficial Orkut Plus blog has some Greasemonkey scripts that could be used to see the new themes if the feature is not yet enabled in your account. If you notice a link in the header that lets you "change themes", then you have the new feature.
Since iGoogle's themes are really appreciated by users, maybe it makes sense to add themes to all Google services and change them from a central location.
{ Thanks, V-render Studio. }
The unofficial Orkut Plus blog has some Greasemonkey scripts that could be used to see the new themes if the feature is not yet enabled in your account. If you notice a link in the header that lets you "change themes", then you have the new feature.
Since iGoogle's themes are really appreciated by users, maybe it makes sense to add themes to all Google services and change them from a central location.
{ Thanks, V-render Studio. }
Labels:
orkut
omo..so tired today.....
went shopping...bought 1st season all about dbsk for my friend and bought junsu's single-if...
damn happy..now, 2 singles to buy...hehe....
and tomorrow has economy class again..luckily only for 2 hours......8 a.m to 10 a.m......
economy class.....mr saufi...how can i describe him...
for me...he is a teacher when he's teaching...a friend when sharing his experience and a father when giving advice to us....earlier in lower 6...i dislike him for always told us about 'adult stories'....but i like him coz at the same time..he gave us advice like...take care of urselves and dun put too much trust on guys.....and i can see he doesn't want his 'daughters-student' to be like 'women' in his stories......i really appreciate it...^^....and he likes jokes...sometimes..nah~..everytime during his class, sure half period will full of his stories about life...it's enjoying..really....
honestly...i will miss this teacher when i have finished lessons with him...huhu
on the other hand...i just finish watching starshow......
omo.....they made my tears drop today...
seriously, i'm touched about their difficulties at japan...
when junsu started and told everything...
i was like...."now i know what the exact reason you deserve the world's love"
after watching the show....i truly madly deeply fall for them.....
and for me...before, now and forever they are the greatest singers that world ever see....
DONG BANG SHIN KI!....or should be called as GODS RISING FROM THE EAST....
and another part was their dance.....omg!...it's so hilarious, cute, hot and etc...
yunho started the dance...heating the auditorium...haha...his hot wave dance...haha
2nd was junsu....omo..his pelvic dance really killed me..haha....
next was jae...when the uptown girl song was aired...and suddenly he
took out his suit..his triceps.... :nosebleed: ...hahaha.....his dance was hella cute..haha
then was chunnie......his dancing was sexy....no wonder every girls easily melting...haha...
lastly was minnie....the horizon dance was funny......i cannot stop laughing...aigo~!..his cute...changmin hyung...haha....
went shopping...bought 1st season all about dbsk for my friend and bought junsu's single-if...
damn happy..now, 2 singles to buy...hehe....
and tomorrow has economy class again..luckily only for 2 hours......8 a.m to 10 a.m......
economy class.....mr saufi...how can i describe him...
for me...he is a teacher when he's teaching...a friend when sharing his experience and a father when giving advice to us....earlier in lower 6...i dislike him for always told us about 'adult stories'....but i like him coz at the same time..he gave us advice like...take care of urselves and dun put too much trust on guys.....and i can see he doesn't want his 'daughters-student' to be like 'women' in his stories......i really appreciate it...^^....and he likes jokes...sometimes..nah~..everytime during his class, sure half period will full of his stories about life...it's enjoying..really....
honestly...i will miss this teacher when i have finished lessons with him...huhu
on the other hand...i just finish watching starshow......
omo.....they made my tears drop today...
seriously, i'm touched about their difficulties at japan...
when junsu started and told everything...
i was like...."now i know what the exact reason you deserve the world's love"
after watching the show....i truly madly deeply fall for them.....
and for me...before, now and forever they are the greatest singers that world ever see....
DONG BANG SHIN KI!....or should be called as GODS RISING FROM THE EAST....
and another part was their dance.....omg!...it's so hilarious, cute, hot and etc...
yunho started the dance...heating the auditorium...haha...his hot wave dance...haha
2nd was junsu....omo..his pelvic dance really killed me..haha....
next was jae...when the uptown girl song was aired...and suddenly he
took out his suit..his triceps.... :nosebleed: ...hahaha.....his dance was hella cute..haha
then was chunnie......his dancing was sexy....no wonder every girls easily melting...haha...
lastly was minnie....the horizon dance was funny......i cannot stop laughing...aigo~!..his cute...changmin hyung...haha....
Labels:
hyper and random..
Google Earth Browser Plugin
Google Earth can now be used from a browser, without having to install the full application. Instead of the application, you need to install a plug-in that only works in Firefox and Internet Explorer 6/7 on Windows.
Google also launched an JavaScript API that lets you interact with the globe, draw markers, add layers or integrate with Google Maps. "The Google Earth Plug-in and its APIs let you embed the full power of Google Earth and its 3D rendering capabilities into your web pages." Google LatLong blog announced that each Google Maps mashup can take advantage of the new 3D view by adding a single line of code. "Our goal is to open up the entire core of Google Earth to developers in the hopes that you'll build the next great geo-based 3D application, and change how we view the world."
The samples look pretty promising, but I find it hard to understand why Google didn't use the API to create a better experience and bring more features from Google Earth (the search box, the list of overlays, the navigation controls) in a single interface.
Before downloading the plugin, please note that Google installs it in Firefox and Internet Explorer, along with a system service called "Google Update Service". The plug-in uses a lot of memory (around 100 MB just for loading the initial view and 300 MB for the Monster Milktruck demo) and, for each embedded object, you're running an instance of the Google Earth application.
Google also launched an JavaScript API that lets you interact with the globe, draw markers, add layers or integrate with Google Maps. "The Google Earth Plug-in and its APIs let you embed the full power of Google Earth and its 3D rendering capabilities into your web pages." Google LatLong blog announced that each Google Maps mashup can take advantage of the new 3D view by adding a single line of code. "Our goal is to open up the entire core of Google Earth to developers in the hopes that you'll build the next great geo-based 3D application, and change how we view the world."
The samples look pretty promising, but I find it hard to understand why Google didn't use the API to create a better experience and bring more features from Google Earth (the search box, the list of overlays, the navigation controls) in a single interface.
Before downloading the plugin, please note that Google installs it in Firefox and Internet Explorer, along with a system service called "Google Update Service". The plug-in uses a lot of memory (around 100 MB just for loading the initial view and 300 MB for the Monster Milktruck demo) and, for each embedded object, you're running an instance of the Google Earth application.
Labels:
Google Earth
Find the Font from a Logo
WhatTheFont is a site that lets you upload a logo or any other image that contains text and shows you a list of fonts that are likely to be used in that image. WhatTheFont supports some common image formats like GIF, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, but you can't upload images bigger than 360 x 275 pixels.
After uploading an image, you may need to enter the corresponding letters from the text, since the system can't always detect them accurately. In the example below, the site recognized the font used in Google's logo: Catull.
The site seems to be pretty old, but I couldn't find a similar online font recognition system. Identifont asks you some question about the font's appearance, so it's more difficult to use, while FontExpert only handles individual characters.
{ via Daring Fireball }
After uploading an image, you may need to enter the corresponding letters from the text, since the system can't always detect them accurately. In the example below, the site recognized the font used in Google's logo: Catull.
The site seems to be pretty old, but I couldn't find a similar online font recognition system. Identifont asks you some question about the font's appearance, so it's more difficult to use, while FontExpert only handles individual characters.
{ via Daring Fireball }
Google Street View Cars in Spain
The Spanish newspaper El Mundo (English translation) reports that Google's Street View cars have been spotted in many Spanish cities, including Madrid and Barcelona. Apparently, the local police wasn't very impressed and Google was fined for parking in a restricted area.
There's even a custom Google Map that includes many locations where Google's cars were spotted in Spain and Google Blogoscoped points to a video that shows a Street View car on the streets of Seville.
Google will add Street View imagery for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other European countries in the coming months.
{ Thanks, wkh wkh. }
There's even a custom Google Map that includes many locations where Google's cars were spotted in Spain and Google Blogoscoped points to a video that shows a Street View car on the streets of Seville.
Google will add Street View imagery for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other European countries in the coming months.
{ Thanks, wkh wkh. }
Labels:
Google Maps
Google Hosts Popular JavaScript Libraries
If you've ever wanted to use a JavaScript library like script.aculo.us, Prototype, jQuery or Dojo, but you couldn't upload its files to a site or you found it difficult to manage all the different versions, Google hosts them for you.
"The AJAX Libraries API is a content distribution network and loading architecture for the most popular open source JavaScript libraries. By using the Google AJAX API Loader's google.load() method, your application has high speed, globally available access to a growing list of the most popular JavaScript open source libraries. (...) The AJAX Libraries API takes the pain out of developing mashups in JavaScript while using a collection of libraries. We take the pain out of hosting the libraries, correctly setting cache headers, staying up to date with the most recent bug fixes".
In addition to Google's APIs for search, maps, feeds and translations, you can now access AJAX libraries that add useful features like drag-and-drop, controls, animations or easier DOM manipulation. You can use Google as a fast proxy, but Google also caches the files related to iGoogle gadgets, the feeds that are served by Google Reader, and we should expect to see more content that can be accessed from Google faster and more reliably. In the future, Google could provide even more tools for a site: stats, monetization, search are useful, but what about using an unified Google API that lets you find facts, get spelling corrections, add ratings and forms, store data, add social features and code applications that run on Google's platform?
"The AJAX Libraries API is a content distribution network and loading architecture for the most popular open source JavaScript libraries. By using the Google AJAX API Loader's google.load() method, your application has high speed, globally available access to a growing list of the most popular JavaScript open source libraries. (...) The AJAX Libraries API takes the pain out of developing mashups in JavaScript while using a collection of libraries. We take the pain out of hosting the libraries, correctly setting cache headers, staying up to date with the most recent bug fixes".
In addition to Google's APIs for search, maps, feeds and translations, you can now access AJAX libraries that add useful features like drag-and-drop, controls, animations or easier DOM manipulation. You can use Google as a fast proxy, but Google also caches the files related to iGoogle gadgets, the feeds that are served by Google Reader, and we should expect to see more content that can be accessed from Google faster and more reliably. In the future, Google could provide even more tools for a site: stats, monetization, search are useful, but what about using an unified Google API that lets you find facts, get spelling corrections, add ratings and forms, store data, add social features and code applications that run on Google's platform?
Labels:
API
HIKI HAS TAGGED ME!!~
about me...
real name : nur aizah bte abd rahim
nickname : aiza, aizah, aizamia
married: already full time jae's wifey..lol
male or female : if jae is male then i'm the opposite..haha
high school : pre-university much better..
university : in time to come..haha
short or long hair : short...really...hihi
are u a health freak? : nope...
height : 165cm
so u have crush on someone: right now?..teen season..why not?..
do u like urself : more than others do..
piercing : when i small..yes..right now..not anymore..
right or lefty : dun have one..so...?
FIRSTS.....
surgery: dun have
piercing: when i was 2??..can't remember
person u see in the morning: my lil sister..-share same room what-
award : 1st place for high-jump when i was 9
sport u joined: badminton??...erm...
pet: rabbit-usagi-
vacation: domestic places....ca't remember specific place...
concert : never been to any....
CURRENTLY....
eating: how can i eat and type simultaneously??
drinking: nopie....
i'm about to: scream out loud!
YOUR FUTURE......
want kids: of course....hihi
want to get married: already...hahaha
careers in mind: lawyer and translator
WHICH DO YOU PREFER......
lips or eyes: my lips..
hugs or kisses: hug 1st then kiss..haha
shorter or taller: taller
romantic or spontaneous: spontaneous better
sensitive or loud: loud!!
trouble-maker or hesistant: trouble maker
HAVE YOU EVER.....
kiss a stranger : no way i'm going to do that
drank bubbles: what the heck i wanna do that?
lost glasses/ lenses : never wear one....
ran away from home : i love damn crazy wif my home!!
liked someone younger: 2 person..bof are younger 2 years than i am...
liked someone older : many of them..haha
broken someone's heart : never i think coz i'm the one who always have the broken-heart..haha
been arrested : prison kinda like my 2nd home...hahaha..jk2..of course never!!!
cried someone's died : no lah, i laugh like hell...what kind of question is this..aigo~
liked a friend : till now..not yet!
DO YOU BELIEVE IN......
urself : sometimes...
miracles: nothing impossible in this world....
heaven : more than other people do...
santa claus : for me?..nope...
angel : they always around us, dun they?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY....
is there someone you want to be right now? : yeah..i miss him damn much!!
do you believe in god : definitely!!!...totally!!!
TAG 7 PEOPLE: I DUNNOE I WANNA TAG WHO..SO I TAG TO THOSE WHO HAVE BLOG..HAHA
real name : nur aizah bte abd rahim
nickname : aiza, aizah, aizamia
married: already full time jae's wifey..lol
male or female : if jae is male then i'm the opposite..haha
high school : pre-university much better..
university : in time to come..haha
short or long hair : short...really...hihi
are u a health freak? : nope...
height : 165cm
so u have crush on someone: right now?..teen season..why not?..
do u like urself : more than others do..
piercing : when i small..yes..right now..not anymore..
right or lefty : dun have one..so...?
FIRSTS.....
surgery: dun have
piercing: when i was 2??..can't remember
person u see in the morning: my lil sister..-share same room what-
award : 1st place for high-jump when i was 9
sport u joined: badminton??...erm...
pet: rabbit-usagi-
vacation: domestic places....ca't remember specific place...
concert : never been to any....
CURRENTLY....
eating: how can i eat and type simultaneously??
drinking: nopie....
i'm about to: scream out loud!
YOUR FUTURE......
want kids: of course....hihi
want to get married: already...hahaha
careers in mind: lawyer and translator
WHICH DO YOU PREFER......
lips or eyes: my lips..
hugs or kisses: hug 1st then kiss..haha
shorter or taller: taller
romantic or spontaneous: spontaneous better
sensitive or loud: loud!!
trouble-maker or hesistant: trouble maker
HAVE YOU EVER.....
kiss a stranger : no way i'm going to do that
drank bubbles: what the heck i wanna do that?
lost glasses/ lenses : never wear one....
ran away from home : i love damn crazy wif my home!!
liked someone younger: 2 person..bof are younger 2 years than i am...
liked someone older : many of them..haha
broken someone's heart : never i think coz i'm the one who always have the broken-heart..haha
been arrested : prison kinda like my 2nd home...hahaha..jk2..of course never!!!
cried someone's died : no lah, i laugh like hell...what kind of question is this..aigo~
liked a friend : till now..not yet!
DO YOU BELIEVE IN......
urself : sometimes...
miracles: nothing impossible in this world....
heaven : more than other people do...
santa claus : for me?..nope...
angel : they always around us, dun they?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY....
is there someone you want to be right now? : yeah..i miss him damn much!!
do you believe in god : definitely!!!...totally!!!
TAG 7 PEOPLE: I DUNNOE I WANNA TAG WHO..SO I TAG TO THOSE WHO HAVE BLOG..HAHA
Google Shows Additional Information for Forums
After displaying the published date for search results, Google experiments with showing more information about forum threads. Below the title, there's a new line with the following format:
Discussion forum: number of posts - number of authors - date of the first post
The extended snippet categorizes the search result and indicates its potential usefulness: for example, a thread that has a single post or a single author is not very useful.
Other search results that include special metadata:
* videos show a thumbnail, the duration and sometimes the average rating (on a related note, Google no longer lets you play videos inline)
* Google Books results show the author, the published date, an important category and the number of pages
Google slowly categorizes the documents from its index and starts to show additional information relevant for each category. We can expect to see extended snippets for blogs, news sites, shopping sites, scholar papers and even a way to restrict the results to a certain category. An experiment from last year grouped the search results in different categories: references, reviews, stores etc.
For now, the extended snippet for discussion boards is not live for everyone, but you can change your Google cookie to be a part of the experiment.
Discussion forum: number of posts - number of authors - date of the first post
The extended snippet categorizes the search result and indicates its potential usefulness: for example, a thread that has a single post or a single author is not very useful.
Other search results that include special metadata:
* videos show a thumbnail, the duration and sometimes the average rating (on a related note, Google no longer lets you play videos inline)
* Google Books results show the author, the published date, an important category and the number of pages
Google slowly categorizes the documents from its index and starts to show additional information relevant for each category. We can expect to see extended snippets for blogs, news sites, shopping sites, scholar papers and even a way to restrict the results to a certain category. An experiment from last year grouped the search results in different categories: references, reviews, stores etc.
For now, the extended snippet for discussion boards is not live for everyone, but you can change your Google cookie to be a part of the experiment.
Labels:
Web Search
Google Video's Player Detached from Search Results
The default view for Google Video, TV view, has been updated and you can now search for videos without interrupting the video that is already playing. You can go to the next page of results or reformulate your query, while still watching a video.
You'll also notice that Google Video can play videos inline not only from Google's sites, but from many other popular video sites (some notable exceptions: AOL Video, MySpace, Yahoo Video).
Google Video started by close-captioning TV shows, then moved to hosting videos, searching videos on the web and now the natural evolution is to come full circle back to close-captioning videos. Maybe in the future Google Video will bring back playlists and we'll be able to watch a selection of videos, like in YouTube Fast Search.
You'll also notice that Google Video can play videos inline not only from Google's sites, but from many other popular video sites (some notable exceptions: AOL Video, MySpace, Yahoo Video).
Google Video started by close-captioning TV shows, then moved to hosting videos, searching videos on the web and now the natural evolution is to come full circle back to close-captioning videos. Maybe in the future Google Video will bring back playlists and we'll be able to watch a selection of videos, like in YouTube Fast Search.
Labels:
Google Video
The Importance of Being Included in Google's Index
Last Friday, Google Analytics reported a surprisingly small number of visitors for this blog. According to Search Engine Roundtable, Google removed from the search results all the blogs hosted at blogspot.com and some of the .info domains for about 8 hours. It probably was an accident or a web spam filter that learns from my posts.
Many sites receives most of the traffic from search engines (especially from Google). Ryan Stewart's blog has been delisted from Google and he describes the consequences.
In his case, it wasn't Google's fault. "It turns out that Ryan's blog had been hacked, and Google does remove hacked sites from our index to protect our users," explains Matt Cutts. But whether a site is removed from Google's index accidentally or on purpose, it's interesting to quantify the importance of a popular search engine like Google for both users and publishers.
Many sites receives most of the traffic from search engines (especially from Google). Ryan Stewart's blog has been delisted from Google and he describes the consequences.
Yesterday was one of the scariest days I've had in a long time and it put in total perspective the power that Google wields. (...) I was working on a blog post and was searching for something I'd written before so that I could reference it. Instead of using my blog's search, I of course used Google's site feature, like I always do. Only this time, I got nothing. (...) I was confused, angry, and I felt completely helpless. Everyone uses Google. It was a big referrer to my blog and when I posted tips and tricks for Flash/Flex/AIR I did so knowing that someone could Google the problem and find my blog.
In his case, it wasn't Google's fault. "It turns out that Ryan's blog had been hacked, and Google does remove hacked sites from our index to protect our users," explains Matt Cutts. But whether a site is removed from Google's index accidentally or on purpose, it's interesting to quantify the importance of a popular search engine like Google for both users and publishers.
Labels:
Web Search
[ROM]Doushite kimi wo suki ni natte shimattandarou?
どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう
Why did I end up falling for you?
どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう
どんなに時が流れても君はずっとここにいると思ってたのに
でも君が選んだのは違う道
Doushite kimi wo suki ni natte shimattan darou
Donna ni toki ga nagarete mo kimi wa zutto
Koko ni iru to omotteta noni
Demo kimi ga eranda no wa chigau michi
Why did I end up falling for you?
No matter how much time has passed
I still thought you were right here
But you've already chosen a different path
どうして君に何も伝えられなかったんだろう
毎日毎晩募ってく思い
あふれ出す言葉
わかってたのに
もう届かない
Doushite kimi ni nani mo tsutaerarenakattan darou
Mainichi maiban tsunotteku omoi
Afuredasu kotoba
Wakatteta noni
Mou todokanai
Why couldn't I call out to you at all?
Every day and night growing emotions
And words overflow
But I realized that
They'd never reach you again
はじめて出会ったその日から
君を知っていた気がしたんだ
あまりに自然に溶け込んでしまった二人
Hajimete deatta sono hi kara
Kimi wo shitteita ki ga shittanda
Amari ni shizen ni tokekonde shimatta futari
Since that day I first met you
I felt like I already knew you
You and I melded into each other so smoothly
どこに行く乗りも一緒で君がいることが当然で
僕らは二人で大人になってきた
でも君が選んだのは違う道
Doko ni iku nori mo isshou de kimi ga iru koto ga touzen de
Bokura wa futari de otonaninatte kita
Demo kimi ga eranda no wa chigau michi
It was natural for me to be where you were
The two of us grew up together
But you've already chosen a different path
どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう
どんなに時が流れても君はずっと
ここにいると思ってたのに
もう帰れない
Doushite kimi wo suki ni natte shimattan darou
Donna ni toki ga nagarete mo kimi wa zutto
Koko ni iru to omotteta noni
Mou kawanai
Why did I end up falling for you?
No matter how much time has passed
I still thought you were right here
Now we can't turn back
特別な意味を持つ今日を
幸せ顔で立つ今日を
きれいな姿で神様に願ってる君を
Tokubetsuna imi wo motsu kyou wo
Shiawase kao de tatsu kyou wo
Kireina sugata de kami sama ni negatteru kimi wo
The special meaning held by this day
Today you stood with a happy expression
You looked beautiful while praying to god
僕じゃない人の隣で
祝福されてる姿を
僕はどうやって見送ればいいのだろう
Boku janai hito no tonari de
Shukufukusareteru sugata wo
Boku wa douyatte mioreba ii no darou
But I wasn't the one next to you
And the image of you receiving blessings
Of that how could I let go?
どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう
あの頃の僕らのこと
もう戻れない(考えた考えた)
Doushite kimi ga suki ni natte shimattan darou
Ano koro no bokura no koto
Mou kawanai (kangaeta kangaeta)
Why did I end up falling for you?
How we were before
We can't return to it anymore (I've thought it through, thought it through)
どうして君の手をつかみ奪えなかったんだろう
どんなに時が流れても君はずっと
僕の横にいるはずだった(そのままに)
Doushite kimi no te wo tsukami ubaenakattan darou
Donna ni toki ga nagarete mo kimi wa zutto
Boku no yoko ni iru hazu datta (sono mama ni)
Why didn't I hold on to your hand?
No matter how much time has passed
You should've always been by my side (never changing)
それでも君が僕のそば離れていても
永遠に君が幸せでいること
ただ願ってる
たとえそれがどんなに寂しくても(寂しくても)
Soredemo kimi ga boku no soba hanareteite mo
Eien ni kimi ga shiawase de iru koto
Tada negatteru
Tatoe sore ga donna ni sabishikute mo (sabishikute mo)
But still, even if I'm nowhere near you anymore
I'm praying that you
May be happy for eternity
No matter how much that would make me lonely (no matter how lonely)
It's basically a story about two childhood friends who shared a strong bond. In the course of growing up, the boy doesn't realize that the girl has started to move away from him, when he does, it's too late and they've already parted ways. The boy has a hard time accepting this, but later on he realizes that all is lost and he'd never be able to get together with his friend again. So he asks himself (her, but rhetorically, I reckon) why he ever fell for her in the first place. He has a few regrets of his own, but in the end he wishes her true happiness, even if it won't ever be with him. *sigh* *is shot*
credited to: ("system_chaos@soompi/LJ")@soompi.com+aizamiacsspf
Why did I end up falling for you?
どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう
どんなに時が流れても君はずっとここにいると思ってたのに
でも君が選んだのは違う道
Doushite kimi wo suki ni natte shimattan darou
Donna ni toki ga nagarete mo kimi wa zutto
Koko ni iru to omotteta noni
Demo kimi ga eranda no wa chigau michi
Why did I end up falling for you?
No matter how much time has passed
I still thought you were right here
But you've already chosen a different path
どうして君に何も伝えられなかったんだろう
毎日毎晩募ってく思い
あふれ出す言葉
わかってたのに
もう届かない
Doushite kimi ni nani mo tsutaerarenakattan darou
Mainichi maiban tsunotteku omoi
Afuredasu kotoba
Wakatteta noni
Mou todokanai
Why couldn't I call out to you at all?
Every day and night growing emotions
And words overflow
But I realized that
They'd never reach you again
はじめて出会ったその日から
君を知っていた気がしたんだ
あまりに自然に溶け込んでしまった二人
Hajimete deatta sono hi kara
Kimi wo shitteita ki ga shittanda
Amari ni shizen ni tokekonde shimatta futari
Since that day I first met you
I felt like I already knew you
You and I melded into each other so smoothly
どこに行く乗りも一緒で君がいることが当然で
僕らは二人で大人になってきた
でも君が選んだのは違う道
Doko ni iku nori mo isshou de kimi ga iru koto ga touzen de
Bokura wa futari de otonaninatte kita
Demo kimi ga eranda no wa chigau michi
It was natural for me to be where you were
The two of us grew up together
But you've already chosen a different path
どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう
どんなに時が流れても君はずっと
ここにいると思ってたのに
もう帰れない
Doushite kimi wo suki ni natte shimattan darou
Donna ni toki ga nagarete mo kimi wa zutto
Koko ni iru to omotteta noni
Mou kawanai
Why did I end up falling for you?
No matter how much time has passed
I still thought you were right here
Now we can't turn back
特別な意味を持つ今日を
幸せ顔で立つ今日を
きれいな姿で神様に願ってる君を
Tokubetsuna imi wo motsu kyou wo
Shiawase kao de tatsu kyou wo
Kireina sugata de kami sama ni negatteru kimi wo
The special meaning held by this day
Today you stood with a happy expression
You looked beautiful while praying to god
僕じゃない人の隣で
祝福されてる姿を
僕はどうやって見送ればいいのだろう
Boku janai hito no tonari de
Shukufukusareteru sugata wo
Boku wa douyatte mioreba ii no darou
But I wasn't the one next to you
And the image of you receiving blessings
Of that how could I let go?
どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう
あの頃の僕らのこと
もう戻れない(考えた考えた)
Doushite kimi ga suki ni natte shimattan darou
Ano koro no bokura no koto
Mou kawanai (kangaeta kangaeta)
Why did I end up falling for you?
How we were before
We can't return to it anymore (I've thought it through, thought it through)
どうして君の手をつかみ奪えなかったんだろう
どんなに時が流れても君はずっと
僕の横にいるはずだった(そのままに)
Doushite kimi no te wo tsukami ubaenakattan darou
Donna ni toki ga nagarete mo kimi wa zutto
Boku no yoko ni iru hazu datta (sono mama ni)
Why didn't I hold on to your hand?
No matter how much time has passed
You should've always been by my side (never changing)
それでも君が僕のそば離れていても
永遠に君が幸せでいること
ただ願ってる
たとえそれがどんなに寂しくても(寂しくても)
Soredemo kimi ga boku no soba hanareteite mo
Eien ni kimi ga shiawase de iru koto
Tada negatteru
Tatoe sore ga donna ni sabishikute mo (sabishikute mo)
But still, even if I'm nowhere near you anymore
I'm praying that you
May be happy for eternity
No matter how much that would make me lonely (no matter how lonely)
It's basically a story about two childhood friends who shared a strong bond. In the course of growing up, the boy doesn't realize that the girl has started to move away from him, when he does, it's too late and they've already parted ways. The boy has a hard time accepting this, but later on he realizes that all is lost and he'd never be able to get together with his friend again. So he asks himself (her, but rhetorically, I reckon) why he ever fell for her in the first place. He has a few regrets of his own, but in the end he wishes her true happiness, even if it won't ever be with him. *sigh* *is shot*
credited to: ("system_chaos@soompi/LJ")@soompi.com+aizamiacsspf
ash has tagged me~
- 3 People who makes me laugh: CF PEOPLE, MY SISTERS N MY PARENTS...
- 3 Things I love: my motorola handphone, my pillow and my collections
- 3 Things I hate: accusing me w/o knowing the whole story, forcing me to do something that i don't want to and actions that irritate me much...
- 3 Things I don't understand: complicated stuff, why people are so narrow-minded n being childish and why am i so lazy..hahaha
- 3 Things on my desk: cellphone, stationary n notebook...
- 3 Things I'm doing right now : blogging, forum-ing n listening to dbsk new single-why have i fallen in love wif u.....*addicted*..haha
- 3 Things I wanna do before I die: wanna give a happy life to my parents, meeting dbsk esp jae and do whatever i want....hihi
- 3 Things I can do: understand things easily, playing tabletennis very well and very supportive cassie..haha
- 3 Things I can't do: fitting nice clothes lol, sleeping w.o radio on..haha..and living w/o internet..haha
- 3 Things I think you should listen to: korean songs, hindi songs too..haha..and ost from various dramas
- 3 Things you should never listen to: heavy n hard songs...songs that dun have any potential to be popular..haha...and songs dat meaningless....
- 3 Things I'd like to learn: hangul, other people culture and how to read people characteristics...
- 3 Favourite food: otohke??..i like to eat..haha..but i like nasi lemak, satay and anything that can be cooked..lol
- 3 Beverages I drink regularly: skyjuice, carbonated drinks and one more is...?
- 3 shows I watched as a kid: doraemon, sailormoon n sin-chan...hahaha
- 3 People I'm tagging : erica, phy unnie and yu~
Microsoft Thinks Short Term
I was a little surprised to see that Microsoft decided to end the book scanning initiative and close its book search engine. But I was even more surprised to read the motivation:
"Given the evolution of the Web and our strategy, we believe the next generation of search is about the development of an underlying, sustainable business model for the search engine, consumer, and content partner. For example, this past Wednesday we announced our strategy to focus on verticals with high commercial intent, such as travel, and offer users cash back on their purchases from our advertisers."
In other words, the book search engine didn't make enough money and Microsoft decided it's better to focus on areas that are more profitable. Instead of improving their search engine with valuable content from books and offering better search results, Microsoft chose to make decisions based on the short-term profits.
This is also visible in the Cashback offering: "Microsoft Live Search cashback is The Search That Pays You Back. Find great deals on millions of products from hundreds of brand name stores that you know and trust. You will be able to earn cashback savings based on a percentage of the product price. Your savings will be paid to you via your choice of a deposit to your PayPal account, direct deposit to your bank account, or a check in the mail."
Microsoft hopes to attract more search users, but this will probably work in the short term. People will only go to Live Search for the rebates and they'll return to Google to find information on the web. If you pay your users and define your service as "The Search That Pays You Back", your brand's value diminishes because the search should pay off through its own merits.
Google has a long-term strategy for its search engine and for the other services. "Our goal is to develop services that significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible. In pursuing this goal, we may do things that we believe have a positive impact on the world, even if the near term financial returns are not obvious. For example, we make our services as widely available as we can by supporting over 90 languages and by providing most services for free," wrote Google's founders in the IPO letter.
To offer a compelling alternative to Google, you need to offer services that are more valuable to the user, even if there's no profit involved. Google thinks you first need to create a great service and then start to find the business model. Microsoft still has to work on building a great search engine, so discontinuing the book search engine is not a step in the right direction.
"Given the evolution of the Web and our strategy, we believe the next generation of search is about the development of an underlying, sustainable business model for the search engine, consumer, and content partner. For example, this past Wednesday we announced our strategy to focus on verticals with high commercial intent, such as travel, and offer users cash back on their purchases from our advertisers."
In other words, the book search engine didn't make enough money and Microsoft decided it's better to focus on areas that are more profitable. Instead of improving their search engine with valuable content from books and offering better search results, Microsoft chose to make decisions based on the short-term profits.
This is also visible in the Cashback offering: "Microsoft Live Search cashback is The Search That Pays You Back. Find great deals on millions of products from hundreds of brand name stores that you know and trust. You will be able to earn cashback savings based on a percentage of the product price. Your savings will be paid to you via your choice of a deposit to your PayPal account, direct deposit to your bank account, or a check in the mail."
Microsoft hopes to attract more search users, but this will probably work in the short term. People will only go to Live Search for the rebates and they'll return to Google to find information on the web. If you pay your users and define your service as "The Search That Pays You Back", your brand's value diminishes because the search should pay off through its own merits.
Google has a long-term strategy for its search engine and for the other services. "Our goal is to develop services that significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible. In pursuing this goal, we may do things that we believe have a positive impact on the world, even if the near term financial returns are not obvious. For example, we make our services as widely available as we can by supporting over 90 languages and by providing most services for free," wrote Google's founders in the IPO letter.
To offer a compelling alternative to Google, you need to offer services that are more valuable to the user, even if there's no profit involved. Google thinks you first need to create a great service and then start to find the business model. Microsoft still has to work on building a great search engine, so discontinuing the book search engine is not a step in the right direction.
Filter and Sort Tables from Web Pages
TableTools is a Firefox extension that lets you sort, filter and export tables from any web page. After installing the extension and restarting Firefox, find a web page that includes tables (this search might help) and right-click on a table to find a lot of interesting features:
* sort a column, depending on the type of elements (text, numbers, dates)
* filter the rows of a table by selecting elements from a drop-down or by entering your search terms, like in the screenshot below. You can even enter regular expression to filter more complex patterns. After typing the query, press Enter or click outside the active input box.
* export the entire table as tab-delimited text, HTML code or just the filtered rows
This might be helpful if you want to insert some partial data from a table in a document, a site or in Google Spreadsheets, which only supports filtering using a limited gadget. For Google Spreadsheets, choose the option to copy the rows as tab-delimited text.
* sort a column, depending on the type of elements (text, numbers, dates)
* filter the rows of a table by selecting elements from a drop-down or by entering your search terms, like in the screenshot below. You can even enter regular expression to filter more complex patterns. After typing the query, press Enter or click outside the active input box.
* export the entire table as tab-delimited text, HTML code or just the filtered rows
This might be helpful if you want to insert some partial data from a table in a document, a site or in Google Spreadsheets, which only supports filtering using a limited gadget. For Google Spreadsheets, choose the option to copy the rows as tab-delimited text.
Labels:
Firefox extensions
why i have fallen in love with you......
this is the reason...
omo..this song...really make me addictive...
enjoy~.....new song from tohoshinki......
nah~...giving the url.....
I HAVE FALLEN FOR YOU DBSK..haha
this song is...my song for this year....haha
omo..this song...really make me addictive...
enjoy~.....new song from tohoshinki......
nah~...giving the url.....
I HAVE FALLEN FOR YOU DBSK..haha
this song is...my song for this year....haha
I RECEIVED PRIZES TODAY!~
i received prizes from karangkraf group...
coz i've joined FT ISLAND contest earlier...
even i din win the grand prize....but i still happy...
consolation prizes.......not bad...a poster and a t-shirt.....
never expect to get one...hahaha.....
whatever it is...thanks to karangkraf lorh...keke.....
and feel great today.....
the best place is coming back to be normal again....hehehe...
pheww...finally it has been solved......
*exam is coming...when am i going to start revision??...
a day before exam, maybe??...hahaha...
of course not...stpm....is something that u have to put a lot of effort to achieve good results..
so, aja aja........wish me luck people..XD
coz i've joined FT ISLAND contest earlier...
even i din win the grand prize....but i still happy...
consolation prizes.......not bad...a poster and a t-shirt.....
never expect to get one...hahaha.....
whatever it is...thanks to karangkraf lorh...keke.....
and feel great today.....
the best place is coming back to be normal again....hehehe...
pheww...finally it has been solved......
*exam is coming...when am i going to start revision??...
a day before exam, maybe??...hahaha...
of course not...stpm....is something that u have to put a lot of effort to achieve good results..
so, aja aja........wish me luck people..XD
Google Anti-Malware Diagnostic Pages
ZDNet's security blog points to an update to Google's malware warnings. Like McAfee SiteAdvisor, now each web site has a special diagnostic page that lists answers to four questions:
1. What is the current listing status?
2. What happened when Google visited this site?
3. Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?
4. Has this site hosted malware?
Here's, for example, the diagnostic page for google.com: http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=google.com, which lists some interesting facts.
"Of the 274621 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 4 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 05/22/2008, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 03/13/2008. Malicious software includes 4 scripting exploit(s), 4 trojan(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 10 new processes on the target machine. Malicious software is hosted on 4 domain(s), including 58.65.239.0, truemaybe.com, abc-powers.com. 5 domain(s) appear to be functioning as intermediaries for distributing malware to visitors of this site, including xtraff.biz, x-traffic.ws, smartvideochannel.com."
Despite all of these findings, google.com is not listed as suspicious, probably because the domain is whitelisted or the suspicious content is not very significant. It's likely that the domains listed above are from Google's search results, so that means the anti-malware system doesn't respect robots.txt.
1. What is the current listing status?
2. What happened when Google visited this site?
3. Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?
4. Has this site hosted malware?
Here's, for example, the diagnostic page for google.com: http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=google.com, which lists some interesting facts.
"Of the 274621 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 4 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 05/22/2008, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 03/13/2008. Malicious software includes 4 scripting exploit(s), 4 trojan(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 10 new processes on the target machine. Malicious software is hosted on 4 domain(s), including 58.65.239.0, truemaybe.com, abc-powers.com. 5 domain(s) appear to be functioning as intermediaries for distributing malware to visitors of this site, including xtraff.biz, x-traffic.ws, smartvideochannel.com."
Despite all of these findings, google.com is not listed as suspicious, probably because the domain is whitelisted or the suspicious content is not very significant. It's likely that the domains listed above are from Google's search results, so that means the anti-malware system doesn't respect robots.txt.
Labels:
Security
TinEye - Upload an Image and Find It on the Web
I've always thought that an image search engine should accept as an input images and list identical or similar images from the web. This is useful if you have an image, but you don't remember what it depicts or if you want to find a higher-quality version of an image.
TinEye tries to do that and the best part is that it mostly succeeds. The new image search engine, powered by Idée's technology and currently in private beta, has an index of 487 million images (Google's index is at least 12 times bigger) and manages to find identical versions of an image or alterations. According to the FAQ, "TinEye frequently returns image results with colour adjustments, added or removed text, crops, and slight rotations. TinEye can also detect images that are part of a collage or have been blended with another image."
And the FAQ doesn't lie: I uploaded a screenshot of Flickr's homepage that included a Flickr image in the top-left corner. TinEye returned 6 results: 5 of them were different versions of the featured image (including the original image hosted by Flickr) and another result showed Flickr's homepage with a different featured image.
Then I uploaded an image from my computer that shows fingers in a book scanned by Google and TinEye pointed to me to a TechCrunch article that included that image:
TinEye doesn't do a good job at ranking images, as it orders the images "by relevance i.e. how well the result image matches your query image". It can't figure out the most-likely original source of an image, so TinEye's algorithms could be combined with a traditional image search engine like Google's in order to determine the authority of each image. TinEye also doesn't recognizes faces or objects in an image, so it just looks for similar images.
How does it work then? "TinEye uses sophisticated pattern recognition algorithms to find your image on the web without the use of metadata or watermarks. TinEye instantly analyzes your query image to create a compact digital signature or 'fingerprint' for it. TinEye searches for your image on the web by comparing its fingerprint to the fingerprint of every single other image in the TinEye search index."
The search engine is in private beta, but you can request invite or watch this screencast:
{ Thanks, Life Tester. }
TinEye tries to do that and the best part is that it mostly succeeds. The new image search engine, powered by Idée's technology and currently in private beta, has an index of 487 million images (Google's index is at least 12 times bigger) and manages to find identical versions of an image or alterations. According to the FAQ, "TinEye frequently returns image results with colour adjustments, added or removed text, crops, and slight rotations. TinEye can also detect images that are part of a collage or have been blended with another image."
And the FAQ doesn't lie: I uploaded a screenshot of Flickr's homepage that included a Flickr image in the top-left corner. TinEye returned 6 results: 5 of them were different versions of the featured image (including the original image hosted by Flickr) and another result showed Flickr's homepage with a different featured image.
Then I uploaded an image from my computer that shows fingers in a book scanned by Google and TinEye pointed to me to a TechCrunch article that included that image:
TinEye doesn't do a good job at ranking images, as it orders the images "by relevance i.e. how well the result image matches your query image". It can't figure out the most-likely original source of an image, so TinEye's algorithms could be combined with a traditional image search engine like Google's in order to determine the authority of each image. TinEye also doesn't recognizes faces or objects in an image, so it just looks for similar images.
How does it work then? "TinEye uses sophisticated pattern recognition algorithms to find your image on the web without the use of metadata or watermarks. TinEye instantly analyzes your query image to create a compact digital signature or 'fingerprint' for it. TinEye searches for your image on the web by comparing its fingerprint to the fingerprint of every single other image in the TinEye search index."
The search engine is in private beta, but you can request invite or watch this screencast:
{ Thanks, Life Tester. }
Labels:
Image Search
Print Layout in Google Docs
As anticipated in March, Google Docs has a new way of displaying documents: fixed-width page view (or print layout in Microsoft Word). Documents are more readable and look closer to the way they appear when printed. The previous mode (plain view, also called web layout in Microsoft Word) is available in the new View menu.
The OpenOffice wiki explains the advantages and disadvantages of different word processing layouts: the web layout is useful for documents that are written for presentation, is suboptimal for editing because of the long lines and acts as a final preview. "The Print Layout implements WYSIWYG and tries to come as close as possible to the printed document. However, this layout is not particularly suited for numerous use cases. In many circumstances, more specific layouts fare definitely better." In addition to the web layout and the print layout, Microsoft Word 2007 includes a full-screen view for reading documents, an outline view for creating the document's structure and a draft layout that focuses on content, not on formatting.
{ Thanks, Alexander. }
The OpenOffice wiki explains the advantages and disadvantages of different word processing layouts: the web layout is useful for documents that are written for presentation, is suboptimal for editing because of the long lines and acts as a final preview. "The Print Layout implements WYSIWYG and tries to come as close as possible to the printed document. However, this layout is not particularly suited for numerous use cases. In many circumstances, more specific layouts fare definitely better." In addition to the web layout and the print layout, Microsoft Word 2007 includes a full-screen view for reading documents, an outline view for creating the document's structure and a draft layout that focuses on content, not on formatting.
{ Thanks, Alexander. }
Labels:
Google Docs
Google Sites Available Without Google Apps
As promised when the service was launched as part of Google Apps, now you can use Google Sites without having a domain. "A few months ago we launched Google Sites exclusively as part of Google Apps for companies and organizations that wanted to use the service on their own domains. Now we've made it easy for anyone to set up a website to share all types of information -- team projects, company intranets, community groups, classrooms, clubs, family updates, you name it -- in one place, for a few people, a group or the world," says Andrew Zaeske on the Google Blog.
The sites are available at: http://sites.google.com/site/SITENAME and there doesn't seem to be a limit for the number of sites you can create. You can create as many web pages as you like, but each site has a storage quota of only 100 MB.
By default, each site is public, but you can make it private in the settings or when you create it. The same as in Google Docs, you're able to invite people as collaborators or viewers, but a site can have more than one owner.
Google Sites offers the same basic customization options like Blogger (themes, layout editor) and a rich text editor similar to the one from Google Docs, except that you can also embed a small number of whitelisted objects (Google Docs documents, spreadsheets, gadgets, YouTube videos).
In addition to web pages, you can also create simple blogs, lists, file cabinets and iGoogle-like dashboards. Each page can be arranged in a hierarchy and has a revision history that allows you to revert to earlier versions of a page. Google automatically creates a sitemap and can notify you when someone makes changes to the site or to an individual page.
For now, Google Sites looks pretty basic and doesn't include all the powerful features from JotSpot, the service acquired by Google and transformed into Google Sites. But that shouldn't be surprising, if you take into account that all Google services started small and gradually became more powerful and useful. I think the future of Google Sites is to combine Google's collaborative services so you can share more documents in a single page or to create blogs the same way you create calendars, to-do lists and photo galleries.
If you find Google Sites underwhelming, there are a lot of free or paid alternatives, including PBWiki, Wetpaint, Wikia and Wikispaces. There's also a nice video from Common Craft that explains "wikis in plain English":
The sites are available at: http://sites.google.com/site/SITENAME and there doesn't seem to be a limit for the number of sites you can create. You can create as many web pages as you like, but each site has a storage quota of only 100 MB.
By default, each site is public, but you can make it private in the settings or when you create it. The same as in Google Docs, you're able to invite people as collaborators or viewers, but a site can have more than one owner.
Google Sites offers the same basic customization options like Blogger (themes, layout editor) and a rich text editor similar to the one from Google Docs, except that you can also embed a small number of whitelisted objects (Google Docs documents, spreadsheets, gadgets, YouTube videos).
In addition to web pages, you can also create simple blogs, lists, file cabinets and iGoogle-like dashboards. Each page can be arranged in a hierarchy and has a revision history that allows you to revert to earlier versions of a page. Google automatically creates a sitemap and can notify you when someone makes changes to the site or to an individual page.
For now, Google Sites looks pretty basic and doesn't include all the powerful features from JotSpot, the service acquired by Google and transformed into Google Sites. But that shouldn't be surprising, if you take into account that all Google services started small and gradually became more powerful and useful. I think the future of Google Sites is to combine Google's collaborative services so you can share more documents in a single page or to create blogs the same way you create calendars, to-do lists and photo galleries.
If you find Google Sites underwhelming, there are a lot of free or paid alternatives, including PBWiki, Wetpaint, Wikia and Wikispaces. There's also a nice video from Common Craft that explains "wikis in plain English":
Labels:
Google Sites
HOW STRESSFUL AM I THIS WEEK!~
*take a deep breath*
this week like a very bad week in my life.....
1st was my pc...very slow.....even i cannot open my mozilla n signing in ym......wth...
and plus....a prob that i think kinda childish to worry about...
but it still a problem anyway that need to be solved.... :sigh:
and in school..i feel like being left out by my buddies....
aigo~~..what happen to my life??.....
and the prob i said earlier....kind of bother me much.....
betrayer...a very 'nice' word to hear from ur frenz...
frenz huh......yeah..very 'good' frenz.......
well...accusing ur own fren without knowing the truth is calling..
having faith to each other..haha..sounds funny to me......
betrayer...thanks for giving me a name......
on the other hand.....feel tired coz papers are just around the corner.....
focus on study??...i think so...haha..coz i'm a last-minute student.....
oh yeah..couple of weeks ago..just got addicted with a song calling for you from
ss501...haha...can call them..my new addiction......
n hell...i heard junsu with tae yeon??....erm..
lemme see..tae yeon is a good leader..but wif junsu??
nah~...never approve it....i like her but...being with junsu is something unacceptable....haha.
whatever it is..time will decide.....and let us see...is it really taesu ever exist?..haha
this week like a very bad week in my life.....
1st was my pc...very slow.....even i cannot open my mozilla n signing in ym......wth...
and plus....a prob that i think kinda childish to worry about...
but it still a problem anyway that need to be solved.... :sigh:
and in school..i feel like being left out by my buddies....
aigo~~..what happen to my life??.....
and the prob i said earlier....kind of bother me much.....
betrayer...a very 'nice' word to hear from ur frenz...
frenz huh......yeah..very 'good' frenz.......
well...accusing ur own fren without knowing the truth is calling..
having faith to each other..haha..sounds funny to me......
betrayer...thanks for giving me a name......
on the other hand.....feel tired coz papers are just around the corner.....
focus on study??...i think so...haha..coz i'm a last-minute student.....
oh yeah..couple of weeks ago..just got addicted with a song calling for you from
ss501...haha...can call them..my new addiction......
n hell...i heard junsu with tae yeon??....erm..
lemme see..tae yeon is a good leader..but wif junsu??
nah~...never approve it....i like her but...being with junsu is something unacceptable....haha.
whatever it is..time will decide.....and let us see...is it really taesu ever exist?..haha
Future Updates for Google Image Search
At the recent "Search Factory Tour" event (slides, YouTube video), Google announced that its image search engine has received a lot of attention from users lately and it intends to dramatically improve it. People no longer use Google Image Search only to find celebrity pictures or pretty images, they started to use it to compare products, to choose vacations or visualize unfamiliar situations.
To cope with the increasing number of images from the web and to provide better answers for the new use cases, Google promised that will start to add features that use complex image analysis.
One of the new features will allow you to find similar images, given a selected image. Since it's difficult to describe pictures using words, you will be able find a a group of images that illustrate the same situation.
After adding face detection as a restriction for image search, Google prepares to expand it and actually recognize faces. This will improve the quality of results for searches that include person names. Google doesn't intend to limit image recognition to people faces: finding objects in pictures is a difficult task, but it's a reliable way to filter irrelevant pictures.
Image search engines don't use the information from EXIF tags, that could offer a lot of interesting contextual details about location, date, image quality. Google will start to add information about geolocation from digital images.
The most controversial new feature tested by Google is the addition of display ads next to image results for commercial queries. Google's previous experiments with text ads weren't very successful, so adapting the ad format to the content could be a better idea. It depends on their usefulness and their prominence: the second mock-up displayed above puts too much emphasis on the image ads. For now, Ask.com Image Search is the only important search engine for images that displays ads, but they're text-only.
If we take into account that, in addition to all these enhancements, Google developed an improved algorithm for ranking images (VisualRank), we can expect an entirely new image search engine from Google in the near future.
To cope with the increasing number of images from the web and to provide better answers for the new use cases, Google promised that will start to add features that use complex image analysis.
One of the new features will allow you to find similar images, given a selected image. Since it's difficult to describe pictures using words, you will be able find a a group of images that illustrate the same situation.
After adding face detection as a restriction for image search, Google prepares to expand it and actually recognize faces. This will improve the quality of results for searches that include person names. Google doesn't intend to limit image recognition to people faces: finding objects in pictures is a difficult task, but it's a reliable way to filter irrelevant pictures.
Image search engines don't use the information from EXIF tags, that could offer a lot of interesting contextual details about location, date, image quality. Google will start to add information about geolocation from digital images.
The most controversial new feature tested by Google is the addition of display ads next to image results for commercial queries. Google's previous experiments with text ads weren't very successful, so adapting the ad format to the content could be a better idea. It depends on their usefulness and their prominence: the second mock-up displayed above puts too much emphasis on the image ads. For now, Ask.com Image Search is the only important search engine for images that displays ads, but they're text-only.
If we take into account that, in addition to all these enhancements, Google developed an improved algorithm for ranking images (VisualRank), we can expect an entirely new image search engine from Google in the near future.
Labels:
Image Search
Google News Layer for Google Earth
There's a new layer for Google Earth that shows Google News stories related to a location. At the recent "Factory Tour of Search" event, Google explained the difficulties of automatically identifying the locations of a news story. For example, just because a news article includes "Paris" doesn't mean that the article talks about France's capital. It could be about the Texas city or Paris Hilton, so the algorithm needs to disambiguate names, identify complete addresses and determine the importance of an alleged location in a text. Google News also uses its automatically-generated clusters to validate locations and their importance to a news story.
"The launch of Google News on Google Earth is a milestone in the evolution of the geobrowser. By spatially locating the Google News' constantly updating index of stories from more than 4,500 news sources, Google Earth now shows an ever-changing world of human activity as chronicled by reporters worldwide. Zoom into areas of personal interest and peruse headlines of national, regional and, when fully zoomed in, even the most local of interest," says Brandon Badger, Product Manager of Google's Geo team.
To enable the Google Earth layer, go to the Layers sidebar, expand "Gallery" and select "Google News" from the impressive list of overlays. Another news-related layer that has been recently added to Google Earth is for New York Times, but it's likely that the news are geo-coded manually.
If you want to read news related to a location in your browser, add a local section to the personalized Google News homepage. "Adding a Local News section allows you to track news stories from and about a particular city or region. While this function is currently only available in our English language editions, we hope to add more languages and regions in the near future," explains the Google News help center.
"The launch of Google News on Google Earth is a milestone in the evolution of the geobrowser. By spatially locating the Google News' constantly updating index of stories from more than 4,500 news sources, Google Earth now shows an ever-changing world of human activity as chronicled by reporters worldwide. Zoom into areas of personal interest and peruse headlines of national, regional and, when fully zoomed in, even the most local of interest," says Brandon Badger, Product Manager of Google's Geo team.
To enable the Google Earth layer, go to the Layers sidebar, expand "Gallery" and select "Google News" from the impressive list of overlays. Another news-related layer that has been recently added to Google Earth is for New York Times, but it's likely that the news are geo-coded manually.
If you want to read news related to a location in your browser, add a local section to the personalized Google News homepage. "Adding a Local News section allows you to track news stories from and about a particular city or region. While this function is currently only available in our English language editions, we hope to add more languages and regions in the near future," explains the Google News help center.
Labels:
Google Earth,
Google News
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