Google Instant, Google search-as-you-type

Google Instant, Google Search predict what query you're typing & display the results for that query in real-time. Search as you type. It�s a simple and straightforward idea�people can get results as they type their queries. Imagining the future of search, the idea of being able to search for partial queries or provide some interactive feedback while searching has come up more than a few times.

Google search-as-you-type demos were thought-provoking�fun, fast and interactive but fundamentally flawed. Why? Because user don�t really want search-as-you-type (no one wants search results for [bike h] in the process of searching for [bike helmets]). User really want search-before-you-type�that is, you want results for the most likely search given what you have already typed.

As you can imagine, searching even before someone types isn�t easy�which is why Google unveiling Google Instant. Google Instant is search-before-you-type. Instant takes what you have typed already, predicts the most likely completion and streams results in real-time for those predictions�yielding a smarter and faster search that is interactive, predictive and powerful.

* Dynamic Results - Google dynamically displays relevant search results as you type so you can quickly interact and click through to the web content you need.
* Predictions - One of the key technologies in Google Instant is that we predict the rest of your query (in light gray text) before you finish typing. See what you need? Stop typing, look down and find what you�re looking for.
* Scroll to search - Scroll through predictions and see results instantly for each as you arrow down.


Google Instant features:



To bring Google Instant to life, Google needed a host of new technologies including new caching systems, the ability to adaptively control the rate at which Google show results pages and an optimization of page-rendering JavaScript to help web browsers keep up with the rest of the system. In the end, Google needed to produce a system that was able to scale while searching as fast as people can type and think�all while maintaining the relevance and simplicity people expect from Google.

The user benefits of Google Instant are many�but the primary one is time saved. Google testing has shown that Google Instant saves the average searcher two to five seconds per search. That may not seem like a lot at first, but it adds up. With Google Instant, estimate that it will save users 11 hours with each passing second!

As part of current rollout, Google Instant will become the core search experience on Google.com for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE 8. Google also be offering Google Instant to users in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and the U.K. who are signed in and have Instant-capable browsers. Over the coming weeks and months, they�ll work to roll out Google Instant to all geographies and platforms.

10:09 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Google OpenID, Simpler sign-ups for Yahoo! users

Do you get tired when registering a new account whether it's an email, forum or social networking sites. After register, usually a notification message like this will appear, "Thank you for registering with us, please check your email and activate your account using the verification URL provided." SO troublesome isn't it?

All this long process or maybe inefficiency procedures that required manual activation step gives so much headache, like log in to your email and keep refreshing the inbox waiting for the activation email come. Not to mention if your internet connection is troubled or their mailing system slow process. Or sometimes it goes to the wrong mail folder such as spam, or junk folder.

Until recently, Google also required you to follow these steps if you wanted to sign up for a Google Account using their existing email address, such as a @yahoo.com, @hotmail.com, or other address.

To make this process simpler, Google now using an Internet standard called OpenID which is supported by several email providers, including Yahoo!. Instead of the process above, Yahoo! users who sign up with Google see the page below with a button that sends them to Yahoo! for verification.



Once you click that button, Yahoo! shows you a page to get your consent to share your email address with Google.



After you agree, you�re done and can start using any Google service, such as Google Groups, Docs, Reader, AdWords, etc. Google has found that a much larger number of people complete the email verification process when this method is used.

In the future Google will expand this feature to other email providers, and they also hope other website operators will read more on the Google Code Blog about how they can implement a similar feature.

10:13 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Google Beat by Google

Google introducing the Google Beat, a regular video series highlighting the hottest searches in the U.S. Find out what�s hot on search with the Google Beat.

Every day, there are more than a billion searches for information on Google. Have you ever wondered what those searches are about, or whether what you�re searching for also happens to be on the minds of millions of others across the country? Google are introducing a new way to find out, a regular video series called the Google Beat that highlights some of the hottest searches on Google in the U.S.

Using data from Google Trends, Google Insights for Search and some additional tools, the Google Beat will give you a snapshot of some of the topics that prompted people to turn to the web over the past week. You�ve probably seen Google previous deep dives into Google search trends, like our annual year-end Zeitgeist and posts here about search trends related to events like the World Cup, the Oscars� and beyond. Searches can be unexpected, and sometimes what�s popular one week could never have been predicted the week before (think of Falcon Heene, last October�s �balloon boy� or Steven Slater). Google are looking forward to seeing what their data will reveal.

Check out this week�s premier video below, and subscribe to the Google Beat YouTube channel to get regular updates.

8:23 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Google Realtime Search, Freshest Information Plus Google Alert

When Google first introduced their real-time search features last December, Google focused on bringing relevance to the freshest information on the web. Their goal was to provide real-time content from a comprehensive set of sources, integrated right into your usual search results. Today they are making their most significant enhancements to date, giving real-time information its own home and more powerful tools to help you find what you need. Now you can access Google Realtime Search at its own address, www.google.com/realtime (the page is rolling out now and should be available soon. Use this link if you want to try out the new features right away).

On the new homepage you�ll find some great tools to help you refine and understand your results. First, you can use geographic refinements to find updates and news near you, or in a region you specify. So if you�re traveling to Los Angeles this summer, you can check out tweets from Angelenos to get ideas for activities happening right where you are.

In addition, they have added a conversations view, making it easy to follow a discussion on the real-time web. Often a single tweet sparks a larger conversation of re-tweets and other replies, but to put it together you have to click through a bunch of links and figure it out yourself. With the new �full conversation� feature, you can browse the entire conversation in a single glance. Google organize the tweets from oldest to newest and indent so you quickly see how the conversation developed.

Finally, Google have also added updates content to Google Alerts, making it easy to stay informed about a topic of your choosing. Now you can create an alert specifically for �updates� to get an email the moment your topic appears on Twitter or other short-form services. Or, if you want to manage your email volume, you can set alerts to email you once per day or week.

Check out Google demo video of the new features and quick tips on how to use them:





You can access Realtime Search by typing www.google.com/realtime directly into your browser, or clicking the �Updates� link in the left-hand panel of your search results. Set up your Google Alerts at www.google.com/alerts. Realtime Search and updates in Google Alerts are available globally in 40 languages, and the geographic refinements and conversations views are available in English, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. The features are rolling out now, but you can use this link to see them right away.

8:14 AM | 0 comments | Read More