Google has made a bold statement today and most would say that it is about time. It has announced that it will no longer censor search results on the Chinese version of the search engine. Apparently they are serious about it, even if it ends in the shut down of Google.cn. It seems that enough is finally enough. From the Official Google Blog:

We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

Google is doing just fine in the search business, so no one would blame them if they just left things as they were and kept raking in the dough. But it’s nice to see that the search giant is still paying attention to details and willing to try some new things.

Google’s vice president of search product and user experience recently stated that Google will soon begin testing of a new permanent sidebar on its results page. The new version allows you to narrow a search to specific categories, and is more attractive. Plus, the sidebar will be, conveniently and permanently displayed on the left side of the page.

On Monday Google unveiled what they are calling a “next-generation infrastructure” for their web search, and they are asking the public to give it a try. The “secret” project has been underway for months according to a recent post on the Google Indexing blog, and is almost complete. According to the post, the new system “…will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions”.

Google has codenamed the new underlying search indexing “caffeine”, and is looking for the general public to give it a try and provide feedback in the way of differences between the new and old. The new indexing can be tried out at http://www2.sandbox.google.com/, where you can do a search and see if you can tell any difference in the results. According to the blog post from Google, they are only looking for feedback in differences at this time.

In case you haven’t heard, Microsoft recently unveiled its Bing search engine in an effort to overcome Google. Now they have also brought Bing to the mobile platform by introducing Bing Mobile, which can be enjoyed across a range of mobile devices.

So far user impressions seem pretty positive. Simple and clean results are displayed in a nice format. Microsoft is hoping that you might point portable device’s browser to m.bing.com and see what the buzz is all about.

Google will be rolling out a new updated version of its hardware appliance. A device that helps companies and government organizations search through office documents on Google while attracting rats and cheese connoisseurs. The latest version of their Google Search Appliance can store up to 10 million documents in one box, with storage hardware from Dell.

Some other features are superior encryption for better security and Google Alerts will notify users when new documents are uploaded onto the network by others in the office. he dvice supports as many as 27 languages, with search results in 40 different languages. It takes up just a small two unit rack space.

The Sari is a traditional piece of clothing originally worn by Indian women. The Google Sari is a designer’s attempt at being clever. Of course, if Google doesn’t appreciate it, your Sari may turn into a genuine sorry. It’s from designer Satya Paul, who showed the Google sari in one of his recent shows. Very clever. Or maybe not. I can’t decide. I can’t wait for his next attempt, which is probably iPhone inspired and called the Safari Sari or something. Maybe a see-through sari called Microsoft Touch. That one would be trouble.

Microsoft released a statement today that said it was “considering and has raised with Yahoo an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo.” Microsoft would not give details, but word is that sources at both companies agree that it involves Microsoft buying Yahoo’s search business as well as their ad business related to text-based ads. I hope Yahoo puts out soon, cuz I’m getting sick of hearing about it.

This could very well be the future way to search on a mobile device. This futuristic search tool uses a touch screen, built-in camera, scanner, WiFi, Google Maps, Google Search, image search and what you have is the most comprehensive search experience known to man.

All you would have to do is look at a building through the device and image search results would pop right up. Then touch a floor on the building and you have more even more details pop up. This would help tourists especially. All you need to do is look at any object, a car, animal, landmark, and you are armed with the relevant information. That means you’ll never be lost and you will basically know everything about everything.

iPhone owners can now take advantage of Google applications online through a new, easier to use interface that integrates the different tools into a single interface. The new interface is available for iPhone users through the Safari web browser and will come up automatically when they visit Google’s home page.

From the newly integrated page users can navigate quickly to applications including Search, Gmail, Calendar, Reader, Docs, GOOG-411, SMS, News, Photos, Blogger, and Notebook. According to Google the pages will download to the iPhone faster than before and comparable to using them on a desktop computer. This interface was made specifically for the iPhone but Google says that they will be “optimizing” its applications for use on other popular mobile devices as well in the future.