Google Caffeine Web Search Asks for Public Tests |
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. 

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.
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.








