[+/-] : How Fast Do Search Engines Index Fresh Content

Yesterday was a unique day in the blogosphere. Following the crackdown by Digg staff, the infamous hex key - 09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63 56 88 c0 - was written all over the Internet from blogs to news portals to social websites.Legal issues apart, this mutiny at Digg gives us a great opportunity to compare the indexing behaviour of search engines and how frequently search bots scroll the web in pursuit of fresh content.We executed a search for 09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63 56 88 c0 (without quotes) on all major web and blogs search engines and here are the results.

Microsoft owned Live search has just 18k pages containing the HD DVD key while Google has indexed over half a million documents containing that number.

In case of Blog Search Engines, Bloglines (owned by Ask.com) found 6160 blogs and RSS feeds that mentioned the HD DVD key while Technorati suggested the number as 2200. Google Blog Search results were ~5.5k.

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[+/-] : Sort Search Results by Google PageRank or Alexa Rank Using AfterVote

Are you aware of any search engine that lets you sort search results ? Some blog search engines do allow sorting by date or by relevance but nothing beyond.

Enter AfterVote.com that's not just another meta search engine combining the top results of Google, Yahoo or MSN - AfterVote will let you interact with the search results like never before.
AfterVote displays the Alexa Rank, Google PR and StumbleUpon reviews next to each search result. The URLs in the search results can be directly saved on social bookmarking sites like Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

And the most impressive feature - you can sort results based on the Alexa rankings or Google PageRank. The more you use this feature, the more addictive it gets.

There's an option to block results from certain web domains (blacklist). And if you are worried about search companies collecting your search queries, Aftervote may be a good solution since it lets you search the web anonymously - even your IP addresses are not stored anywhere.

AfterVote.com AfterVote Results Explained

AfterVote.com reminds me of another Ajax based meta search engine called Zippy Search that displays lot of additional SEO related data next to search engine results....
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[+/-] : Wikipedia co-founder wants open-source search engine

Jabber founder Jeremie Miller has signed on to help develop Wikia's open-source search engine project, the organization announced. The Wikia project aims to develop a search engine, crawlers and other indexing tools through a collaborative, open-source process. "Jeremie is a brilliant thinker and a natural fit to help revolutionize the world of search," Wikipedia and Wikia co-founder Jimmy Wales said in a statement. "I believe Internet search is currently broken, and the way to fix it is to build a community whose mission is to develop a search platform that is open and totally transparent." Contributors will likely include graduate students, as well large companies that want to include search functionality in their products but don't want to pay royalties to a search company, according to Wikia CEO Gil Penchina. Another constituency will likely be smaller search companies that don't have the time or money to do everything required for a complete search service themselves. "Everyone has to crawl the Web, but it costs a lot of money," Penchina said. "There has been a lot of interest in academia for better tools." The ultimate goal of the project is to bring "absolute transparency, collaboration and human intelligence to complement search algorithms," according to a press release. Source: CNET Networks...
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[+/-] : Dissecting the Complex Flickr URLs

Images and photographs uploaded on Flickr have slightly complicated and difficult-to-remember web page addresses but with little effort, we can reconstruct (or reverse engineer) Flickr image URLs and retrieve that same image in different sizes as it exists on Flickr servers.

Any Flickr picture URL has the following structure:

http://[farm].static.flickr.com/[server]/[photoID]_[secretCode]_[size].jpg

What follows is a real example of a Flickr Image [small size]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/206/476361508_a2e625415b_m.jpg

From the above URL, the mail Flickr photo page will be located at the following location:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/476361508/ [476361508 is the PhotoID assigned by flickr.com]

To reconstruct other Flickr URLs pointing to different sizes of the same image, all we need to do is change the suffix as descibed here:

s for small square 75x75 http://static.flickr.com/206/476361508_a2e625415b_s.jpg

t for thumbnail, 100 on longest side
m for small, 240 on longest side
b for large, 1024 on longest side (only exists for very large original images)

If you omit the size prefix in the Flick URL, it will point to the medium sized image which has 500 pixels on the longest side.

Medium Size: http://static.flickr.com/206/476361508_a2e625415b.jpg

An important note - Flickr secures the original image with another secret code and it may not be possible to find the url of the Original size image without visiting the Flickr photo page.

The original image can have extensions like jpg, gif or png (depending on the source) but the resized flickr images alway have jpg as the extension....
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[+/-] : YeePay Named a China Internet 100 and Innovator 50 Company

BEIJING, April 30 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- YeePay, a leading provider of
integrated e-payment services in China, was named a China Internet 100 and
Innovator 50 Company in the recently released China Internet Survey Report
2007 (Internet Guide 2007) by China Internet Society. The designation
recognizes the most innovative and influential Internet companies in China.
YeePay was the only payment service provider selected as an Innovator 50
Company. This is the second time that YeePay was named an Innovator 50
Company.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051211/CNM005 )
China Internet Survey is by far the largest and most authoritative
research on China's Internet market. It was organized by China Internet
Society and conducted by DCCI (Data Center of the China Internet). The
Survey first started in 2004 and is conducted annually. The 2006-2007
survey project lasted for six months, with the participation of more than
900 Internet companies and 80684 users, the project committee also held 36
workshops. The Innovator 50 were nominated by a special committee of 200
experts, based on criteria such as product, technology, management,
operation, service and overall innovation.
YeePay is widely recognized as the innovator who first introduced
telephone payment and integrated payment solution. YeePay's payment
platform not only allows users to make online payments easily and securely,
but also supports offline payment channels including telephone and mobile.
This integrated online/offline approach fits well with China's market
environment as the mobile/telephone user base is significantly larger than
the Internet user base. On the other hand, a vast number of small to medium
size businesses sell through telephone and do not have online presence,
therefore they cannot process online payments, but still have a demand to
collect payments remotely. With telephone payment, users can make payments
over the phone using their bank cards by dialing into telephone banking
system, turning every phone device into a virtual POS.
Traditionally the competition in China's market is price driven not
value driven. But more and more companies start to put an emphasis on
creating value through innovation. The Innovator 50 recognizes this trend.
About YeePay
YeePay is a leading e-payment service provider in China, with a mission
to provide better e-payment solutions and value-added financial services
through technology and innovation. Headquartered in Beijing, China, YeePay
also has branch offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hohhot. As the
first company in China to provide a single platform integrating both online
and offline electronic payments, YeePay's innovative solutions enable
consumers and businesses to make and receive payments over the Internet,
mobile and telephone securely, conveniently and cost effectively. YeePay
has formed strategic partnerships with major banks in China. YeePay's
customers include leading internet companies and ecommerce websites as well
as many merchants in traditional industries, such as Baidu, TOM Online,
Shanda, KingSoft, DangDang, eLong, GoMe Electronics and China Unicom.
YeePay was recognized as the ''Best Payment Platform'' by the China
eCommerce Association and one of the ''Top 50 Innovators'' by the China
Internet Society.
For more information about YeePay, please visit http://www.yeepay.com ....
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[+/-] : Should Steve Jobs Go to Jail?, Windows Vista Almost Ready, Inexpensive Personal HD Video

Last week, a couple of big events took place. Right after the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) let Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) off the hook for stock option problems, several ex-Apple employees ratted out Steve Jobs.

In addition, while much of the news surrounding Windows Vista has been anything but good, the product came through -- along with Office 2007 -- allowing Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to blow the roof off its financial numbers, surprising pretty much everyone. That suggests that Vista is ready for you -- but when should you buy?

Finally, this installment of gifts for dads and grads focuses on creating HD videos on the cheap and includes a couple of products that I'm using that seem to work well.

Guilty or Not: Should Steve Jobs Go to Jail?
Apple has been doing an amazing job protecting its CEO, but with its ex-CFO pointing the finger solidly at Steve Jobs and the ex-general counsel expected to do the same, the base of information now seems to support civil -- and probably even criminal -- action against him.

So, assuming the various folks are mostly telling the truth -- which Jobs' defense team would likely challenge -- Steve Jobs publicly took US$1 a year as salary, but he was receiving millions for his private jet and big blocks of options. At Jobs' direction -- and after receiving advice from the CFO that he not do this -- he caused falsified documents to be drawn up, which allowed him to get options that were then not properly reported.

The stock price of Apple fell below the strike price for the options, and they were canceled and replaced by options which, because the stock price continued to fall, were also underwater -- and eventually they were replaced by stock worth nearly $100 million. The only things in contention are who ordered the falsified documents to be created and whether Jobs knew about it.

Now, I'm making this look a lot more simple than it actually is, but let's add to this the fact that many, if not most, people currently believe Apple couldn't survive without Jobs (I would probably include Apple's board with this group), and that with Al Gore on the board, any action against Apple by a Republican executive branch could be positioned as dirty politics and made part of what will likely be an incredibly nasty presidential election.

Now, while the damages to stockholders could be in the tens of millions of dollars, pulling Jobs out of the company could result in lost income in the billions. Finally, Steve Jobs is already playing this out in the media and has already apparently hired Mark Pomerantz, a top criminal attorney (he represented Frank Quattrone successfully), to represent him. That increases the odds that he will either get off on a technicality or receive what amounts to a hand slap.

This makes for a rather ugly decision for the federal attorney who has to prosecute the case. If I were in that position, I wouldn't do anything until after the trial of Apple's ex-chief counsel is over. Then, I would either hope that enough information came out of that trial to make the decision easier, or hope to be reassigned before Jobs would have to be charged. The delay might also get me past the elections; handling this outside of an election year would seem vastly easier.

This issue does not reflect on Apple products or whether you should buy from the company, but it is interesting to watch. What do you think the federal attorney should do? What would you do? How we answer that question probably says a lot about our ethics, and how well we balance risks and rewards.

Vista's Looking Better All the Time
Vista was kind of a disappointment when it launched. Much of the news since then has covered aspects of the system that weren't working properly, as well as application and driver issues. Gamers were particularly upset; they were promised a great experience and didn't get it.

Still, as I suggested, the first 60 to 90 days are when problems like this are sorted out, and we are now exiting that window. Coverage is starting to become more positive, and an increasing number of gamers appear to like the product now.

This was reflected in Microsoft's latest financial results, which blew away quarterly estimates to surprise the stock market with unexpected strength. (Yes, Apple was even stronger in this regard.) Office 2007 and Vista are now not only selling well, but also, apparently, making a hit with users.

While this is great news for the company, the question is should you buy Vista now yourself?

Vista is best on new hardware and, having installed it myself now over 10 times, I would recommend that as the path you should take. In addition, the hardware that Vista seems to like the best is hardware that supports DirectX 10 and a huge flash buffer like Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) Robson or an embedded ReadyBoost.

While there was a lot of hope that hybrid drives -- combining flash and traditional magnetic media -- would make a big difference, the truth is they didn't. They apparently only improve initial boot and, with Vista, you typically don't reboot -- only suspend. Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) is the first tier-one vendor to bring out a notebook flash drive, suggesting there is more of this coming. Capacity will go up and price down for this drive over the next few months.

I've now seen the back-to-school lines from most of the vendors, and they are a huge step forward from the hardware we have today in terms of performance, appearance and price.

In addition, the entire line of ATI (Nasdaq: ATYT) DirectX 10 products will be on the market shortly. For notebooks, those with Robson or built-in ReadyBoost drives are also expected in the back-to-school timeframe.

In June, you'll get a look at Leopard, and some of you may prefer to hold off and buy it when it becomes available in October.

August will therefore be the best time for you to make your purchase decision, because you'll not only get the best choices, but also -- thanks to back-to-school sales -- most likely get the best values.

If you want to go early, some of the Vista-designed desktops have already started to show up. The eMachines line from Gateway (NYSE: GTW) was just refreshed and provides a lot for a little, and HP (NYSE: HPQ) just refreshed its consumer desktops as well. There are a number of design improvements, but laptops are still coming. There will be some stunning choices come August -- and most of you will probably want laptops.

Dads and Grads Gift Ideas: Inexpensive Personal HD Video
A few months ago, getting into high-definition video with a good set of tools and a camera would set you back well over $4K. Now, you can get started for much less than that with tools that are professional grade but affordable.

Memories for dads or grads are precious, and given we are moving to HD and memories might have to last generations, it just makes sense to get a little ahead of the curve.

Camera: It took me a while to research this, but I finally landed on the Sanyo VPC-HD2. It is a 7.1 megapixel (720P) HD camera with excellent low-light capability and a 10x optical zoom. It records on SD flash -- max is 8 GB now but will go up to 16 GB later this year and 32 GB the following year. It's easy to use, and it is small enough to fit in a coat pocket or in a belt pouch. It even has a built-in light. I was able to find it for around $500, but with the SD card and accessories, it came to a total closer to $650.

For editing, Corel's (Nasdaq: CORL) Ulead division just released VideoStudio 11. This is a stunning product that comes in two forms. You want the "Plus" version to do high-definition video. You get a series of choices. A two-step process will turn your recorded video into a professional-looking high-resolution DVD. If you want to do more, there is an option to go into more-detailed layout and thematic creation.

If you really want to go into a semi-pro editor, then you can take make the result massively more creative and unique. Output ranges from playable HD disks and hard drive files down to phones and iPods -- even Zune is supported. This is one of the first products in this class to be designed for Windows Vista.

For watching videos, you can use your phone, iPod or laptop. However, you'll find the screen limiting for the first two, and lugging your laptop everyplace can be a pain. Plus, if you use any of these to watch videos, you'll burn through the batteries quickly.

I like the Archos 604. It plays DVD quality, has a nice big screen, and you can find it for under $300 online now....
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[+/-] : The truth about Windows Vista security

Time and again we were told by Microsoft that Vista is the most secure operating system the company has ever produced. But just recently, Microsoft technical fellow Mark Russinovich is lowering the security expectations built into Vista. So, what’s the truth about Vista security?

Early testing suggests Vista is significantly more secure than previous versions and this obviously the truth. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean an end to Microsoft’s security headaches.

One of Windows Vista’s most lauded security enhancements is the User Account Control (UAC) which aims to address a long-standing flaw in the way Windows handles user permissions. This feature will allow a user to change computer settings while running as a standard user, instead of requiring administrator privileges to perform most tasks.

However, Russinovich made it clear that the feature will stop malware from making changes to the operating system but it’s not a security boundary.

Microsoft has added numerous other features to Windows Vista besides UAC, many of which are intended to increase the overall security of the OS.

New features include:

Windows Service Hardening (WSH) allows you to harden the security posture of your host system by limiting the amount of damage an attacker can do if a Windows-based service is compromised.
Network Access Protection (NAP) can help verify that each computer connected to the network is malware-free; if it is not, it will not be allowed to connect to the network and further infect other systems. Until the system checks out as malware-free, it will not be allowed to use the network or its services. .
Internet Explorer 7, comes with Windows Vista by default as the built-in Web browser, includes many security enhancements that protect users from malware attacks such as phishing and spoofing, and it uses a new mode, called Protected Mode, to further secure the user’s browsing experience.
Updated Windows Firewall comes with the new outbound filtering feature for more granular control over traffic traversing it.
Windows Defender utility detects malware on your system.
Technological advances within the OS bring real security benefits and Vista does represent a significant security improvement over Windows XP. But the bottom line remains the same. Vista is not immune to attack.

Russinovich said that in time hackers will become familiar with Vista, and will develop new exploits, so that viruses, password-stealing Trojans, and rootkits will continue to thrive and be a menace to Windows users....
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[+/-] : Deferred Revenue From Vista Upgrades Boosts Microsoft's Earnings

Concerns continue to be raised about application compatibility and hardware requirements.

Despite signs that businesses are lukewarm to Microsoft's Windows Vista, the company reported record third-quarter profits last week, increased in part by deferred revenue from a Vista upgrade program.

Net income rose 65% year over year to US$4.9 billion for the quarter ended 31 March . The profits were driven by US$14.4 billion in sales, a 32 percent increase over the previous year. The quarter's sales included US$1.67 billion in deferred revenue from the redemption of upgrade coupons Microsoft handed out before Vista's launch.

The quarter saw Vista's consumer launch and the release of Office 2007. Vista helped drive a 67 percent increase in sales of the company's client offerings to US$5.27 billion. Server product sales rose 15 percent to US$2.75 billion, and revenue from online services increased 11 percent to US$623 million. advertisement
Amid the strong numbers, some businesses and other organizations have concerns about application compatibility and Vista's hardware requirements (see story, p. 63). NASA is the latest federal agency to hold off upgrading its PCs to the operating system. It joins the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Department of Transportation, which have temporary bans on Vista....
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[+/-] : Intel vs OLPC - Both Competing For Laptops - Underprivileged Children

Underprivileged children around the world most likely do not care who supplies them with a free laptop, but a battle is brewing for this 3rd world market. Both Intel and OLPC [One Laptop Per Child] appear now to be in competition with each other to see who can provide the best laptop for the lowest price. Last week I had reported that the cost of the OLPC had risen to $175 per unit. Intels laptop is in the $250 range, but the company is hoping to drop that price by about $50 before going into production.
So whats going on here? Why is Intel so interested in a low end laptop market? One only needs to look at difference in the two laptops. The OLPS version is using a processor from AMD and naturally the Intel model is using their own processing unit. Outside of the cpu, both units are very similar and both can run either Linux or Windows software. At stake is a market that could potentially reach 100 million or more children.
Now the big question. While OLPC seems to be doing this for humanitarian reasons Intel could have their own agenda. In order to maintain market share against their arch rival AMD, they must try and compete in this low end market.
Joanne Stern has written a comprehensive article on this battle and also has included a comparison chart over at Laptop - Mobile Solutions For Business & Life located here.
What’s your take? Is Intel going to win this David and Goliath battle?
Comment, welcome....
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