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Canadian Wireless Software Development Company Now Part of Google

With so much attention on Google's new video service and the Google Pack today, little attention has been paid to the fact that Google has acquired Reqwireless based in Waterloo, Ontario.

According to the National Post article: Waterloo gets Googled, Google acquired Reqwirless last summer but was disclosed yesterday. The article also says Google will, "staff up a recently established research and development facility." I was unaware of this facility but have blogged about an Open Text research initiative at the university.

The acquisition of Reqwireless once again reaffirms Google's interest in the wireless marketplace. The company develops wireless web browsers (Opera is a big player in this space) and wireless email tools. Products listed on their web site include:
+ Reqwireless Web
+ Email Viewer
+ Hot Viewer

In August, we learned that Google acquired Android Inc., another developer of mobile phone software.

Waterloo, Ontario is also home to Research In Motion (BlackBerry), OpenText, and the University of Waterloo which is well-known for the high quality engineers it turns out. According to the article, Google has been recruiting at UoW for years.

Google, which has recruited University of Waterloo graduates to work in Silicon Valley for several years, recently placed a job posting on its Web site looking for a mobile wireless application developer based in the southern Ontario city. "Google is hiring engineers to bring our wireless products to the next level," the company says in the posting

Gary Will, the editor of Waterloo Tech Digest, has comments and background about the acquisitin on his blog.

Sun's Tim Bray has strong ties to the Waterloo area and the Univ of Waterloo. It's there he worked on the New Oxford English Dictionary and then founded Open Text (remember the Open Text web engine?) and Antarctica Systems. Of course, Bray is also one of the original developers/editors of XML.

A current student at the University of Waterloo and well-known for creating useful web search tools is Michael Fagan. Mike's the developer of FaganFinder, URLInfo, and the very useful Translation Wizard. I also see his introduction to RSS and syndication linked to fromn many sites and articles. He's also the developer of UWHub, a search tool for University of Waterloo info.

Thanks to Michel for the news tip.

Coverage Of Google's Larry Page Keynote At CES

However, the highlight of the event was Williams' improvisation and jokes. He came onstage wearing a Google-colored wire helmet, a possible allusion to his robot role in the movie "Bicentennial Man," and proceeded to riff and free associate in response to technical terms Page presented. He sped up his speech in response to the word "download" and described "firewall" as a "condom for your computer."

Postscript: After Page's keynote presentation was finished at CES he headed backstage for a press conference with well-known press members and bloggers. Eric Schmidt was also there. Paul Boutin from Engadget was one of those who received an invite and he reports about what Larry and Eric had to say had to say here. Well worth a read.

Google Video Store Opens (Soonish)

As expected, Google has announced plans for a new Google Video Store allowing video purchase and rental from Google Video. Content from about 40 providers will be initially available for purchase, with the program opening to any video producer wishing to charge in the near future. Viewers can watch video using a new Google video player or download content formatted for the iPod Video and the Sony PSP. Google is also using its own version of copy protection for some programs.

"It will be an open video marketplace where consumers can buy or rent content," said Peter Chane, senior business product manager for Google Video, when explaining the new service to Search Engine Watch earlier this week. "We're adding the monetization component to video, and when we do that, we think an enormous amount of video will come online."

Google Video originally started out in June distributing its own Google Viewer, then shifted to playback to using Flash in September. Now as suspected, a downloadable Google Video Player is back. Google's bringing this out so that copy protected content can be played.

Not all content will have copy protection. It remains up to the provider to decide if they want to do this. For those that do, their content can only be viewed using the Google player.

The player is a 5MB download and works for Windows 2000 and Windows XP machines only, though Mac and Linux versions are planned. One feature of the interface is a filmstrip-style mode, where you can browse all the frames of the video as a way to jump to something of interest.

Copy protection works by the video being opened in the player and then authenticated online. Once authenticated, it can continue to be played as long as the viewer remains open.

Airplane travelers are out of luck, at the moment. Authentication can't be saved. That means if you aren't connected, you won't be able to watch the video, assuming copy protection is involved. Chane said Google hopes to come up with an offline viewing option for copy protected video in the future.

Some of the paid content won't involve copy protection, such as interviews from the Charlie Rose show. The entire archive of his shows is going to be sold at $0.99 each. They've chosen to forgo copy protection.

I asked Chane if Rose was the exception, but he said not. A surprising number of those selling content will not use copy protection, though Chane didn't give a specific breakdown, only saying it's a "mix."

Non-copy protected content can be played in the Google viewer, plus there will be links to download versions for the Apple iPod Video and the Sony PlayStation Portable. Windows Mobile users are out of luck, however. No content formatted for them will be offered. I suspect using third party tools like Nero, it will be pretty easy to transcode them, however.

I'm actually in the middle of a project to find the best way to set up video so I can play it on my iPod, PSP, Windows Mobile PDA and my Windows Mobile Smartphone. If I rip a cartoon for the kids, I want to do it once and make it work across all my devices. Keep an eye on my personal blog, and I'll share any tips along those lines in the near future.

Google might add Windows Mobile / Pocket PC formats in the future, saying it went with the iPod and PSP because it considers them the most popular gadgets for viewing video outside of a PC. Google's also looking at how they can use copy protection native to both devices, so that copy protected content can be sent to them.

Will a Google version of iTunes be coming along, in order to help users manage getting this content onto their devices? There aren't any immediate plans, Chane said.

iPod content downloads in a format to automatically let it be added to that device through iTunes. PSP content should be downloading using the peculiar naming format that the PSP requires, then Google expect PSP enthusiasts to use Sony's own tool or a third party tool for moving their content over (try PSP 9, though no programs are actually needed if you know where to drag-and-drop the files).

While Google Video is currently a keyword search tool, it is to gain an enhanced browsable interface. That's good, because with paid content, many people will know they want to drill down directly to a particular program. CBS and the National Basketball Association are two of the 40 or so initial content providers that will be offering thousands of titles. TV shows like CSI and Star Trek:Voyager are among the offerings from CBS.

Google has long said it will let anyone upload video for sale. That's "soon" to be enabled, Chane said. Content can be purchased outright or "rented" so that will can be viewed up to 24 hours after purchase. Longer periods may be added in the future, Chane said.

At launch, only those with credit cards using a US address can buy video. Google does plan to add support for those with non-US addresses in the future. Payments will be handle through the Google Accounts system, which will gain a feature to let credit card info be added. The long expected Google Wallet? No, Chane said the system wasn't going by that name.

Google's already grappled with copyrighted content being uploaded to Google Video since it launched. Gary Price, on the call with me, wondered what prevented people from uploading and selling such content. Chane said Google is continue to enhance its monitoring and those who were caught selling copyrighted video without permission would be dealt with.

Google's not alone in the online video sales space. For some alternatives and the competition, see Gary's Google Faces Plenty Of Competition In Online Video Rental & Sales Marketplace article.

Looking for the official word? See the Google press release here

Want to comment or discuss? Visit the Google area of our Search Engine Watch Forums.

Postscript: The Google Video Store was originally supposed to be live to coincide with the announcement. Google's since said that it will go up as soon as possible, with no other timeframe guidance beyond that. Watch the Google Video site, and when it's live, you'll see it there.

Google Pack Offers 1-Stop Downloading Of Software

Information on Google Pack already went live briefly on Google earlier today, but now the software bundling and updating system has been formally announced. It pulls together popular Google software applications along with those from other providers. An overview of the package is below, and a longer version of this post for Search Engine Watch members goes into more depth from Google about how products were selected, whether others might come and some of the business reasons for doing the pack.

The genesis for the pack, said Google vice president of search products and user experience Marissa Mayer, was the frustration of Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin having to track down and register software for computers they were setting up a year ago.

"They spent all afternoon setting them up. Hundreds of clicks and license agreements later, they had it the way they wanted," Mayer said.

OK, skip past the idea that the duo should just be able to snap their fingers and have someone configure their computers for them. I can understand the frustration. I've had to bring up three computers from a "clean" state this year and have my own list of essential tools and software that I always have to put on. So the idea of a magical way for Google to do this for me? Nice!

Does it work? I haven't had a chance to actually test it yet, since I was briefed about the system earlier this week, before the software was live. However, I've got a newly repaired laptop that I'm going to give it a go on in a few days.

One downside is that you can't add software not already on the Google Pack list. I despise Norton AntiVirus after being a long-time user who tired of its bugginess. But that's the antivirus package of choice in what Google is offering.

Of course, you don't have to choose to install any particular component. Google's just giving you a menu, and ala carte is fine. Here's what's on the table:

• Adobe Reader 7
• Ad-Aware SE Personal
• GalleryPlayer HD Images
• Google Desktop
• Google Earth
• Google Pack Screensaver
• Google Picasa Photo Organizer/Editor
• Google Talk
• Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer
• Google Video player
• Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar
• Norton AntiVirus 2005 Special Edition
• RealPlayer
• Trillian

Google says all of the programs were added because they are considered "best of class" and that no payments for inclusion were involved.

Two programs from Google are new. The Google Video Player is described more here. The Google Pack Screensaver lets you use existing photos on your computer as a screensaver, something Google says they've seen demand for.

One downside to the new Google Pack. It doesn't remember your preferences. If you set up a suite of software on your computer, then need to bring up an entirely new computer, there's no way to save a profile of the programs you like. Hopefully, something like that will come in the future.

Looking for the official word? See the Google press release here

Want to comment or discuss? Visit our SEW Forums thread, Google Pack Live.

Postscript from Gary: This is not the first time we've seen Google bundle their own software and make it available from other providers. Three examples come quickly to mind. First, a recent deal to include several pieces of software on Lexar Flash Drives. We've also posted about Google software being distributed with WinZip and InterVideo's DVD duplication software.

Postscript from Danny: Paul Thurrott has a nice recap of the downloading tool in action in this review.

Google Scholar and Medicine; Infotrieve's ArticleFinder Database is Now Free

A couple of items for web researchers.

First, Dean Giustini, a medical librarian at University of British Columbia in Vancouver (one of the most beautiful places I've ever been) and editor of the UBC Google Scholar Blog has a good summary of recent articles about how Google Scholar is being used in the medical profession.

Second, Infotrieve, a well-known name in the library world, has just announced that public access to their ArticleFinder database is now free.

What is ArticleFinder?
It's a bibliographic database that also offers you the search, read abstracts and purchase individual journal articles as needed from a single source, this is what's often referred to as document delivery.

Content
ArticleFinder has a lot of it. According to the web site, it's currently home to more than 26 million citations and eight million abstracts from over 54,000 journals, in science, technology and medicine (STM). More than 44,000 entries are added each week. This page has a breakdown of articles by discipline.

Search
ArticleFinder offers two interfaces. One, a simple search box that can handle natural language and the other, an advanced interface that offers fielded searching (date, journal name, author, publisher, etc.). Another option allows you to narrow your search by discipline.

Fast Facts
The ArticleFinder FAQ offers many more facts. One important note is that ArticleFinder does not search the full text of an article but rather the title and abstract. In terms of searching AF offers both wildcard search options as well as fuzzy searches. It's also possible to have your citations exported into one of three services and email results.

This service is more than worth a look.

Final Thoughts
Two items.
1) The Infotrieve Virtual Library service (fee-based) allows a company or library to tie their e-journal holdings to he service. No word on if or when this feature will also become free. It would be great if did happen.
2) While much of the material in ArticleFinder is on the technical side of the aisle, don't forget that many public libraries offer great access (24x7x365) to thousands of full text article from journals and newspapers (licensed for personal use) for free without having to leave your home or office. More about that here.

New Forum Discussion Search Tool

Search tools for forum posts come and go. Lycos has its discussion search which focuses on numerous forums across the web, as well as Yahoo Groups and MSN Groups. Google Groups allows you to search Usenet discussions in addition to relatively newly created Google groups.

Over in the Search Engine Watch forums, user backrubrock alerts us to a new discussion search tool called Omgili (an acronym for "Oh My God, I Love It"). From Omgili's About page:

Omgili (Beta) is a search engine designed to index web-based discussion forums. Omgili's unique algorithm analyzes forums not as a simple web page, but as an active discussion with a title, topic and replies.

Yahoo Forges Ad Partnership with Yellowpages.com

Yellowpages.com advertisers now get extended reach with placement within Yahoo! Local and Yahoo! Yellow Pages. This agreement expands on existing agreements Yahoo had with AT&T Yellow Pages and BellSouth Advertising and Publishing. Pamela Parker has more on today's deal over at ClickZ.

Daily SearchCast, Jan. 6, 2006: Motorola Calls Google For Mobile Search; Yahoo Go(es) Into Your TV, Phone & PC; Search Converges With Devices; Microsoft Complains Of Google Honeymoon But Has Had Its Own & More!

Today's search podcast covers Google partnering with Motorola to provide mobile search, Yahoo Go putting Yahoo services into your cell phone, TV and more in your computer, buzz over Google and Yahoo announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show and how search is converging with devices, Microsoft's upset over the Google "honeymoon" and the honeymoon Microsoft itself has had in search and more!

Tune-in by listening to this MP3 file, listening via WebmasterRadio at 11:30am Eastern and repeated at 2pm Eastern Tuesday through Friday, via our Odeo channel or through iTunes via this link (or use alternative iTunes instructions explained here) or though our Yahoo Podcasts channel. Below are links with more information about the stories that were discussed.

• Google Gets Into Motorola Cell Phones With Mobile Search
   
• Yahoo Go Puts Yahoo Services Into Cell Phones, TV & PCs
   
• Yahoo Adds Vidcasts to Podcast Directory; Terry Semel's CES Keynote to Be Vidcast
   
• Nokia's Own Mobile Search Application
   
• bblocal and Other City Guides, Travel Resource, & Local Info Tools for Mobile Users
   
• Google Pack URL
   
• Search Convergence Arrives
   
• Gates Dings Google, Yet Fails To Impress On Search Himself
   
• Bill Gates: "Search is Bad Today" & IBM is Microsoft's Top Rival Not Google
   
• Still No Timeline As To When New Users Sign-Ups Will Be Available for Google Analytics
   
• BBC News Makes "Iconic" Video Clips Available For Free Using Creative Archive License

New Congressional Research Report Looks at Google Book Search, Online Indexing and Fair Use

On December 28th the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a six page research report that looks at online indexing, law, fair use, and the Google Book Search project. The full text of the report is available here.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is one of the most respected names in research. You name the topic and they prepare reseach reports on it. CRS is located here in DC at The Library of Congress. Many of their reports are difficult to access (that's another story) but thanks to various organizations like the Open CRS Project, the Federation of American Scientists, and National Library for the Enviroment, the IP Mall collection, it's getting a bit easier. One caveat is that CRS reports are frequently updated so make sure you're reading the most current version possible. Thanks to S.B. for the news tip.

Google Faces Plenty Of Competition In Online Video Rental & Sales Marketplace

Although Google Video has been grabbing the headlines the expected release of a Google Video download/rental service, many other services have been around for a couple of years while others have just come online. These services allow customers to record, search, browse, download and/or purchase video content online.

We're not talking about stores selling you a DVD (like Amazon) but suppliers of streamable content for online and offline viewing. In other words, find your content and watch it immediately online or save it (in some cases) for offline viewing on your desktop, laptop, or in some cases, portable device.

What follows is a selection of a few of these services and tools. By NO means, is this a comprehensive list. It focuses on services available in the United States.

Vongo

Vongo is a brand new service launched this week by the Starz Entertainment Group. Unlimited access to over one thousand movies, many just out of theaters and many exclusives to Starz/Vongo. Download and playback on Windows-based PCs, laptops, and select portable media devices, as well as on a TV. When movies are no longer available, they time out and are removed from the hard drive. New content added each week. More info about Vongo and access to the client here. The cost is $9.99/month. The price also includes live streaming of the Starz movie channel. Additionally, some titles are available on a pay-per-view basis for $3.95.

Current titles include: + The Incredibles + Hitch + National Treasure

Starz also has a deal with Real Networks (Starz Ticket) that offers a rotating library (about 40 titles/week) of movies for downloading and offline viewing at $12.95/month. Unless you have a 300Kbps or higher bandwidth connection you cannot access the Starz Ticket service.

TiVo

The digital video recording service announced in November that content recorded on your TiVo can be transferred to your iPod or Playstation Portable. In other words, you take your TV picks selections with you which is quite appealing. This new service is expected to go live sometime this quarter. In 2005 TiVo announced a feature that allows TiVo recorded content to be transferred to a laptop or computer via a home network. TiVo also announced a deal last year that allows the actual recorder to be programmed remotely using Yahoo.

DIRECTTV

Just announced is DIRECTTV's new DIRECTTV 2Go service for portable media players. "The DIRECTV 2Go service will allow DIRECTV customers to transfer programming content from their DIRECTV Plus DVR to a wide variety of portable media players."

iTunes

Download video content to your computer and then transfer to your video-capable iPod. You'll find TV shows from ABC, NBC, USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel, and Disney Channel. Oh, and speaking of NBC, MSNBC offers free online access to The NBC Nightly News. Other shows like Meet the Press can be downloaded as podcasts. It's also worth noting that NBC on iTunes is bringing back classic shows like Adam-12 for download and viewing. One episode costs $1.99. iTunes also has video content from Pixar (that makes sense) as well as music videos ($1.99) and movie trailers. This week they have also added 15-25 minute reviews of the 4 BCS College Football Games. They cost $1.99.

CinemaNow

This service (Windows only) allows the user to rent both new and old films (over 2500) and other video content to view online or offline on their computer or television. New movies like Sin City rent for $3.99, all other movies are $2.99. Both have a 24 hour viewing window. Search (the advanced interface offers many fields) or browse to find titles of interest. Movies are automatically made non-viewable 24 hours after they're first played. CinemaNow also offers a library for downloading to the Windows Mobile Portable Media Center, a small library of high-definition videos, and some movies for sale. To use CinemaNow you'll need to use your IE browser. A seven day free trial is available. Btw, CinemaNow is also testing a subscription-based model for some content.

MovieLink

MovieLink (Windows only) is a service that I've used many times and without any problems. Again, download a small client and then select from a collection of hundreds of movies for rental (prices start at $1.99 for a 24 hour viewing window. Tim Burton's, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is listed as a new release and costs $3.95 for 24 hours from the time you click play. In many cases you can get another 24 hours of viewing time for $1.99 without having to download again. Like the other services, after your viewing time has expired the film is no longer viewable. Search or browse for titles. Movielink permits you to view content on either Microsoft Media Player or Real Player. In addition to movies you'll find content from National Geographic, BBC, and Discovery Networks. Movielink also offers a 25% discount on all rentals for students and members of the military. Finally, Movielink also has a beta where they will sell titles. Prices start at $8.99. Details here. Btw, you'll need to use your IE browser to access the MovieLink web site.

We could go on but that's enough to get you started. Look for enhanced services and many new ones moving forward. Assuming, Google's new service comes, it will also test of the Google's phenomenal branding. In this situation they will be competing in one form or another with two other companies and services that also have the Google "buzz" -- those being Apple and TiVo.

Postscript 2: Please see Google Video Store Opens

Terry Semel's CES Keynotes Includes Visits from Tom Cruise and Ellen DeGenres; Semel Says "Walled Gardens" are a Thing of the Past

Update: A vidcast of Terry Semel's CES keynote is now available for online viewing or downloading. Click here, then scroll to the "Most Recent Episodes" section. It's the first link.

This morning, Yahoo's CEO Terry Semel along with help from Ellen DeGeneres and Tom Cruise, gave his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. Endgadget offers a detailed minute-by-minute review (very RustyBrick like) of his remarks.

90 million users in Yahoo Groups. 2 billion minutes/month on Yahoo games. 250 million Yahoo Mail users, supposedly largest in world. 2 billion images on Yahoo photos. "We always thought the Internet was never about one killer app."

Yahoo Go products have 4 features - Seamless experience - Knows what device it's on and will adapt to screen etc - Personalized - Built on an open platform

Yahoo Go involves little apps called Yahoo Widgets on a Yahoo Dashboard. It looks a lot like Konfabulator...

+ Yahoo is not going to make gadgets. We're here to partner with you + We have 400 million users who have spent a lot of time setting up their world + Personally I think walled gardens are a thing of the past

News.com also has coverage and mentions a couple of technical glitches Semel and COO Dan Rosenzweig ran into during the presentation.

From the Elinor Mills News article:

While trying to demonstrate the new Yahoo Go TV, which allows people to access Yahoo content and services through a Windows XP-based PC connected to a TV, the Internet connection failed.

After Cruise left the stage, Semel said, "I guess if you're going to have a demo glitch, (there is no) better way to follow it up than with Tom Cruise."

I wonder if Mr. Cruise or various other A-List celebs are available to come onstage when I'm giving a presentation and have a technical glitch? (-:

Get Ready for YahooPhone!

In a story first reported by the Wall Street Journal, numerous blogs including Threadwatch and PaidContent.org out that Yahoo and SBC/Cingular are planning to develop a Yahoo branded cell phone (built by Nokia) that will also include an MP3 player and camera.

SBC and Yahoo already partner on a broadband service. PaidContent says that the phone will be out next year and sell for $200-$300. Additional posts from Inside Google and vnunet.com.

Postscript: The official news release is also available.

Dogpile Doing Product Placement on Television

Over on Search Engine Journal, Loren posts that Dogpile (they're celebrating their 10th birthday) is doing some "product placement" on various television programs.

His post includes a link to a Seattle Times article (Dogpile is part of Seattle's InfoSpace) says placements have been seen on the season premiere of CBS' "Ghost Whisperer" and the A&E reality show "Growing Up Gotti."

On A&E's "Growing Up Gotti," for instance, Victoria Gotti uses DogPile.com to search Ellis Island records for her great-grandfather.

Perhaps Dogpile's biggest challenge is not only getting people to know about the service but also understand what it offers versus non-meta engines. A few week's ago I mentioned that two of the top five search terms entered into a Dogpile search box in 2005 were Google and Yahoo. As you know, results from both of these engines are already included in Dogpile result sets.

About a year ago, Danny blogged about mentions of A9 and Ask Jeeves on The OC. If memory serves me correctly, an episode of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm included a shopping bag with the Ask Jeeves logo on it. The Ask Jeeves balloon has also made appearances in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Google Pack Information Live

Reader Paul Prijs sends me some additional Google Pack URLs that outline the service in all its glory. Here's the About page, describing the Google Updater that downloads software from the Google Pack to your desktop. Info on the original URL leaking is over here

Postscript: Please see full details at Google Pack Offers 1-Stop Downloading Of Software

Regulating Search Symposia Recap; Google Attorney Speaks at Oxford

Via Comments at Threadwatch, a blog post from Eric Goldman that does a superb job recapping the Regulating Search Symposia that took place a few weeks ago at Yale University. Some of the papers presented at the conference are also available.

From Goldman's post, a passage of what he calls, meta observations:

* almost everyone on the various panels spoke against government regulation. This was clearly a stacked deck. There are plenty of people who would love to get their regulatory hands on search engines, but their views were not widely represented. The closest pro-regulation advocate was Barbara van Schewick, but her particular axe to grind (search engines self-promote their own subsidiary offerings too favorably) was comparatively tame.

* the words "click fraud" were not uttered once. The words "adware" and "spyware" were used extremely rarely.

* Google's representatives repeatedly tried to position Google as "neutral" and "objective." In my search engine bias paper (and my Deregulating Relevancy paper), I debunk any effort by Google to characterize itself as passive. Perhaps this may have been true at some point in Google's history with respect to core search, but Google has become too multi-faceted and too involved in its databases for it to continue playing the passivity card.

On a related legal issues and search note, Joho the Blog, offers notes and a few thoughts from a November seminar at Oxford by, Alexander Macgillivray, Senior Product and Intellectual Property Counsel at Google. Along with these notes, Macgillivray's presentation is discussed in a BBC News post.

From the BBC article:

"We totally believe we have the right to index absolutely everything on the internet, but we will respect any webmaster's decision not to be included," said the California-based legal counsel.

It's All About Google Results: German Blogger Asked to Remove Mention Of Organization from His Posts

Again, via Google Blogscoped, Philipp reports that a "well-known" German blogger was sent a cease and decist letter by the Sozialgericht Bremen, a court of law in Germany that deals with cases in the area of German social services. Why?

...for having one of his blog posts appear in the Google results top ten for “Sozialgericht Bremen” Welcome to the world wide web, Sozialgericht, and welcome to Google.

Much more in P.L. post. My thoughts? If this wouldn't have come from a very reliable source, it sounds like a news item you might read in The Onion.

Google Maps in 3D and Another Source for Interactive 3D Maps, Maps24.com

Via GB, a note about a demo from Japan that offers 3D views of Google Maps. Unfortunately, I had issues with it (I did use Firefox 1.5). Another service that offers a 3-D map views is Maps 24 from Germany.

They've offered the 3D option for some time. The problem is that it's not easy to find and use. Btw, as you'll notice on the Maps 24 homepage, maps are available for several countries (including all of Europe) and the interface in several languages. Let's see if I can give you a quick overview on how to access:

1) Make sure your Java is activate
2) Enter a street address and city, state, Zip or plan a route (driving directions).
3) Make sure the "interactive" option is selected (upper right corner.
4) Note the toolbar in the upper left corner (zoom-in, zoom out, measure distance between points, open in a separate window, etc.) and the 3-D viewing option in the lower right corner.
5) Note the pull-down to various locations to the map. For example, hospitals, theaters, etc.
Note: It's also possible to use Maps24 and access driving directions. What's cool here is that you can "view" your route in motion, like a short film. They call it "Route Flight."
6) Need more help? Here's the FAQ.

+ Maps 24 Europe
+ Maps 24 North America
+ Maps 24 Brazil
+ Maps 24 Middle East

Perhaps an easier to use interface to begin searching with Maps24 is available via Yahoo Maps UK especially if you're looking for European info. However, the 3D and "Route Flight" tools are unavailable.

Google Pack URL & Info Live

If you absolutely, positively can't wait for Google to formally announce the expected Google Pack, here's the URL. Dirson's the first I know to have spotted it, and it's popping up in other places. InsideGoogle references Dirson here, but the actual page itself at Dirson is down. Yeah, I know -- if pack.google.com is just redirecting to Google Accounts, perhaps that means it's no more real than calendar.google.com redirecting to Google.com. Rumors, rumors, right? Well, over at the New York Times, we've got unnamed Google executives being cited as confirming the Google Video plans while the official Google line is to say nothing. The story later gets into Google Pack. To be clear, the New York Times isn't saying just that unnamed sources are spilling the beans -- it's specifically saying that unnamed executives within Google are doing so.

Postscript: I should add that we're under embargo about the news that will come out today. Technically, our policy is that if a company briefing us itself breaks that embargo, we consider it off, as explained more here. And technically, Google execs themselves giving out details even unnamed pretty much should have us feeling that an embargo has been broken. But we'll stick with it. However, fair to say Google Pack is definitely coming giving that Google itself now has info available about it.

Postscript 2: Please see full details at Google Pack Offers 1-Stop Downloading Of Software and Google Video Store Opens

When Will Paid Video Give Way to Video Ads?

We are now deep into the second coming of paid content, and it's all about video.

We learn this morning that Google has joined iTunes as a provider of premium video downloads paid for on a per-episode basis. CBS is the first to pony up shows. It'll be déjà vu all over again as network after network pushes content into the Google video index, just as they've done with iTunes.

The waning of these content owners' enthusiasm for paid video should come in a year or two, as it becomes clear most consumers would rather not pay $1.99 for a single episode of Monk when they can Netflix a whole season. When that happens, in-stream video ads will be given a shot. If they're discreet and respectful of the user experience, my guess is the audience will grow enormously in a short time.

Advertisers will be thrilled in that event, as the amount of "online" video ad inventory explodes. Online has to be in quotes here, since these videos and ads may very well be served onto a television, PSP, iPod or other device. A larger number of homes will have Windows Media Center (or an equivalent Apple-made or third-party digital media server), and the merger of TV and Internet will have its tipping point.

In other words, every device with a screen will be online. There will be less and less television advertising that isn't delivered on the fly via a network.

That's my best version of how online video advertising becomes TV advertising and vice versa.

But we have to start with $1.99 downloads.

Search Convergence Arrives

Google and Yahoo Aim at Another Screen from the New York Times, Internet search meets the gadget from News.com, Google, Yahoo steal spotlight without even saying a word from the San Francisco Chronicle and Yahoo on Your Phone, TV, PC from BusinessWeek are all a series of articles looking at the buzz Yahoo and Google are making at their CES debut because of how they are taking search off the web and into devices and new areas. Developments With Consumer Search from me that came out this time last year explained how and why this was going to come and how especially Google and Yahoo have become "consumer search" providers, or "search utilities" that plan to plug into any device or any location that requires search.

Nokia's Own Mobile Search Application

Want mobile search for your Nokia smartphone? There's the Yahoo Go tool out today. But Nokia also offers it own mobile search application that's been out since last year. It runs on the 6630, 6680, 6681, 3230 and N70 phones so far and lets you easily tap into a variety of search tools for local (with cool mapping feature), general, image and other type of searching. There are different providers offered for different countries. Yahoo is the default for the UK version. Downside? It's really designed mainly for European mobile searchers, at the moment.

Yahoo Go Puts Yahoo Services Into Cell Phones, TV & PCs

Yahoo has launched Yahoo Go (link via PaidContent), a suite of products designed to let people reach information whether they're on their PCs, phones or using TV. The suite will be formally announced by Yahoo CEO Terry Semel at CES keynote today

Yahoo Go Mobile currently works only for Nokia Series 60 phones. It will allow you to sync your contacts, photos and mail with Yahoo. Yahoo says that in the near future, Yahoo Go Mobile will be preinstalled on the Nokia 6682 from Cingular Wireless. Beyond Yahoo Go Mobile, plain old Yahoo Mobile has a wide range of services, some of which involve no special software at all.

Yahoo Go TV is a coming application for Windows XP machines that allows you to see photo slide shows, listen to internet radio stations, search for movie info and clips and find video from the web. What's the TV part, then? It will work with a PC-enabled TV, News.com reports. Or, I suspect, a PC that displays TV in addition to a PC desktop, such as the Windows Media Center does. This application looks to tap into existing Yahoo products but perhaps make them easier for users to be aware of through a more customized software interface.

Yahoo Go Desktop / PC is another coming application that looks incredibly similar to the Google Sidebar. It allows you to apparently tap into and sync more easily with existing Yahoo services such as Flickr photo sharing, blogging on Yahoo 360 and Yahoo Mail. A new "social browser" is also promised, though this seems to be the sidebar or dashboard-like application I mentioned. From various reports, Yahoo Go Dashboard appears to be the name of this.

Yahoo To Launch Go Initiative; Mobile, Connected TVs & Desktop Access over at PaidContent has a nice summary, and via Russell Beattie, a number of articles have some additional details.

Yahoo goes mobile over at News.com says Yahoo Go Mobile will work in 10 different countries (I suspect this actually means it will work with 10 different Yahoo country specific editions, such as Yahoo US versus Yahoo UK). Yahoo Go TV is promised for download before April and remote recording of TV shows is planned.

Yahoo Launches Content Service for Phones from the AP covers Yahoo working with Motorola to bring Yahoo Go into its phones, though Google still looks to be the preferred search provider for Motorola, given its deal announced today.

Google Gets Into Motorola Cell Phones With Mobile Search

Motorola and Google Align for Mobile Search is the official word from Google and Motorola that they are teaming up in a mobile search partnership. Motorola is to insert a Google button into "internet-optimized" phones beginning by the end of March 2006, worldwide. The button will take users to Google search services.

The BBC reports that eventually, Motorola will incorporate a Google link into all of its phones. Google has a variety of mobile search services, and Search Engine Watch members can read up on them via the Google: Mobile category in Search Topics.

Recently, Google released a special local search application for Java-enabled phones. It also maintains web and image search designed for mobile phones, including a more restricted index of mobile-friendly pages, along with SMS search features.

As for other mobile partnerships, Google has one with T-Mobile and way back in 2001 partnered with Sprint, though that might not still be going. I'm checking up on others and will postscript as appropriate.

Search Forums Roundup: Jan. 6, 2006

Today's SearchDay, Search Engine Forums Spotlight, features our weekly links to this week's hot topics from search engine forums across the web: New Google "Bigdaddy" Infrastructure Live - Fortune 500 Sites Use Hidden Text To Fool Search Engines - Bad Reasons To Want A Top Ranking - Link Tracking, and more.

bblocal and Other City Guides, Travel Resource, & Local Info Tools for Mobile Users

I just learned about a new mobile service with info about various cities and maps bbLocal for Blackberry devices. Since I'm a Treo 650 guy, I'm unable to check it out. bbLocal uses Google Maps and currently has info for 30 U.S. and Canadian cities.

Phea Duch from bbLocal tells me that they have plans to have info for all U.S. cities with a professional sports franchise available by the end of the month.

Duch added that listings for businesses will be free, but we do offer other services like creating websites that are compatible with the Blackberry browsers. The company also hopes to partner with other services. For example, the ability to reserve a table at a local restaurant directly from bblocal. Services like this already exist on the web. OpenTable.com is one example that is now available in the U.S. and launched in the UK mid-2005. However, I was unable to spot a mobile version of their web site. OpenTable also has thoughts about adding a mobile version.

Since we're talking about info that might be useful to travellers, many other online and offline tools come to mind. Allow me to mention three. More later.

+ First, the fee-based Vindigo City Guides for (Palm and Pocket PC/Windows Mobile). U.S. data only. Vindigo also offers a bunch of other programs for mobile devices and phones including real-time traffic info (mapped) and a mobile edition of MapQuest.

+ Second, the well-known Metro: The ultimate public transport guide for your PDA or Smartphone. This is a free service that's available in many languages and for more than 300 cities. You'll find maps and routing info. A web-based version of Metro, i-Metro, is also available. Btw, many sites including iPodSubwayMaps.com offer subway maps formatted for iPods.

+ Third, and as I mentioned yesterday, a wireless version of the popular SeatGuru site is now available. This site, either on the web or via a mobile browser is a must for frequent flyers who don't want to get seated in a middle seat at the back of the airplane.

More mobile travel tools soon.

Postscript: Of course Google Local has a new mobile client version (for some phones) and Yahoo's mobile platform also has local listings. The same is true at 4INFO and Synfonic.

Daily SearchCast, Jan. 5, 2006: Google Pack Software Bundle & Pay Per View Video Coming From Google; Domain Type In Traffic Worth Big Money; Google Getting New BigDaddy Web Search Tech & More!

Today's search podcast covers news that Google plans to release a "Google Pack" of bundled software and offere pay per view video, search revenues are estimated to grow and grow, domain type in traffic is big money to search engines but advertisers might not be so happy, Google's getting a new "BigDaddy" web search infrastructure and more!

Tune-in by listening to this MP3 file, listening via WebmasterRadio at 11:30am Eastern and repeated at 2pm Eastern Tuesday through Friday, via our Odeo channel or through iTunes via this link (or use alternative iTunes instructions explained here) or though our Yahoo Podcasts channel. Below are links with more information about the stories that were discussed.

• Google Pack Software Bundle & Pay Per View Video Coming From Google, To Be Announced At CES
   
• Bill Gates and Friends Talk and Demo New Products at CES
   
• Rashtchy: Global Search Market to Grow 41% in 2006 and 31% in 2007
   
• Search Engines Making Millions Off Type-In Traffic From Domains
   
• Effective Search Marketing Management, Continued
   
• Search U.S. Business Listings in Spanish and Chinese; French, Japanese, and German Coming Soon
   
• Google Wants Your Feedback About Their New "Bigdaddy" Data Center
   
• Google Experim