Ben Charny

Every now and then, Google reminds everyone of how some of its features depend on the kindness of strangers. Examples of this can be found by visiting the blogs of Google Base, a free classifieds listing feature, and Google Talk, which is Google’s version of an instant messenging app for PCs. Google left implicit instructions […]

Google co-founder Sergey Brin and three others on April 11 were granted a U.S. patent for technology to let the human voice command Internet search engines. In essence, rather than type in an Internet search query, youd literally be able to phone one in, or say it out loud toward a nearby personal computer, writes […]

Can technology be used to maintain a corporations particular work and office culture? Google Vice President of Engineering Douglas Merrill thinks so. He recently suggested theres indeed a connection between the kind of technology a company stocks its offices with and the companys look and feel to employees. The nexis is an unusual one and […]

Google continues to dominate the Internet search market, and has of late been taking market share away from Yahoo and Microsoft, according to some new data. About 60.3 percent of all Internet searches in February were done through Google, up about 0.3 percent from January, according to a new report from ComScore Networks, the Internet […]

Yahoo introduced two new features April 11, one being Yahoo Maps, which uses satellite imagery and appears to compete directly with offerings from Google and Microsoft. The Sunnyvale, Calif., companys other new feature is FareChase, a travel information and shopping search engine. Both FareChase and Yahoo Maps, a beta effort, are part of the usual […]

Microsoft is set to unveil a new Internet search engine to locate scholarly material, a source says. What Microsoft is expected to introduce April 11 is a competitor to Google Scholar, which provides access to peer-reviewed papers, abstracts and articles from academic publishers and other scholarly organizations. Windows Live Academic Search, as the feature’s known, […]

European cell phone giant Vodafone Group is using a new, more powerful content filter, which may be cause for alarm for Google. What Vodafone’s rolling out now in theory lets it collect from Google the same kind of user fee recently proposed by U.S. wired broadband network owners. These companies argue that Google’s such a […]

It appears Google’s begun working with Ori Allon, developer of an Internet search-engine-bending technology while studying at the School of Computer Science, University of New South Wales. Google wasn’t immediately commenting. Allon’s creation, Orion, finds Web pages as does Google’s more famous search engine. But in addition, Orion shows results using keywords or phrases associated […]

European cell phone giant Vodafone is introducing a new content filter that could be used to block subscribers from using competitive phone services. A Vodafone spokesman scoffs at such a notion. He said the new feature, and another content filter that the company has had in place for the last 18 months, are only to […]

Yahoo, eBay, and other late 1990s Dot Com Daze survivors long ago traded in a live-out-loud work environment for something more traditional and business-like. But not Google. Inside Google environs, there’s still very little recognizable structure, according to a recent address in Phoenix by Google Vice President Douglas Merrill. Imagine lots of high-energy, charismatic people […]