Yahoo launches Search Tool Like 1 Google Killed
December 4, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under Technology
Yahoo Inc is panning for gold in waters that Google Inc abandoned.
Yahoo said in a blog post on Wednesday that it was testing a new tool to help people better organize the bounty of information that crops up while doing research on the Web.
Search Pad is similar in concept to Google Notebook — a product the Web-search leader opted to halt development on last month.
But the fact that Google threw in the towel on a product does not mean Yahoo is wasting its time, say some analysts. The companies’ differing financial and competitive positions mean what is right for one might not make sense for the other.
Google, which controls roughly 63 percent of the U.S. search market, is taking a hard look at its operating expenses to preserve its operating margin in a slowing economy, including the slew of non-essential projects it traditionally supported.
Yahoo, whose 2008 revenue rose 3 percent to $7.2 billion, is in dire need of a new growth strategy, say analysts.
Investors might be more tolerant of projects that pressure profit margins at Yahoo if there is a chance of a payoff, said Sandeep Aggarwal an analyst at Collins Stewart, speaking in general terms and not of Search Pad specifically.
Yahoo, which recently hired Carol Bartz as chief executive to revive its fortunes, is in a “transformation phase” after turning down a $47.5 billion buyout offer from Microsoft Corp last year and seeing a search advertising partnership with Google fall apart under antitrust scrutiny.
Search Pad predates Bartz’s arrival, said Yahoo Search Senior Director of Product Management Tom Chi.
It stems from a realization that Web surfers use search engines not just to find the link to a particular site, but to conduct research on everything from buying a new car to learning about a medical condition.
The product detects when a person appears to be doing research on a specific topic and offers to catalogue the findings in a special window within the Yahoo search page.
A person can use Search Pad to clip a portion of a website, such as a book review on Amazon.com Inc, add notes to various clippings and save the results as part of their online profile.
Google continues to support Notebook for existing users but no longer updates the product with new features and will not allow new users to sign up for the service.
According to Pacific Crest Securities analyst Steve Weinstein, Yahoo’s best prospect for taking market share in the search business is increasingly about the user experience.
“As it stands right now, no one would shift from using Google, or any other site, just because (a different search engine is) one basis point more relevant,” said Weinstein, who has a “sector perform” rating on Yahoo and whose firm makes a market in Yahoo shares.
“They really need to find some kind of experience that will make people think Yahoo is unique,” he says.
Yahoo launches Search Tool Like 1 Google Killed was first posted on February 5, 2009 at 11:44 am.
$10 PC Could Set Computer Technology Future
December 4, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under Technology
In a world grappling with depression, the launch of an ultra cheap laptop for just $10 in India could set the future of computer technology.
The laptop, which was developed as part of a broader national plan to attract Indian colleges and schools toward growing IT trends, will bring the wonder of the PC to the children.
Known as ‘Sakshat’, the laptop is aimed to fill the gap between rich and poor by linking 18,000 colleges and 400 universities across India.
The laptop will have 2GB inbuilt memory and easy to use applications. It would give tough competition to rival PC makers like the One Laptop per Child’s XO machine and the Intel Classmate.
The laptop computer, which is developed by the joint efforts of Vellore Institute of Technology the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras and due to launch from Triputi in Andhra Pradesh, would be the latest in a series of initiatives to create low cost computing devices for Indians.
University students were engaged to help with the research, and the Indian government also gave several State bodies the brief to turn up with schemes for the low-cost high-use concept.
Lots of private firms were given the agreement to make the notebooks after the design specifications were finalized.
Many governments throughout the world tried a similar low-priced computer scheme for their State-run education system, but India’s laptop is undoubtedly the most cost-effective so far.
Other countries have contracted the likes of Intel and Dell to supply the hardware, but the Indian government’s practical approach has kept prices down and made the programme more approachable to its vast school-going population.
The global recession has also hit badly the costlier roll-outs in other nations, as cut-backs have seen lots of such progressive plans falling victim to funding setbacks.
If the laptop plan turns out successful in India, some industry professionals are anticipating that the ‘$10 PC’ could be a hit further abroad than Asia.
And the India option could be the much-needed lifeline for many similar schemes across the globe.
$10 PC Could Set Computer Technology Future was first posted on February 7, 2009 at 12:31 pm.
Electric Bike That Promises 150 MPH Unveiled
December 4, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under Technology
For all those who have a passion for bikes, here’s some good news: Mission Motors is coming up with an electric motorcycle that promises a speed of almost 150 miles per hour.
The bike, dubbed as Mission One, gets its power from 3-phase AC induction motor and a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery, which the company claims, delivers 150 miles.
Moreover, it takes just two hours to get recharged at 240 volts.
The top-shelf hardware includes Ohlins suspension at both ends, four-piston Brembo brakes and Marchesini forged wheels.
The components – and the claimed 150 horsepower – put the bike on par with hardcore sportbikes like the Ducati 1198.
The motorcycle developed by former Tesla Motors engineer will begin selling them next year for 69,000 apiece dollars.
“As a motorcycle enthusiast and engineer, I knew I could combine my passion for motorcycles with my passion for innovation and create a motorcycle that truly sets a new standard in the perception of electric vehicles,” Wired. com quoted company founder and CEO Forrest North as saying.
“With Mission One, we”re writing the next chapter in motorcycle design, delivering a new riding experience without sacrificing performance or design in a zero emissions vehicle,” he added.
Electric Bike That Promises 150 MPH Unveiled was first posted on February 8, 2009 at 11:38 am.
