Google…What’s with the Security?

Google has had it share of negative publicity lately. Many people have started doubting their philosophy of “Due No Evil”, which is really nothing new. But this latest faux pas when, after being requested, by German legislators, to reveal what information the company had gathered from vehicles photographing for Google Street View, Google discovered that they had got a lot more than the bargained for. Apparently, due to some unknown, old code that had been in the software, Google’s vehicles have been gathering personal information from people who use public, unprotected wi-fi. Now in fairness to Google, this information is being obtained from a vehicle that is mobile, and is scanning more that one wi-fi hotspot in any given second, so how much information could they have possibly gathered. More-over, Google has said that they have not used any of the collected information, and have vowed to destroy it. I don’t know, but I really think this was blown a little out of proportion.

But wait, that was not even the purpose of this post, I just got to ranting.

Google has just released a beta of encrypted search. A Google search that will be carried over an SSL connection. So what does this mean? Well it means that no one will be able to see the search query from the time it leaves your browser, to the the time it arrives at Google’s servers. SSL(Secure Socket Layer), and the latest version now known as TLS (Transport Layer Security) are the means in which a data packets are sent over the internet in a scrambled format, and then re-assembled on the other end using private and public security keys. This assures that any information that may be intercepted is received in a jumbled heap, and will make no sense. How do you know you are using SSL/TLS. Well check out the URL as it will tell you. Any URL that begins with https:// and not just http:// is being carried over a secure connection. You will notice that almost all financial institutions, e-commerce sites, and many others that ask for personal identifying information are carried over SSL/TLS.

So why is Google starting all this? Is it in response to the aforementioned Google Street View fiasco? I don’t think so as Google has been doing this for quite some time now. It started with Gmail back in mid-2008 when it began offering secure transmissions of email as an option that had to be enabled. To a lesser known extent, it was also offered for Google Docs around the same time. After the Google servers were hacked allegedly from within China, Google then turned on these settings as default.

So why wasn’t all this done earlier? Running a network over SSL/TLS takes more bandwidth (of which Google has no shortage of), and can also slow the connection down. I think that these were the limiting factors which kept them from being turned on until now. With today’s broadband connections, most encrypted connections can be made without noticing much of a speed hit for the end user. This is a first of it’s kind, as none of the other major search companies, like Yahoo, Bing, Microsoft, or AOL offer this security option.

All that being said, keep in mind that once you click on a search result, you will then lose the encrypted connection and be transmitting over http only. It also will not protect you should you have malware on your computer, such as a keylogger, but it will keep anyone from sniffing your transmissions over wi-fi connections.

To view Google over SSL, click the following link……

https://google.com

Google Attains Superpower Statis

Hacked…..companies and even governments get hacked and information stolen, what seems like, on a daily basis. Corporate espionage has been around since the Internet began. They come and they go. There news one day, and “old” news the next.

Remember, just a few months back, when the United States Power Grid was found to be infested with trojan horses. Yeah, that was news and it was covered by the media. But how long did it make the headlines…..a day or two is all.  The Power Grid was hacked….that is big!!

Remember when Citicorp was found to have been hacked….probably not, as it never made the headlines, it was a secondary story at best. OK, you may say that this was because it was denied by Citicorp, but it never even made the news.

Conficker, yeah now that made the headlines, the ‘worm’ did. But what about the destruction that it caused. You probably are not aware that the University of Utah was infected back in April causing their network to have to be shut down. Check out my post HERE.

Or maybe that, more recently, in December, New Zealand’s Waikato Health Board was infected with this nasty worm causing health services to be disrupted over a large area of the island nation. Again, check out my post HERE.

OK, I agree, these may have not been direct attacks, but it was a hack, none the less. Services were disrupted, and information was attempted to be compromised. That is a hack.

Well now it appears it has happened to the wrong company. Google has been in the news, and in blog posts for weeks now. Did you know that many other companies and organizations were infiltrated also. Probably not. Adobe has been in the news as they were also hacked at the same time that Google was, but only as an ‘honorable mention’ in a Google headline. The culprit has been speculated to be the People’s Republic of China but no incriminating evidence has been found directly implicating China.

Google and 32 other companies. Like I said, one is Adobe, but I have not heard them mentioned in a headline. Adobe is huge, almost every single computer user has something made by Adobe on their machine, whether it be Flash, Reader, Acrobat, Photoshop, Shockwave Player, etc. You see where I am heading. Who are the other 31 companies?

So why Google? Google is truly a superpower and is the ‘only’ company that could possibly have done what they have done….threaten the Chinese Government. By threatening to pull completely out of China is huge. Although, they only maintain about a 30% share of search in China compared to Baidu’s 70% market share, it is not only Google Search that is in jeopardy here. There is also Google’s multitude of services that are offered. Docs, Reader, Gmail, Maps, Calender, and all the rest of Google’s Services would also be gone.

Google even prompted a response from the United States’ Government. A speech given by Secretary of State Clinton asked the question for China to “Explain Themselves”. This is unheralded in the tech industry. Although Microsoft has been involved in many incidents that have made the Headlines, but never to the magnitude that Google has.

So why is Google getting all the press, being backed by the U.S. Government? Because they have called out China and have succeeded. China is on the defensive. Although, they are playing hard line, the fact of the matter is that if Google were to pull completely out of China, it would be painful for them. Not only is Google a major internet player in China, Google is also the one and only entity that could feasibly have the potential to return the favor. Of course, this is radical talk, and would never happen, but I am sure that it weighs on the minds of the Chinese Government.

Google has become such a force that almost everything revolves around what they are doing. Microsoft, although has come close in their time, has never had the same clout that Google has. Apple, although has a habit of monopolizing the tech news with every one of their new releases, like with their release of the iPhone, and, more recently, the iPad, but never to the same level in which Google has done. Google has become a ‘Superpower’ of sorts, and has the ability to push, and push hard. Thankfully, that is not the Google way, but it will certainly be interesting to see how the standoff with China turns out. Will Google fold to the enormous financial possibilities in China, or will they stand strong and be a determining factor in the ‘Human Rights’ issues in the Far East Nation.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see Microsoft, Yahoo, and other major tech companies stand tall, and join Google in this stand-off?

It remains to be seen……

Browser Wars Heating Up

The long standing browser war continues on with some new gainers and some losers. Internet Explorer (IE), Microsoft’s browser has long been the preferred choice for browsing the internet, but has been plagued with exploits which have caused a decline in it’s usage. Apple announced it’s version of a browser for Windows… Safari… and fast gained popularity propelling itself to the number 3 most used browser quickly after it’s release for Windows users. Then came Google, when Chrome first was released, it quickly became popular mainly due to Google’s vast popularity. Opera, which has always been the “long shot” in browser popularity continues to maintain a steady usage percentage.

Internet Explorer, as stated above, is still the most popular browser being used currently, but Mozilla’s Firefox browser has been steadily gaining on the browser empire that Microsoft has created. Recently, Google Chrome overtook Safari as the third most utilized browser, mainly I think, due to Google’s release of versions for the Mac and Linux operating systems. Opera is simply holding it’s own.

Now, in my opinion, which browser is the best? I am going to rate each of the most popular browsers based on three important criteria….the 1st… Speed, the 2nd… Security, and lastly…..Reliability. Now these recommendations are not based on any scientific research, but on my own personal usage experiences. All of these are ranked from Best (#1) to worst (#5).

Speed

Using Windows

1) Google Chrome

2) Opera

3) Mozilla Firefox

4) Apple Safari

5) Internet Explorer 8

Mac (OSX)

1) Safari / WebKit

2) Google Chrome

3) Opera

4) Mozilla Firefox

Note that IE is not available for OSX

Now keep in mind that the speeds are very close, but I have seen a noticeable difference, especially in the top three listed above. The speeds of all four of the browsers, on the Mac, were not very noticeable.

Security

Windows

1) Mozilla Firefox

2) Internet Explorer 8

3) Google Chrome

4) Opera

5) Apple Safari

Mac

1) Mozilla Firefox

2) Safari / WebKit

3) Opera

4) Google Chrome

I do not like the way that Apple’s Safari works on Windows machines. I think the lack of security features is due to Apple’s general lax of the need for security. Although all the browsers have comparable security features, I think that Firefox’s security and the ease of setting it up is, far and above, all the other browsers.  I tend to use Firefox on all my machines due to this fact. The minor speed disadvantage is outweighed by the security that is offered.

Reliability

Windows

1) Google Chrome

2) Opera

3) Mozilla Firefox

4) Internet Explorer 8

5) Apple Safari

Mac OSX

1) Safari

2) Mozilla Firefox

3) Opera

4) Google Chrome

Again, Safari for Windows did not fare well in my tests, but was the best on the Mac OS. This may be due to Apple’s venture to just get the browser out there, but crashes and stalls were frequent on a Windows machine and are non-existent on OSX. Google Chrome did so well on Windows mainly that it has a feature in which all the open tabs run in different “processes”, which means that should a particular tab running a web page crash, it will not crash the entire browser but only that particular tab. This is something that Firefox is supposedly going to add when version 3.6 is released. Firefox 3.6 was supposed to be released in early 2010, but has now been delayed. When this functionality is available in Firefox, the reliability may need to be updated.

OK, now for my overall favorites…..based mostly on “usability” and “speed”, but I never forget “security” either. The “usability” criteria also takes into account it’s ease of use, meaning that the UI (User Interface) is well designed.

Windows

1) Mozilla Firefox

2) Google Chrome

3) Internet Explorer 8

4) Apple Safari

5) Opera

Mac

1) Mozilla Firefox

2) Safari / WebKit

3) Google Chrome

4) Opera

Although I rated Firefox as my top choice on the Mac, Safari is just as capable and could easily be put at the top spot, especially because it is faster. My personal preference is Firefox though, based mostly that it is, far and above, my favorite when using Windows. Google Chrome, although a competent and very fast browser on Windows, is lacking in the new version for the Mac, which is currently in Beta. I am quite sure that Google will update this browser in the future and may very well move up on the list, especially regarding the Mac. As far as Opera goes, it is not a bad browser, my biggest issue is the UI, I just cannot get used to it. Safari, for Windows, has a lot to be desired, it just is not a fully functioning browser for Windows that I have any trust in. On a Mac though, like I said, could very well be rated #1.

Here are the most recent browser popularity results…..

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0

What are you preferences?  Do you Agree? Disagree?

Let me know your thoughts, leave a comment or take these short Polls.

Internet 411

When we think of calling a friend or family member on our phone, we think of dialing a number that corresponds to whomever we want to talk to.  However, when we think of contacting someone on the internet, or searching our favorite sites, we just type in a name. Well the internet is no different than the phone, it relies on numbers. So, if the internet is based on numbers, how can we type in names, phrases, or website names and have our computers go exactly where we want them to go?

In steps Domain Name Systems (DNS). These servers are nothing more than a huge phone book containing a vast database of names and corresponding IP addresses. All web pages do not answer to the alpha phrases or names that we type into a search. All web activity is governed by numbers, or Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.  These are a series of 4 groups of numbers separated by a period. For example, Google’s IP address is 208.67.217.231, and Yahoo’s IP is 69.147.76.15. Copy and paste these IP addresses individually into your URL bar and you will see that it will return either a Google or Yahoo result. When you want to go to Google.com or Yahoo.com, you simply type in Google or Yahoo, but the Word Wide Web (www) has no idea what that means. So a DNS has to intercept that query and assign a number to it so the return that you get will be what you are looking for.

Most “non-power users” never even question where these queries are coming from as your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will provide one for you.  However, the ISP’s DNS may not be the fastest or most secure one out there. You can change your DNS to one of your own choosing.

But how do I now whether the one I am using is the best one available? Well this is where DNS Benchmarking software comes in to play. It will analyze your connection with all the DNS’s available and tell you which is the best for you. Now, keep in mind that the DNS that is best for you, may not be the best for someone in another area. It depends on your location.

So, should you want to see if you could pick up your search query speeds, I am going to recommend a couple of good benchmarking software sites. The first one is an Open Source benchmarking tool provided by Google. You can download it by clicking HERE. It will work on Windows, OSX, or Linux. It is a small download, and will tell you at the end of the test whether there is another DNS that may be more efficient for you.  The second, and my personal favorite, is one from Gibson Research Corporation, and can be downloaded by clicking HERE. Steve Gibson, creator of GRC.com also does a really good job of explaining the concept of DNS. GRC’s version is Windows only, but I did use it on my Mac running Windows 7 in the free Virtual Box and it worked just fine.

Without doing a benchmark test, you simply will not know whether the DNS that you are currently using is the most efficient.  I am currently using OpenDNS and the benchmark test that I ran showed that it was, in fact, the most efficient for my area.

But you may say……I am not that tech savvy and have no idea how to change my DNS. Should I find one that is better for me, How do I change it?

Well before I explain that, I will suggest one before you even test. OpenDNS is an awesome phone book for the web. Once you set it up, which is not difficult, and get yourself an account, you will be given many different options, specifically Parental Controls, that none of the other DNS’s offer, and these controls are second to none. OpenDNS may or may not be the most efficient for you, but is faster than the vast majority of DNS’s and the flexibility that it offers is well worth it.

Changing a DNS is easy. You simply need to change the network settings (TCP/IP) on an individual computer, or you can change it on your router and globally change the DNS on your home network.

Here is a tutorial on using OpenDNS……Click HERE to watch it now.

I highly recommend using OpenDNS!!!

Here are the settings….

Preferred DNS: 208.67.222.222

Alternate DNS: 208.67.220.220

Google now offers a DNS and, although it did not test well on my computer, does show promise. I changed my DNS to Google, just to see how it would respond in the real world, and went back to OpenDNS as it was noticeably slower.

After watching the tutorial, you should now know how to change your DNS settings, here is Google’s new DNS address should you want to experiment…….

Preferred DNS: 8.8.8.8

Alternate DNS: 8.8.4.4

This is a tough subject to explain in full. Should you have questions, please contact me via email at “TheEdibleEarth@gmail.com”  I will get back to you as soon as possible.

What are your thoughts about Domain Name Systems?

Leave a Comment!!!

Happy Halloween….Google Style!!!

In the search giant’s true form, Google has, once again, changed it’s Home Search Page to mark the celebration of a holiday or event.  But, this time they seem to have really outdone themselves and the rumors are flying all over the internet regarding their new search page celebrating Halloween. Shown below, when you first go to a Google search you will be given the Google banner, a blank search bar, and nothing else except the phrase “This space intentionally left blank”.  Why?  Who knows.  Google claims that they are testing a new search home in which the 28 word Google standard page is replaced with one that is even more plain.

But hang on as this gets even better.  Simply by moving the mouse, the normal Google Home Page will appear with a little Halloween kick to it.

By clicking on the Google banner, the word Google will change, with all of the letters being made of various kinds of candy, pretty Google-like.

Click the banner again and the word Google will simply change to a pile of unopened candy, that is just that, a pile.  No wording.

Click on it yet again, and the pile of candy will transform into the same pile of candy, except this time all of the candy is opened and has been eaten.  I got a stomach ache by just doing that.

And lastly, with another click on the eaten pile of candy, will present you with a Google search result for “Halloween 2009”.

All in all this is a pretty fun, if not somewhat bizzare, home page for Google. But, being that it is Halloween after all, it is nothing short of what I have come to expect from the search giant.

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Wicked Cool Site #15

Google has been known to do some things in the past that are just plain different, and, although Google -like, this site is not actually from Google however, this site is certainly one for the books.  A new search that, uhm….., well…. doesn’t work at all.  If you put in a search term, your results will not even be remotely close to a match.  What you get is the result of the previous search query that was done at Google.  It is interesting to see what other people are searching for (OK, for about 5 minutes anyway).  But let’s not say that the creator doesn’t have a geek-like sense of humor. Do a search for “What is Mystery Google” and see the result that you get. I must say that it did bring the 17 facial muscles, needed to smile, to life on my face. I don’t really see the point to this search tool, but it will give you a few minutes of pleasure.   Anyway this is my pick for a “Wicked Cool Site” or maybe it should be titled a “Wicked Weird Site”.

Google must have said something as this site is now titled “Mystery Seeker”

Check out Mystery Google (Seeker) HERE…..

Enjoy!!!

Something Else From Google…

Google is so much more than just search.  They offer so much for free, such as Sketchup, Gmail, Docs, Conversions, and here is another really useful service from Google that is really, well…….Useful!!!  It is called Google Translate and will take any text that you type into it and translate into, well let’s just say, any language that you would possibly want.  But the really neat thing about this tool is that you can translate entire documents or web pages from a foreign language to English or vice-a-versa.  Just upload the document and select the language that you want it translated too and Google will do it for you.  Now remember that this is an algorithm so some of the translation may be a little, well for lack of a better term, weird, but you will get the meaning of the article.  This can be so handy when visiting a foreign country and need to learn simple phrases, as well as translating full articles.  Check it out HERE!!!!

Don’t Forget!!!

It has been a few days now since Patch Tuesday.  The second Tuesday of every month when Microsoft releases the updates for Windows and the MSRT (Malicious Software Removal Tool).  So if you have not got your Windows Updates by now it means that you do not have “Automatic Updates” turned on and you need to update your computer manually.  To do this you can type http://www.update.microsoft.com in the URL bar and run the updates manually.  Remember, you need to do this from Internet Explorer as other browsers like Firefox, Safari, and Opera will not load the page from Microsoft. If “Automatic Update” is not turned on, you should do that now to ensure that you do not miss any updates or not get an “out of sequence” update should one arise.  To turn auto update on, just go to your Control Panel, and select “Automatic Updates” and turn it on.  It is that simple.

Now since we are on the subject of updating our computers, there were a couple of critical browser updates also.  For Firefox users, Mozilla released a critical update that patches a zero day exploit.  It is very important that you update the browser.  To do so, open up Firefox, click on “Help”, and select “Check for Updates”.  Firefox will do the rest. You should update to version 3.5.1 and you will need to restart the browser after it has updated.  Don’t worry, if you have multiple tabs open, Firefox will restore them after the restart.  If you do not update to 3.5.1, then repeat these steps until you do get the most current version.

For Google Chrome users, you also have a new update that, like Firefox, also patches a zero day exploit that has been labeled as critical.  To get the update, you need to click on the settings selection.  This is a little icon on the right side of the browser page that looks like a wrench.  Select that icon and then click on the “About Google Chrome” option and Chrome will do the rest.  It will automatically search for any available updates.  You should be at version 2.0.172.37, so if that is not the update that you get, keep repeating the update until Chrome updates to that version.

One more thing……Why not take today and run your backups!!!  Click HERE for more information on backing up your data!!!

Happy Computing!!!

Microsoft vs. Google (vs. Apple)

This is certainly shaping up to be an epic battle of major proportion and of having grave (or great) consequences for the end user, namely you and me.  On one side, you have Google, the advertising and search titan of the internet.  The other side, you have Microsoft, the software giant who has given us the operating systems in which the majority of all people, on this great planet, are utilizing for their computer and web interactions.  For the most part, the two of them have been pretty content to leave the other alone.  But in these changing times, like a lot of things, this distant relationship between the two is changing.  For better or worse, it appears that the two technology “Gods” are now butting heads.

Let’s start with Microsoft.  Their web browser, Internet Explorer, has been winning the lion’s share of the browsing market for, what seems like, forever.  Between all the different iterations of their browser, they have been eating up almost 70% of all browser use.  It is true that their current version (IE8) is not gaining, in fact it is losing to other browsers, like Firefox, and Safari.  Well, in steps Google.  Seeing a vulnerability, Google launches a new browser…..Google Chrome.  This browser is innovative, and quite frankly, kicks Internet Explorers “nether areas”.  Chrome has revolutionized the way tabbed browsing is supposed to work.  It’s tabs are created in a way so that if one crashes, it will not bring down the entire browser, but only the tab that has crashed.  Along with that, Google Chrome’s JavaScript rendering engine is second to none, making it the fastest browser on the web.  It also incorporated a cool feature in which the “Search Bar” and the “URL Bar” are combined into one field.  Meaning Chrome will distinguish whether you are typing a general search or a specific URL all within the same field. So who has won the battle between Google and Microsoft in the terms of browsers…….I give this one to Google.  Don’t count MS out though, as they know there is a problem……look for “Gazelle” in 2010.

Windows has dominated the Operating System market for as long as I can remember.  Now, in it’s early stages, it was a really difficult thing to make work.  Windows 95 was problematic at best.  Win98 was better, but not great.  Windows 2000 was, by far, their best OS of the time.  Then came Windows ME, this was kind of a push to get XP released and Microsoft seems to have just thrown something out there, so as to get a new release.  It was a disaster, probably the worst release they ever made.  Then came XP, even with all it’s shortcomings, it was not a bad OS.  Notice I said “was” as, although a lot of people are still using it, is really now obsolete.  So, five years later came the new shining star….Vista!!!  Well we all know what happened there.  No driver support, installation problems, and crashing.  Two years later, Microsoft finally got all of the bugs worked out, but at what cost.  Vista had gotten such a bad rep, that no one wants to use it.  People were sticking with XP.  Now Vista turned out to be a “Not So Bad” operating system once everything was said and done.  My only issue with it is the amount of resources that it needs, the thing is a hog.  Up and coming is Windows 7, and I have been running this on my Mac, and it really seems pretty clean.  Granted I have not really checked driver support for this release, but the reviews have been pretty good.  In fact, I have heard reviews, that have stated, that this is “The Best” version that Microsoft has ever released.  OK, so how does Google fit into all of this.  Well, Google entered the OS market with it’s release of their Android OS.  This is a very light OS that is meant to run on small devices like Smart Phones and Netbooks.  Currently, the reviews have been good but it seems like the hardware is holding it back.  Battery power, on the G1, is terrible and is only available through T-Mobile which also may also be holding it back.  But, even more important than that, is Google’s announcement of their new browser based OS which has no release date as of now.  This new system is named Chrome OS, based on that it will boot directly to the browser.  All though I have not seen this, it appears that Google is aiming this OS as a web based operation and not activities that are run natively on the computer. This means to me, that Google is aiming this new OS towards the “Cloud”.  If you are not familiar with “Cloud Computing”, check out my post HERE.  So, who wins the Operating System segment…….Microsoft still has a huge advantage!!!

Now we just talked about “Cloud” computing, and this may be the future.  In fact Microsoft has seen this.  Google has had “Google Docs” available, for free, for quite a while now.  What is Google Docs?   Google Docs is a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and form creator software suite that is, on the “Cloud”, for free.  And based on personal use, is actually very good.  You can open any Microsoft Word, Excel, or Powerpoint file and edit, save, and share these documents.  You can also create new documents, from scratch, and save them to your computer, which can be opened and updated at a later date.   It is a free office suite.  Now Microsoft seems to have been avoiding this but the popularity of Google Documents is growing.  So how will Microsoft respond…..they already have!!!  Microsoft has announced that they will have a version of Office 2010, including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, which will be available on the cloud.  Will it be free remains to be seen, but if they are going to do this, it better be.  So, as far as the “Cloud” goes, who is winning…….Google has a wide margin, however watch to see what Microsoft does in the near future as this gap may narrow.

So how does Apple fit into this mix.  Well, they really do not fit into this mix at all.  True, they have launched iWorks, which is an Office Suite that is available on the “Cloud”, but it is not free and is buggy.  Apple relies on innovation.  Their Macintosh computers are the envy of almost every PC user, well at least those that know the difference.  The iPod player revolutionized the way that we listen to media, whether it be music, movies, podcasts, etc.  The iPhone has changed the way that we get this media…..not only is it a phone, but it is also a small hand-held computer.  Their design has been copied and manipulated by companies like RIM (Blackberry), Palm (Pre), and just about every other cell phone manufacturer.  Yes, I know it is true that Apple did not create the first “Smart Device” as Palm did that with the Pilot, but Apple made it work and advanced it’s technology to the pinnacle that it is at today.

So who will win this battle.  Certainly not Apple, although if they come out with the Tablet Computer, that all the “seers” are saying is going to be the next new thing from Apple, may be another new innovation that will change the way we do computing.  But that aside, I have always said that Google has the resources to give Microsoft a run for it’s money.  Up until now, it seems that Google is content to sit and do what they do best…..advertising.  However, with the new innovations that Google is implementing and their commitment to “Cloud” computing, they seem to be forcing Microsoft into the game.  At this place in time, Microsoft is still on the top of hill….overall, but here is my advice to you Microsoft, do not let your gloves down, Google is invading your territory and is coming. No only that, Google brings a different look that Microsoft does not have!!!!!

What do you think????

Something New!!!???

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a new Search Engine arrive.  In fact, since Cuil, there hasn’t been any.  But who would blame anyone for not wanting to start a new one, after all, Google rules the market and knocking them off their hill is a tall order.  However, Microsoft seems to think that owning the Operating System market is not enough and feel the need to challenge them.  Enter Bing!!  I guess Microsoft is telling Google to “Bing It On”!!!!  (Sorry, I couldn’t resist).  Microsoft has revamped Windows Live Search which was a flop and has come out with this new thing.  The official release is on June 3rd, but low and behold, you can use Bing Preview now.  I was searching around on it for a while, and I have to admit, unlike Cuil, it is not half bad.  I received search results similar to Google and Yahoo, and in a format that was nice to look at.  I like the option in which you can choose what you want to explicately search for, like Images, Videos, Shopping, or News among others.  Choosing one of these will return results for only these options…..a really neat feature.  Like I said earlier, I cannot imagine anyone being able to knock Google off their pedestal, but this one is really not that terrible to use.  The battle is going to be to get people to change their searching habits.

Now, one new Search Engine is rare, but how about two within a couple of weeks.  Now this second one is not really a Search Engine by definition but it is absolutely cool. It is called Wolfram Alpha.  Developed over the past 20+ years by a man named Stephen Wolfram.  His life long ambition was to make all of the world’s knowledge searchable on the internet.  Stephen Wolfram earned his PHD from CalTech at the age of 20 and is known throughout the world for is Hawking-like intelligence.  Mathematica was Wolfram’s first achievement and he has built on this to create Wolfram Alpha.  Now, like I said, this is not a Search Engine by definition, but it does some truly amazing things.  Type in your name, and it will tabulate things like how many people share your name, it’s ranking in the world, and what is truly amazing, it will try to guess your age, basing it on birth records.  You can even type an algebraic statement in the search bar and it will calculate the answer, along with the supporting math. Type in two company names, like Microsoft and Apple, into the search bar and the results will amaze you. Like I said, you cannot do a Google or Bing search (Bing Search??  Just doesn’t sound right, but I tried) on this engine, but it is definitly useful, and the information it provides is amazing.

Try Bing HERE.…

Try Wolfram Alpha HERE….

Let me know what you think…….