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august 2005 search engine news
What's New in Search - August 2005
The Search Engine Talent War
What will the next search engine battlefield be? Local? Mobile? Time travel?! Would you believe me if I said personnel? It appears that both Google and Yahoo are plucking top talent from academia, idea labs, and even from their competition. In fact, Google hired 230 new engineers in the last quarter alone. The most notable new addition to the Google family was Dr. Kai-Fu Lee. He was lured away from Microsoft to help Google develop a presence in China, but Bill and the boys are not giving up with out a fight. They have thrown lawsuits at Google and Dr. Lee, claiming that his hiring violates a non-compete clause in his contract. Sorry Mr. Gates, but it's tough to compete with free lunches and rollerblades.
Yahoo and Motorola Form Partnership
In an effort to improve its mobile search offering, Yahoo has teamed up with mobile phone manufacturer Motorola. The joint effort between the two will allow Yahoo to gain a foothold in the mobile search market. All Motorola Linux-based mobile phones will be able to access Yahoo's content and services. With the predicted large growth of mobile search, this move makes a lot of sense. It will be interesting to see if more search engines ink exclusive deals with other cell phone manufacturers.
MSN Releases Shopping Engine
Microsoft has launched the beta version of its new shopping site. It includes some pretty cool features and gives users multiple ways to customize their results. The shopping engine allows users to search by keyword or by drilling down into general categories. You can also search by manufacturer or by product type. The site has a lot of useful information, including product ratings and reviews. It appears that MSN Shopping will give Froogle a run for its money as the top shopping offering from the major engines.
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