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august 2008 search engine news
What's New in Search - September 2008
Google Launches Open Source Browser, Fights Privacy Concerns; Microsoft IE 8 Increases Security
Google's newest search technology, the Google Chrome open-source browser, was launched this month. The new browser allows users to open new tabs in a browser that show a list of most frequent searches, saved websites, and more. The browser would also ensure that additional tabs stay open when other tabs crash (saving the user the trouble of having to restart Google Chrome). Google Chrome is currently being released in beta in over 100 countries. Although Google's new technology claims to make search easier for the user, privacy issues are being raised due to concerns that the browser creates customized search information by logging a user's every keystroke. In response, Google has agreed to anonymize all recorded information within 24 hours, although researchers are skeptical that all information will be completely erased. In contrast to privacy concerns about Google Chrome, Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 is ramping up security in advance of IE's public launch this year. Security options for IE 8 include the ability to control whether IE saves your browsing history, block others from viewing your browsing history as well as block or allow certain websites.
U.S. Government Scrutinizes Google-Yahoo! Deal
Google and Yahoo!'s well-publicized plans for a search-advertising partnership, which would allow Google's ads to be placed next to Yahoo!'s search results, has come under significant scrutiny by the Justice Department due to the suspicion that the deal could violate certain antitrust laws. Yahoo!, which rejected a takeover offer from Microsoft earlier this year, and Google, have both stated that the partnership would grant users and advertisers access to more information (and increase their own revenue). Because both Yahoo! and Google together control 80 percent of the current search advertising market, antitrust regulators are skeptical, fearing that the partnership would instead limit choice and competition in the search advertising market. The case is currently under investigation.
Microsoft Buying Back Stock
Microsoft has recently announced its plans to buy back $40 billion of its own stock over the next five years. Many are speculating that Yahoo!, having been under financial pressure due to the current economy and its need to compete with Google, should take this as a sign that now is the time for them to strike a deal with Microsoft. As Google continues to dominate the Internet search market, Yahoo! fears that advertisers will cut back on display advertising, the engine's main source of revenue. Because search marketing is more lucrative in the long run, many researchers say that Yahoo!'s best option would be to raise its market share by selling its search advertising platform to Microsoft. Although Microsoft has not released any information as to its intended goal with the stock repurchasing, the price of the intended stock is quite similar to the $44 billion it offered to Yahoo! (for its search advertising business) earlier this year.
Google Unveils Mobile Phone
In order to compete with Apple's very popular iPhone, Google has recently released its own mobile phone technology, the T-Mobile G1. Although the new phone will not have the ability to shoot live video like the iPhone, the T-Mobile G1 will have all of the same basic features as the iPhone or Blackberry such as a touch screen, messaging, e-mail, Wi-Fi, and high-speed Internet. In contrast to other mobile phones on the market today, the T-Mobile G1 will have complete access to all of Amazon.com's MP3 downloads as well as the ability to download software applications from anywhere in the world (thanks to Google's open-source Android software platform). While the phone will initially only be released overseas, it should become available in the United States in the next couple of years.
Yahoo! Changing its Home Page
Yahoo! has announced that it will finally be fulfilling its longtime promise to redesign its home page. The new home page will be aimed at helping individual users easily navigate to the parts of the Internet that are specific to their own interests. Features include a list of tabs on the left side of the page allowing easy access to the user's favorite websites. In contrast to Yahoo!'s previous changes to its home page, the new design will allow registered Yahoo! users to see previews of information as soon as it is posted on their favorite sites. Users will be able to see this information without navigating away from the Yahoo! home page. Yahoo! executives say the new page will be tested in four countries and should be available to the public at a later date.
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