Google’s top searches

In 2006 people were more interested learning about online social networks, Borat’s American invasion, Paris Hilton and definition of promiscuous, according to Google’s annual list of top searches.

Today Google processes billions of searches every month and calls the results the zeitgeist – a “general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era.” Myspace and Bebo were top most two searches during 2006. It just shows the increasing popularity of social networks between young web surfers.

Google’s video sharing website YouTube did not appear in top 10 lists, but any how its similar site, Metacafe, came at No. 4. One of the site’s ticks is to pay users for actual content, which is viewed more than 20,000 times.

Google Shows Quality Scores for Christmas

Google’s Quality Scores is going to be fun this New Year. The Quality Score column would display your keyword’s Quality Score, which will help you to monitor your keyword relevance. The Quality Score displays Great or poor. Poor is a term, which should be reactivated. This customizable column is disabled for new accounts and will be enabled any time.

Wikipedia plans search engine to rival Google and Yahoo!

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia now set to launch an internet search engine with amazon.com, which he hopes would become a rival to Google and Yahoo! Mr. Wales has already started working on search engine, which exploits the same user based technology.

Mr. Wales stated “The Times” that he is planning to develop a commercial version of Search engine through Wikia Inc, which has a launch date in the first quarter of next year.

Google, China Mobile to launch mobile search service

Google Inc and China Mobile are up with mobile search service by 2007, according to Shanghai Securities News report. The report quoted that China Mobile and Google have started developing their joint mobile search product for launch by 2007.

Last week Google also announced a mobile search tie-up Chunghwa Telecom, the leading telecom operator in Taiwan.

Google Earth embraced by geologists

For people who have downloaded Google Earth, the chief draw is the amazing chance to look at 3-D satellite images of their homes, neighborhoods and favorite landmarks. Google Earth views of exposure, which can threaten those homes, from earthquake faults to landslides, tsunami zones and even areas that could dissolve in a quake, all overlays on the same detailed satellite images.

“The real trick lies in communicating that data to the public in an interesting and successful way,” said J. Luke Blair, a geologist with the survey’s Menlo Park, Calif., office.

New version of Google Blogger is up

Google Inc. had recently introduced a new version of Blogger service with new privacy settings, which would restrict readership to a predetermined audience. Now user can select to have blogs available to anyone or they could even list the e-mail addresses of people they want to be in. Google started offering the new privacy features this week.

Google buys mobile mash-up mapping technology

Google had recently agreed to get parts of Endoxon, an internet mapping service based in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Google had acquired Endoxon’s internet, mapping and data processing business units simply to allow the search provider to make out its Google Maps and Google Earth service across Europe.

Google Data Joins PHP Zend Framework

With over more than 200,000 downloads in a year by Zend Framework for writing Web application in PHP could be an enterprise challenger to Java and .NET. Further PHP community aims that the trend continues this week as well with Zend Framework 0.6, a new version of platform, which has number of improvements over its predecessor.

This upgrade includes features like bug fixing and new authentication module, and on that Google’s GData API for framework would be just like a crown jewel. GData has both Atom 1.0 and RSS 2.0 XML syndication system to read and write data to the Web for mashups and even other data manipulations. With GData, PHP Framework could be easier to create mashups and it can be better utilized.

“Google has been working with Zend for over a year now to make this component happen,” Zend co-founder Andi Gutmans stated. Further Gutmans said that Zend Framework 0.6 implements GData in the top level Zend_GData component and not under Zend_Service.

There is no doubt that PHP’s widely popular due to its ease-of-use and cross-platform support, which has somewhat taken a toll on Java and .NET,” Gutmans said.

Google and Orange is up with ‘Google Phone’

Google talks with Orange about a new exposure in the way of accessing the internet. This plan would involve a multi-billion dollar partnership that would further allow mobile phone users to surf net anywhere. It is as easy as going online on your computer at home.

The Google Phone would be based on Google brand, but might carry Orange’s logo. The handset might not be very unique; it’s just the internal working which would make Google Phone special. The handset will be built in Google software that would dramatically improve the slow browsing of today’s leading phones. Google Phone will further have location based searches and broad detail of local cinemas, restaurants and other amenities, plus maps and images from Google earth.

NASA signs deal with Google to put data online

Now its time that interactive video from moon, Mars and elsewhere would be available at just a click of mouse after NASA signed an agreement with Google to post its trove of images and data online.

Google anyways would be the first major online collaborator with NASA, the agency further said that the images are simply not exclusive and it is working on similar project with other internet portals as well. Under this contact, Ames would offer Google with its weather forecasting information, real-time tracking on space station and three-dimensional maps of moon and Mars and space shuttle flights.