The giant of Search Engines will soon be releasing the software Android which will ideally be suited to run all mobile phones.

Instead of actually manufacturing mobile phones,Google is providing the software Android ,eventually hoping to make handsets in a variety of shapes and sizes by depending on several hardware partners.

Google hopes to combine the approach of Nokia and Microsoft to meet the requirements of the users.Google will combine Nokia’s strategy of “a handset to suit every style” as well as Microsoft’s method of developing the software,in addition to involving several other partner companies.This will also contrast Apple’s iPhone strategy of “one handset fits all”.However unlike Microsoft who charges for using its Windows Mobile software,Google will be providing Android Software completely free.

The vision of Google is to develop the ideal mobile phone which is internet-enabled.Google will be moving towards this vision by focusing on developing countries like India and China,where people are increasingly switching towards the mobile to access the web.

Facebook on Wednesday has rolled out its new site with a redesign to several million of its users.The new site is open to all it users after several months of Beta Testing.

Around 40% of Facebook users tried the new version which was released in July.75% of this group continued using the latest design while the remaining 25% will get accustomed to this new design henceforth.

The site has got a simple look and feel,more user control over profiles and accumulation of latest information using feeds. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had said that the re-design will make it very easy for its users to share information .So for all facebook users its adieu to the old design and hello to the new design.

The idea builds on the belief called “End to End Trust” that Microsoft first proposed in April at the RSA Security conference. The whole concept was produced in a paper entitled “Digital Playgrounds:Creating Safer Online Environments for Children”,released by Microsoft.

The company is handling the challenge as to how to make the Internet safer for children.In addition ,this could also help adults who wish to conduct business, make transactions, and communicate with the confidence that they are interacting with people after complete verification. The major area of concern is how to include additional identity authentication without compromising the privacy of the people involved.

Report from one of the blog says,”I started thinking about how we identify people in the physical world three years ago, when my wife had a [baby] boy,” Scott Charney, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for Trustworthy Computing, said in a recent interview. “I was in the delivery room, and out he came, and the doctor said, ‘What’s his name?'”

“It occurred to me that all identity is based on social custom and derivative identity. Parents name the child, and the name is put on the birth certificate,” which then becomes the irrefutable proof of that person’s identity, he said. “We haven’t done that on the Internet.”

In order to create digital credentials,Microsoft hopes to use existing verification systems like schools who get children registered for classes , post offices which use passports for verification etc.There have been attempts earlier to create sites which were targeted at children and have not been that successful .But Microsoft assures that online sites which verify age limits would surely be very appealing to parents .

Microsoft has introduced Internet Explorer Beta 2 at a time when the web is being used for highly sophisticated activities on a routine basis.

Though, during the early part of the decade, the IE browser did not have many competitors, ever since Mozilla launched Firefox,Microsoft has released several versions of its browser in a fast paced manner to stabilize its market share.

With InPrivate Browsing, the users are given more control of how their personal information is being viewed and shared by others.When this option is being activated,users can maintain the privacy of browsing history on shared computers as in in Internet Cafe’s or homes.

Microsoft also introduces the option of InPrivate Blocking in IE8.This provides the user the ability to control the access of third-party websites especially those that tract online behaviour.Examples of third party contents on websites include stock tickers, advertisements or weather information.To better target advertising , the third parties,who usually provide content to different pages track the individual’s browsing habits.

Blocking on the other hand is a major drawback for Web Publishers and advertisers as their business model gets affected tremendously.In addition,blocking also affects measuring page views and several others statistics which the online advertising industry relies on for the success of their business.

Check out www.microsoft.com/ie8 for download and additional information.

Six months after the beta launch of Microsoft’s Office workspace, around one million customers have signed up for Microsoft’s Office.This free tool allows users to save,work and share around 1000 documents online.

Workspace was launched in competition for Google Docs,which provides the opportunity to share your personal work with others or collaborate on a project together, irrespective of Operating System.

With Workspace Microsoft has succeded in combining its software products with online services.Highlight of workspace is that Microsoft has added 11 new languages with nearly 20 additional features .

Google by launching the new open-source browser “Chrome” has entered into competition with Microsoft’s IE.Through this surprise launch,Google has increased its list of applications,which is by itself very large. The main focus area of this browser is to handle applications like video clips and online games.

Statistics reveals that the main market share of Microsoft’s IE is 58% followed by Firefox with 19%.In t

he area of search engines,Google’s market share is around 64.1%.In the present scenario,seems like Google would be aiming to grab the market share in the area of browsers too.

The beta version of Chrome for Windows is already available for download.After downloading the beta version,what is eye capturing is the simplicity of the browser,plus the extraordinary feature of adding New Tabs.Well,the emblem of Google Chrome is also quite interesting.Mac and Linux users would however have to still wait for the download of their versions.

Here is how Google had revealed its launch of Chrome.A comic book was published by Google in one of the websites which keeps tracks of the company.Check this website to view the comic book http://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/index.html,which provides an insight into how Google evolved to develop this browser.Google has always abided by its policy “Launch Early and Iterate”.

To try out Chrome,download from http://www.google.com/chrome

Google has launched “Google Map Maker” in India , a tool through which users can add or edit businesses, institutes, apartments, parks, roads etc.This geographical content is updated immediately and can be viewed by all other users.

Though this tool,the users can view maps which extends to great depth and breadth. Google has introduced peer moderation which makes it possible for users to review the data their peers add,thus allowing map accuracy and good quality.

Dr Lalitesh Katragadda, Software Engineer and Creator of Google Map Maker said that through this tool people are empowered to share the knowledge that they know.

Well, Google is in line with the fast paced infra structure development in India,which reflects that maps would need to change very often.Check out www.google.com/mapmaker for more.

The world would be witnessing the transformation from the SpiderMonkey Javascript compiler towards the TraceMonkey Just in Time Javascript Compiler(JIT) in Firefox 3.1.The latest version of Firefox will run several Web-based applications such as Gmail faster through incorporation of TraceMonkey,a feature that dramatically speeds up programs written in JavaScript. As much of the Firefox browser itself is coded in JavaScript,and because of more demanding sites,Javscript is playing a significant role in Web Based Applications.

Mozilla’s interim vice president of engineering, Mike Shaver, mentioned that the kind of JavaScript performance made possible with TraceMonkey would eventually eliminate the need for plug-ins such as Adobe’s Flash and Microsoft’s SilverLight to enable sites to incorporate highly interactive content like web-based graphics editors.

However to really experience this speed, net users need to wait until this year end when Firefox 3.1 will be out in the final form.

Yahoo Buzz, launched in February, had paved the way to display the most germane and interesting content from websites across the Internet to the homepage of Yahoo! Until now, around selective 400 publishers were allowed to add links to Yahoo Buzz.The internet user had to look for “Buzz-Up” buttons all over Yahoo and across sites on the Web, or go to buzz.yahoo.com and browse through thousands of stories to vote for their favorites.

On Tuesday, with Yahoo’s announcement that the Buzz is open to the general public, things have changed dramatically .This means that anything we find on the web is now buzzable. Any webmaster is allowed to add the “Buzz Up” button to their Web site. If a reader wants to Buzz an article that does not have the Buzz button attached, they are provided with the option to submit it directly on the Yahoo Buzz Web site.Chances of an article making it to Yahoo’s Home Page depends on its unique content as well as Buzz’s algorithms which takes search engine popularity into account.

As the buzzed contents has a fair chance to be displayed on Yahoo’s Home Page,Yahoo Buzz is definitely a preference over its competititor Digg. So keep buzzing.

First it was Cuil,who challenged the power of Google Search Engine.Now, through Wiki Search, Jimmy Wales, its founder, hopes to breakthrough the search engine market which for long has been dominated by Google, followed by Yahoo and Microsoft.

Wales says that the current search engines functions in a way that a net user is left in the dark regarding how their sites are being ranked.To overcome this ,the vision he has is to deliver an open platform search engine through Wiki Search.This principle is based on Wikipedia,an online popular encyclopedia,also founded by Jimmy Wales,in which users can post and edit entries.

At the Global Brand Forum in Singapore,he said that based on statistics in the US,90% of people use the the top 3 search engines for their search queries.This according to Wales is insufficient as the web is so wide in range that we require a broader market of competitors.
We need to wait and see if Wiki Search will turn out to be the optimal search engine of the internet.