Posts Tagged ‘Google Search’

Handwrite: The New Way to Search Google on Smartphones and Tablets

Image via CrunchBase

“Let is Snow” Also Tops Global Google Searches

From the previous article I posted, we discovered that in the past seven days Google’s latest trick called “Let it Snow” has already topped the searches worldwide. In the Philippines, it is interesting to note that similar terms such as “let it rain” and “let it fire” also made it to the top search list locally.

Image via Wikipedia

Now, I discovered something funny. As I go to Google Insight and look for worldwide trending search terms, I found out that not only “let it snow” is at the top but also the erroneous version of it, “Let is Snow“.

Here’s the screenshot of Google Insight Top Search terms for the past seven days.

"Let is Snow" term tops Google Search in the past 7 days

“Let it Snow”, “Let it Rain” and “Let it Fire” Tops Google Searches in the Past 7 Days

Google really introduced their seasons’ trick “Let It Snow“. When you search for the phase “let it snow” on Google search bar, you will be greeted with falling snow that will eventually fog the search result page. That trick was really cool.

But to my surprise here in the Philippines, people apparently want more than just “snow” but also “rain” and “fire”.

The phrases “let it fire” and “let it rain” were among the top searched terms in the past seven days based on the list from Google Insight.

Google Insight to Search past Seven days result

Google It: “Let it Snow”

This winter season (in the Northern part of the globe), Google has a new gimmick on their search engine. Typing in the phrase “Let It Snow” in their search bar will bring the snow the search result page. And slowly, the entire screen will become foggy as it gets colder and colder (imaginary).

Google Let It Snow on Your Search Results

Google frequently puts fun tricks on their search results. Some examples include Google Askew, Google Gravity and Do the Barrel Roll.

Fun: Google “Askew” and “Tilt”

This is another fun Google Search gimmick. Try searching for the word “askew”. First, go to Google.com and enter the word askew and press enter. What will happen is that the entire webpage will go “askew” or lean towards the right.

Searching the word "askew" on Google will turn the page askew.

If you enabled Google Instant in your browser, you will immediately see the effect upon completely typing the word “askew”.

Update: I just found out that the same thing is true with the word “Tilt“.

Similar Google Search tricks were Google Gravity and “do a barrel roll“.

Yahoo Fires CEO Carol Bartz

Carol Batz. Image via Wikipedia

After her two-year stay as Yahoo Inc’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Carol Bartz was fired by the Yahoo Board replacing her with Yahoo’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Timothy Morse as an interim CEO.

The news was first posted by technology blog AllThingsD and was later confirmed by Yahoo’s Official Press Release.

Carol Bartz was hired by Yahoo Board to help the company from its continued sinking brought about by increasing competition from other digital media companies such as Google and Facebook. Microsoft offered to buy the company for $45 Billion but the company, headed by co-founder Jerry Yang back then, refused the offer.

Jerry Yang stepped down a few months after months of continued dip in Yahoo’s performance. He was later replaced by Carol Batz, former CEO of Autodesk, with the goal of saving the once internet star company from falling.

Bartz two years of tenure didn’t prove to be easy. Yahoo stocks continued to fall down and its relationship with Chinese company Alibaba soured because of failed negotiations. Criticism abound about the way Bartz handled the situation which eventually led to her being fired today.

Interestingly, yahoo stocks rose after the news of Batz being fired circulated over the internet.

What’s this mov0001.swf that’s trending on Google?

Image via CrunchBase

I’ve looked at Google Insight for search tool to find out what’s trending here in the Philippines. Then I noticed this weird keyword: mov0001.swf. It’s the number 2 among the rising searches in the past seven days so I decided to research more about it.

Doubtful that it may be a virus or a malware that can cause trouble to my PC, I decided not to click the first result on Google Search result. Then I found this forum post at symbianize.com.

It’s actually a scary video that will flash to your screen once the link was opened.

To see it personally, just go to Google.com and enter the word “mov0001.swf” and click on the first result.

Warning: If you have some heart or nervous problem, better NOT try this.

Do you want to FREE notifications as to the latest tech news and tips from Techalang.com? Well, you can do either of the following:

1. Subscribe via email

2. Follow us on Twitter

3. Be a our fan in Facebook

4. Make us part of your Google Plus Circle

So Where is HTC Service Center in Cebu Philippines?

Image via Wikipedia

When buying gadgets such as smartphones, people usually look at the specification, features, looks and price. Little do they pay enough consideration to after-market-support. Why? Is it important? The truth is, it is equally important to the above mentioned factors. Let me tell you a real-life story that taught me to value this aspect of product marketing.

My friend and I had decided to sell his HTC Legend which he bought from another country. But before we sell that I suggested to reset the unit and update its OS. It was running in Android 2.1 (Eclair) and I suggested to update it to Android 2.2 (Froyo).

So having the unit with me, I started an over-the-air update via the “Settings” menu of the phone itself. It downloaded the file for like a half an hour. After finishing the download I was asked by a prompt if I would like to install the update. I chose “yes” and the update began.

Oh No! I Think I Broke My Friend’s HTC Legend!
The update didn’t last that long. I was watching the status bar and it finished updating for just 20 minutes or less. After that, the phone rebooted. After reboot, the status bar came back to starting point again. I initially thought that it was just normal but when kept restarting for several times, I began to doubt if the update was successful. I shut down the phone and reboot it myself. But after rebooting it keeps on doing the same thing. I think I ruined my friends gadget.

I tried many other things, searched Google for tips and ways to recover the original OS version but all was in vain. My last option is to seek help from HTC since it was still under warranty.

So where’s HTC’ Service Center in Cebu?
I was really frustrated and afraid about what had happened. I had good intentions in my mind but it ended up in a bad way. So I searched Google and looked for HTC service center here in Cebu. But I found out that there’s only one service center in the Philippines and it was located in Manila! Do I have to fly back to Manila just to service this phone? Oh no!

Then I thought of calling HTC’s number which I found in their website the next morning. But even-though how many times I tried to call, I didn’t get an answer. The phone just kept on ringing and nobody answered.

I didn’t gave up though. I searched their website again to find any alternative. I found out that they had a live chat support so I tried it. Again, no one in HTC answered me. I tried email support, but until now, after a week since the incident, I still did not receive a response. I am hopeless…

Lesson
The lesson here, which I took back from the incident is this: after market support is a crucial factor when deciding what brand to buy. Apple, Nokia, LG and Samsung all have service center here in Cebu, HTC had NONE.

So how about the HTC units being sold here in Cebu? Your only way to have them replaced or serviced is via the retailer who sold you the unit. in most cases, when the technicalities were huge, they might have to send it back to Manila. And how about second-hand units you just bought from a friend? Glad if they kept the receipt and all the documents needed. But what if they purchased it outside the Philippines? The situation is very difficult.

So what happened to the HTC Legend of my friend?
I was very glad that after a few more Google searches, a little bit of my knowledge in gadgets, and help from my techie friend, I was able to bring it back to life. I will tell more details about it in a future article.

Google Confirms FTC’s Antitrust Investigation, Explains to the Public How Google Search Works

Image via Wikipedia

Probably the biggest tech news of the day is the newly launched antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against the search giant Google. Unlike the previous antitrust cases against Google which usually focuses on Google mergers and buyouts of other companies, this one was focused on Google’s core business, the Search which currently holds approximately two-third of the US market.

In an article directed to the public posted on Google’s Official Blog, Google confirms that the FTC indeed had informed them that the investigation had already begun. They said that they respect FTC’s process and they vowed to cooperate with them. However, Google denied any wrongdoing in their part as to how they conduct their business.

Google further reiterated the fundamental principles that guides them on how they conduct their business. As they have mentioned a lot of times, their focus is the users not the websites and they are doing their best to provide the users with the answers to their queries. They also made it clear that they strive hard to be transparent especially when it comes to their advertising business.

And to further show their commitment to an honest and transparent business, they launched a new video explaining how their search engine works. Let’s take a quick look at the video below.

Whatever the outcome of this investigation will be, we just hope that the truth will come out. If Google indeed abused their size advantage to compete with others, Google needs to bear its consequences. If Google is indeed innocent as what they are claiming, then let’s hope that they will be vindicated at the end.

Antitrust cases are usually a bad impression for any company. The same antitrust complaint was also filed against Microsoft back in the 90s, that time though it was the US Department of Justice that handled the case. Although the outcome didn’t directly affected Microsoft’s business, the tedious processes and legal requests were enough to cause the company to be distracted in their operations.

Google Instant Pages Launched at the Inside Search Event

Google is taking the instant results technology into webpages! This is the latest announcement by Google in the Inside Search Event at Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco.

With Google Instant Pages, Google will automatically display the whole webpage in an instant, at the blink of an eye. The technology behind this is that Google is pre-loading the page that the system recognized that you will likely go into. See more details in the video below:

Google Instant is currently working in the developer version Chrome Browser but Google will soon roll this out to stable Chrome versions as well as other browsers.