MSNBC - Google's Two Revolutions

Google's Two Revolutions
The goal is to have everything at your fingertips, instantly available to anyone who wants to see it.
By Steven Levy
Newsweek
Dec. 27 / Jan. 3 issue

"If it weren't for the war, and the terrorism and the election, 2004 might well be remembered as the Year of Search. Maybe it will anyway. If we get through these rocky times with civilization's underpinnings intact, our descendants, swimming in total information, might be required to memorize the date of last August's Google IPO as a cultural milestone. Except that in the post-Google era, memorization will be obsolete, because even the most obscure fact will be instantly retrievable."

Yahoo! Video Search

"Yahoo! Video Search allows you to search millions of videos from across the Web. To start using Video Search, type a specific description in the Yahoo! Video Search query box. For example, if you want videos of University Lectures, type 'University Lectures' in the box and click the 'Search' button. To limit your search to videos of a certain size or file type, use Advanced Video Search.

Your results pages will show you 20 thumbnails (reduced versions) per page. Click the thumbnail to see details on the video file, along with the web page where the video is located in its original context.

Please Note: The videos you find in your Yahoo! Video Search results may be protected by copyright or other intellectual property rights. Yahoo! cannot advise you as to your use of these videos. If you have questions related to your use of a video, we suggest that you to contact the site owner directly."

Most Effective Search Engines Yet Invented...
From The Krafty Librarian
December 10, 2004

"So here is a link to a wonderful article from William R. Brody, the president of The Johns Hopkins University, praising librarians as 'the most effective search engines yet invented.' It is a great article and he ends it with, 'Today's technology is spectacular -- but it can't always trump a skilled human. Have you hugged your librarian today?'

:) We all need a hug."

Keeping Up With Search Engines
Poynter Online
By Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia Professor & Poynter Visiting Professor

"Use blogs as a guide.

I am having a really tough time keeping up with all the developments in the world of search engines. It feels like major new features (or what some claim are major new features) are added every day. One way to track these developments is to read the blogs that cover search engines well. Here are the ones I glance at once a week."

Security hole found in Google desktop search
InfoWorld
December 20, 2004
By Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service

"Flaw found in beta version could allow third parties to access users' search result summaries
Researchers at Rice University have discovered what they say is a flaw in the beta version of Google's Desktop Search product that could allow third parties to access users' search result summaries, providing a sneak peek at part of the content of personal files."

Google's latest tool offers both promise and peril
newsobserver.com | Business
By PAUL GILSTER

"There's a lot to be said about Google's new Desktop Search program, not all of it good. Technology is always like this: A startling and effective tool -- like e-mail -- changes our lives, but then creates colossal problems, like spam. The new Google program is marvelous, and dangerous."

Speegle Search Engine Talks to You
ResearchBuzz
November 05, 2004

"You know, of all the search engine innovations I dream of at night having search results read back to me in a Scots accent was right up there. Okay, no it wasn't. But what an interesting idea. Speegle is worth a visit just for the novelty. And while I didn't find the Web search especially useful, there's another feature I liked very much."

Oxford-Google digitisation agreement

From Bodleian Library:

"After more than a year of discussions and negotiations, the University of Oxford has concluded a mass-digitisation agreement with Google, Inc., of Mountain View, California, which should lead, over the next three years in the first instance, to the digitisation of more than 1 million of the Bodleian Library's printed books, and their worldwide availability on the Internet, through Google's popular search services and the Oxford website.

Because of copyright restrictions and intellectual property issues, the agreement between Google and Oxford covers only 'public domain' materials (i.e. printed books for which the copyright has expired - principally, books published before 1920), and it will involve the establishment in Oxford, by Google, of a digital scanning and processing unit which, when fully operational, should be capable of producing as many as 10,000 electronic books per week."

Yad Vashem Launches Online Database Of 3 Million Holocaust Victims' Names
from ResourceShelf

"Facts About The Database
Two-thirds of the names in the Database were obtained from the more than two million Pages of Testimony submitted to Yad Vashem over the past 50 years, nearly all of which have now been digitized. Other names have been gleaned from additional computerized lists, including deportation, camp and ghetto records. With a click, users can view and print Pages of Testimony, or a screen containing a victim's personal story, based on information from archival sources available in the Database. Each such 'mini-biography' further links to information about the particular victim, such as the places he/she lived and died, related historical events and more.
See Also: Additional Background About the Database"