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Filed under: Search, Browsers

Opera partners with Ask.com

Although it doesn't always get the most attention, Opera is a solid browser that continues to improve with each version. While they work on their next version, codenamed Peregrine (like the falcon), subtle improvements are being added to the current release, 9.51. The latest addition is Ask.com for the search bar.

What do we think is so interesting about that? First, it's a step toward competing with Firefox's search engine plugins. Although the promotion is focused on Ask, it also shows off Opera's expandable search bar to users who might not have known about it. Second, it's another option for people who don't want to rely exclusively on Google for their search results. We're looking forward to more from Opera in the near future.

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Apple, Google, iPhone, Beta

Google joins Bloglines with iPhone version of Reader

Google Reader iPhone

Monday Google unveiled yet another beta site. Google Reader is now formatted for the iPhone. iPhone users tired of pinching and stretching and tapping text only links in the normal version of Reader or dealing with the plain Classic mobile version of Reader can head over to http://www.google.com/reader/i/ to check out the new beta site.

With the iPhone-enabled web-app, Google joins Ask.com in the web-based RSS reader marketplace. Ask.com's Bloglines has had an iPhone version available to users since July 19, 2007. iBloglines was created with less than a 1000 lines of code on a lark by an internal developer who bought an iPhone and wanted better access to the site.

Read more →

Filed under: Audio, Fun, Internet

Ask.com launches mobile voice assisted driving directions

Ask.com Voice DirectionsClever web based tools on your mobile phone have made getting around the city much easier in the past year or two. We've always had 411 service, but now services such as GOOG-411 will SMS us the address so we have it on us after the call. If you've ever been asked, "What's the name of that great pizza place on 4th? It starts with Mel's", using mobile search tools you can probably easily find out. Figuring out how to get there, however, has always been the tricky part.

Just recently, Ask.com entered the mobile directions fray by introducing speech-activated driving directions. That's right - by using "Click to speak", you just tell the service your current address or intersection and it will send you a text message with directions that can be utilized by walking or driving. This impressive step forward eliminates the necessity of having to type in the address.

This is especially important if you are a) a slow typist on a mobile phone or b) driving and need to have your attention on the road and not keying in your current address.

Here's how it works. Go to Ask.com Mobile's homepage at m.ask.com, go to the "Voice Entry" link next to "Directions". The service will call you, allowing you to speak your starting address and ending address. You can also access the voice entry if you've found a business through their mobile yellow pages by speaking your starting address. The system uses the business' address as the ending address automatically.

Very cool technology. So far it has worked pretty well for us and will only get better as the speech service refines it's voice recognition.

Filed under: Search

Ask.com launches anonymizer tool

AskEraser
Remember back in July when Ask.com told us the company would "soon" be launching a tool that would let you automatically erase your search history to protect your privacy? Yeah, well soon is finally here, 5 months later.

The world's fourth most popular search engine has officially launched AskEraser, the most aggressive search engine anonymizing tool we're aware of. All you have to do is click the little AskEraser button at the top right side of the screen. A window will pop up asking if you'd like to turn on AskEraser. Once enabled, Ask will no longer keep records of your search terms or place cookies on your computer.

AskEraser works with the service's web, image, video, maps, news, blog, and local search engines. The feature is not retroactive. If Ask.com already has your search history, it won't disappear just because you turn AskEraser on today. But the site will "forget" your data after 18 months.

Now for the funny part. AskEraser will remain on until you click the AskEraser button again to turn it off, no matter how many times you visit the web site. How does the search engine remember your preferences? By placing a cookie on your computer that lasts for two years. Yeah, it's kind of ironic, but the alternative would be requiring you to click the button every time you visit the site.

[via Search Engine Land]

Filed under: Security, News, Microsoft, Search

Anonymity sweeps the internet: Microsoft jumps on the bandwagon

AnonymousAsk is doing it, Google's doing it, so of course Microsoft doesn't want to be left out of this new privacy sensation that's sweeping the nation. Of course, while Google announced a policy to limit how long it holds onto personally identifiable search data and Ask launched a service to let users delete their private data immediately after a search, Microsoft is calling for a new set of standards. No firm announcements of a new privacy policy here.

But it's not a bad idea. Microsoft and Ask have issued a joint call to develop a global privacy standard for data collection, use, and protection. They're looking to start a dialog with other industry leaders to develop privacy principles that protect users while making use of anonymous data to improve online search and advertising services.

While the press release has an altruistic tone, it also comes at a time when the European Union is pressuring Microsoft to change its privacy policy.

[via The Technology Free Press]

Filed under: Internet, Security, Web services, Google, Search

Ask.com to launch anonymous web search tool

AskSure, Google says it plans to reduce the amount of time it hangs on to personal user data for. But Ask.com is aiming to win the anonymous web search war (is there a war? Did somebody forget to tell us?) with a new weapon: AskEraser.

Here's how it works. You enter a search term into the world's 4th most popular search engine. Ask.com will perform the search. And then it will immediately forget your name. Just like that cute guy/girl you met at the bar last week.

You'll be able to set your privacy preferences and they will be clearly viewable on the search results page so you will always know whether Ask is holding your data or erasing it.

AskEraser isn't available yet, but the press release indicates it's coming soon. The company also plans to roll out a new system that will disassociate search history from an IP address or cookie after 18 months -- which is pretty much the same thing Google has promised.

Filed under: Internet, Web services

Ask.com gets a major overhaul

Ask
Search engine Ask.com has launched a new site design. When you first navigate to the website, you'll see a clean page with a search bar and a couple of icons representing different types of searches (web, images, city, news, blogs, etc). It's a bit like Google, if Google had icons next to its search types.

But once you enter a search term, things are very different. First off, if you pause for a second after typing your term, suggestions will pop up. For example, when you start to write "download sq," Ask will recommend "download squad."

When you get to the results page, you can preview listings by scrolling your mouse over the binoculars button. Or you can click the + button to bookmark a page if you register for an account.

Account holders can also customize their results by selecting locations or setting up filters. You can also modify the start page with skins. Right now, that means choosing from a list of images, but TechCrunch reports you'll eventually be able to upload your own images.

[via The New York Times]

Filed under: Internet, Blogging

Ask.com adds official blog feeds to web results

Ask.com adds blog feeds to web resultsAsk.com has started including official blog feeds in their search results when you search for popular brands or web site names. The feed listing displays the last three or four posts on the website's official blog at the top of the results page, along with a link to the blog itself. The feed even appears above the sponsored listings.

When you search Download Squad, for example, you'll see our last three blog posts on the search page. Likewise a search for 37signals turned up a feed for their Signal Vs Noise blog, and searches for del.icio.us and reddit turned up their official company blogs. A search for digg, however, returned only popular front page links and no mention of Digg the Blog.

The one blog I was disappointed not to be able to find was the Ask.com Blog itself. The post detailing the flatline in office productivity when a particular Google product failed is enough on its own to warrant more prominent placement on the Ask.com network.

All and all I like this feature. Ask.com has been trying to push the innovation envelope for two years now and they have created a long series of Class A products along the way. Ask.com's blog search functionality is easily the best and most complete of all the major offerings, and it is great to see this feature find its way into other areas of the Ask.com website.

Filed under: Fun, Web services

Ask.com adds... emoticon search?

Ask.com emoticon searchThe latest post at the Ask.com blog begins, "For a long time people have wanted the ability to search for terms and phrases on the web using non-letter (A-Z) characters. Put another way, searching using non-alphanumeric characters." This is a promising start--I've occasionally been annoyed by the fact that Google interprets almost all non-alphanumeric characters as spaces--but then things go off in a different direction: emoticons. I really wasn't aware that there were so many people crying out for a way to find the meanings of certain emoticons, but apparently there are. As a result, you can now search for :) or >:-( or :-O and Ask.com will tell you, via what it calls the Smart Answer box, what it's supposed to mean. Ask.com doesn't really say how many emoticons it knows, but it does seem to be missing some like :-[ and it also doesn't seem to differentiate between upper- and lowercase, so it interprets :-d as the same as :-D ("laughing, big smile"). It does, however, toss at least one non-emoticon into the mix, which the geeks in the audience will recognize: /. , as well as some popular acronyms like LOL and BRB. It even has WTF (uncensored!) but not, curiously, OMG.

Filed under: Blogging, Web services

Bloglines and Ask.com launch blog search engine

Bloglines/Ask.com blog search

Bloglines, the immensely popular web-based feed reader owned by Ask.com, launched its long-awaited blog search engine yesterday. The search can be accessed from both the Bloglines and Ask.com web sites, with slightly different interfaces. Bloglines' search adds a "+" button next to each search result that lets you preview posts in their entirety and a "more info" link that shows a cute pop-up with the feed's number of Bloglines subscribers and any citations for the post. Both search pages have a few advanced options, including filtering by date, sorting by date, relevance, or popularity, and including or excluding news. It also has the obvious (but welcome) integration with Bloglines, allowing you to subscribe to feeds (the Ask.com version also lets you subscribe with Google Reader, NewsGator, or My Yahoo!), "clip" posts, and post them to del.icio.us, Digg, or Newsvine. Not bad.

[Thanks, Andreas!]

Filed under: Web services, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!

Online mapping services compared

Comparing the Mapping ServicesA lot flew beneath my radar last week, including, unfortunately, a great post by TechCrunch's Frank Gruber called Comparing the Mapping Services, in which he compares, with some nice screenshots and tables, the big five online map services: Ask.com, Google, Yahoo!, Windows Live, and MapQuest. Gruber praises all of the services, but in the end he says (spoiler alert!), "Overall, Yahoo Maps was by far the best application tested. Its fast Flash interface, multipoint directions, live traffic information, and easy send-to-mobile feature make it the hands down winner. It also features the most robust API options." What's the best online map service for your money?

Filed under: Web services, Microsoft

Microsoft poaches Ask.com CEO Steve Berkowitz

Windows LiveMicrosoft has hired away Ask.com's CEO Steve Berkowitz to lead its Online Business Group. Berkowitz is credited with Ask.com's revival and market gains over the last year and leading the redesign which removed the site's pop-up and banner ads. He's also the former President and CEO of IDG Books, publisher of the "Dummies" series. The Online Business Group is the umbrella under which MSN.com and Windows Live reside, and Berkowitz will be taking over for veteran 'Softie David Cole.

Filed under: Web services, Google

Ask.com launches Google-style maps

Ask.com MapSometime in the last week or so Ask.com launched a brand new map and driving direction service that definitely takes more than one cue from Google Maps. In fact, its basic functionality works pretty much exactly like Google Maps'. You can click and drag the map and zoom just like with Google Maps and it has street, satellite, and hybrid ("mixed") views like you're accustomed to. Once you dig a bit deeper, however, you can discover some more novel features. One of my favorites, and one that I've been wishing for a long time that other services had, is the ability to specify several waypoints for multi-stop trips. Another is the "Play" button that will walk you through driving directions step by step. Ask.com's new maps also let you choose walking directions rather than driving, a feature which our own Judith Meskill was bemoaning the absence of not long ago. Unfortunately, the service is currently quite a bit slower than Google's and also lacks the integrated local business search Google Maps provides, but it's an impressive start.

[Via Lifehacker]

Filed under: Internet, News, Web services

Jeeves gets the pink slip

jeeves firedWhat a long strange trip it's been for the fictional, net-based "butler of information" Jeeves. He's survived the dot-com crash to turn into a Thanksgiving balloon, and now gets fired unceremoniously? For what? According to the BBC, annoying Barry Diller. Of course, last March Ask.com, owned by IAC boss Diller, purchased the Jeeves site for a cool couple of billion. Ever since then Diller seems to have had the balding man in his sights. And now that the great word of "branding" has been handed down from on high, Jeeves no longer fits in the Ask.com's universe. Does this make a difference? Not really, although reportedly there was a brief effort to save the character... It still won't improve the search results from Ask.com, which aren't bad, but they could be better. So in rememberance of Jeeves, here's a link to the only decent interview he's ever given.

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