May 11, 2006; 07:54 AM Google announced new
technologies to enhance and improve the search experience. Three new
products – Google Co-op, Google Desktop 4, and Google Notebook –
advance the state of the art in search by helping users worldwide find
and share more relevant information. The products all incorporate new
capabilities that leverage user communities, enabling users to either
share more information with others or benefit from other users'
expertise to improve the accuracy of search results.
The company also introduced Google Trends, a new tool that enables
users to examine billions of searches conducted on Google to gain
insight into broad search patterns over time.
"Google Co-op and the other new services announced today combine the
power of Google's technology with the context, knowledge, and unique
expertise of individuals," said Jonathan Rosenberg, senior vice
president, Product Management, Google Inc. "As a result, users can find
the information they are looking for – no matter how specialized or
specific – faster than ever."
Google Co-op Beta Google Co-op beta is a community
where users can contribute their knowledge and expertise to improve
Google search for everyone. Organizations, businesses, or individuals
can label web pages relevant to their areas of expertise or create
specialized links to which users can subscribe.
Once a user has subscribed to a provider's content, all of that provider's labels
and subscribed links are added to the user's search results for relevant queries.
These contributions serve as meta information that helps Google's search algorithms
connect users to the most relevant information for their specific query. Users
interested in contributing can get started at http://www.google.com/coop.
For example, a doctor can label web pages related to arthritis, and
users who subscribe to that doctor's information will receive options
at the top of the results for more specific information such as
"treatment," "symptoms," or "for health professionals" when they enter
a relevant query.
As a first step, Google has worked with partners to annotate
web pages related to health and city guides and to offer dozens of
subscribed links to specialized content such as restaurant and movie
information. Going forward, the broader online community will begin
building out new topic areas and subscribed links to help improve the
way people find and discover information online.
Users can subscribe to content and providers at www.google.com/coop/directory.
Google Co-op is available today on all English language Google domains
including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Google Desktop 4 Beta Also announced today, Google
Desktop 4 beta – available in English, French, Italian, German,
Spanish, Dutch, and Brazilian Portuguese – offers another way for users
to improve their search experience, by personalizing their desktops
with the introduction of Google Gadgets. These gadgets are
mini-applications that reside on users' desktops and deliver a variety
of personalized information such as games, media players, weather and
news. Google Desktop can also recommend new gadgets and can
automatically create a personalized homepage for users based on the
subjects they frequently search and access.
Google currently has hundreds of gadgets users can add to their
desktops and with the new Google Desktop Gadgets API, developers can
easily create and share their own gadgets with other users.
Google Desktop 4 also enables users to:
- Access their Google Gadget content and settings
from other computers and protect it from computer crashes by saving it
online.
- Add favorite gadgets from their personalized Google homepage right onto their desktops.
- Easily access other Google services from their desktop. For
example, users can view upcoming birthdays with the orkut.com gadget,
see what's popular on Google Video, or access their Google Calendar
directly on the desktop.
- Manually re-index their computers or remove deleted files from search results.
Additionally, Google Desktop 4 now offers an option for
network administrators to disable Search Across Computers on both the
consumer and enterprise versions of the product at the network level by
simply blocking access to a specific URL.
Google Desktop 4 will be available in additional languages and include
more localized features for users around the world as the product
evolves. Additional information on the newest version of Google Desktop
is available at http://desktop.google.com.
Google Trends from Google Labs
Available today from Google Labs at http://www.google.com/trends,
Google Trends builds on the Google Zeitgeist to help users find facts
and trends related to Google usage around the world. Google Trends
enables users to learn how popular a particular search term has been on
Google over time and see the relevant news articles that ran on that
subject.
"For the first time ever, Google is making it possible to sift through
billions of search queries from around the world to see what people are
thinking about," said Marissa Mayer, vice president, Search Products
and User Experience, Google Inc.
With Google Trends, users will be able to observe the collective
interests of all Google users to gain general insight into topics such
as people's preferences on ice cream flavors, American Idol
contestants, or the relative popularity of brands and politicians in
specific countries.
Google Notebook from Google Labs
Google Notebook is a simple way for users to save and organize their
thoughts when conducting research online. This personal browser tool
permits users to clip text, images, and links from the pages they're
browsing, save them to an online "notebook" that is accessible from any
computer, and share them with others.
Google Notebook is an interactive scratch pad for every website a user
visits, offering a single online location to collect web findings
without having to leave the browser window. For example, if a user were
planning a vacation, she could clip the most relevant materials on the
pages she visits and add personal notes to help organize all of her
research.
Users can make their Google Notebook public and share the notes they've
taken with others. As a result, the time and effort put into their
research can be harnessed by the online community as a whole.
Google Notebook will be available next week from Google Labs at http://www.google.com/notebook.
About Google Inc. Google's innovative search
technologies connect millions of people around the world with
information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry
Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major
global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides
businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the
overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon
Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For more
information, visit www.google.com.
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