Search Service Will Answer Questions Google Can't

WolframAlpha analyzes existing data to answer questions

(NEWSER) - The search engine some are calling a “Google Killer” launched Friday, and tech critics see potential—though the science-heavy searcher is no replacement for Google, notes Mike Harvey in the Times of London.

• WolframAlpha “takes serious scientific data and produces answers that simply don't exist as easily or as accessibly elsewhere,” he writes. “It can do calculus, regression analysis, and gene coding. In short it is the best calculator on the web.”

New features coming fast and furious

(NEWSER) - Google has been adding features lately—like its new side navigation, revamped image search, and customizable background image—that look an awful lot like ideas nabbed from Bing, the New York Times observes. Though Bing still has a mere 12.7% of the search market, compared to Google’s 62.6%, it appears to be pushing its bigger competitor to innovate. “There is a cold war going on,” says one analyst. “Bing’s competition is forcing Google to try and catch up.” More»

Social network and search giant switched spots over New Year's

(NEWSER) - Facebook has felled another Internet giant, surpassing Yahoo in January to become the second most visited website in the US. In December, Facebook had 132.1 million unique visitors to Yahoo’s 133.4 million. But last month the tables were turned, Mashable reports, with Facebook garnering 133.6 million unique visitors to Yahoo’s 132.0 million. The top spot, of course, belongs to Google. More»

King of Pop tops yearly lists for Google, Yahoo, Bing

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson commanded more global attention than any other person or thing this year: the deceased pop singer was the No. 1 search term for Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The lists of top 10 search terms also document Twitter's ascendancy in 2009—the micro-blogging service was the second most popular term on Bing and fourth on Google, InformationWeek reports. More»

Search giant is starting to look a lot like the companies it toppled in late 90s: Blodget

(NEWSER) - Henry Blodget of the Business Insider recently switched from Yahoo Mail to Gmail, mainly because Yahoo had become “buggy, inconsistent, and unreliable.” For basic functionality—and spam-blocking—Gmail performs well. But he hates the "conversation model" for email. Why? "Because I can't easily find the exact message I'm looking for. Because I have to scroll down to find the new email. I can't change the headline of a message string if I want to just hit reply and change the topic." More»