Addict3d.org (http://addict3d.org) announced on November 2 that MSN (www.msn.com) is embarking on one of its biggest ever on and offline marketing drives in the run-up to Christmas for the roll-out of MSN Search (http://search.msn.com), as the battle for dominance in the booming online search market heats up. Microsoft has so far invested $100 million in the development of its new-look search service, which founder Bill Gates said will be unveiled in November. The software giant recently revealed that it was putting personalization at the heart of its search strategy over the next few years at the launch of a preview of its new search technology in the summer, in a bid to gain ground from rivals Google and Yahoo.
Internet Search Engine Database (www.isedb.com) announced on November 2 that the search engine giant Google (www.google.com) intends to develop its Desktop Search application for the Mac platform. News reporters harvested the information from a University of California-Los Angeles conference that commemorated the 35th anniversary of the Internet. Google CEO Eric Schmidt responded in the affirmative about Desktop Search worming its way into Apple.
The blinkx desktop and integrated search tool (www.blinkx.com) announced on November 1 the appointment of former Yahoo Europe Chief, Mark Opzoomer, as Chief Executive Officer. Effective immediately, Opzoomer will guide and expand blinkx worldwide operations, including business development, marketing and global operations.
SearchEngineWatch.com (http://blog.searchenginewatch.com) announced on November 1 that the search engine giant Yahoo Inc. (www.yahoo.com) is emerging as a leading bidder for MarketWatch Inc. (www.marketwatch.com), the San Francisco-based owner of the popular CBS MarketWatch business and finance news website, although the search engine giant will face stiff competition from CBS parent Viacom Inc. (www.viacom.com), which already owns 22% of MarketWatch, and other media conglomerates for the rights to buy the online financial news company.
Addict3d.org (http://addict3d.org/index.php?page=downloadfile&ID=2784) is offering its users from November 1 the ability to download the freeware file and disk search engine Harddisk Search and Stats, which can search multiple files and folders recursively as well as all ASCII/text-based file types. Users can also specify non-recursive searches and use as many search-phrases as they want within one search. The search can be filtered according to file extensions and/or filename with wildcards.
WPN News (www.webpronews.com) announced on October 29 that StrangeLogic.com (www.StrangeLogic.com), a search engine technology company, has made the content of the Bush campaign website www.georgewbush.com, which banned non-US visitors from seeing it using cloaking technology, commonly used by spammers trying to manipulate the search engines, available for everyone to view. The site is available at www.GeorgeDeCloaked.com and www.georgewbush.org.uk.
The Inquirer (www.theinquirer.net) announced on October 29 that while George Bush's campaign site has been blocked outside the US, his official White House website www.whitehouse.gov has apparently been configured to prevent Internet search engines from capturing historic snapshots of what is posted on the site. The technical details are in a file that websites often have in their uppermost directory called robots.txt. It contains directives that Internet search engines, like Google and Yahoo, read to determine what the site owner would like indexed by the search engine.
Atlanta, Georgia-based BellSouth’s RealPages.com (www.realpages.com), the Southeast's leading online yellow pages, and the search engine giant Google Inc. (www.google.com), announced on October 28 an agreement whereby RealPages.com will become the first yellow pages publisher authorized to sell advertising through Google AdWords (https://adwords.google.com) to small and medium-sized local businesses. Under the multi-year agreement, BellSouth (www.bellsouth.net) will include Google AdWords as an integral part of its RealSearch offering, a patent-pending search engine marketing service designed for small and medium-sized local businesses. By aligning with the BellSouth sales force, Google can now reach more small and medium-sized local businesses in the Southeast with Google AdWords. Google AdWords, Google's performance-based search advertising program, enables select RealSearch customers to generate leads across the Google Network, which reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. Internet users through sites such as Google.com, AOL, BellSouth.Net, and EarthLink among others.
Reuters (www.reuters.com) announced on October 28 that the search engine giant Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) has launched its Web search service aimed at mobile phone users in the US. The new service is available to most cellphones with colour screens and can be accessed through the Yahoo site or via www.search.yahoo.com. Customers of Sprint, Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless Services, three of the top US wireless services, can tap Yahoo's Web search as well as its specialized local and image search functions.
Metamorphosis.org.mk (www.metamorphosis.org.mk) announced on October 28 that despite running in beta, Najdi! (http://najdi.org.mk), the unique Macedonian search engine, indexes more than 360 000 pages in Macedonian and 30 000 pages in English. Increasing in the number of indexed pages is expected in the near future.
