Generally people search to find the right answers or to deepen their knowledge on a subject. Not on Google Squared.

People using the new search tool should be prepared to be misinformed. Google should be prepared for a few complaints.

Google Squared was launched on Thursday with the product's manager, Alex Komoroske, admitting the technology "is by no means perfect", which some testing the tool would say is an understatement. So far the technology looks like it will cause users more trouble than its worth.

Google Squared is designed to allow users to research a subject without visiting many different web sites. Search results are delivered in a table, which users can then compare side by side.

However, so far the tool has pronounced both Prince William and Prince Charles dead.

A search for 'UK national papers' lists the Guardian as a tabloid while the Times maintains its status as a broadsheet. The Express is apparently a mix of student books, audio tapes and CDs. The Metro is a movie.

A search for 'Social Network' lists the MySpace owner as Facebook Will Win for Now while Facebook is owned by mario. Luckily Google knows that it owns YouTube and the tool correctly lists Flickr as Yahoo's.

A search for Good Camera Phones prices the Motorola Razr V3 at a bargain price of $3.45.

Posted by Rosalie Marshall on June 5, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Microsoft's latest search innovation has been switched on in the UK today and I've been having a play around with Bing to see if it does what is promised.

When it finally unveiled Bing last week - code-named Kumo - Microsoft described the online application as a "decision engine", rather than search engine, which has been developed to help users "make faster, more informed decisions". The search tool will initially focus on four key vertical areas, according to Microsoft: shopping online, travel arrangements, medical information and a local business search.

I tested each of these four areas, all set to only look at pages from the UK.

I ran a search for 'flights to crete' to test the travel component and found the results were very similar to those returned by Google. I liked the information boxes that popped up alongside the Bing results to give extra detail on each of the sites being linked to.

However, Google scored an extra point in the sponsored links section, where its top three results were Thomas Cook, EasyJet and Flydeals, all sites I'm familiar with. Bing's top three sponsored links were for Flydeals, Directline Holidays and an aggregator site called iReviewed, which includes links to lots of other travel web sites, surely a service Bing is supposed to be offering anyway? EasyJet doesn't appear anywhere on the first page of results, even though it's one of the most competitive airlines for direct flights between London and Crete.

To test the medical information section, I ran a search for 'root canal' as it's an area close to my heart at present as unfortunately I have to go for dental treatment soon.

Again I found the Bing pop-up information boxes really helpful, giving a much better idea of what the site will contain rather than having to click through to each search result. But Google had a better mix of results overall.

Bing's results were a series of standard web site links, with Cosmetic Dentistry Guide as the top result, and the top sponsored link was a dental and healthcare insurance provider. On Google, the top result was the British Dental Health Foundation, while the top sponsored link was for an emergency dentist, again just edging Microsoft on the relevance and usefulness of the results. And the fourth result on the Google front page was for root canal images, with four pictures helpfully displaying exactly what treatment involves, not for the squeamish like me but a useful feature of search results.

Carrying on the dental theme, I ran a search for 'dentist e11' to test out the local business search feature. In this category, Google beat Microsoft hands down. Clicking the link at the top of the Bing search results for 'top local listings for dentist near E11' took me through to a separate page full of links to dentists located in either the E1 or EC2M areas of London, miles away from me. The main page of search results included links to dentists in other areas of East London, and a site for salaried dentists, while the sponsored links had also got mixed up with the number of '1's in my postcode and were instead focused on the E111 European health insurance programme.

Google fared much better, listing several dentists all within walking distance of my house right at the top of the page, along with their phone numbers and a map showing their location.

Microsoft was also shown up by Google in its online shopping provisions. I ran a search across both search engines for 'Netbooks'. Although I thought Bing, which is powered by the Ciao shopping comparison tool Microsoft acquired last year, returned a better mix of results with netbooks from a wider range of vendors on display on the first page, the presentation was a real letdown.

The top section of the page contained a lot of white space and a bare-looking list of sponsored links, with many of the results missing either pictures or any pricing information, instead providing an 'Offers by Ebay' link. In terms of price comparison functionality, the Asus EEE PC 901 had the biggest number of retailers selling the same product. According to the results front page, the netbook was available at nine online stores with prices ranging from an incredibly cheap £39.13 through to a more realistic-sounding £335.12.

However, when I clicked on the 'Compare prices' button, it turned out several of the results were duplicated and there were only six different retailers in the list. Meanwhile, the bargain £39.13 price tag was actually for a laptop battery and the most expensive product was only £272.99 not £335.12 as listed on the front page.

Google returned a smaller selection of netbooks and vendors on its first page of results, but it kept the sponsored links to the right-hand side of the results. Presentation was much cleaner, and Google included pricing details and an image for each result.

So while Microsoft has made a big song and dance of the fact that Bing isn't just any old search engine and has moved to distance itself from Google et al, the decision to brand Bing as a 'decision engine' seems to have backfired on the firm. My early tests instead serve to highlight how Google has moved on from being a provider of links to a provider of relevant, location-based, contextual information, and how Bing appears to sit much more comfortably under the traditional definition of a search engine. I'm sure Microsoft would be quick to point out this is only a beta version, but it faces a steep climb to reach Google's level, let alone surpass its rival.

Posted by Madeline Bennett on June 1, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (7)

ThinkGrid is a company offering IT-as-a-service to business customers, including hosted Windows desktops accessed via an internet connection.

The idea behind this service is that companies can outsource the provision and management of a Windows desktop environment for their workers, complete with applications, to ThinkGrid. It could prove especially useful for smaller companies that do not have a dedicated IT staff.

I tried the service using a sample account provided by ThinkGrid, and found it pretty much like using a thin client session, except you have your own desktop that can be customised (within limits) to appear how you want it.

Access is via a login from ThinkGrid's web site, which requires you to enter a username and password. All being well, you gain entry to a full-screen session on your own virtual PC running in ThinkGrid's datacentre.

The virtual desktop looks and feels exactly as if it was running on the computer in front of you. I perceived no lag in either mouse movements or keystrokes when accessing the desktop, but for this hands-on I was using the corporate network in our central London office.

Each user has their own 5GB of disk space with their remote desktop, and it automatically maps to the local drives on the computer you are using so you can easily transfer files if necessary.

ThinkGrid costs £49 per user per month, or £490 for an annual contract. Applications are an extra charge, with Microsoft Office Pro costing £17 per user per month.

A full review of the ThinkGrid service will be posted to our web site at a later date.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on April 9, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

A lot of people do not like Twitter and a few months back I could understand their reasoning. For those that are unfamiliar with the Twittersphere, it could seem like a bunch of hopefuls posting pointless comments about what they had for supper or how they want a new motorbike in a vain attempt that someone might listen.

But when our marketing team told me Twitter could be used for increasing the take-up of my stories on the web, it suddenly became a bit more appealing.

I started pushing my own news out and even began a bit of Twittering (or is it Tweeting?) about my daily chores. I admit that for quite a while I still thought I was wasting my time. I only had a handful of followers and no one seemed to notice me.

It did not take long for the whole experience to become more positive. The value of Twitter became clear when the plane that landed in the Hudson River was first captured on camera by a Twitter user. The photo was immediately distributed all over the world, showing the potential of Twitter users as a source for generating news.

In order to source stories for vnunet.com and to find contacts who would want to read my news, I had the (now obvious) idea to start searching for IT people. I typed in big name vendors, such as Oracle, IBM, SAP, Microsoft and started stalking a random mix of people. I then started following their followers and I was thrilled to find I was getting a good number of followers back.

I started to become pickier, deleting those who were twittering irrelevant posts and searching for particular executives I had met at briefings. I searched for like-minded journalists and analysts, and I added a few contacts from Twitter's most respected community.

My first story I sourced from Twitter came from an analyst tweeting criticism at a recent move by a company and that was satisfying. But then when people started to directly message me with ideas for stories or just that they liked particular content, I started checking in with Twitter more than I do my Facebook account for story tips.

I have since downloaded some Twitter applications to make the following of Twitter users easier. The application I find most user-friendly is Tweetdeck, which I wrote in detail about yesterday.

My tips for using Twitter for business purposes include starting the experience by following people in your community and by searching for individuals you find interesting to see if they are part of the micro-blogging world.

Apart from offering a good tool to source information, Twitter offers a great avenue to promote oneself. Rather than just dumping pointless ramblings on the site, valuable Twitter members tend to ask questions and engage with what other people are saying.

People will probably not seem to care right away about your Tweets but when your name keeps popping up with interesting comments or good links, they might start looking out for you, reading you posts, clicking on your links and engaging in conversation.

Posted by Rosalie Marshall on February 13, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Recently, Google updates to Gmail Labs have been coming so thick and fast that one could even believe Google is considering bringing the product out of beta.

Since the beginning of January users have been given additional capabilities such as offline access, easier labelling techniques and video via Gmail chat to name just a few. Now Google has announced perhaps the most exciting one: Multiple Inboxes.

The feature makes it possible for users to have more than one 'inbox' in their default Gmail view. The look of Gmail changes so that you have your traditional inbox on the left and then a right pane with the emails you want (or need) to see separately.

To add it, click on the enable box from the Labs tab under Settings. Once enabled, it will automatically bring up your draft emails in the right pane but you can configure the feature from Settings so that you can see starred emails or particular folders (which of course Google calls Labels).

You can also configure the feature to the number of messages you want displayed and the positioning of the panels.

Although a lot of reports have called the name Multiple Inboxes 'misleading' because it implies users will be able to see email from a number of different providers, I can't see where they are coming from - they can!

For example, an external email account can be filtered to a Gmail Label (from Settings, then Accounts and by checking the option of Skipping Inbox) and then this Label can then appear in a separate pane in your inbox.

I am going to use the new panes to show my personal Gmail messages, my Hotmail inbox and my starred messages in Gmail, which I use when I have an email I have to reply to.

The only necessity with the new feature is that users need to be organised. If they do not have Labels set up and do not use the starred option, then the feature will just clutter their view (unless they really want to see their draft messages).

Another difficulty is setting up the external email account filtering. I admit to having problems when Google asked for Hotmail's POP server address and Port number. Google said to contact Hotmail if experiencing problems connecting. The best place to start is WindowsLiveHelp.com but it is quite a long-winded way of doing things.

Posted by Rosalie Marshall on February 6, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)

There have been a number of browsers available for mobile handsets, but based on my early experience, Skyfire looks like one of the better ones. It is the first browser I have used that allows you to view video content on web sites, as well as Flash animations and Java-based content.

Like Safari on the Apple iPhone or Opera's mobile browsers, Skyfire shows you the whole web page. This will almost certainly prove too small to read on most phones, so you can select a position on the screen to zoom in on, magnifying the text to make it easier on the eye.

Using my own handset, a HTC S730 running Windows Mobile 6, I found I could browse sites such as VNUnet.com (see screenshot) and see the animated Flash adverts on the screen, just as you would on a PC browser. I was also to click through to the audio/video section and click to watch the weekly news debrief video.

I also tried out Skyfire on the BBC's news site, and could watch the video content there just as easily. The video quality seems as good as you would get while watching on a PC screen, and is quite impressive considering it is being delivered over a cellular (3G) connection.

However, while Skyfire claims that its browser is twice as fast as other mobile browsers, I found it took about a minute to open on many occasions, and some web pages were also inexplicably slow to load, while others appeared as quickly as you would expect on a PC.

It should be noted that these problems could be due to issues with the cellular network rather than Skyfire itself, and the software is still officially in beta even if it is now free for anyone to download and install.

I also tried out Skyfire using the Wi-Fi interface of the S730 handset, and found that pages loaded faster, but this did not seem to any impact on the quality of the video.

Users should be prepared for browsing eating into the battery life of their handset. After a few hours of tests, my phone had used up about half of a full battery charge, whereas it usually lasts for days or even weeks if used just for talking and texting.

With Java and Flash support, Skyfire enables access to many more sites than is possible with some other phone browsers I have used. I was able to create and edit a document using Google Docs, for example, which isn't something I would recommend doing on a tiny smartphone screen, but does prove that it is possible.

I also used Skyfire to log into VNUnet.com's web-based content management system, which is heavily Java-based, and found I could carry out tasks, although the tiny screen again made this difficult. Nevertheless, it shows that Skyfire could be used for emergency access to Java-based enterprise applications, should the need arise to get information while out of the office, for example.

Overall, Skyfire looks like a good browser to try out if you have a handset running Windows Mobile 5 or 6, or a Symbian phone with Nokia's S60 user interface. A brief list of supported phones is available here.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on December 11, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Should you care about Google Lively? The comparison with Linden Lab's Second Life is inevitable; but Lively is not (yet) a virtual world.

Google calls it "a 3D virtual experience", which is just about right, though you can forget high definition; this is more like being in your own cartoon.

Lively depends on a browser plug-in that is currently for Windows XP or Vista only, and lets you design virtual rooms from a catalogue of furniture. You can't create your own furniture in the current beta, but crucially you can embed YouTube videos or images from a Picasa web album, Google's answer to Flickr. You can also add hyperlinks to items of furniture. The next step is to create an avatar, jump into a room and interact with other users through chat or other expressions from laughing and waving, to kicking and punching.

If Lively has a killer feature, it is the ability to embed virtual rooms into other web pages, by copying and pasting a few lines of HTML. Now it is trivial to offer your users a virtual meeting space, or an engaging way to view a video.

Lively is not done yet. Rooms are slow to load, usability is only so-so, and important features are missing. It has potential though, especially if Google works out how to adapt it for business use. One idea is to link it with Google's other collaboration tools, so you could create a presentation in Google Docs, schedule it in Calendar, invite participants with Gmail and hold the meeting in Lively. It might just work.

That said, Google is currently pitching Lively squarely at consumers, and Linden Lab has a head start in an enterprise context. Earlier this year, I spoke to Gene Yoon, vice president of business affairs at Linden, who told me that, "You're going to see the client get integrated with high-end business collaboration tools." Another interesting development is the recent announcement by IBM and Linden Lab of successful porting of avatars between virtual worlds. It would be great to see standards-based virtual worlds, rather than the all-Google approach which seems to characterise Lively.

Author: Tim Anderson

Posted by Madeline Bennett on July 14, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been trying out the beta version of LogMein's updated remote control service, which is due to go live at the end of this month. It adds a number of new features that make life easier when accessing a computer remotely.

LogMeIn's service is useful if you need to access your computer remotely, whether to fetch some documents you need or to use an application that you wouldn't otherwise have access to.

I've found the service extremely useful when working from home. Our company email system uses Lotus Notes, and web-based access to this is rather primitive and unsatisfactory. Rather than install Notes on my home PC, it's easier to  remotely view the screen of my office computer instead.

The new LogMeIn version makes the controls clear and easier to find than before. You can go into a remote control session or open the file transfer window at any time by clicking a single button. When in a remote control session, a pop-up control panel lets you flick between the browser view and full screen mode, and select various other options.

New features include support for drag and drop file transfer. If I've written an article at home, this lets me copy the document file to my office PC as easily as you would move a document between folders on the same computer.

However, LogMeIn also seems to have improved the performance of the remote control viewer itself. A year or two back, most remote control tools suffered to a greater or lesser degree from network latency, meaning that when you moved the mouse, the pointer on the remote screen took a fraction of a second to follow.

Using the new LogMeIn, I didn't experience any of this. When in full-screen mode, I found it easy to believe that the Windows desktop I was using belonged to my home PC in front of me, and not the remote office system. However, there is a floating status message and a toolbar at the top of the screen that gives the game away.

My only gripe is that I couldn't get LogMeIn to bring sound from the remote computer to my home PC, but this is likely to be an issue that is sorted out before the updated service goes live at the end of September.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on September 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The LogMeIn service is an incredibly useful tool for anyone needing to remotely access files or applications on their PC from elsewhere. I can speak from experience, having used the service to retrieve documents from my office computer when transport problems forced me to work from home.

While LogMeIn can easily be accessed through a web browser, the company has now released a software client for the service. Called LogMeIn Ignition, the application can be downloaded and installed onto a removable storage device such as a USB Flash drive.

The advantage of this arrangement is that users such as IT managers may have remote access to a long list of Windows PCs, and Ignition enables passwords to be stored on the drive to make connecting easier. The application can also be installed directly to your Windows desktop to give speedy access to remote systems for IT helpdesk staff, for example.

For test purposes, LogMeIn kindly supplied me with Ignition ready installed on a USB Flash drive. The software is designed to autorun when you plug the drive into a PC USB slot, or can be manually launched. I tried Ignition on both a Windows PC and a thin client running Windows XP Embedded, and it worked perfectly on both systems. It even downloaded an update to the Ignition application from LogMeIn's web site.

New users will have to set up an account before they can use LogMeIn, for which they get a 30-day free trial. Existing users can type their existing email and password to get access to PCs they have previously configured with the LogMeIn host software.

Once logged in, the Ignition client displays your online computers and lets you click a single button to launch a remote control or file transfer session.

The LogMeIn service is much improved since I first started using it, and now offers a view of the remote computer's desktop that resizes to fit into the browser or viewer window, saving on the constant scrolling and panning that you previously had to get used to. You can still switch to full-screen mode, where there is little to give away the fact that you are using a remote computer.

Another big improvement is bi-directional clipboard synchronisation, which enables you to copy text from a document on the remote PC and paste it into a document you are editing on the local one, and vice versa.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on March 22, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vonage's recently announced V-Phone is a USB memory stick with a difference; it has a built-in voice-over-IP (VoIP) client, and a jack socket into which you plug an accompanying headset to make voice calls.

The concept behind V-Phone is one of those ideas that seems brilliantly simple with hindsight; you should be able to make a VoIP call from just about any Internet-connected PC, if the software to do this were more widespread. But just about every PC has USB ports, so why not put the software on a USB device, and carry it around with you? This way, you don't need to install anything, and you don’t leave a data trail behind you, either.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about V-Phone is that it actually works; my previous experience of Internet phone calls led me to expect a crackly, hissing line, with frequent complete breaks in the sound.

Instead, V-Phone provides perfectly good audio quality. At times it was a little quiet, but the Vonage Talk client provides separate volume controls for both the incoming audio and the mic level, allowing you to adjust the sound to suit both you and the person at the other end of the line.

However, anyone hoping to get cheap calls wherever they go in the world should be aware of two things that can get in the way; privilege levels and firewall configurations.

I found that you need administrator rights on a system in order to run the Vonage Talk client, or even to access the V-Phone's built-in Flash storage. I don't know whether hotels and Internet cafés routinely leave their public-access PCs running with full admin privileges, but locked-down systems will prevent you from using the V-Phone.

Then there are firewalls. The Vonage Talk client needs access to a number of UDP ports to make IP calls, and these may be blocked by a firewall on both the PC and the Internet gateway of any network you are connected to.

I was unable to make a connection to the Vonage server from the network in IT Week's offices, for example. At home, I had to temporarily disable the firewall on my Windows 2000 system in order to make calls.

The V-Phone costs £19.99 in retail, with a subscription to the service costing £7.99. This lets you make unlimited calls, and Vonage also assigns your V-Phone a number so that other people can reach you whenever you have the device connected to a computer.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on October 6, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)