Who is the next big search engine?

Nope it doesn’t look like BING,

As per the latest comScore release of Search Engine Rankings in US, a whopping 16.4 billion 'core' searches were conducted on various websites, of which 62.6% were on Google. But there is nothing new in this.

If you would have noticed is the number of searches being conducted on Facebook has reached to 621 million a month. Although it is a small number if you compare it with the search giant but look at BING and  Facebook is almost one third of that. The number of searches in FB is equal to that of eBay and is ready to cross Craigslist.

The reason these number look exciting to me is unlike the other sites mentioned in the list here, ‘Search’ is not a primary function in Facebook.

It is obvious that the major portion of these searches will be ‘people search’ but it will be enthralling to know the split and the changes in trend.

Let’s see how the numbers grow and I look forward to see Twitter in the list soon.

Firefox 4 (beta) : Whats New??

Firefox just got Awesomer.

Here are the new things you will notice in the latest version of the coolest browser.   

New Tab Location  
Tabs are given top visual priority and have been place above the ‘awesome bar’. This has been done for more efficient and intuitive browsing. Seems cool too.

Switch to Tab 
The new option to switch open tabs from the “Awesome Bar’ itself.

Firefox Button  
All your menu items are in a single button for easy access and reduced clutter. Just switch off your ‘Menu Bar’ and save few pixels of vertical space on your browser.

New Add-Ons Manager  
An easier way to manage your add-ons and discover new options for personalizing your browsing.
 
WebM and HD Video  
As pioneers of HTML5 video standards, Firefox also supports the WebM format so you can watch open HD quality video.

Protecting Your Privacy  
Firefox has also fixed some flaws in some web standards that allow hackers to snoop around and expose your browser history.

Some under the Hood features

WebSockets 
Developers will be able to build real-time online interactions like gaming and chatting.

Stylin’ Pages with CSS  
With support for new CSS3 features, web designers can make their pages both look prettier and display faster.

HTML5 Support 
A new HTML5 parser and full support for web video, audio, drag & drop, and file handling means Firefox 4 is ready to run the best web apps of both today and tomorrow.

Web Console 
With this experimental analysis tool for modern sites, Firefox allows you to peek under the hood of dynamic web pages.

JetPack SDK (Making Add-On Development Easier) 
Add-Ons can be installed without restarting the browser, and can be developed more easily using the new JetPack SDK and js-ctypes.

Indexed DB 
Developers will be able to store application data locally, making cloud applications like Gmail or GDocs work more quickly and reliably, even when not connected to a network.

Crash Protection 
Firefox provides uninterrupted browsing for Windows, Linux, and now Mac when there is a crash in the Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime or Microsoft Silverlight plugins. If one of these commonly-used plugins crashes or freezes, it won’t affect the rest of Firefox. Instead, you can simply reload the page to restart the plugin and try again.


Source: Mozilla.com

How Google Search Works

Infographic by PPC Blog

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

Professor Leonard Mlodinow visits Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss his book, "The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives". This event took place on May 22, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series. For more information about Prof. Mlodinow, please visit http://www.its.caltech.edu/~len/

In The Drunkard's Walk, acclaimed writer and scientist Leonard Mlodinow shows us how randomness, change, and probability reveal a tremendous amount about our daily lives, and how we misunderstand the significance of everything from a casual conversation to a major financial setback. As a result, successes and failures in life are often attributed to clear and obvious cases, when in actuality they are more profoundly influenced by chance.

Leonard Mlodinow received his doctorate in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, was an Alexander von Humboldt fellow at the Max Planck Institute, and now teaches about randomness to future scientists at Caltech. Along the way he also wrote for the television series MacGyver and Star Trek: The Next Generation. His previous books include Euclid's Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace, Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life, and, with Stephen Hawking, A Briefer History of Time. He lives in South Pasadena, California.