Yesterday, I broke the story of a small search software outlet named Masterobjects taking on Amazon.com in a notable patent infringement lawsuit.
The patent-in-suit, US patent no. 7,752,326, describes a method to immediately start showing search results even while a user is still typing his query into the search box – instant search if you will. Well, turns out Google is indeed the next target on… → Read More
I can’t recall something we’ve gotten tipped about more than Google Instant Previews. Even after we wrote about it appearing in the wild a month ago, the tips kept flowing in. Even just yesterday we received two more: “NEW GOOGLE FEATURE!!!” We appreciate the tips, and I’m happy to say today that you can stop sending this specific one. Because Google is officially launching the feature.
As… → Read More
Two months ago, when they first unveiled Google Instant, Google let everyone know that it would be coming to mobile devices this fall. Sure enough, it’s here, in beta form.
While the feature hit some Android devices about a week ago, today it has arrived for the iPhone as well. I’ve just loaded up google.com on my device and sure enough, right below the search box and location indicator, there’s… → Read More
Capitalizing on the “everything instant” trend, relevancy based search startup Surf Canyon launches their “Fully Dynamic Search” this week, in order to make searches on its site and more importantly its browser extension more pertinent to users.
What’s unique about Surf Canyon as opposed to search engines like Google and Bing is that it serves up results based on user interaction, so if you click… → Read More
Today at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, Google’s Marissa Mayer took the stage to talk with our own Michael Arrington. But before her talk she had a couple new things to announce. Specifically, new things about the recently-announced Google Instant.
Mayer invited a couple Google employees up on stage to show off a couple new Google Instant features. One allows you to use keyboard navigations… → Read More
When Google Instant debuted on September 8th, the search company touted its efficiency. As TechCrunch has previously reported, Google Instant saves web users time by delivering results more quickly than other engines, and Google’s earlier search products. Marissa Mayer Google’s vice president of search products and user experience, estimates Google Instant could save a collective 350 million… → Read More
Google Instant is great — but I rarely use it. Why? Because I simply don’t go to google.com that often. That’s not to say I don’t search Google a lot — I do — I just use the Omnibox in Chrome for almost all of my searches. When Google launched Instant, they noted that it would be added to browser for people like me “in the next few months“. Well, guess what? It only took them 9 days.
Granted… → Read More
Like many people today, I read Jose Antonio Vargas’ 6,000-word profile of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in The New Yorker. Unlike some, I found it neither boring nor damaging, but rather, thought-provoking. But actually, the thing that stuck out the most to me about the piece (beyond The West Wing stuff, which I still find humorous/interesting) wasn’t about Zuckerberg at all. Instead, it was… → Read More
So Gmail Instant would actually be useful, but seriously what’s next, Google Calendar Instant? Google Image Search Instant? Okay, maybe those would be helpful too. In fact it’s really difficult to think of a Google service that wouldn’t benefit at least slightly from Instantization.
Inspired by Google Instant and the story of engineer Feross Aboukhadijeh, who got a YouTube job offer via his … → Read More
After the tens of thousands of blog posts about the ultimate usefulness of Google Instant, the inevitable crows of people who hate change, and the valid complaints people with slightly NSFW names who can no longer find themselves on live updating search, we can all agree that the above videos of Tom Lehrer’s “Elements” song and Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire” via Urlesque are pretty much… → Read More
Ok, so not only is Google Instant rejiggering how we think about search, but it is also a clever way to create instant music videos. We saw this with the official Google Instant version of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” (where the lyrics on the flash cards get typed into Google and create a stream of related results).
But now the same thing has been done with the “Instant Elements”… → Read More
After Google’s search event this morning, TechCrunch TV got a chance to catch up with Marissa Mayer, Google’s VP of Search Products and User Experience, in the demo pit.
In our brief video interview, an enthusiastic Mayer touts Google Instant as a “whole new way to search,”a game changer akin to the introduction of power steering in the automotive industry. It’s certainly a neat feature that… → Read More
Over time, we’ve scooped things ranging from Facebook Places to various Chrome OS features simply by digging through code put out there in public. What’s great about doing this is that it negates the inevitable non-denial denials from companies when you ask about these features. Code doesn’t lie. Neither do images. And the latter may reveal two upcoming features destined for Google Search.
Check… → Read More
I noticed something interesting while watching the Bob Dylan Google Instant video during Google’s search event today: some new text next to the drop down search suggestions. Guess what it is? The “I’m Feeling Lucky” button.
So, no, Google didn’t kill the feature as Business Insider stated today. Well, technically they did kill the button — but the feature remains intact. To use it now, you… → Read More
During their Search event today, Google’s Marissa Mayer highlighted the fact that the search giant ran their first real commercial this year during the Super Bowl. If they choose to run a second, I think they have it.
Later in the event, Mayer introduced a clip they put together using Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” music video. It’s a smart idea because in the video Dylan uses flash… → Read More
Google really did just change the game in search today with the introduction of Google Instant. While Google execs at today’s event emphasized how much faster it makes search, Google Instant is really about showing you more search results. And this will have very interesting implications for consumers expectations of what they want from search, search market share, and how sites try to game… → Read More
Today at the Google Search event in San Francisco, the search giant unveiled Instant, a huge new feature that allows users to search in real time (without hitting the search button). It looks to be an awesome product that will save users a lot of aggregate time. But that’s on Google.com. I rarely use Google.com anymore. I want it in the Chrome Omnibox.
That’s coming soon, Google’s Marissa Mayer… → Read More
Today at their Search event, Google showed of a huge update: Google Instant. As you can probably guess, this is a way to search in realtime simply by typing. While this new feature is rolling out on Google for users in the U.S. today (and the world shortly), that’s only on google.com. But Google gave a sneak preview of what’s coming next: Google Instant for Mobile, coming “later this Fall.”
While… → Read More
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