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Microsoft improves MSN Live Book Search, adds copyrighted works

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MSN Live Book SearchMicrosoft expands its MSN Live Book Search by adding copyrighted works to its database, and enhancing the service’s interface for easier search and browsing.

Microsoft acquired permission from various publishers such as Cambridge University Press, McGraw-Hill Cos Inc. and Simon and Schuster, among others, to use their copyrighted titles to expand their search engine’s database, a move that sets competition with Google’s own book search.

Danielle Tiedt, general manager of the Live Search selection team, said they aim to address copyright issues that Google is currently battling with. The search giant, apparently, is facing two copyright-infrigement lawsuits for indexing books without permission from copyright owners in their search engine.

In the new and improved MSN live book search, Microsoft shows a certain percentage of the copyrighted book, and provides links to external sites where users can purchase it. Interestingly, live search also shows users how frequently their search keywords appear in each book to give them an idea how relevant the material is to their inquiry.

MSN Live Book Search was launched December, initially showing books that are on public domain.

Originally posted on June 1, 2007 @ 8:10 pm

eHarmony sued for discriminating gays

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eHarmonyPopular online dating site eHarmony was sued for alleged discrimination based on sexual orientation in Los Angeles Superior Court, Thursday. This came about when a certain Linda Carlson was denied access to the social network because she is gay.

The first lawsuit of its kind against eHarmony, Carlson’s lawyers accuse them for refusing to provide “men seeking men” or women seeking women” options since it was founded in 2000.

“The research that eHarmony has developed, through years of research, to match couples has been based on traits and personality patterns of successful heterosexual marriages,” eHarmony said, denying the allegations of discriminations against gays, lesbians and bisexuals. “Nothing precludes us from providing same-sex matching in the future. It’s just not a service we offer now based upon the research we have conducted,” they added.

Established by an evangelical Christian, Dr. Neil Clark Warren, who’s involved with religious conservative groups, eHarmony has currently about 12 million registered users. With its share of the market and television ads, eHarmony is among the biggest Internet dating sites in the country.

Originally posted on May 31, 2007 @ 9:14 pm

Apple to bring Youtube on Apple TV

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Youtube on AppleStarting mid-June, Apple TV users will be able to watch Youtube videos directly from their tube, Apple announced. Youtube members can log on to their accounts right from their televisions and enjoy this free software update that comes in a video-streaming set-up box. Along with this, users can also play videos and movies stored in their iTunes wirelessly with Apple TV.

“This is the first time users can easily browse, find and watch YouTube videos right from their living room couch, and it’s really, really fun,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “YouTube is a worldwide sensation, and Apple TV is bringing it directly from the Internet onto the widescreen TV.”

With the recent launch of the iTunes Plus, which allows people to download tracks without copy-protection, and now, this Youtube integration, Apple could have copyright issues looming in the horizon. Viacom Inc, MTV Networks owner, who once sued Youtube for “massive intentional copyright infringement” after seeing thousands of their copyrighted videos streaming in Youtube without permission, said that they would welcome the opportunity to license their content to Apple.

Apple also announced that Apple TV will soon be available with 160 gigabyte hard drive, for better viewing and storage.

Originally posted on May 30, 2007 @ 10:28 pm

Google takes web applications offline

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Google GearsGoogle announces the creation of a software that allows people to run online services such as e-mail, online calendars, and news aggregators even when offline. With this latest innovation from Google, users can work offline in places with bad connections or even in locations that have no means to connect to the net.

Introduced to the market as the Google Gears, this technology bridges the gap between the desktop environment and the online world where data changes are stored in the computer’s memory so that these data can be used even when not connected. “The Web is great but it doesn’t work very well when you don’t have a Web connection,” Jeff Huber, Google’s vice president of engineering, said in an interview. “Gears addresses a functional gap on the Web.”

Available as open-source software, developers are free to manipulate Google Gears to meet individual requirements. Most of these web applications, however, make limited searches offline as data are downloaded only when connected. Full web search functions returns once reconnected to the internet.

Originally posted on May 31, 2007 @ 5:05 am

Google Maps now with Street View

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Google Maps' Street View and MappletsGoogle Inc launches this morning at the Where 2.0 conference in San Jose the latest additions to the Google Maps: the Street View and the Mapplets. With these new mapping innovations, users can now enjoy navigating within 360 degree street-level views of different cities in the US, while developers are provided new geographic resources to create mini mapping applications with.

Street View allows users to virtually walk through streets, buildings, restaurants, parks, as well as pedestrian lanes, and bus stops and street signs with rich panoramic imagery. Initially available street-level maps are of San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Las Vegas, Denver and Miami, with the promise of expansion to other cities of the state. (The image above is of W 28th St, some blocks away from Madison Square Garden.)

Mapplets, on the other hand, is the new toy for developers as it allows them to create mini applications for Google Maps by manipulating codes and javascript to meet the geographic content requirement of a specific website (just like how, for example, Google Gadgets is used with iGoogle). “Embedded mashups” as it is called, the Mapplets technology makes mapping applications easy for developers with information varying from housing listings to crime data to distance measurements.

Try and test the latest from Google Maps here.

Originally posted on May 29, 2007 @ 9:06 pm