Yahoo Results Show Image Ads

February 20, 2009 on 11:49 am | In Technology, Internet, Google, Search | Comments Off

Old is the new new in times of recession, and Yahoo now integrates imagery in its search result ads. Try searching for pedigree, and you’ll see a video thumbnail inviting you to play a video. Click it and a commercial expands within the Pedigree-sponsored banner area. (“C’mon Rusty... let’s go for a walk...”) A search for staples on the other hand results in a mere accompanying image, which leads to the target site when clicked on.

Yahoo is calling this Rich Ads, according to the New York Times, which quotes Yahoo’s Tim Mayer saying this “moves the advertising experience from just the blue links, to a more engaging experience for advertisers” (for advertisers). The NYT writes “Yahoo is charging a monthly fee for the service, versus the auction-based pricing of search advertising, which Mr. Mayer said Yahoo might use in the future.” For now “only certain large, brand-focused advertisers” (like SoBe, Pepsi and Home Depot) were part of the prototypical program.

The report goes on to mention that one advertiser saw around a 5-10% increase in click rates, or, according to Yahoo, there was as much as a 25% increase for these ads. However, that’s only a short-term measurement, and in the long term it’s crucial that one takes effect of growing banner blindness into account. You may more strongly notice something that’s different in search result, but once you get accustomed to it, you may or may not blend it out a bit more.

Yahoo compartnitor Google so far shied away from bringing plain ad banners in search results – in 1999, Sergey Brin noted that “Banners are not working” – but they had some of the following:

[Thanks Juha-Matti Laurio and Stephen Shankland!]

[By Philipp Lenssen | Origin: Yahoo Results Show Image Ads | Comments]


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#! Crunchbang Linux

February 20, 2009 on 6:31 am | In Computer | Comments Off

Crunchbang Linux looks like it could be a pretty interesting linux distribution.  It is based on Ubuntu, and uses OpenBox as a window manager.

This looks like nice distribution that should run fine on slower machines.  One thing that I hope they improve is the installation.  This currently requires the minimal install of Ubuntu, and then Crunchbang linux gets installed on top of that.

[via Download Squad]

Apple 1987 Concept Video Showed Advanced Search Engine

February 19, 2009 on 10:30 pm | In Technology, Internet | Comments Off

This YouTube video shows the Apple Knowledge Navigator, a 1987 concept video produced by Apple.

The user performs a journal search using an interactive voice-operated search engine. Very nicely done, and very insightful for 22 years ago.

And there were no popup-ads either.

Companies make concept videos for a variety of reasons. One such reason is to inspire their staff by producing their “ideal fantasy design”, then to step back and build a real product that can actually be made.

Here are examples of modern concept videos. Maybe in 22 years we can look back at these and see how real they became:


Nokia 888 Concept Phone


Morph Concept Nanoscale Phone

[By Roger Browne | Origin: Apple 1987 Concept Video Showed Advanced Sear ... | Comments]


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Gmail With Custom Colors

February 19, 2009 on 6:08 pm | In Technology, Internet | Comments Off

You can now make Gmail as ugly or pretty as you want – by choosing your own colors. Go to Gmail -> Settings -> Themes, and click “Choose your own colors”. This opens a window where you can configure a template with instant preview. Hit Save & Close, and Gmail will appear in your custom colors.

[Thanks Hebbet and Luka!]

[By Philipp Lenssen | Origin: Gmail With Custom Colors | Comments]


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Google Spreadsheets Data Validation

February 19, 2009 on 1:30 pm | In Technology, Internet, Google, Search | Comments Off

Google Spreadsheets, part of Google Docs, has a new feature: cell content validation. For instance, you can select a column which is supposed to contain email addresses only. Now pick Tools -> Data Validation from the menu. You’ll be offered to restrict the cell content to only certain types of numbers, texts, or dates. Each type contains further restrictions; for instance, a text may be set so it must contain a certain string, or be an email, or be a valid URL.

Now when you or someone else you shared the spreadsheet with tries to enter something in the cell that is not of the required format, a warning note like the following appears: “Invalid cell contents ... Enter a valid email”. If the content is not changed, then it will be removed from the cell (alternatively, you can also configure the cell rule to be less strict, and to show warnings but still allow invalid data).

[Via GoogleWatchBlog -> Google Docs Blog.]

Update: Ahab in the comments notes that some of the data validation is rather bad. For instance, “www,google,com” is accepted as valid URL, and “A@b@c@example.com” passes as email. [Thanks Ahab!]

[By Philipp Lenssen | Origin: Google Spreadsheets Data Validation | Comments]


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