Search

Microsoft Q2: By the numbers

Microsoft has issued its first earnings scorecard since the introduction of the Windows 8 operating system and of Surface, its first branded tablet computer. The company's fiscal second-quarter report also opens the latest window -- no pun intended -- onto the pace of decline of PC shipments as more people switch over to smartphones and tablets.

Here are some of the highlights by the numbers:

Revenue: $21.5 billion Net income: $6.38 billion Windows: $5.88 billion, up 24 percent year-over year. (That number includes revenue deferrals tied to an earlier upgrade offer as well as presales. On … Read more

Google updates image search to be faster, more reliable

Google announced today that it is revamping its image search to make it speedier and more reliable. Soon, people will be able to simultaneously see images and image information while searching for photos, illustrations, and graphics.

"Based on feedback from both users and webmasters, we redesigned Google Images to provide a better search experience," Google Images Associate Product Manager Hongyi Li wrote in a blog post today. "In the next few days, you'll see image results displayed in an inline panel so it's faster, more beautiful, and more reliable."

When users look up images … Read more

Did Twitter's CEO just tease the company's own video hosting?

Twitter's CEO may have teased the company's own hosted video service in a tweet this morning.

As Twitter has aimed to take more control over the services its users rely on, it has consolidated access to photo-sharing, restricted third-party clients, and clamped down on developers. It has also made acquisitions aimed at bolstering its own offerings. Among them have been those that have led to Twitter's official search tool, its purchase of TweetDeck, and others.

One recent acquisition, according to AllthingsD, was Vine, a video clip service that never launched.

Today, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo posted a tweet (… Read more

Google shares soar as analysts chime in on earnings

Google's shares are on the rise following a strong earnings report yesterday.

In early trading, Google's shares jumped more than 5 percent to $740.37. The company's stock price closed the day at $702.87 yesterday.

Google's share jump is due in part to Google's strong fourth quarter. The company beat analyst expectations during the period and posted a $2.9 billion profit on $14.4 billion in revenue. That performance helped Google post its first $50 billion revenue year.

It didn't take long for a slew of analysts to chime in on Google'… Read more

Microsoft brags: Bing is better at Facebook searching

Two days after the limited beta release of Facebook Graph Search, Microsoft's Bing search engine has provided people with a more accessible and straightforward way to uncover the status updates of their Facebook friends.

Thursday, the number two search engine announced that it has expanded its ability to display Facebook status updates and other information from friends in its social sidebar. Microsoft somewhat incoherently claims that "[f]ive times more of your friend's Facebook is now searchable on Bing," although it's not entirely clear what that means.

The social sidebar is the right-hand area that … Read more

Facebook might make money from its search tool, analysts say

Facebook did not introduce a phone as many had hoped, but its new Graph Search might actually be able to generate revenue for the social-networking giant, analysts say.

Still, Facebook likely won't make much money from the tool in the near term as it focuses on user experience, analysts added, and people shouldn't expect Facebook to actually challenge Google's search dominance anytime soon.

In addition, Facebook's stock could see some short-term pressure from investors who were expecting a larger announcement like a phone or Web search, RBC analyst Mark Mahaney said.

Facebook, during an event yesterday … Read more

1 in 3 people have gone online to diagnose a health problem

A fair number of people are turning to the Internet to help them with medical problems.

Among 3,000 adults surveyed by Pew Internet, 35 percent say they've gone online at one time or another to diagnose a medical condition. Some were researching their own medical problems, while others were looking into problems suffered by people they know.

Dubbed "online diagnosers" by Pew, 46 percent of them said the information they found online made them think they needed the help of a doctor. Another 38 percent said they felt they could remedy the problem at home, and … Read more

EU still unhappy with how Google shows search results

Google will have to change the way it presents its own services in its search results if it wants to avoid antitrust charges in the European Union, according to comments made by EU antitrust chief Joaquín Almunia.

Almunia, the EU's competition commissioner, told the Financial Times (subscription required): "We are still investigating, but my conviction is [Google is] diverting traffic" to in-house services such as maps, comparison-shopping info, and flight details. "They are monetizing this kind of business, the strong position they have in the general search market, and this is not only a … Read more

Twitter puts real humans into its search algorithm...and profits

Twitter has made an old idea new again, unveiling a new system that lets actual human beings tell its data center how to make sense of trending hashtags and other topical searches.

But don't get too excited about this apparent triumph of man over machine. First, the actual work done by these people seems likely to be menial and poorly compensated, even if it does accomplish something that Twitter's mighty information systems appear unable to manage on their own.

Second, and more important, you shouldn't expect to see Twitter's service improve in any ways you might … Read more