Microsoft is spending almost $80 million to $100 million on its ad campaigning to promote Bing. In a series of its ads, Microsoft is trying to show Google as a cluttered, irrelevant and confusing search engine. Even though the campaign doesn’t directly mention the name Google, but the target is pretty clear to all.

Bing’s ad campaign strategy

Microsoft is trying to center its campaign for the coming months on four major categories:

• Travel


• Shopping


• Health


• Local

Commercial spots are to be followed by online ad campaigns. Radio advertising will also be a part of the traditional advertising mix.

The second phase of Bing advertising

After Bing’s first TV commercial picked on Google for the collapse of the US economy, Bing’s advertizing has now entered its second phase.

Bing TV commercials are showcasing more dramatized versions of what it’s like when people interact with their friends, family and partners the way they do to a search engine. The ads would show how they get back responses that have the same words as their question, but nothing at all to do with what they asked.

The campaign develops a theme similar to the one Microsoft used in its earlier commercials directed at Apple.

Take a look at Bing’s recent TV spots. The ad calls today’s confusing and cluttered online search as “Search Overload Syndrome” and says Bing is the cure.

A few recent Bing commercials:

Commercial #1

Commercial #2

Commercial #3

Commercial #4

The “Job Description” for Google Goats?
Should be capable of:

Mowing the fields…
Clearing the weeds…
And keeping the fire hazards at bay!

I know this sounds absurd… believe me, this is no joke.

The decision has been made to support Google’s so called “low carbon approach” of using goats instead of the lawn mowers (that run on gasoline and pollute the air).

Around 200 goats have been engaged from California Grazing, who eat grass and fertilize the land at the same time (lol… okkkk!)

Is Google saving costs by doing this?
Google says No…

“It costs us about the same as mowing… the goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers.”

PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals seems okay with the idea of eating grass and looking cute, but they have some concerns as well…

Amy Cook, Assistant Manager of Marketing for PETA pointed out:

PETA has no problem with letting goats do what goats want to do but we do have concerns:

How will the goats be transported?
Will they have access to shelter and shade during storms or hot weather?
Will there be a provision and availability of food and drinking water?
Where will they be housed when they aren’t “working”?
What kind of veterinary care will they receive?
PETA has found over and over that whenever animals are used by a business to make money, corners are cut and animals often suffer as a result. And that really gets our goat, if you’ll pardon the pun. [Source: TechCrunch]

And the response from Niki Fenwick, a Google representative:

“Google takes the wellness of our employees very seriously and we pride ourselves on having a responsive and adaptable culture. The lawn-mowing goats are not, of course, full-time Google employees - but we would certainly respond directly to any concerns about their treatment. I can confirm that during their time in Mountain View, like other Google employees, each goat is entitled to a free organic lunch.”

Free organic lunch eh? Well, good luck… Goats!

Check out more at Official Google Blog: Mowing with goats

Thanks to Devils Workshop.

Gmail just announced the latest update which positively affects Indian users around the world. E-mail is one of the most prominent modes of communication over the internet and making it available for everyone to access it regardless of language, only seems logical to me.

Indian users can compose e-mail in 5 different Indian languages. The languages include Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The new features are based on Google's transliteration technology.

Google's engineering team in India is always looking out for stuff they can work on to make Google's products more local and accessible by Indian users. Gmail offered local language interface quite some time ago and offering to compose an e-mail in local language was the next best thing to do.

The feature will automatically appear on Indian Gmail users interface, however, if you don't see it on your account you can enable/disable it from "Settings".

The new "Undo Send" feature hit the Gmail labs. Enable this feature and you can stop those e-mails that are meant for someone else or the ones where you forget to attach a document or simply the one with the wrong subject line.

That's about to change, just enable the "Undo Send" feature in Gmail Labs and you can Undo the sent messages.

Technically this feature does not really recall the sent messages but it delays sending of messages by 5 seconds. So if you realize something is wrong with the e-mail you just clicked "send" on, you have about 5 seconds to Undo Send.

This feature comes in handy for the messages that are sent in a rush.

Google India has launched an Internet Bus project in order to spread awareness about Internet. The project has been launched in TN state and will cover 15 towns over a period of 1.5 months.

The Internet Bus Project is an attempt educate people about what the Internet is, and how it may be beneficial to their lives, by taking the Internet experience to them through a customised Internet-enabled bus, which will travel to several towns and cities across India.

Internet Bus


Inside Bus


As per Google, more than 19% of Tamilians prefer Google Tamil for accessing the Internet and that is also one of the reasons to launch the bus project from Tamil Nadu - more details here

Introductory Videos:
Education:



Entertainment


Route Plan:
03 Feb Chennai
05 Feb Vellore
06 Feb Krishnagiri
07 Feb Salem
11 Feb Erode
12 Feb Tiruppur
14 Feb Coimbatore
18 Feb Dindigul
19 Feb Madurai
23 Feb Tirunelveli
25 Feb Nagercoil
27 Feb Tuticorin
02 Mar Pudukkottai
03 Mar Tiruchirappalli
06 Mar Thanjavur
08 Mar Kumbakonam
10 Mar Neyveli
12 Mar Cuddalore
13 Mar Tiruvannamalai

Join Orkut Community to view photos and other news about this

There are many freewares applications for converting FLV format to iPod or MP3 formats. Here is another free online service, Convert Direct, to convert FLV Videos to your favorite formats. It supports conversion to iPod, Zune, PSP and MP3 formats.

Convert Direct allows you to convert FLV format online for free to MP3, iPhone, iPod, Zune, PSP and many more formats. The file after conversion is emailed to the user.

Steps to Convert;

1. Enter the YouTube video URL or the URL of the location where the FLV video is available.

2. Select the Output format for the FLV video.

3. In the third and final step enter the email ID where the converted video will be sent.

The converted video will be emailed and the video will be available as a link and you will be able to download it for 48 hours from the time of conversion. Once this time is over, the file will be deleted from the server.

For Youtube Videos

Online FLV Converter

To Download Youtube and Google Video Online use

http://www.videodl.org/

Tags: Convert youtube video to Ipod, Youtube to MP3, Download Youtube Video

Free group SMS service is not new to India now. The leadrunner SMSGupshup along with Vakow etc are well placed in this feild now. No one would have expected big brand like Google to enter this market. Google has started a service SMS Channels, but still in labs. Eventhough Google is a big brand, it has to face tight competition in this area.

Google calls groups as channels & it’s quite easy to create a channel. Since almost everyone has a google account, there is no need for sign up. Just use your Google Account to login & create a channel.

Try Now!

Finding, sharing and downloading files has been becoming easier by day both because of the better technology and increasing bandwidth and speed. If torrents have been a ground breaking technology to share things (most of the times illegally), then file hosting services have had their own share of success and criticism.

Rapidshare, is probably a classic example of file hosting service that has been the most successful example of doing business by uploading and downloading user generated and shared content. Let’s try to see:

What is Rapidshare?
What it means to a normal user?
What are the benefits it can give you?
How can you use rapidshare to download stuff?
How can you search rapidshare to get the most out of it?
How can you get premium account with rapidshare by sharing files which will be downloaded?
How can you use rapidshare to generate money (yes, it’s a viable business model)?
Let’s answer these questions and I am sure we’ll cover everything related to rapidshare. Consider this as a tutorial and one stop shop for know everything about rapidshare and similar services.

1. What is RapidShare?
This is what Wikipedia has to say
RapidShare is a German owned one-click hosting pay- and free-service (with limitations) website that operates from Switzerland and is financed by the subscriptions of paying users. Rapidshare is one of the world’s largest file-hosting sites with millions of files stored on its servers. According to Alexa, Rapidshare.com is currently the 12th most visited website.
In simple words, you can use rapidshare to upload files up to 200 MB each and share that link with a friend for her/him to download.

2. What does Rapidshare mean to a normal user?
For a normal user it’s a platform to share and download applications, movies, music and literally everything that can be downloaded from Internet. You just need to know the link of download and you are good to go.

3. How can you benefit from Rapidshare?
Well, the benefits are multi fold. One, you can share and download files. Two, you can download files of other users if you know the download link. That means there are limitless possibilities for you to get a file which you are not getting otherwise. These files could be both legal and illegal.
Also, the great download speed from Rapidshare makes it a superior platform to download files compared to torrents.

4. How can you use rapidshare to download stuff?
As is the case with most of the services, free download from rapidshare is limited to certain amount of download per hour per IP. So if your internet connection is of dynamic IP you can flush your IP to download more files as a free user. However, this also comes as a disadvantage because your ISP can assign you an IP for your session which was used recently by other user who used rapidshare to download stuff. This means that even though you have not downloaded anything as a free user you cannot download if someone used that IP to download.
This is a classic problem when you are trying to download from office, university or college which has same IP for 100s of users.
You can however, buy a rapidshare premium account to take advantage of both high speed download and over 10 GB continuous download in a day. You can check the advantages you get with a rapidshare premium account over free account here.

5. How can you search rapidshare to get the most out of it?
Well, this is the most typical problem and actually has the most easy solution. The problem is that fact that Rapidshare doesn’t have a search facility because of confidentiality of files of it’s users. However, there are many resources out there both software based and online services which can help you search rapidshare. Just Google "rapidshare search" and you should get what you are looking for.
However, I am more of a believer of the fact that Google can be used to search for almost anything out there which has a web presence and so I use Google to search rapidshare. How do I do it:
Let’s say I am searching for the movie Iron Man, I’d use a search query which is something like this:
"Iron Man" rapidshare.com site:blogspot.com
Let me explain this. Because I am looking for Iron Man, I have used that as the first query and that too in quotes so Google knows that I am looking for Iron Man as a term and not as 2 different words. The next part of the search has rapidshare.com, this means that I am also looking for rapidshare.com along with Iron Man. And the last one is a query modifier i.e. site:blogspot.com. That means I am telling Google to look for Iron Man and/or rapidshare.com only on blogspot.com.
The reason I am using blogspot.com is because I’ll avoid a lot of webspam as blogspot is mostly user generated and is not created by machine.
I am most likely to find results for Iron Man movie to be downloaded from rapidshare using the above query or I can modify and make the query more precise. Something like this:
"Iron Man"+rapidshare.com site:blogspot.com
I added + which tells google to look for pages which have both iron man and rapidshare.com

6. How can you get premium account with rapidshare by sharing files which will be downloaded?
As we just discussed premium account is the best bet if you want to unleash the power of rapidshare.com. You can either buy a rapidshare premium account or ensure that you collect enough points as a free uploader so that you can convert those points into buying a premium rapidshare account. Let me explain:
As a free uploader, when you upload files to rapidshare, rapidshare gives you point every time the file is being downloaded. That means if you are an uploader of Iron Man movie and I download it, you get some points. You can accrue these points to buy a premium account, This means that you’ll have to upload good number of files and ensure that you post them on a lot of forums and blogs so that people download the files and you make points.

7. How can you use rapidshare to generate money (yes, it’s a viable business model)?
Now then, if you are smart, you can extend your knowledge from point six discussed above and generate so many points that you can create multiple premium accounts. Next you can sell these accounts to various buyers for a discounted price thus making money.
We hope that this guide will help you with your quest for using rapidshare more effectively and possibly making some money out of it.

Tags: get free rapidshare account, rapidshare, rapidshare download, rapidshare links, search rapidshare files

With a humble thought “we don’t believe we have the answers, but we do believe the answers are out there.” Google launches its Project-10-to-the-100 (Project 10100) inviting ideas for solving problems and helping the world.

Google has setup a fund of $10 million which it plans to give away for the best idea or ideas. For example, if only one idea is selected then $10 million will be awarded to execute it or if 5 ideas are winners then they get $2 million each.

Ideas can be about anything under the sun and you can submit as many ideas as you want. Google has used 5 terms to define the criteria for the best idea.

Reach: How many people would this idea affect?
Depth: How deeply are people impacted? How urgent is the need?
Attainability: Can this idea be implemented within a year or two?
Efficiency: How simple and cost-effective is your idea?
Longevity: How long will the idea’s impact last?

Google also tried to make it simpler for people to understand what they are looking for so that they get a high quality of ideas. Google sited an example of HippoRoller which is a simple idea but has a huge impact and is even related to technology remotely.

"These ideas can be big or small, technology-driven or brilliantly simple — but they need to have impact," Google said in a news release. "We know there are countless brilliant ideas that need funding and support to come to fruition." [Link]

Winners of this contest will be announced on 27th of January, 2009. 27th January is a significant day in US history and the world over. 27th Jan 1926 was the day when John Logie Baird, a Scottish inventor, demonstrated the Television, he called it Televisor back then. Other events include, An American-Only air raid against Germany in 1943, etc… Click here to read more about the events occurred on 27th of January.

The submission deadline is 20th of October. So, wait no more. Let your creative juices flow and submit the ideas that are capable of changing the world. Click here to submit your ideas or here to read FAQ’s before submitting.


Tags: Google, Google's $10 Million Contest, Project 10 to 100, Win $10 Million

Buying Android G1 in India could be possible soon. According to BS report, Ajay Sharma, country manager, HTC (India), said that the company will be looking to tie-up with a phone company to launch the HTC G1 in India in the month of December.

This is a good move by HTC as people who have been waiting for iPhone to hit India since a long time are still waiting for the prices to reduce before they buy their dream phone. In the meanwhile if HTC plans to launch the Android loaded G1 in India soon then it can pull a lot of potential buyers away from buying Apple’s iPhone.

iPhone was launched in India on 21th of August, however, it failed to sell in the expected volumes because of its price tag, Rs.31,000 for 8GB and Rs. 32,000 for 16GB. This is where HTC’s Android powered G1 could win over iPhone in India.

G1 does not come with a huge space such as 8 or 16 GB. It however offers a decent 1GB which can be enhanced using memory cards. Such specs on Android G1 are being considered as lack of features, but, we think it’s a smartly designed phone which can compete with iPhone in the markets where it is considered expensive.

Another thing that might favor HTC is that 3G network in India is not launched yet. So people who bought the iPhone 3G have not yet experienced the mobility on the iPhone 3G. December would be an ideal time for HTC to launch Android in India as the 3G services are expected to be launched around the same time.

Tags: Android Applications, Android India, Android Launch, Apple, Buy Android, Buy Android India, Google, HTC, HTC G1 India

Google released an updated version of Chrome yesterday. This version of Chrome comes with quite a few bug and security fixes.

The release does not offer any new features including the support of Add-on’s. The upgrade is highly recommended as it offers security fix.
Google Chrome will automatically update itself as it is programmed to check for updates every 5 hours and download and install the latest releases as often as possible.

Without a manual check, Chrome will update itself automatically, Google said. "Google Chrome will automatically checks for updates approximately every five hours. If an update is available, it will be downloaded and applied at the next browser restart, Google said.

Google has decided that it know whats best for its users than the users themselves. The version of Chrome sitting on your machine will update automatically whenever there is a new release, bug or a security fix. According to Google, updates don’t have to depend on what users decide.

"Users do not get a notification when they are updated … When there are security fixes, it’s crucial that we update our users as quickly as possible in order to keep them safe. Thus, it’s important for us to not require user intervention," the company said in a statement
Users like you an I who cannot wait for the browser to be updated by itself can update it by going to Settings -> About Google Chrome.

One of the duos behind the mammoth search engine, Sergey Brin, launched his own blog at http://too.blogspot.com.



“Welcome to my personal blog. While Google is a play on googol, too is a play on the much smaller number - two. It also means "in addition", as this blog reflects my life outside of work.”

That’s what the first post reads and he decides to write about everything other than work. I am sure there are millions of us who are deeply inspired with Sergey’s vision and success would also be interested in knowing a little bit about his personal life too.

Sergey talks about his mother and Parkinson’s disease and how he has decades to prepare for his old age. I am certainly looking forward to read and know more of Sergey on his blog.

Visit http://too.blogspot.com