Bloglines to Be Discontinued

Bloglines, one of the most popular web-based feed readers, will no longer be available after September 30th. InterActiveCorp, the company that acquired the service in 2005, also owns the search engine Ask.com.

When we originally acquired Bloglines in 2005, RSS was in its infancy. The concept of "push" versus "search" around information consumption had become very real, and we were bullish about the opportunity Bloglines presented for our users. 
 
Flash forward to 2010. The Internet has undergone a major evolution. The real-time information RSS was so astute at delivering (primarily, blog feeds) is now gained through conversations, and consuming this information has become a social experience. As Steve Gillmor pointed out in TechCrunch last year, being locked in an RSS reader makes less and less sense to people as Twitter and Facebook dominate real-time information flow. Today RSS is the enabling technology – the infrastructure, the delivery system. RSS is a means to an end, not a consumer experience in and of itself. As a result, RSS aggregator usage has slowed significantly, and Bloglines isn't the only service to feel the impact. The writing is on the wall.


Most Bloglines users will probably migrate to Google Reader, which is now the most popular web-based feed reader. Unfortunately, Google Reader is still a niche service and this won't change in the future, so Google will eventually discontinue it. Instead of subscribing to feeds, people prefer to subscribe to other people. Google Buzz, Google Me and other social services will use Google Reader's back-end, while offering a people-centric experience.

Here's the Google Trends chart for RSS:

Instant Search in Google Chrome

Google Chrome will add support for instant search, the feature released this week by Google. An early implementation is already available in Chrome Dev Channel and in Chrome Canary build. You can enable this feature by adding the following command-line flag to a Chrome shortcut: --enable-match-preview (in Windows, right-click on the shortcut, select "Properties" and append the flag to the "Target" value).

Chrome's flavor of instant search is quite surprising. As you type a query in Chrome's Omnibox, the browser shows a preview of Google's results for that query. This is suboptimal because it doesn't use Google's predictions, which speed up entering a query. Instead of displaying the results for [weather] when you type "w", Chrome only shows the results for [w].


When you select one of the suggestions from the address bar, Chrome previews the results for that query. If Chrome finds a web page that matches your query, it loads that page. For example, when I type "m" in the Omnibox, Chrome autocompletes my query as http://mail.google.com, since I frequently go to Gmail. If I type "n", Chrome loads Google News. It may be useful for frequently visited pages, but loading a page just because I type a letter in the address bar is a bit too much. This way, you may end up loading a lot of pages while typing a query and that may be distracting and may slow you down.


This feature works even if Google is not the default search engine. Hopefully, it will be considerably improved before the next Chrome release.

{ Thanks, PhistucK. }

Mengganti Digimon di Digimon Battle Online

"Om Swastiastu"

Mungkin banyak yang bertanya, bagaimana cara menggunakan digimon yang telah kita tangkap. Karena banyak Tamers lain yang menggunakan digimon lain selain digimon starter. Maksudnya adalah digimon partner yang mengikuti kita itu bukan digimon starter yang kita dapat dari awal, tetapi digimon yang telah kita tangkap. Pertama saya kira untuk mengganti digimon itu menggunakan suatu item yang harus dibeli dengan menggunakan WeCash. Ternyata tidak. Bahkan caranya sangat gampag sekali.

Jika ingin mengganti digimon utama yang akan kita gunakan, caranya gampang sekali. Pertama buka menu Digimon List atau tekan tombol L pada keyboard.

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Chrome Extension for Google Scribe

Google developed a Chrome extension for Google Scribe, the text completion service launched earlier this week. By default, Google Scribe is disabled, but you can enable it by pressing Ctrl+J. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+J to switch to the on-demand mode that shows suggestions only when you press Tab. If you find Google Scribe useful or you use the on-demand mode, there's an option to automatically activate the service for any text field.


The extension doesn't work well in Gmail if you use the editor's plain text mode or Scribe's on-demand mode. Another Google service that's not compatible with Scribe is Google Docs, which uses a custom text editor.

For other browsers, you can add the bookmarklet from this page. The main difference is that you have to enable Scribe by clicking on the bookmarklet.

On an unrelated note, the screenshot above shows some new Gmail features that are tested internally at Google: inserting Google Docs files, photos and maps.

{ Thanks, alexandrojv. }

Menangkap Digimon di Digimon Battle Online

"Om Swastiastu"

Ada yang sudah memulai memainkan Digimon Battle Online? Bagi yang sudah, silahkan naikkan dulu level Digimon yang telah kalian pilih hingga berevelosi ke level Rookie Digimon. Kenapa demikian? Karena jika kalian ingin menangkap Digimon, Digimon kalian harus level Rookie dulu. Seain itu, kalian disini juga hanya bisa menangkap Digimon dengan level In-Training, seperti Koromon, Tokomon, Motimon, dan sebagainya. Jika kalian ingin menangkap Digimon level lain, seperti Rookie, maka kalian harus membeli item dulu di website resmi Digimon.

Menangkap Digimon dengan cara biasa memang agak sulit, ada rumor yang mengatakan kalau persentase keberhasilan menangkap digimon dengan cara biasa hanya 2% saja. Berbeda jika kalian menangkap digimon dengan menggunakan jaring yang kalian beli yang memiliki persentase sebesar 100%.
Selanjutnya, jika Digimon kalian telah level Rookie, misalkan Gigimon telah berubah menjadi Guilmon, Viximon menjadi Renamon, dan Gummymon menjadi Terriermon, maka kalian bisa menangkap Digimon yang masih level In-Training.

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Yahoo Developed an Instant Search Interface in 2005

Stephen Hood, a former Yahoo employee, says that Yahoo developed an interface similar to Google Instant 5 years ago. It was called LiveSearch and it was launched as an experimental interface for AllTheWeb.com.

Yahoo would not let us ship LiveSearch on yahoo.com or as a part of Yahoo's search engine. Instead we were only allowed to launch it on AllTheWeb, a smaller, lower-traffic search engine that Yahoo had acquired years earlier and largely left to atrophy. (...)

You have to remember that, at the time, Yahoo's search business was doing just well enough that there was very little institutional appetite for product risk. As a result, "big" or disruptive ideas were too often left to whither on the vine. By focusing on the local maximum, Yahoo unwittingly traded innovation for incremental optimization.

LiveSearch was thus relegated to a tiny test bucket of users who didn't actually use Yahoo's search product (or any modern search engine). Usage data from this flawed test was used to internally evaluate its success in comparison to the model it was actually trying to disrupt. Lacking high-level support for its larger vision and starved for resources, LiveSearch was understandably put out to pasture.

Here's an excerpt from Yahoo's blog post that announced LiveSearch:

"Livesearch has that uncanny knack of figuring out exactly what is on my mind. As soon as I start to type a query, Livesearch suggests the right query and shows me the results page before I even press a search button. For example, I wanted to look for 'mission impossible 3'. Just as I finished typing 'mission', Livesearch is already recommending 'mission impossible 3' as the search, and then instantaneously shows me the results page."

Stephen thinks that Google "still has the organizational courage to challenge its own preconceptions" and that's the reason why it can launch features like Google Instant, which change "a user interaction model that's been largely unchallenged for years".

When Google changes the interface of a product, many people say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!". Fortunately for Google, the company has never followed this principle. As Colin Powell said, "'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' is the slogan of the complacent, the arrogant or the scared. It's an excuse for inaction, a call to non-arms."

{ via Search Engine Land. Screenshot licensed as Creative Commons by Philipp Lenssen. }

Google Features No Longer Available in Instant Search

Google Instant Search is a very interesting experiment that could change the way you find information on the Web, but the new interface comes with a lot of unpleasant side effects.

1. Google Suggest can no longer be disabled. Even if you disable Google Instant, suggestions will still be displayed.

2. You can no longer change the number of results. The interface would be less fluid if Google had to fetch 50 or 100 results every time you change your query.


3. Google Suggest no longer shows previously typed searches from Google Web History. This was a great feature for repeated queries. Marissa Mayer said last year that "40% of searches on any given day are repeat searches for a user".


4. Google Suggest no longer shows 10 suggestions. Because of space constraints, Google only displays 4 suggestions, followed by your original query.

5. The fade-in animation has been removed. This feature used to hide the navigation bar and all the links from the homepage until you moved your mouse.

6. "Search within results" is no longer available. This feature has never been useful because it didn't actually search within results. It only allowed you to add new keywords to an existing query.

7. Google's search box is not displayed at the bottom of the page. As Amit Agarwal points out, you have to scroll to the top of the page to change the query.


8. No more Wonder Wheel. Google's visualization tool allowed you to explore related searches.

9. Google removed the virtual keyboard. This feature is no longer available at Google Russia and will probably removed from all localized interfaces in the future. "Our virtual keyboard allows you to enter the precise search terms you want, regardless of the language keys on your physical keyboard. It can be helpful for people who use one of the many non-Latin script-based languages that require special characters," explains Google.

All of these features are still available if you log out or you use Google SSL, the encrypted search interface.

Can you find other missing features?

{ Thanks, Tom. }

Cara Mengganti Nama Digimon di Digimon Battle Online

"Om Swastiastu"

Sudah ada yang memainkan game Digimon Battle Online (DBO)? Saya yakin pasti sudah banyak anak-anak Indonesia yang bermain game ini. Nah, saya ada sedikit tips yang mungkin kalian butuhkan sewaktu memainkan game ini. Yaitu mengganti nama digimon yang baru kalian tangkap. Ketika pertama kali menangkap digimon, maka digimon yang kalian tangkap memiliki nama Noname. Lalu bagaimana caranya agar kita dapat memberikannya nama?

Saya kira Digimon yang baru ditangkap tidak bisa kita beri nama, tetapi setelah berjalan semakin jauh, saya melihat ada Tamers lain yang sudah menangkap Digimon berbeda dan nama Digimonnyapun bukan Noname. Akhirnya iseng saja saya tanya pada Tamers tersebut, akhirnya saya dapat petunjuk juga untuk mengganti nama Digimon yang baru kita tangkap. Ikuti petunjuk berikut ini jika ingin memberikan nama pada Digimon kalian.
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Google Instant Shortcuts

Google Instant Search, the feature that shows search results as you type, is now publicly available. According to a press site, "Google Instant is starting to roll-out to users on Google domains in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia who use the latest browsers (Chrome versions 5 and later, Firefox version 3 and later, Safari version 5 for Mac and Internet Explorer version 8). Please note, users on domains other than Google.com and Google.ru can only access Google Instant if they are signed in to a Google Account."

If you don't see the new feature, go to Google's homepage, click on "Google.com in English" and log in to a Google account. If you still don't see it, try this URL: http://www.google.com/webhp?sclient=psy.

When you start to type a query, Google moves the search box to the top of the page and shows a list of 4 suggestions, followed by the search results for the first suggestion. That means you can just type "ny" and get the search results for [ny times] almost instantly. Google shows the predicted query in the search box, but the characters automatically added by Google are grayed out.


If you intend to type [ny times crossword], you can press Tab or use the right arrow to add "times" to your query and continue typing "crossword". Use the up/down arrows to pick a different suggestion and you'll notice that the results are displayed without having to press Enter.


The nice thing about the new interface is that you can use the "I'm feeling lucky" much more easily. For example, to visit the top search result for [ny times crossword], select the suggestion using the down arrow and perform "I'm feeling lucky" using the right arrow.

How to visit New York Times homepage using 4 keystrokes? ny Down Right. How to go to Yelp using 4 keystrokes? ye Down Right.

Another great thing about the new interface is that the search box always has focus. You never have to click on the search box to add a new word to your query.

If you don't like Google's suggestions, you can always ignore them and press Enter to find the results for the query that you've typed.

To sum up:
Tab/Right arrow = pick the first suggestion
Up/Down arrow = select another suggestion from the list
Right arrow while selecting a suggestion = I'm feeling lucky
Enter or Esc = ignore the suggestions and find the results for your query

Try Google Instant Search

Google will soon release a new interface that shows the results as you type a query. If you want to try the new feature before it's officially released, use this URL: http://www.google.com/webhp?sclient=psy.



My first impression: you can now get useful results after typing a few characters. Google has never been so fast.

To watch a webcast of Google's search event where streaming search will be launched, visit youtube.com/google.

Update: The feature is called Google Instant. "Feelings of euphoria and weightlessness are normal. Do not be alarmed."

"Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. We are pushing the limits of our technology and infrastructure to help you get better search results, faster. The most obvious change is that you get to the right content much faster than before because you don’t have to finish typing your full search term, or even press 'search.' Another shift is that seeing results as you type helps you formulate a better search term by providing instant feedback. You can now adapt your search on the fly until the results match exactly what you want. In time, we may wonder how search ever worked in any other way."



{ via Zorgloob and Jérôme. }

Google Doodle for Today's Launch

Even if Google said that the particles animation didn't celebrate a special event, it's probably the first time when Google uses doodles to build anticipation before launching a new feature. The doodle was fast, fun and interactive, just like the new search interface that shows results as you type a query.

Today, Google's homepage has a new doodle that shows a monochrome Google logo. When you start typing your query, Google brings back the color one letter at a time.


The doodle looks exactly like the new interface for Google Suggest:


It's now obvious that Google will launch "streaming search" today. Even Google's Twitter account confirms this: "Our doodle is dressing up in its brightest colors for something exciting coming very soon".

Cara Berbagi Pulsa IM3, Simpati dan XL

"Om Swastiastu"

Berbagi pulsa memang diperlukan untuk sesama. Disaat uang saku untuk membeli pulsa habis, ada alternatif lain agar kita bisa menambah pulsa di hape kita. Cara ini hanya dapat dilakukan ke sesama operator. Seperti yang terdapat pada judul artikel ini. Disini saya akan memberitahukan cara berbagi pulsa ke sesama IM3, Simpati dan XL.

Mungkin sudah banyak yang mengetahui cara berbagi pulsa ini. Tapi tiap harinya juga bertambah pengguna hape di Indonesia. Jadi tips ini sangat berguna untuk mereka yang belum mengetahuinya. Disini saya hanya akan memberikan cara pengiriman pulsa lewat SMS. Karena cara ini sangat mudah dipahami.

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Google Scribe

Update (Nov. 2011): Now that Google Labs was closed, Scribe is only available in Blogger in Draft.

Google launched a very interesting tool that offers suggestions as you type: Google Scribe [updated link]. It's not exactly the service I anticipated 3 years ago, but Google Scribe works surprisingly well. For example, I started to type "This works sur" and Google suggested "This works surprisingly well", which is exactly what I wanted to type. Instead of typing 14 characters, I could only type "1" or press Enter to select the first suggestion.


"Google Scribe provides text completion service. Using information from what you have already typed in a document, Google Scribe provides related word or phrase completion suggestions. In addition to saving keystrokes, Google Scribe's suggestions indicate correct or popular phrases to use," explains Google.


The nice thing about this service is that you don't need to use Google's editor. You can add a bookmarklet to your browser and use Google Scribe in Gmail, Blogger, Google Docs or on any web page that includes text fields.


Google Scribe only works for English right now, but I'm sure that Google will add many other languages in the future. If you don't like to see suggestions for all the words you type, enable the on-demand mode (Ctrl+Shift+J) and you'll only see suggestions when you press Tab.

Since Google uses data extracted from web pages, you'll see a lot of strange suggestions like this pattern from Google's navigation bar:


or this text, which is frequently used on IngentaConnect's site:


{ Thanks, Robert. }

Search Chromium's Source Code

Google Code Search has a special version for searching Chromium's source code. Chromium is the open source project that powers Google Chrome, Chrome Frame, Flock.

Code Search adds search suggestions, cross-reference detection, a find feature that lets you search inside a file, an option that lets you find a file by name, links to Subversion and related files.


Google's search engine for source code has a new homepage that shows all the advanced search options:

Google's Particles Doodle

Google's homepage shows another animated doodle, but this time Google doesn't offer any information about the doodle. The homepage animates some particles which are used to create the Google logo.

It's very likely that the interactive doodle celebrates Google's 12th birthday. Google usually celebrates its birthday on September 7th or September 27th, depending on the year. "Google opened its doors in September 1998. The exact date when we celebrate our birthday has moved around over the years, depending on when people feel like having cake."

Happy Birthday, Google!

Update (via Blogoscoped Forum): Google says that the animated doodle didn't celebrate an important event. It was fast, fun and interactive, just like Google.

Mainkan Digimon Battle Online

"Om Swastiastu"

Mungkin ada yang sudah tahu, atau ada juga yang belum mengetahui adanya game online baru. Digimon Battle Online adalah game ngetrend baru-baru ini. Dari gameplaynya, game ini mirip dengan Digimon World 3 pada PlayStation. Tetapi kualitas gambarnya jauh lebih bagus Digimon Battle Online, dan game ini dimainkan secara online. Seperti game online pada umumnya, game ini juga terdapat NPC, quest, dan lain-lain.

Jika ingin memainkan game ini, silahkan download dulu Client dari game ini dan buat akun baru agar kalian bisa memainkan game ini. Untuk itu, silahkan langsung kunjungi situs resmi Digimon Battle Online. Silahkan buat akun baru dan download Clientnya, ukurannya sekitar 700Mb lebih.

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Next Week's Google Search Event

Did you know that Google has an Experimental Happiness team? One of the engineers that are part of this team is Othar Hansson, who is a tech lead for rich snippets and a member of Google's Search UI Group.

Did you know that Google has a search czar? His name is Ben Gomes. "I think of Ben as our diplomat," said Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience. "It's Google; it's search. There's a lot of big personalities; there's a lot of opinions, and Ben is the reasonable one that can help build the bridges. When we look back, there was a point where Larry and Sergey really felt like we needed to name a search czar. And there was only one natural choice -- this was back in 2002 -- and that was Ben." According to Mercury News, "Gomes is responsible for shaping the automatic suggestions users get as they begin typing a query, and the few lines of text and links they get back, which Google calls [snippets]".

Did you know that Google still has more engineers working on search than any other product? Johanna Wright says that "other initiatives, such as Google TV and Android, help move search beyond the desktop and laptop paradigm on to other hardware." Johanna Wright is the "Director of Product Management responsible for Web Search. She oversees the development of Google's search user interface and features and was the initial product lead on Universal Search."

Did you know that Google's first female engineer was Marissa Mayer? She's now Vice President for Search Products and User Experience.

Marissa Mayer, Johanna Wright, Ben Gomes and Othar Hansson will speak next Wednesday at a special event about the evolution of Google search. Most likely, Google will also launch some new features and a new interface.

Google has recently started to test an interface that shows the results as you type the query. The new interface could be launched next week. Shark SEO says that the new UI is especially useful for long-tail searches. "From finding out the best way to deal with MySQL/PHP queries and finding the right Excel formulas, it was just astonishingly, brilliantly useful – it saved me time and led to me finding the right results much faster."

Google Chrome Latest Version

The nice thing about Google Chrome's auto-update feature is that almost all users are running the latest version of the software. This is really important for web developers, who no longer have to worry that a large number of users haven't upgraded from Chrome 2 or Chrome 3. It's not necessary to test a site in multiple versions of Google Chrome and it's safe to use features added in the latest version of the browser.

Gmail's help center lists the supported browsers and includes the minimum version number required next to each browser, except Google Chrome.


Unfortunately, even if Chrome installs the latest version, you can't use it until you restart the browser. Google started to add a little orange dot next to the wrench icon and show messages like: "Old school's not cool. Google Chrome is woefully out of date because it hasn't crashed or restarted in a while. Restart Chrome to apply update."


{ The second screenshot is licensed as Creative Commons by Chris Messina. }