YouTube For Schools promises classrooms access to educational videos without the risk of pupils being “distracted by the latest music video or cute cat”.

The Google-owned site has put together playlists according to subject matter and intended age level.

Google said it hoped to attract schools which had previously been put off by inappropriate content on the site.

To go to YouTube Schools click here >>

Source BBC

Also a really nice timeline to show each development:

For more info see www.google.com/insidesearch/

If you are interested in using QR codes in your advertising speak to us today on 0845 257 1225 or find out more here >>

An explaination from Google “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. Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type.

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.

Benefits

Faster Searches: By predicting your search and showing results before you finish typing, Google Instant can save 2-5 seconds per search.

Smarter Predictions: Even when you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, predictions help guide your search. The top prediction is shown in grey text directly in the search box, so you can stop typing as soon as you see what you need.

Instant Results: Start typing and results appear right before your eyes. Until now, you had to type a full search term, hit return, and hope for the right results. Now results appear instantly as you type, helping you see where you’re headed, every step of the way.”

The service – integrated directly with its e-mail service Gmail – allows users to post status updates, share content and read and comment on friends’ posts.

The site pitches Google directly against rival networks such as Facebook, which has amassed nearly 400 million users since its launch in 2004.

Buzz will try to capitalise on the number of regular Gmail users, which is currently around 170 million people.

Check it out here >>

Results are coming in from freshly published web pages, Tweets, MySpace updates and shockingly, Facebook public profiles. Check out the demo video above.

Want to see real-time results for any query right now? Go to http://google.com/trends and click on any of the hot topics on that page. Replace the search query in that page’s URL with a new search term and if real time results are available, you’ll be able to see them.

Find out more here http://www.google.com/landing/music/

As we posted yesterday it has now been officially announced that Microsoft and Yahoo are to join forces to take on Google.

Microsoft’s search engine will power the Yahoo website and Yahoo will in turn become the advertising sales team for Microsoft’s online offering.

Yahoo has been struggling to make profits in recent years.

But it rebuffed several takeover bids from Microsoft in an attempt to go it alone.

“This agreement comes with boatloads of value for Yahoo, our users, and the industry. And I believe it establishes the foundation for a new era of internet innovation and development,” said Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz.

The deal became possible after Yahoo’s co-founder Jerry Yang stepped down as chief executive of the company.

Source | BBC