Author: Kim Siever

Google just released a new search feature called Google Q&A that allows user to ask a question and receive an answer based on compiled information around the web.

Have you ever needed a piece of info right now? Today we’re excited to introduce Google Q&A. We’ve pulled together facts from all over the Web to help give you the fastest possible access to the quick bits of information you need every day; just type a query into the search box, and you’ll get back the answer at the top of your search results. Q&A knows about a lot of areas: celebrities, countries of the world, the planets, the elements, electronics, movies, and anything else we’ve thought of so far…

It even has the population of Lethbridge.

I do not know when it happened, but at some point, Google changed their search query word limit from 10 words to 32 words. Good. There have been a few instances where i needed more than 10 words. Thanks, Google.

When will it end?

In an effort to out pace Yahoo! Maps, Google has now implemented integration of satellite imagery with Google Maps. Users can now switch between the traditional map view and the satellite view. So now not only can you use Google Maps to see how to get to a location, you can see what the landmarks are and what the building looks like.

Six months ago, they bought Keyhole Corp, a company that specialised in satellite imagery. That was quick.

Apparently, Google release a service called Google Video in January. Users can enter a search term and Google Video will return video stills from TV shows where the search term occurred. Click on the TV show and you will receive excerpts from the show’s transcript and timestamps for all the times the search term occurred during that show. As well, Google offers a link to all the upcoming air times for the show in a specific zip code, which the user can edit.

Now, they appear to want to expand into personal videos.

It just keeps getting better. First Yahoo! Maps offers cross streets and inline establishment indicators. Now Google offers Ride Finder. Just select one of the major US cities listed and you can see all the locations for shuttles and taxis in the area. A commuter’s dream come true.

Somehow, I don’t think this will catch on in Lethbridge any time soon.

If the search engine wars weren’t bad enough, Yahoo! recently upped their webmail storage amount for individual accounts to match Google’s 1GB limit.

Today, a year after GMail was announced, Google has announced an increase for their limit to two gigabytes.