We all know the Google Advanced Search page that lets you refine your searches and find what you need faster. But how many of us understand the complicated URLs the search engines generates?
Well I am not saying that I’m some sort of expert but here are some information regarding the URLs generated by Google. Let’s start by looking at one such URL:
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=nintendo+wii&hl=ro&num=10&btnG=C%C4%83utare+Google&
as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=
You don’t understand much and it looks quite long but it doesn’t have to be this way. Many of the variables included are not even used in the query. Here are the basics:
What you should know is that you always start with: http://www.google.com/search?. This tells Google it’s an advanced search and that there are some variables to come. Besides, remember that all the variables must be connected with ampersands (&; ex. as_q=nintendo+wii&hl=ro) and if you want to use more than one search terms just use ‘+’ (ex. nintendo+wii) between them. Speaking of variables here are the most important tags you can use:”
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Spam Made Up 94% Of All E-Mail In December
The Postini report says the rise of botnets and image spam is causing e-mail systems at some companies to melt down.
By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
Jan 29, 2007 02:00 PM
Legitimate e-mail now constitutes a rounding error when compared with spam, thanks to a standing army of more than a million zombie PCs waging war on in-boxes worldwide on any given day.
Some 94% of all e-mail last December was spam, according to Postini’s annual communications intelligence report, which the managed e-mail security company released today.
In 2006, the volume of spam rose 147% by Postini’s measure. The company attributes the surge in spam to PCs that have been commandeered by cybercriminals without the knowledge of their owners.
In and of itself, this sounds like the same mixture of marketing and reporting that messaging security firms have engaged in for years. And it is that. But that doesn’t diminish the real difficulties businesses face in coping with spam.
“There were two fundamental changes in the world of business communications in 2006 that are going to get even bigger in 2007,” says Daniel Druker, executive VP of worldwide marketing for Postini. “The major event in communications security is the emergence of botnets. This has changed the game, the dynamics, and economics of the Internet security marketplace. When the bad guys can now harness more than a million computers around the world and use them to push an increasing amount of attacks, that’s a major change.”
When you happen upon a new web site - or you’re just interested in finding more about one you frequent all the time - it’s difficult to get a sense of how popular it is, how long it’s been around, what people are saying about it and how much it’s been bookmarked. The About This Site Firefox extension offers one click access to web services that com
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Footage of the crash that left TV presenter Richard Hammond fighting for his life will be aired for the first time as BBC Two’s Top Gear returns. Hammond left hospital just five weeks after his jet powered car came off a runway at 280mph. He will discuss the incident with presenter Jeremy Clarkson today.
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LOS ANGELES — I’ve been singing since I was 4 and performing in bands since 15. Nothing, however, could prepare me for auditioning for TV’s hit competition “American Idol.”
It was a chilly morning in August.
I slept through my alarm, set to 3:30 a.m. A friend’s call half an hour later woke me out of my nervous sleep. After quickly shimmying into a bright red vintage dress, I rushed over to the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena for the Los Angeles area audition (airing on Fox on Jan. 31 at 9 p.m.).
Bleary-eyed and shivering in the pre-dawn darkness, I took a place in line along with 10,000 other aspiring contestants — from teenagers to those like me in their late 20s.
People brought their mothers, fathers, best friends and aunts. One read “Idol” judge Simon Cowell’s “I Don’t Mean to Be Rude, But…” Some piled on makeup. Others rehearsed their songs — loudly or whispering. Most everyone yelped and screamed at the Fox cameras twirling past.
I came alone (it was too early for everyone I knew) and murmured lyrics under my breath. Friends called to keep me company. My feet started to hurt.
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In a bold move against iTunes’ DRM, called Fairplay, the Norwegian Consumer Council has deemed it illegal in Norway, with France and Germany possibly following suit.
Norway isn’t happy with Apple’s DRM technology that restricts play of files downloaded from it’s iTunes Store to only iPods [when away from the computer]. Because other portable players are not allowed to play the files, Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjørn Erik Thon has declared Apple’s Fairplay technology is anything but.
“I understand that a company feels the need to protect its products from piracy,” said Thon in 2006. “However, this should not negatively affect customers who through lawful means have obtained downloaded files. Today, iTunes´ use of DRM-technology renders the customers without rights in dealing with a company which on a whim can dictate what kind of access customers will have to products they have already paid for.”
The main complaints of iTunes’ software license agreement [EULA], in regards to Norwegian law, are as follows:
* Scandinavian law requires any written agreement to favor both parties. The weak party also enjoys protection from exploitation according to Norwegian consumer laws. Itunes’ EULA is unbalanced in this regard.
* Fairplay limits the number of devices purchased songs can be played on.
* iTunes’ contract entitles the company to at any time change the terms of the contract without notice, including the selection of players or software that must be used for iTunes files, and also the number of times a customer can change or copy already purchased files. Although this is considers standard practice for EULAs, Norway doesn’t agree with it.
* The EULA is both vague and hard to understand for the customers.
* The EULA states that the legal relationship between the company and customers is regulated by English contract law. It is unreasonable to expect Norwegian consumers to have comprehensive knowledge of English law. Products marketed to Norwegian consumers in Norway are subject to Norwegian law—a right that cannot be waived by a clause in a company’s standard customer contract.
A brilliant, in-depth BBC documentary about Tetris and its creator Alexey Pajitnov. You’d be amazed how dangerous the game was on the world stage. Also covers the rivalries between Nintendo and Atari.
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DomainsBot was built to solve a couple of the most annoying problems facing anyone who wants to start a website on the Internet - finding decent domain names; figuring out who to register them with; and keeping track of them once you do.
Remember Senator Ted Stevens, who famously described the Internet as a “series of tubes”? And how about the Deleting Online Predators Act, which would have banned access to interactive websites like MySpace, Facebook and Digg in US schools and libraries? Well, it seems that both have returned.
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