Yahoo Launches Google Instant Like Service, Search Direct

Tej Kohli IT blog brings you latest updates in the IT world. In a counter-attack to Google's Instant Search, Yahoo has come up with its own version of predictive search. Launched several months after Google Instant, Yahoo Search Direct will help searchers find answers (not just links) faster. Tej Kohli blog brings you the detailed report:

Yahoo unveiled Search Direct yesterday, a service that retrieves instant search results to compete with Google Instant predictive search technology.

Yahoo's new search feature will get users search results as they type characters in the search bar, even before they complete a query, hit the enter or visit a search results page, just like Google Instant does.

The objective is to shorten a few seconds from all search queries, enticing users to look up more and of course, see and click on more ads.

During the launch event, Yahoo officials touted the technique as a move to fetch users 'answers' rather than the typical blue links search engine customarily generate.

Right now the technology covers top trending searches, TV, movies, sports teams and players, weather, stocks, local, travel and shopping categories on Yahoo. Other features like popular music and local listings will also be added eventually. Presently in beta for American users only, the service will be available over the range of other Yahoo products and markets later in 2011 .

Direct Search shows the Yahoo's dedication to its users' search experience despite the fact that Bingo, Microsoft's search engine powers its search results under the 10-year contract signed August last year.

Yahoo takes 88 percent of Microsoft's search engine traffic ad sales to power its rival's search engine. However, Yahoo has complete control to experiment on the front end. Tej Kohli thinks that this new feature may help Yahoo reclaim its lost ground.

Google rolled out the real time, predictive search feature for internet users in September last year, which is an improved version of the Google suggest feature that guesses users' query as they begin to type it.

Early on, Instant appeared to boost Google's search market share, but the company has returned to its usual 65 percent search share range. Yahoo, meanwhile, is hovering around the 16 percent market and is losing share as Bing gains.

For more latest updates by Tej Kohli, keep reading this blog.

Zuckerberg's Facebook page hacked - Tej Kohli Report

Tej Kohli brings an interesting news from the web world. Accroding to recent new Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook fan page got hacked. Tej Kohli brings the entire report.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's fan page was hacked on Tuesday, a high profile invasion of privacy on a site that is often on the receiving end of public ire when it comes to the safety of people's private data.

The post that started as “Let the hacking begin” appeared on the Zuckerber's page right under his name. “If Facebook needs money, instead of going to the banks, why doesn't Facebook let its users invest in Facebook in a social way? Why not transform Facebook into a 'social business' the way Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus described it?” the post further said.

There were more than 1800 likes on the message before it was removed from the page. Nobody is available to comment from the Facebook

However, Zuckerberg wasn't the only high profile person to have his Facebook page hacked. A hacker posted a message on French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wall on Sunday that stated the president would not run for re-election.

Sarkozy responded with a post saying no system is infallible.

While Facebook is staying silent on the hack, the company posted a blog entry Wednesday morning titled: "A Continued Commitment to Security." It draws attention to Data Privacy Day Friday. The day is an international effort by governments and businesses to draw attention to personal-data protection issues.

Tej Kohli is a an IT expert with years of experince in the field of web and internet technology. For more recent updates on the IT/Software/Internet industry keep reading the Tej Kohli Blog.