Google Tricks

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "John F. McMullen" <observer () westnet com>
Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005 00:36:54 -0500 (EST)
To: johnmac's living room <johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com>
Cc: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject: Google Tricks

> From Time Magazine --
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1032364,00.html

Google Tricks
By ANITA HAMILTON

Look out, surfers: there's a wave of controversy headed your
way over the latest version of the Google Toolbar, a popular
Web browser add-on that attaches a search box and an extra row
of buttons onto Internet Explorer. The new version (available
at google.com) includes a feature called AutoLink, which can
transform plain text on any Web page into a link that sends
users to a related site for more information. AutoLink, though
still in beta, has many Web watchers crying foul because it
gives Google--not users or publishers of sites in which links
are embedded--the power to decide which sites it sends you to.

How does it work? Say you are scanning a list of restaurants
online and want to check the location on a map. Instead of
copying and pasting the address into a mapping site, you can
click right on the address and view a Google-branded map that
shows you where the dining spot is. The AutoLink feature
directs people to Amazon for books and to Carfax for cars.

The problem is that while AutoLink can save time, some say it
gives the search company too much control. "Google is
inserting links on people's Web pages," says Danny Sullivan,
editor of Search Engine Watch.com At least one retailer,
barnesandnoble.com has blocked AutoLink by adding coding to
its site that overrides it.

Google says it is not receiving any revenue for sending people
to Amazon and Carfax. What's more, since users have to click
the AutoLink button on the toolbar each time they want to
activate the new links, "it is a user-elected feature," says
Marissa Mayer, Google's director of consumer Web products.
Mayer says the company plans to give users more say. The map
feature allows people to select Yahoo or MapQuest, though
Google Maps is the default setting.

When Microsoft instituted a similar feature, called Smart
Tags, in Internet Explorer back in 2001, the company faced
such a strong backlash that it dropped Smart Tags from Windows
XP. Mayer says Google is unlikely to remove AutoLink but the
ultimate decision will be based on public feedback over the
next few months.

Copyright  2005 Time Inc.
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    "When you come to the fork in the road, take it" - L.P. Berra
    "Always make new mistakes" -- Esther Dyson
    "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
     -- Arthur C. Clarke
     "You Gotta Believe" - Frank "Tug" McGraw (1944 - 2004 RIP)

                           John F. McMullen
    johnmac () acm org johnmac () computer org johnmac () m-net arbornet org
                   johnmac () tmail com johnmac () echonyc com
            jmcmullen () monroecollege edu johnmac () alumni iona edu
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                   http://www.westnet.com/~observer
                  BLOG: http://johnmacrants.blogspot.com/

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