‘Google’

Just as you think that now you have seen it all, the tech world stuns again with something as amazing the Siri personal assistant in the iPhone 4S. It is the ultimate replacement of the secretary on the go. Not that secretaries will ever be replaced, but if you want a mobile one in your pocket then you will adore the stunning new features of the iPhone 4S.

What can the Siri Personal Assistant Do For You?

Say you are driving and want directions without having to type in a search in Google Maps. Simply speak to your iPhone 4S and get it to locate the place on the map. If you quickly want to find a restaurant nearby ask the assistant to locate such. It will take some time to learn exactly how to phrase the question, but once you have cleared up any misunderstandings with the Siri you will find it to be rather responsive and accurate.

Directions are not the only reason for getting the iPhone 4S with Siri. If you for instance, want a meeting to be setup with one of the persons in your contact list, all you have to do is to give the command, and the Siri will check your calendar. If it is open for the particular time frame, it will request permission to go ahead in notifying the person about the meeting. Once given, the phone will do such and schedule it as well as remind you about the meeting in due time.

Two functions don’t make for the perfect mobile phone, agreed, but if you want the Siri to play a particular song or remind you of something that has to be done or even write a note, it can be done by simply speaking to it. The best of all, it will be done immediately.

Glitches as Part of Growing Pains

The Siri personal assistant is not without flaws, not yet. It has to deal with network problems which may occur from time to time and then there is the problem of sounds in the background which can cause confusion.  You have to learn how to structure questions to ensure it understands such and you will also have to refrain from talking again until it has carried out the instruction as to avoid confusion. Siri is the voice recognition feature now available with the iPhone 4S and with it also being part of the Apple product stable, it can be seen as a direct threat to Google, especially the controlled searching features of Google.

Is Siri More Accurate Than Google?

With Google one gets the familiar list of blue lined results. Although Google is certainly known as an accurate search engine, it does save time to just ask Siri and get the perfect answer.

Is Siri a Serious Threat to Google?

With the Siri concept, artificial intelligence is optimized and with thousands of users added in a short time, one can expect a large database of knowledge to develop in a short period. The estimate is that the personal assistant will shortly be able to answer questions with the same speed and accuracy as can be expected from a human. Shortly, however, means around two or three years of learning. This should give Google enough time to develop a counter strategy, although some feel that Google doesn’t have enough time to respond to the artificial intelligence threat posed by Siri.

At present Google allows interaction, but not at the extent offered by Siri. You have to speak in a voice similar to that of a bot. It still has to grow a bit before reaching the ideal level, already accomplished by Siri. Speech recognition is still at infancy stage with Google, whereas the personal assistant is more natural and allows for greater interaction. You will certainly not feel that you are speaking to a robot. With an eloquent voice and a human like feel, it leads the way for human and computer interaction of the future.

The iPhone 4S is the Next Generation Phone

Gamers have become used to bots and on many forums, bots answer the questions. Teaching your computer to answer you is not new, but having an intelligent phone with the potential of becoming just as efficient as a personal assistant on the move, is something that is revolutionary.

Apple is Happy with Siri

Apple apparently did not anticipate the many uses and popularity associated with the personal assistant, but with all the potential now discovered, it is possible that Apple will allow for other developers to create even more applications to ensure a competitive edge in the mobile market and especially to oust all the Android driven phones.

Third party developers, at this stage are not involved since the basics are not yet fully established. Although the personal assistant has an exceptional accuracy level it is not at a rate of more than 96% of the time. The day is coming and with that then the preference of users to rather interact with Siri than ask a human a question. Humans tend to have moods and can be slow at times. A reliable machine doesn’t have all that and if consistency is what you want then a mobile personal assistant will be the answer in future.

Personalisation is the Key

The Siri can be personalised to understand a particular user and the general queries, commands and needs of the user. It may very well become the next best friend of many mobile users. Apart from travel arrangements, entertainment location, and meetings, the personal assistant can further more do a bit of ecommerce bargain hunting. For people regularly buying online, Siri can develop a profile of preferences and do automatic buying without involvement of the user. Let’s hope the personal assistant never gets shopping mad.

Google has a real contender with the iPhone 4S Siri personal assistant. If a consumer has the choice of not having to deal with ads, the choice seems obvious and the days of structured searches may be at an end.

The recent death of Dennis Ritchie, co-father of the C programming language and co-developer of UNIX has not received the same attention in the media as did the death of Steve Jobs from Apple, but without his groundbreaking work in programming, much of the digital world of today would not have existed.

Dennis M Ritchie was found dead at his home earlier this month. The cause of death was not announced, but his health deteriorated fast during the last couple of months and he died quietly on 12 October 2011. He was often referred to by his username of dmr, which is quite appropriate considering that he was a programming genius that has shaped the operating system environment of today.

Dennis Received Several Awards during his Lifetime including:

• Turing Award in 1983 – Ritchie and Ken Thompson received the award jointly for their work on the development of a generic OS and the UNIX OS.
• Elected to the National Academy of Engineering – for the co-development of UNIX OS and C programming language.
• IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal 1990 – Ken and Dennis jointly received the award for their development of C and UNIX.
• National Medal of Technology 1999 – Ritchie and Ken received the award for their development of C and UNIX. The medal was awarded by the then President, Bill Clinton of the USA.
• Japan Prize for Information & Communications 2011 – they received the award for their work on UNIX.

Career Path of Ritchie

It is the revolutionary thought processes of Ritchie and Thompson that have made it possible to have Windows 7, advanced search engines including the likes of Google, and smart phones used widely. Dennis and Ken worked together from the early sixties and have jointly made one of the best contributions to the world of technology which has shaped the modern computer world. Ritchie retired in 2007 as head of the Research Department as Lucent Technologies System Software and it is believed that his death is related to his earlier struggle with prostate cancer.

His career started after finishing school in New Jersey at Summit High School. He received degrees in applied maths as well as physics from Harvard and then began his computer career in 1967 at the Bell Labs. He continued his studies until finally receiving his PhD at Harvard upon successful completion of his thesis about the computational complexity of programming structures.

He will, however, best be remembered for his work on UNIX as an operating system and C, which was at that stage a high level programming language, although today seen as a low level language. Without his work, however, numerous applications and embedded systems used today would not have been possible.

Importance of his Work on C Programming and UNIX OS

Although no longer used as a high-end programming language, C is still the core of many programming languages including C++ as well as Java built applications. Linux, the free and open source variant of UNIX, co-developed by Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson, powers numerous data centres and with the Internet virtually running on it, one can get an understanding of how they helped to fast-forward the world of digital technology. Linux is also the core foundation for computing systems such as the Apple iOS.

The C programming language and UNIX were totally different from any other computing programme back in the seventies. The cost of computing could be reduced significantly because of the introduction of the above. Both were ideal for minicomputers and allowed for collaboration. The idea behind the development of C as programming language was to help system operators get optimal OS performance as well as improve compiling.

Considering the levels of programming language of today, one may wonder what the fuzz is about, but note that most of the languages of today as well as Internet applications and normal computing would have been years behind the level we are now, if it wasn’t for the development of C and UNIX.

Dennis Ritchie was well-known amongst computer and programming experts and almost a household name with Linux developers and multinational technology corporations. For the average man on the street, his name means little. It is only once you realise that even when using applications such as the iPhone 4S or working on Windows as OS has something to do with his groundbreaking work, that you come to appreciate his contributions to digital development.

Even though most of computer users never even heard of him, they already did without knowing so, simply because they enjoy the fruits of his labour. Almost every computer system is in some way related to C and its descendants such as C++. In essence, UNIX also forms the foundations of OS X.

Steve Jobs received a lot of praise and rightfully so. Both of them have done enormous work and both were private persons. Steve, however, created the designs that one could visually appreciate and it is thus easier to see what he has done for the world of mobile computing. Dennis on the other hand, was so private that many of his colleagues knew almost nothing about him. He did behind the scenes work which would have an enormous influence on the world of computing. With his work not directly visible, consumers have not realised until now, what a loss his death is to the world of technology.

Worth a Moment’s Thought

In summary, when looking back, one may realise that while we remember names such as Thomas Edison or even Tesla for great inventions, many of the inventors of today have become obscured simply because we have become so accustomed to luxury and advanced technology that we never stop to think who made it all possible.

Dennis Ritchie, Steve Jobs, and co-developer of C and UNIX, Ken Thompson, are names that will make the history books regarding technological developments that have shaped the modern world.

In an effort to bridge the gap between the rich and poor, access to information and complete exclusion from resources, India has unveiled the new cheap tablet that is similar to an iPad touch screen mobile tablet. The government hopes to completely roll out the new tablet at around $35 in 2012.

Sceptics say that the Indian government has already attempted the launch of a similar cheap tablet for education not too long ago, but because of the price tag and subsequent quality, failed. According to them one can expect low quality screen resolution, minimal functionality and of course also exceptional slow speed when going with such cheap tablets.

One, however, must still acknowledge the effort by the Indian government to make information and Internet more accessible for the purpose of education. Such steps have already been taken in the USA with huge success and it is hoped that the South African government will also take initiative to ensure that school kids and students get their own iPad like tablets.

What Do the Indian Tablets Offer?

The developers have mentioned a range of functionalities such as complete web browsing support, word processing capabilities as well as video conference apps. The only drawback will be the speed of such tablets and it is hoped that the earlier failure two years ago will not be repeated. The best IT colleges have been involved in the development of the tablet to be released by the Indian government. At present the government is still looking for a reliable manufacturer to produce the mobile computer, although positive reaction from the private sector has shown tremendous promise.

Drawbacks of the Tablet

One of the main drawbacks of the tablet is the fact that it doesn’t have a hard drive.  Storage space and thus the loading of programmes can be a problem. With the large storage capacity of memory sticks it shouldn’t be a problem, provided the students don’t lose their flash disks, which is often a problem at educational facilities. Memory cards have replaced hard disks and with that then the problem of accidental loss of memory sticks has been solved, not that it would be any different for memory cards.

The upside of such is that you can easily upgrade storage space by just getting a larger capacity memory card for the device. You can also buy more cards and thus ensure that you can make backups of vital information.

Apple iPads Too Expensive

Apple’s iPad costs around $500, which makes it a bit too expensive for large scale roll-out and if the cheaper tablet reaches the market and fulfils in the basic computing needs, one can expect more governments to follow India’s example. This of course, can also mean that Google Android based tablets which are relatively cheap can be used in classrooms all over the world. If Apple wants to keep the lead, they will have to come up with a cheap tablet as well or drop their price, which will be highly unlikely.

Linux Operating System Used

Mr Sibal the Minister of Human Resource Development in India has explained that the operating system will be Linux, which will ensure that the price of the tablets can stay low. They still want to get the price lower. Although entering the market at around $35, the idea is to eventually drop the price to $20 and then to $10. This is where the plan may go wrong as certain things can simply not be so cheap and still compete with more functional products on the market according to sceptics. The India government has, however, already shown that they are wrong:

Positive Features of the Cheap Tablets

• Wi-Fi enabled
• Touch screen
• The screens are 7 inch in size
• Battery back-up
• Handheld devices and fully portable
• SD card
• Google Android 2.2. operating system based
• Storage space for up to 2 GB
• Upgradable storage space with memory cards
• 12 Month warranty

The Indian government is positive that this new roll-out will not be a repeat of the previous attempt to introduce a cheap laptop to the educational institutions of the country. Their key players are the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science.

Launch of Tablet in School Shows Probable Success

The fact that 500 school kids have already received the cheap tablet computers shows that the Indian government is serious. The success will thus depend on the functionality of the tablets. Manufacturers have responded positively on the Indian government search for manufacturing companies to help realize their dream. Datawind has already offered to produce tablets at $35 for the government subject to the placement of an order for one million tablets. The Indian government will then subsidize the laptops to ensure a lower cost to students.

The private sector has also indicated that they will get involved in subsidizing the units to ensure the realisation of the target price of $10 per tablet. At present the iPad from Apple holds the leading position in the market. Second to Apple is the Galaxy Tab from Samsung. The units can thus become something to stir lower prices overall.

Apart from the Datawind tablets improved web access, Internet access plans are also on the table.  The Indian government also plans the roll-out of Wi-Fi across board to ensure full Internet access throughout the country. This will be important for the schools and tertiary institutions located in the rural areas.

India Leads the Way

Although rather idealistic, it is a step in the right direction and one closely watched by other governments around the world.

India is indeed doing groundbreaking work in the field of information access and education for the masses through the tablet supply plan. One can just hope that the South African government will do the same for all the schools in the country and not only the Model D schools. This may definitely be the way forward, saving on paper, space and ensuring better access to information and computer applications for all. Such a bold step, if well executed, could ensure better education for all in Third World countries.

Google changes AdWords algorithms to improve the user experience and in the process even the innocent can get caught up, just to find their campaigns suspended without any warning. It is essential to get and stay informed about search and sponsorship algorithms if you don’t want to find the door closed even if you have paid for the ads already.

What is the Idea Behind the Changes in Algorithms?

It has happened to a few publishers making use of AdWords to drive traffic to their sites. According to Google the idea is to get a balance between the ads, content at the landing pages and the relevancy of the keywords in the sponsored ads. All three the above will be considered when ranking a landing page for relevancy and quality. Google wants to improve the user experience and that may mean a few suspended AdWords accounts along the way.

Responses of Campaign Owners

AdWord campaign owners whose accounts have been suspended complain about the lack of communication channels and getting back into the game. For some every day lost can mean hundreds to thousands of hits lost.

Positive Points

On the positive side landing pages showing good quality content, relevant to the keywords selected for bidding and the wording of the ads, can get a boost up in the rankings. Do it right, and you will be a jackpot winner, do it wrong and you can find your website out on the cold.

 Prior Testing

The Google AdWords algorithm changes have not come without any prior testing. Latin America was the test base and but the gloves are off. Website owners, web marketers and AdWords campaign managers should immediately take note of changes and respond quickly to ensure that they will not lose valuable traffic and of course, sales which go along with such.

Variation in Quality Scoring

One can expect variation in the quality scoring, but with a few bumps and bruises to be expected, mostly on the part of AdWords campaign managers, Google has indicated that users will within a few weeks be able to get more relevant, better structured and high quality landing pages when they hit the sponsored ad buttons.

If your AdWords campaign has been run the right way without over optimization, selection of relevant keywords, and you have given the user a quality landing page, you should not expect a lot of change during the next few weeks. After that you may see more hits and maybe even more sales because of the new algorithm.

Tweak for Incentives

The better the pay-per-click ads are in answering the user query the higher the score. With such also will come improvement in the PPC Ad Ranking. Your landing pages will be higher in results page positioning and you may also see a drop in the cost per advert. At the end of the day, not only the user, but supposedly also the AdWords and landing page owner will benefit.

Contrary to what one may feel such as that it is just another penalisation method, the changing of the AdWords algorithm is indeed based on an incentive scheme. Keep in line and you will be rewarded for playing according to Google’s rules. Come to think of it, the idea is not too far off. As the company that enables website owners to generate traffic and sales through sponsored ads, Google certainly has the right to change the algorithm for improved overall results and user experiences.

Quality Score

It is simply a way for Google to measure the relevancy of the keyword and the landing page as well as the quality of content on the site. Several factors are considered such as the matching of the user query with the keyword and the text at your landing page. It is thus a relevancy score.

Every time a user enters a keyword and it is matched with your keywords, you have the opportunity to deliver an ad. If the ad works out to be relevant based on the text at the landing page, you score.  The whole system is updated on a regular bases and your AdWords quality score can thus fluctuate accordingly.

Factors Taken Into Consideration When Calculating the Quality Score

If you want to know whether your campaign will benefit from Google’s alteration of AdWords algorithms you must look at the click-through rate, relevancy of the keywords and the landing page quality together.

Click-Through Rates

Google assesses whether the click-through rates (CTR) of the selected keyword matches the sponsored ad and also assesses the history of such. The next consideration is the click through rates of the display addresses in the specific ad group and then finally, also the account history. If there are sudden changes, expect alarm bells to go off at Google as well.

Relevancy

This is where it becomes important to ensure that the keyword is relevant to the adverts in the group and that the keyword matches the search queries. In addition, the account performance for the region where the ad is delivered is also taken into consideration.

Quality

Have you ever clicked on a sponsored ad and then wondered how the landing page is relevant to your query? If so, you will understand why Google is going through the AdWords fine-tuning motion. The user experience must be improved and as such good quality, relevant content to the keywords, region where keywords are displayed and the transparency of the page will be important. This means that the user should not have to think whether the right page has been delivered, but must immediately know that the page is relevant and of high standing quality.

The transparency factor should not be ignored. If your page has any form where the user will enter data, there should be enough information regarding for what purpose the information provided will be used.

Minimize Navigation Difficulty

The focus is user experience improvement and to do so Google has to change the AdWords algorithms to also consider how quickly a site or page loads and how many irritating pop-ups there are. The best way ensure ongoing campaign success is to adapt. If you don’t know how, get in expert SEO and PPC management help.

Google has the goal of ensuring faster and better search results for users. As such the search engine giant introduces new algorithms and changes to search result displays on a regular basis of which the most recent change has to do with sitelinks.

More Links Displayed

In the past the Google sitelinks were limited to about eight results, but now will be full-size and complete URLs. In addition, each sitelink now comes with a short text description which looks strikingly similar to normal search results and their descriptions delivered upon a search query.

Improved Search Results Display

The main idea of the sitelink is to help the user find sub-pages or links under a main domain. It is particularly useful for searching a large website even before getting to the landing page. With the sitelink the user can click on the relevant link and navigate directly to the sub domain or directory level of the website.

Brands Benefitted Most

The latest announcement by Google indicates that one can now expect up to twelve such links. In effect it will help the large brands to get the best results exposure and thus getter positioning at the organic SERP. With the system brand searches are definitely favoured and upcoming or unfamiliar brands will have to make more use of sponsored links – thus AdWords to get above the fold positioning at the organic SERPs. Top ranked sites will welcome the increase in sitelinks while small websites still struggling for position may find themselves even more alienated from the top of the fold positions.

Main Benefits of Sitelinks

The main benefits associated with sitelinks pertain to brand searches allowing the user to navigate to relevant pages within a website faster and thus increase the search functionality for the user. The intent of the searcher can be predicted better.  Brand owners benefit from sitelinks through more links now available, controlling searches to ensure that the users go to the relevant pages and also ensuring that the brand owner can display parts of a website which may have been overlooked without the sitelinking.

It boils down to top ranking. The better a site ranks, the more it will benefit from the additional links displayed. In effect only the number one site gets the benefit and thus all the more reason to fight for the top SERP spot. One should note that sitelinking favours brand searching rather than normal searches.

When Will the Sitelinks Benefit a Searcher?

If you for instance, want to know which movies show at a nearby movie theatre or want to get an idea of the exhibits displayed by a tradeshow host, you will be able to use the sitelinks. Although the ultimate goal of the search may be for some specific information, most searches start out broad.

Without the sitelinks the user may think that the results are not relevant, but with the links the user can get down to the specific pages because of the prediction of intend characteristics of the system. If the user wants to get an overview of the main or important pages of a site, the links listed will help a lot. Webmasters gain control over pages which may be missed the in normal searches.

How Have Sitelinks Changed?

Google has changed mainly the number of sitelinks (from eight to twelve) and the way they are organised. The links are now in columns for ease of reading and with more links listed, more access to the website is given. There are displays now for more search results. The links are now full sized URLs and with descriptions similar to normal search results, the user is aided in the search to locate a specific part of the site.

Algorithm Changes

Sitelink-rank is now combined with the normal SERP rank ensuring better quality in the lists. With the new algorithm duplication is avoided and the SERP is better organised. As such the results from the top ranking site will be organised under the top domain followed by the results of other sites.

Who will be able to see the Sitelink Changes?

Users with the updated Firefox browser, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 7 will be able to see the changes over the next couple of days.  Users with older browsers will not benefit at all.

The Top Changes Announced by Google

• The links are more visible with full size text and more distinguishable with a green URL.
• More links can be displayed. In the past a fixed number of links was displayed, but webmasters can now optimize for more link displays.
• Links can rank according to queries ensuring better results according to queries.
• Results from one domain in the past could show up in the normal search results as well as the sitelinks. Now the results from one domain will be listed under the top domain and thus make it easier to identify that the results are from one website.

More Webmaster Control

Google provides the webmaster with the required tools to manage the sitelinks for their sites. The webmaster can demote a link if it is not correct while the latest algorithms consider the demotions. One can also block a link and up to a hundred demotions can be made. Webmaster control is available in Google Webmaster Tools.

Areas Not Affected

One line links can still appear on multiple results and the links on ads don’t change.

In Summary of the Changes

Webmasters are encouraged to make use of the control features in Webmaster Tools to ensure accurate delivery of link results. The changes to sitelinks benefit brand searches the most and make for more reason to get top ranking in the natural search results for brand related queries. If a site is not yet in the top ranking, it is recommended that the webmaster makes use of sponsored links to appear above the line when queries are made. The changes in sitelinks have been made to improve search functionality and thus the user experience at Google. Evidently it will benefit the large brands and websites most.