Yahoo! Search unveiled changes to its technology and appearance on Monday, in an apparent challenge to Google. The new features and attractive interface are expected to attract new users and entice existing Yahoo surfers to stick around. The new Yahoo! offers crisp new lines and a clutter free easy-to-use interface; a drastic change from what Internet users are used to seeing. The uncluttered, clean look, color choices and use of attractive images, combined with the new tab layout makes this new look much easier to navigate and more aesthetically pleasing. To view the new layout, currently in Beta mode, please visit, http://new.search.yahoo.com

After the success of the Google toolbar, Yahoo! has jumped on the bandwagon and now offers the Yahoo! toolbar, giving users more options then the tool offered by Google. Included are quick links to the news, maps, dictionaries and other features, as well as ticker searches for current stock trading values.
Other changes to Yahoo's technology include the ability to pull information and place it at the top of the search results in a non-intrusive manner. For example enter 'Vancouver weather' and the current conditions and five day forecast appear, potentially saving the user from having to click into a site to search manually. Or enter 'weather!' and the Yahoo Weather page will open. This feature is part of the new Yahoo Search Shortcuts, a series of shortcut keywords used to access Yahoo products and services. By entering the name of the product or service followed by and exclamation point, you will jump directly to that area (i.e.: news!). A complete list of the Yahoo Shortcuts can be found by visiting http://search.yahoo.com/new_search_tour/yahoolist.html.

One negative point is the obscure way of reaching some of these services. If Yahoo wants to make a dent in the traffic heading in Google's direction, something will have to be done to resolve this. Perhaps a single 'Yahoo Services' tab added to the right hand side that linked to a page with all the shortcuts available. Currently anyone looking for the news, weather, lottery or any other Yahoo service, without already knowing the shortcuts in advance will never be able to find what they are looking for, and in return, will most likely go to the competition.

As dedicated Google users begin to explore these changes, many may be tempted to switch over to the new and improved Yahoo. Currently their results come from Google, but with the recent acquisition of Inktomi that will most likely change. The introduction of fresh search results, combined with the new attractive appearance may drive more traffic in Yahoo's direction.

Today marks the sixth birthday of the popular, natural language search tool, Ask Jeeves. Appearing for the first time in on April 7th, 1998, the search tool promised to produce search results based on answers to naturally phrased questions such as "Who is P.G. Wodehouse?". In the background, hundreds of programmers searched the web to create a database of questions and the URLs of sites that might answer them. Through its evolution, Ask Jeeves has purchased several other tech-companies such as, Direct Hit, eTour, and the popular search tool, Teoma. While these acquisitions have allowed Ask Jeeves to grow and continue to produce its own search results, the dot-bomb downturn almost killed the fledgling company. Towards the end of 2000 as the company was struggling and looked like it would have to fold, the Board of Directors hired the aptly named management consultant, Skip Battle as CEO. Battle seems to have turned the company around through a combination of smart management and the force of his personality and reputation. Congratulations Jeeves for coming of age in a difficult time.

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Spirit of the West is dedicated to providing safe, environmentally sensitive, well organized, fun-filled adventures. To reserve a tour or learn more about their tours visit their site: www.kayak-adventures.com

Has your site ever been unavailable to the Internet because you were switching web hosting providers? This type of instability is entirely unnecessary and can be prevented with some basic technical expertise.

Search engine placement is a science and, like any scientific project a proper search engine campaign requires a controlled environment. Even in the best of circumstances an SEO has a myriad of variables to consider that may have a positive or negative effect on a search engine marketing campaign. For accurate research to take place, a controlled environment must be entirely free of any web site instability. A common cause of instability is the down-time that arises when a web site is inappropriately transferred to a new Web Hosting Provider (WHP).
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" Well-behaved women rarely make history"

The computing world mourns the passing of technologist Anita Borg. Borg was the founder of several successful organizations and initiatives aimed at bringing women into the technology field. After completing her Ph.D. in computer science in 1981, Borg worked as a leading-edge researcher for several IT industry giants. Six years later, while attending one of the dozens of industry conferences she was invited to each year, Borg noted the lack of women at the conference and started Systers, an email list providing support and mentoring for other women in IT. The list has grown to include over 2,500 women in almost 40 countries. Borg was also the driving force behind the Institute for Women and Technology and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

Anita Borg died of brain cancer in Sonoma County California on Sunday April 6, 2003. She was 54 years old. A private memorial will be held. In lieu of flowers Anita's family requests donations be made to the Anita Borg Memorial Fund. For more information see: www.iwt.org.