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The last time we did top Google search terms, half of Hollywood died before we could publish it. This time, we only missed Swayze's passing and Kanye West's antics. And of the folks that passed last time, only one showed up in the rising search terms for the past three months.
What that all means is that I think you can reliably say these are the hottest search terms. And one of them is Turkish. Be sure to post your answer to the trivia question below for a chance to win the football beads. And really, only answer the question if you have a valid e-mail address and will respond to our e-mails. Sound good?
This time we got clever. You see, because we're examining a 90 day period, usually the results don't change very fast. So we thought--a-ha!--since we're off on Friday, July 3 in the U.S, we'll be superefficient and shoot the search terms video early so we get ahead. What could possibly go wrong with that plan?
Well, let's see: Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Billy Mays, and freaking Michael Jackson all died between the time we shot and the time we published, which is today. A quick check of Insights yesterday did show that only Michael Jackson has broken into the Top 5 searches. So most of what we shot is still accurate.
In any case, please watch the video with that timing in mind, and know that the next time we shoot, we'll make sure we publish much closer to shoot time. Oh, and don't forget to come back here after watching to answer the trivia question and win the lame prize. There are five chances this time!
Update:STILL nobody has it. OK, here's a few hints. It's the *fastest rising term* for the three months through June 18th. It's something American. If you do the search March through May, you'll find it in the top 5. If you do the search April through June, it takes all of june and throws off the results. last update
American Idol! Finally five people got it. Congrats to mackid1993, Jelly11293, jsquigs, maynard_13th, and matthew01s. Oh and matthew01s, you only have to post your answer once. It only counts once anyway. Also, folks, make sure a real email address is in your profile, or we won't be able to contact you to get the address where you want the prize sent. Thanks!
I'm not necessarily looking to pile on Microsoft Bing or jump on the #bingfail bandwagon. But a lot has been written about how Bing's video searches often return full-motion porn that's not easily blocked, while its SafeSearch options are incredibly easy to turn off. Lately, I've run into a very specific issue with Bing that is both hilarious and indicative of the problem with overly broad filtering. Perhaps it's easiest to simply illustrate the problem.
Here's what happens when I conduct a Google image search for my name.
Here's what Bing returns.
As it turns out, there is an adult film star who shares the name Molly Wood. I know. Bummer for me. So, Bing has apparently decided that any image search for my name is simply too dangerous to return any results at all. And the only recourse for me to find the perfectly innocent images you see in the Google results above is to turn off the SafeSearch filter and take my chances on the porn star showing up. So, I tried that. And I am scarred for life. (Do not do this!) Apparently Bing doesn't even know I exist, but I now know a whole lot about the other Molly Wood, if you know what I'm saying.
I know this isn't a problem most of you are likely to run into, but to me, it's indicative that Bing's got some pretty big kinks to work out (so to speak), in terms of its algorithm and determining relevant results. Then again, Yahoo seems to think I'm a puppy. Maybe I just have some personal SEO issues.
UPDATE: As of today (one day after this post was published), a Bing image search on my name returns plenty of perfectly SFW images, and many of them are even of me! I am a little curious about this guy, though.
This week's Top 5 gives you a look inside the group mind of the United States. We took a look at Google's search reports to find out what searches had been the big gainers over the past three months. Sort of a peek into the collective psyche of the country.
And yes, once again there are prizes. So watch the video, get the questions, then post your answers below. Of the first 10 folks to answer correctly, one will win an actual Jonathan Coulton "Skullcrusher Mountain" T-shirt, size small. Hint on the answer: it involves a Web 2.0 company and the method of getting into that company's site. Good luck!Yes, I am going for click bait with that title. And here's what "Sugarlumps" is all about (warning: some explicit language, but it's Flight of the Conchords, not hard-core rap). See it in HD on CNET TV proper.
Chris DiBona, Open source manager at Google talks about Android, open source, and more.
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First Look
Moxia Energy USBCell AA NiMH batteries
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Customise your Windows Vista log-in
Your video calls
Jacob's questions: Should you upgrade a two-year-old Gateway computer to Windows Vista?
You can use Microsoft's Windows Vista upgrade adviser to get its advice. I'd probably hold off still. An older computer is more likely to have issues with Vista than a brand-new or recently purchased computer. See the video for Brian Cooley's tips on Zune-management issues if you do upgrade.
Your calls
In response to an e-mail, Brian Cooley recommended a couple of outdoor display companies. One is Sunlight LCD and the other is SunBrite TV
Want the most accessible music player between Zune and iPod? The iPod Nano has talking menus, but if that's not enough storage space, Brian Tong noted that the Zune has larger text.
Brian C. pointed a caller with about 3,000 photos to high-speed scanners. He also pointed out ScanCafe as an example of a service that will do the scanning for you..
Will pre-N or Draft-N wireless routers be firmware upgradable to 802.11N once the standard is completed? The short answer is probably not. Vendors have said they'd like to where possible, but can't make any promises.
A SMART error on a hard drive stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology. Back up your files right away and prepare for a hard drive crash. If you run into odd error messages and want some help interpreting them, try Bug.GD.
E-mail us!
Whether it's a regular text note, or a recorded video question, you can send it to cnetlive@cnet.com. Keep your videos to 15 seconds or less, post them to a Web site like Youtube, and then e-mail us the link.
It's all about Macs today! Plus a look at the new T-Mobile G1, aka Google phone. And, of course, our second round of video questions. Thanks to Ross and Brad! Keep 'em coming to cnetlive@cnet.com. (No attachments, please.)
Watch the show on CNET TV.
E-mail answer Here's Ed's e-mail answering our caller from last week who couldn't get XP to install on his Windows Vista drives.
On your CNET Live from October 9, you had a caller trying to install XP on a Vista PC but it wouldn't recognize any of his hard drives. The problem is that either XP doesn't have the drivers for his hard drive controller, or he needs to turn off the flash cache on his controller. He can download the controller driver from the hardware manufacturer onto a disc, and then press F6 during the install when it prompts for unsupported hard drive/RAID controllers. Or, turning off the flash cache should allow XP to see the controller. I had this problem on a Dell Vostro laptop, and actually had to do both (disable the flash cache on the controller in BIOS and install drivers off a CD). Not sure if there is a way to get this solution to the caller, but at least you'll know for next time.
Ed Buck
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Ross's questions: There isn't an IP camera made today that also puts out video via USB or even FireWire that Brian C. can find. There ARE some IP cameras that have a video output, and if you ran that out to a video-capture card on your PC, voila. Look at Sony's SNCP5 ($460) coupled with the ADS Tech video capture device for ($50). Add the Sony SNC-ACFW1 Wi-Fi card for about $140. The cam supports PoE natively.
Tom suggested using WebcamMax or ManyCam to capture the screen with the IP camera software running so you can see the video. The frame rate may not be great, but it might work.
Brad's questions: We edited Brad's questions to just one, the one about sticky notes. Remember folks, keep your questions at 15 seconds. You can find lots of sticky-note programs at download.com. Try Notezilla.
Your calls
Mac or PC? That's almost like asking whether you should be Republican or Democrat. PCs are often more cost-effective, although articles have been done that dispute how much that's true. I'd say if you can afford the higher price, it's nice to be able to run Windows on a Mac. For the bargain-hunter, I'd stick with PC.
If you have Windows on a Mac in boot camp, you can easily remove it. Here are the steps.
Solid-state drives are getting cheaper. Brian C says if you want to wait for the cheapest, hold off a couple years. Here's a search on SSD price drops to give you some perspective.
Need some low-light cameras? Lori Grunin did a great job rounding up some compacts for you.
E-mail us!
Whether it's a regular text note, or a recorded video question, you can send it to cnetlive@cnet.com. Keep your videos to 15 seconds or less, post them to a Web site like Youtube, and then e-mail us the link.
Ivan Kanevski from GlassBooth stops by to discuss his website and other resources for researching your decision on who to vote for in the 2008 US election.
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Product Spotlight
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Your calls
A few ways to sync your iTunes across several computers. Syncopation and SyncOTunes work on Macs.
Andrea called in to suggest a couple security programs. An alarm for your Mac called iAlertU will make noise and take pictures if the laptop is stolen. Adeona is a free open source tracking service. I also suggested TrueCrypt and Back to my Mac.
This should, in no way, be considered an official review--see CNET and CNET News for the proper shebang. I've just been using Chrome for a few hours and thought I'd dash off some quick thoughts.
First: It is fast as you-know-what. It feels super-responsive, so much so that I first thought it must be a trick. The tabs almost seem to click themselves; the autocomplete is so speedy that I thought it was reading my mind. After download and launch, it pulled in not only my bookmarks but, apparently, also my Awesome Bar history. Once I loaded it up and typed "T," Twitter.com was almost already loaded in the tab. It was slightly terrifying, actually. One note: Chrome did not import my Firefox Live Bookmarks--the RSS feeds that appear in a drop-down from the menu bar, and it sadly doesn't have this as a feature at all.
The "tabs-on-top" interface is actually a tiny bit off-putting at first. I'm so used to tabs being below the URL bar that I initially felt confused about which ones I had opened. Also, there are no traditional menus for...well, anything. There's almost no text whatsoever at the top of the browser window. No File, Edit, View, Tools, etc. You've got a wrench for the very minimal selection of customization settings and a button to the left of that where you access the menu items you normally find in "File," "Edit," and "Tools," along with a Developer option where you'll find Chrome's Windows-style Task manager (and a JavaScript debugger and console, which I think I might really need...see below).
There's not even a separate search bar; you conduct everything from the URL bar. I did discover that the Ctrl-K keyboard shortcut that normally puts your cursor in the search bar in Firefox adds a little question mark to the Chrome URL bar, so the browser knows for sure that you're conducting a search. But it's not really necessary. If you type anything but a URL into the URL bar, Chrome does a search. I like it, but it takes a little getting used to.
... Read moreGot this lovely e-mail from the fine folks at Google Video today. The one Deep Space Nine video I bought from them isn't really mine after all. It turns out they're shutting off all Google Videos after August 15. That's right, if you bought a video from Google Video store, looks like you won't be able to watch it after that date. Yep, even though you paid for it. Ain't DRM lovely? They were nice enough to give me a credit I can use at Google Checkout, but no actual refund.
Here's the e-mail:
Hello,
As a valued Google user, we're contacting you with some important information about the videos you've purchased or rented from Google Video. In an effort to improve all Google services, we will no longer offer the ability to buy or rent videos for download from Google Video, ending the DTO/DTR (download-to-own/rent) program. This change will be effective August 15, 2007.
To fully account for the video purchases you made before July 18, 2007, we are providing you with a Google Checkout bonus for $2. Your bonus expires in 60 days, and you can use it at the stores listed here.The minimum purchase amount must be equal to or greater than your bonus amount, before shipping and tax.
After August 15, 2007, you will no longer be able to view your purchased or rented videos.
If you have further questions or requests, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your continued support.Sincerely,
The Google Video Team
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