Yahoo Launches Web Browser Axis, Makes Searches More Visual

Yahoo Launches Web Browser Axis, Makes Searches More Visual
24/05/2012 by Emily Price on Mashable

Google isn’t the only search engine in town with it’s own web browser. Yahoo announced its own new browser Wednesday evening: Axis.

Working seamlessly between your iPhone, iPad and desktop computer Yahoo is aiming to streamline your searches and connect your experience across devices by giving you access to the same information no matter what device you’re accessing it on.

Visual previews of sites in Axis eliminate the traditional step in web searches where you’re looking through links and replaces that experience with an image of the website you’ll be going to. Some searches can even be done without leaving the page you’re on.

IOS

Tapping the Axis Bar -– which combines the search box and address bar into one -– will bring up a list of trending searches. You can tap a particular trending search to learn more, or enter your own search term or website address into the bar.

Answers will begin to appear automatically for common searches like movie times and weather, often allowing you to see what you’re looking for without having to leave the page you’re on.

For other searches the browser will create a row of visual previews to websites matching your specific query. You can swipe through the results, and then tap on a picture to visit a specific page. If you don’t like the result you’ve selected you can swipe across the screen to check out the next search result.


An Axis homepage gives you access to the sites you’ve recently visited not only on your iOS device, but also on your home computer or any other device you might use running Axis. So, the homepage on your iPad will show a website you visit frequently on your iPhone, or one you check out often while browsing at home.

Searches can also be continued from one device to another. For instance, a “Continue from iPhone” button will appear on your iPad and allow you to continue viewing search results you were looking at one your phone on a bigger screen.


On your computer

On your computer Axis is a plug-in for your favorite web browser rather than a stand-alone product of its own. Available for Chrome, Firefox, IE, and Safari, the Axis toolbar shows up at the bottom of your web browser and can be used much like the iOS version to see visual previews of sites, and to look up information without leaving the page you’re on.

The homepage option is also available within your browser, allowing you to look at favorite websites and continue viewing search results from your iPhone or iPad.

Axis is available now. What do you think of the web browser. Can you see yourself using it? let us know in the comments.

Google and Facebook in White House web privacy sights

Google and Facebook in White House web privacy sights

The White House has called on internet firms to develop stronger privacy protections for consumers.

The move comes amid worries that browsing information is being tracked and given to advertisers.

State attorneys in 36 states recently sent a letter of concern over Google's plan to share personal information across its products.

As part of the announcement, the firms' ad networks said they would support a "Do Not Track" browser option.

The US has advocated since 2010 for "Do Not Track", a one-click option to prevent information gathered while web browsing being shared with third parties.

'Bill of rights'
In a statement, President Barack Obama outlined a "consumer privacy bill of rights".

The White House said internet users should have the right to limit the context in which information was collected, should be allowed to correct information and should have the right to transparency in privacy policies.

Companies like Google and Facebook have signed on to develop guidelines based on the "bill of rights", enforceable by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

"American consumers can't wait any longer for clear rules of the road that ensure their personal information is safe online," Mr Obama said.

"As the internet evolves, consumer trust is essential for the continued growth of the digital economy."

Privacy complaints
Privacy advocates will be involved with the development of the new guidelines, but some remain concerned about the firms' ability to self-regulate.

"The real question is how much influence companies like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook will have in their inevitable attempt to water down the rules that are implemented and render them essentially meaningless," John Simpson, who works on privacy issues for Consumer Watchdog, told the New York Times.

Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, called the announcement "the clearest articulation of the right to privacy by a US president in history".

However, he told Reuters news agency there were "real concerns about implementation and enforcement".

The FTC has taken previous action against Facebook and Google over privacy complaints, both of which were settled in 2011.

While US legislators have argued that online tracking should be curtailed, little has been done.

Any guidelines developed by US officials in concert with internet firms would be enforceable by the FTC once agreed on, but would not necessarily apply to companies that did not sign on.



Source: BBC

Facebook and Google remove 'offensive' India content

Internet Firms

Facebook and Google say they have complied with an Indian court directive and removed "objectionable" material.

They are among 21 web firms, including Yahoo and Orkut, facing a civil suit in Delhi accusing them of hosting material that may cause communal unrest.

A criminal case of similar allegations is due to be heard next month.

Judges have threatened to block sites that fail to crack down on offensive content, but many firms say it is impossible to pre-filter material.

Late last year, Communications Minister Kapil Sibal met officials from Google, Facebook and other websites and said the government would introduce guidelines to ensure "blasphemous material" did not appear on internet.

The Delhi High Court last month asked Facebook and Google India to "develop a mechanism to keep a check and remove offensive and objectionable material from their web pages" or "like China, we will block all such websites".

'Constitutional issue'

The civil case being heard in Delhi on Monday was filed by Muslim petitioner Mufti Aizaz Arshad Kazmi, who alleged the companies were hosting material intolerant to religious sentiment.

Google and Facebook told the court they had complied with an earlier order by a Delhi district court judge to take down certain material.

Google said: "This step is in accordance with Google's longstanding policy of responding to court orders."

Facebook India said it had also filed its compliance report.

Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and others all argued that no action should be taken against them.

But the judge insisted the 22 firms should provide a written reply within 15 days detailing the removal of the material.

A second, criminal case - brought by Hindu journalist Vinay Rai - is scheduled to be heard next month, with leading company executives summoned to appear.

However, a Delhi High Court judge will rule next week on an appeal by the firms involved for the case to be quashed.

A spokesman for Microsoft said it had "filed an application for rejection of the suit on the grounds that it disclosed no cause of action against Microsoft".

Google India has argued that it is not feasible to pre-monitor material posted by "billions of people across the globe".

Google lawyer, NK Kaul, said in an earlier court hearing that the issue also related "to a constitutional issue of freedom of speech and expression, and suppressing it was not possible as the right to freedom of speech in democratic India separates us from a totalitarian regime like China".

Facebook says policies are in place that enable people to report abusive content.

In December, Mr Sibal said: "My aim is that insulting material never gets uploaded. We will evolve guidelines and mechanisms to deal with the issue. [The companies] will have to give us the data, where these images are being uploaded and who is doing it."

Mr Sibal was angered by morphed photos of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, as well as pigs running through Islam's holy city of Mecca.

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5 moves Yahoo's new CEO should make now

The perpetually struggling Internet giant has a new CEO. Here's what he must do first.

FORTUNE -- When Scott Thompson starts as CEO of Yahoo on Monday, he'll have his work cut out for him.

yahoo

Once an Internet pioneer, Yahoo's (YHOO) luster has worn off after an epic string of fits and starts, including a parade of unsuccessful CEO -- some of whom have not left quietly -- and a decline in net revenues over the last 12 consecutive quarters. Still, the company currently employs some 13,700 people and attracts some 700 million monthly visitors worldwide.

In Thompson, Yahoo will have a CEO known for being technical and detail-oriented. Those qualities served him well as PayPal president. Under Thompson's guidance, the online payment service became the fastest-growing segment of eBay's (EBAY) overall business and now accounts for 37% of eBay's total revenues. But Thompson is a boss who's never had to deal with a turnaround of the size he now faces. "Every breath he takes will be under such scrutiny by everybody, within Yahoo and from advertisers and Wall Street," says Gartner analyst Allen Weiner. "People are not going to say: Let's give him a couple of months to get started."

Thompson seems to get that. At his first company all-hands meeting, he reportedly told employees the company needs to dedicate a good chunk of resources to new services that might not be profitable in the short-term but benefit the company down the road. And in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he said his goal was to grow a "really big, high-growth business" in a "relatively short period of time," one with compelling services like PayPal.

Here are 5 moves he needs to make to give the company -- and himself -- a fighting chance.

Drop the underdog act.
Forrester research analyst Shar VanBoskirk believes the company has an image problem, comparing them to the college bowling team that doesn't have a chance of winning: you like them because they're the perpetual underdog, not necessarily because they're doing great things."He [Thompson] needs to stop this impression that Yahoo should be apologized for in some way," she says. Yahoo keeps referring to itself as an "iconic Internet brand," which isn't inaccurate -- it's just not unique. The same thing could be said of other Silicon Valley companies. And though it's a soft intangible, it ultimately affects public perception, portraying the company as one that's constantly looking over its shoulder instead of looking to the future. That in turn at least partly affects the company's ability to draw top talent. If you're an up-and-coming twenty-something engineer hot shot, who do you then want to work for: a cutting-edge brand like Facebook or iconic company like Yahoo?

Sell the Asian assets.
One option Yahoo's board is weighing is the sale of its 40% stake in China's Alibaba Group and 35% stake in Yahoo Japan. There likely would be no love lost over such a deal, given the companies' quarrelsome relationship over the years. (Last year, the two got into a public squabble after Alibaba transferred ownership of the online payment service Alipay over to a new company controlled by CEO Jack Ma.). Such a sale could net the company a reported $17 billion, giving Thompson and Yahoo more capital to play with and cut down on distractions. It would also take one of the most contentious issues for investors off the table.

Use that data. 
With 700 million monthly users reading stories on Yahoo, clicking on ads and emailing, the company is sitting on a wealth of data -- it just needs to use it. Thompson acknowledged as much during his first conference call with analysts and in an AdAge interview. "At PayPal, we were able to create an unbelievably compelling business because we used data to understand risk and fraud better than anyone on earth," Thompson told the outlet. "I am more than 100% convinced that there is the same opportunity in the data that is the core of Yahoo's business." AnalystsFortune spoke to agree. Though they're unsure of how the company can best leverage all that data, they believe there's a lot of untapped potential there.

Focus.
In recent years, the company has struggled to answer a basic question: "What is Yahoo?" Responses from top brass have varied over the years, and they haven't necessarily been satisfying to onlookers. At best, it's been described by former CEO Carol Bartz as both a tech and content company. At worst, it's been loosely labeled a global series of Web experiencesdelivered across a variety of devices that "gives people what they want." The company must refine the answer for outsiders and themselves, as it continues to retire declining services and focus on more promising business segments and new projects.

Work on marketing.
It should also be consistent. One area where Yahoo is losing ground is online advertising: the company's share of the $12 billion display ad market dipped from 14% in 2010 to 13% last year, while its share in U.S. search ads revenues dropped from nearly 11% to 8%. A large part of that may be due to the ever-increasing popularity of Facebook and ubiquity of Google (GOOG) for instance, but VanBoskirk argues the company hasn't done a great job packing up their ad products and explaining them to advertisers. "I've reviewed their marketing collateral and every single piece of collateral describes the products in different ways almost like they're trying too hard to get out a clever story about what they do," she says. "I think it'd be so much better if they said, 'we do x, we do y, and we do z.'"