Technology Guides

More good news is on the way after word came out that Apple obliterated sales forecasts this quarter in this really slow economy. Apple is introducing new product face lifts including the iMac, MacBook, and Mac Mini. Google seems to have inadvertently started prematurely advertising the new Apple ads and so this is how we came to know this information. Also in the mix is redesigns of the company’s Mighty Mouse and Apple Remote, as well as aluminum wireless keyboards.

Reports are flowing in that signage has been received recently that cannot be opened until further notice from Apple headquarters.

iMac

These new iMacs are supposed to be thinner sporting 20″ and 24″ models. The ads on the Dutch and Italian Google claimed they would be priced at 1099 Euros which in USD translates into $1643.

 

 

 

 

 

The In-Depth Review

MacBook

The new Apple MacBook isn’t supposed to be changed to much except for redesigned polycarbonate with thinner and sleeker enclosures. Obviously with any product update these products are supposed to be faster. No word on pricing yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Minis

Apple’s, Google ad read: Apple’s New Mac Mini. Faster and more affordable than ever. From only € 499. Order immediately. € 499 in USD equals $746 and it’s interesting to note that the current version is € 599.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More details to follow shortly

Popularity: 12% [?]

Google has long dominated the search engine market and with Yahoo and Live way behind, as well as other search engines such as Ask there really isn’t much choice.

Cuil

One that had some big hype was Cuil (pronounced cool) because it is superior to Google in some ways. It indexes 3 times as many web pages as Google does and 10 times more than Microsoft. Now with the partnership between Yahoo and Microsoft things may change for Bing as it will have more freedom as to how it can market itself better. The cool thing about Cuil though, is the way it displays its search results.

As you can see from the above screenshot of my search for Toronto Maple Leafs, it basically becomes like a website displaying it in squares with widgets on the side. Depending on what you search a map will appear or for this particular search a timeline appeared for the Toronto Maple Leaf’s franchise.

Unlike Google you can narrow down your search further by scrolling down and clicking on a category. To me this is really great because there are definitely people like me who can’t search to the full potential of what these sites offer and this helps you search for what you really want. You can also roll over words under “Explore My Category” and get a definition as well as the top results for that word. Another good thing that privacy watchdogs will love is the fact that all searches are private because Cuil does not rely on previous users searches, it relies solely on the web pages and looks at the content rather than the popularity. This to me sums up Cuil “Cuil is an old Irish word for knowledge. For knowledge, ask Cuil.”

FactBites

FactBites has taken a different approach just like Google did when it first entered the industry. It is trying to offer a new services to the vast market of searchers in the world. It is a clean search engine just like Google but it searches slightly differently than Google. Factbites searches for matches on the basis of your whole topic area, not just the keyword. This means that it can return relevant, informative results on your topic that don’t necessarily mention the word you searched for. It also returns search results with a small summary of around 3 points that describe the page so you can have more confidence when you click a search result that it will provide relevant information that pertains to your search. On top of that it tells you how many words are in on that webpage. Sadly it is still in the beta stage so some of your searches won’t work but it will very soon.

KartOO

KartOO was first suggested to me by my high school and I was extremely fascinated by it because of the way it laid out the search results. It displays it in a mind map almost where it links each webpage with another webpage and ever since I started using it I’ve never found a mind map on the first try without a useful link. Usually there are numerous useful links and so I continue to go back. I will continue to update this list with brief descriptions of each and feel free to suggest more you like because we all get bored of Google sometime.

Popularity: 8% [?]