Google launches Cross-Language Enterprise Search (InfoWorld)

Google launched on Thursday an innovative cross-language search feature that is sure to be welcomed by any global organization. Cross-Language Enterprise Search works only with the Google Enterprise Search Appliance and will find internal documents written in any language, no matter what language was used to create the query.

With more and more companies linking their global systems, by simply pointing the search engine to each system the cross-language feature will find the documents in any one of 34 languages. Keep up on the latest tech news headlines at InfoWorld News, or subscribe to the Today's Headlines newsletter.

"Google Search Appliance is meant to mix 30 million documents, since the search appliance can do that all you have to do is point to all the servers," said Cyrus Mystry, product manager, Google Enterprise Labs[cq].

The cross-language tool also uses Google's machine translation technology to automatically translate the document if that feature is activated by the administrator through a dropdown menu. Otherwise, it can bring back the search results in the language they were written in.

While machine translation is notoriously inaccurate, Mystry noted that the Web has a vast amount of documents that are in multiple languages, and Google uses that along with statistical analysis to create a more accurate rendering of one language into another. Recently, Google also created a translation feature that allows users to enter text or a Web URL and have it automatically translated.

Mystry said the goal of the Enterprise Labs is to develop and launch a new feature every six to eight weeks by posting innovations from over 10,000 Google engineers, and then making it available to about 55,000 visitors who can test the feature.

Opera 9.6 is out! - Download now

Popular web browser Opera just pushed out a new stable release featuring overall speed improvements, several cool feature updates, and a laundry list of bug fixes. Opera still has all the excellent features that made us declare that Opera is still in the browser race with its previous release, but this latest release is faster, and it continues to add innovative features that most browsers only support through third-party extensions. Keep reading for a closer look.

Opera 9.6 has been released. Some highlighted changes are :

• Link it: Opera Link now lets you also synchronize custom Search engines and typed History. So any website address you typed in one computer will be available in all your other computers.
• Feed Preview: Click on the feed icon and you will see it in a clean and efficient layout especially formated for your window size. This makes it easier to see the feeds content before subscribing to it or even bookmarking it for quickly viewing what’s new in a page without distractions.
• Speed Enhancement: Go on, surf around, you’ll notice the Web is snappier in Opera 9.6 with faster page loading than previous versions.

View the full changelog Here

Download Opera 9.6

Create and alter photos and graphics manually or via scripting with GIMP

The Gimp is the open source reference in image manipulation. This free application will allow you to retouch, author and edit your photos thanks to a wide set of tools.

Let’s quickly go through what you can do with the Gimp. The painting function has the essential clone, airbrush or pencil tools and a powerful gradient and blend tool. You can also create and save your own brushes and patterns for later use. The program lets you manipulate your photos, adding layers, doing Bezier and polygonal selections or setting text. Load and save animations in a frame-as-layer format and batch process all your photos for quick editing. The multi-windowed interface can be moved around to fit your needs and resized according to your desktop space.

What’s more, the Gimp can be expanded with over 100 different plug-ins and extensions available on the Gimp’s website. These apply in majority for layer effects such as render, distort or blur and make a great addition to the ones already present in the program.

While the Gimp is user friendly, the installation process can result a bit hairy. Because the application works under the GTK Runtime Environment, you will have to install this kit to successfully launch the program. The process is fairly lengthy and some error messages tend to pop up, however if you persist, you will be able to install the Gimp properly on your PC

Despite this fairly hazardous installation process, the Gimp is a program we recommend. Whether you’re out of dough or are looking for a free alternative to Photoshop, the Gimp is excellent image manipulation software with all the tools you’d expect. The friendly interface and expandability make this a program of choice.

Note : You need GTK+ 2 Runtime Environment 2.4.14 or higher

Visit GIMP HERE

Massive World War II collection debuts online

An online collection of World War II documents, billed as the world's largest, debuted last week. Footnote.com, which archives historical documents on the Web, developed the collection with the National Archives and Records Administration.

The collection starts with 9 million "hero pages" profiling individual U.S. veterans of World War II with data taken from Army enlistment records. Veterans and their families and friends can add further information and photos.

The project also includes an online reproduction of the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, which is inscribed with the names of more than 1,100 crewmen who died when the battleship was sunk on Dec. 7, 1941. Visitors to the Web site can search for the names of the victims.

Other highlights of the collection include the personnel rolls of Pearl Harbor, reports of missing air crews, submarine patrol reports and naval press clippings. Also included are extensive analyses of the Allied bombing strategy against Japan, including target photographs.

Footnote.com Chief Executive and President Russ Wilding says the collection will mark the debut of 50,000 photos exclusive to the site.

"Our hope is to engage people to share their stories about relatives and friends who served in World War II," he says. "Many of the veterans have passed away, and the number of living World War II veterans continues to shrink. We're trying to facilitate the capturing of stories before they're lost forever."

Complete List of Best SEO - Tools

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MapMyPage.com - Add Google Maps To Your Site

This suitably-named initiative self-describes itself as “the fastest, easiest way to add Google Maps to any website”. Basically, MapMyPage enables any blogger or webmaster to add maps to all the locations mentioned in the webpage by simply copying and pasting one line of JavaScript.

Such a service clearly benefits both parties: webmasters add a touch of finesse and interactivity to their sites, whereas visitors can have immediate access to information that formerly would have been either laborious to get or simply unavailable. For instance, they can easily view a travel destination on their screens or get the directions to any local business straightaway, and even save addresses to a GPS.

The site comes complete with a FAQ and a wealth of live examples in case you want to see how this system is implemented, but the approach in itself is quite simple and this service is very easy to put into practice. Consult www.mapmypage.com for additional information. Besides, you can sign up for the free monthly newsletter and have updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Visit MapMyPage Here