Slashdot Mirror

https://aws.amazon.com/documen...
http://www.a9.com/
https://aws.amazon.com/ses/ & https://aws.amazon.com/workmai...

Ok IAM isn't quite a social network, but the others seem directly comparable. All top notch products with large markets.

Agreed! See also: A9 and Mechanical Turk. Amazon's been doing a lot of interesting projects.

The way most of us would handle that is using a ErrorDocument 404 directive in apache's httpd.conf where if a page is missing we transfer the url to a search page. It's slightly different from what their flowchart seems to suggest.

The first step in the flowchart: "Does char_string start with a predefined prefix, eg "-/"

So if the url is http://a9.com/-/index then it brings up the file otherwise it's a search... I suppose you could write a mod_rewrite rule that parses the two different scenarios... Still stupid, but so focused that none of use would implement this silly way to process this stuff anyway...

Still don't understand why PTO has morons working for them and doesn't invest in some people with IT knowledge to reject these dumb-assed patents before they cost someone a boatload of money...

I've killed some time on this since it's a pretty interesting idea. It turns out there are plenty outside the D and F range. It does seem to like pages with a single Flash object and not much else, so that's bad. It also makes some pretty arbitrary decisions which don't mean squat to many sites. There are some sites that get enough traffic that speed is a factor but not so much that a content delivery network is really necessary, for example.

I skipped the actual link and score on sites that are pretty much just representative of the sites around them. I wanted to include them by name, though, to show where they fall. I've stuck mostly to main index pages, and I've noted where I've gone deeper.

A: Google (99%), Altavista main page (98%), Altavista Babelfish (90%) (including upon doing a translation from English to French), Craigslist (96%), Pricewatch (93%), Slackware Linux, OpenBSD, Led Zeppelin site at Atlantic (100%), supremecommander.com, w3m web browser site (96%)

B: Apache.org (87%), the lighttpd web server (84%), Google Maps, which also got a C once (84% in most cases), Perlmonks (84%), Dragonfly BSD (85%), Butthole Surfers band page (81%), 37 Signals

C: One Laptop Per Child,, ESR's homepage, the Open Source Initiative (78%), Google News (73%), Lucid CMS (74%), Perl.org (75%), lucasfilm.com, Charred Dirt game

D: gnu.org, The Register, A9 (66%), kernel.org, Akamai (64%), kuro5hin.org, freshmeat.net, linuxcd.org, Movable Type (61%), Postnuke, blogster.com, Joel on Software (67%), Fog Creek Software, metallica.com, gaspowered.com, Scorched 3D (68%), id software (64%), ISBN.nu book search

F: MS IIS (49%), microsoft.com, msn.com, linux.com, fsf.org, discovery.com, newegg.com, rackspace.com, the Simtel archive (26%), CNet Download (29%), Adobe (58%), savvis.com, mtv.com, sun.com, pclinuxos.com, freebsd.org, phpnuke.org, use.perl.org, ruby-lang.org, python.org, java.com, Rolling Stones band page (56%), powellsbooks.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, getfirefox.com

My site for my company (96%) gets an A (no, I'm not going to get it slashdotted) which is pretty simple but has a pic and some Javascript on it. Several sites I have done or have helped design with someone else get C or D ratings.

• See an apartment building and its neighborhood when apartment hunting
• checking business addresses to see if they look like a "real" business rather than a rented mailbox, an apartment, etc. to help with deciding whether or not to buy from them
• Not only find restaurants near a location you're going to but also see what they look like. However, this requires the pictures to be relatively up-to-date as restaurants (as well as other businesses) tend to come and go quickly

I'm not quite sure where it went, perhaps it was a casualty of the last revision, but a9 used to have extensive street-level imagery of major cities. For example, as nearly as I could tell, they had continuous photographic coverage of view of both sides of the street for every street in Boston proper.

The images appear to have been taken at street level, e.g. by a truck, and you could read the names on store facades, etc. The view only extended up about one story.

I'm guessing the same outfit that did this for a9 is now doing it for Microsoft and has just put new signs on the sides of their trucks...

It _has_ been done already, and dismissed. Check out this story about an ideantical Amazon's A9 Maps feature.

a9 maps used to do this. Interestingly enough, a9 maps no longer exists. Though now they appear to be in bed with Live

And it was closed down after about a year.

http://news.com.com/Amazon+A9+takes+it+to+the+stre ets/2100-1032_3-5833916.html

http://maps.a9.com/

So it's not 'new'. I think part of the problem is that A9 didn't have their own maps feed.

I wonder if the original submitter happens to browse with the A9 or Alexa toolbars enabled? Both are subsidiaries of Amazon.com. One would need to review their EULA's though to see if said info can be used to target shopping ads from their own site.

And for cool factor, I can find my house.

And for cool factor, I can find my house.

Amazon will have something to say to!!
A9.com

I don't know why Ask.com decided to only allow searches in English but... an attempt to search in Ask.com would provide exactly zero rezults, versus about 10 000 in Google Search or 600 in A9 (basically MSN search).
Yes, English-speaking users in US and Europe are valuable in terms of potential "click-revenue" but cutting out everyone else is, IMHO, bad policy (and Ask.com won't let you look up in Kanji either: this has one "sponsored click-link" versus 100 000 000 results from google with same sponsored link :) ). That's why I don't believe in this "Ask.com will move up in ranks like crazy!" PR stuff. Ask will remain a small engine for very limited use, while other engines will grow along with non-English internet. Now they can be profitable at being small, but there is no significant growth prospect. And Wall Street loves mega-growth prospect...

Since IE4, MSN search has been the default search engine in IE. It was released in 1997 and included in every OS since Windows 98. Explain how this has hurt Google at any point during it's entire history let alone today. Heck. Show me where this button has given MSN search a majority share in search engine hits.

Just noticed something. I Installed IE7 on another machine and went to Google. In the Upper right Corner, there's a box saying "Make Google your Default Search Engine! Click Here!" The link pointing to a program that will set it for you. Heck. Google didn't even have to make a program to change it since IE7 supports OpenSearch, Which works great since I went to This page and installed Google (and set it as my default when I installed it by checkmarking the default box) and wikipedia from there. It's actually easier to change search engines in IE7 than it ever was in IE4-6.

Google has so much brand recognition at this point that if anyone does use the IE7 search regularly, they'll probably switch to Google as their main provider since Google points it out and IE7 makes the switch stupid easy. The only way this would ever change is that Google royally screws up, or MSN search creates a search engine that is undeniably better than Google.

They are. Except for IMDB and Encarta. When you hit "Add search providers" it takes you to this page. If IMDB and Encarta supported OpenSearch, they could be there too.

OpenSearch homepage: http://opensearch.a9.com/
Add this story and suddenly we see why IE includes that standard.

What a fucking idiot. If you spelled "Nintendo" correctly on both sites, you might have a more useful comparison. These results look useful enough to me.

Wall points out that 'A9 is still powered by Google...' A9 is Amazon's primary search project

Doesn't look like it to me

Top right corner - "Powered by Windows Live"

There isn't even the ability to add Google anymore. And their news search is now MSN News rather than Google News.

Compare these searches for "Nintendo Wii" to see what a poor choice they've made:

A9
Google

You might be thinking of A9.

Or if you want to DIY try photomap.mozdev.org

Adam

Nope, Amazon.com...

http://maps.a9.com/?ypLoc=Geary%20and%20Powell%2C% 20San%20Francisco%2C%20CA

Classic slashdot. A ridiculously biased summary, and the last point is completely irrelevant to the subject.

Amen.

Hell yeah! CTO doesnt 'get' blogging!

Yeah, that's why they have a search engine (A9) and remote search protocol (OpenSearch) that's focused on blog type information. All you need to do is to look at the list of sources that it uses and implementations of the spec ... most of them are blogging software.

Having read TFA (after finding it in all the links) seems to me like it's publicity for the offendeds' book, and that they are easily offended when someone is not 100% supportive of them.

-- Az

Classic slashdot. A ridiculously biased summary, and the last point is completely irrelevant to the subject.

Amen.

Hell yeah! CTO doesnt 'get' blogging!

Yeah, that's why they have a search engine (A9) and remote search protocol (OpenSearch) that's focused on blog type information. All you need to do is to look at the list of sources that it uses and implementations of the spec ... most of them are blogging software.

Having read TFA (after finding it in all the links) seems to me like it's publicity for the offendeds' book, and that they are easily offended when someone is not 100% supportive of them.

-- Az

for certain cities, but this is the ultimate in driving directions

http://maps.a9.com/?ypLoc=6975%20Hollywood%20Boule vard%2C%20Hollywood%2C%20CA

It seems that the only secure mannner to communicate is whispering so that no one can hear what is being said.... very low tech!

A9 also uses Google search results. At the bottom of the search results it says, "Search results enhanced by Google. Results also provided by a9.com and Alexa."

I didn't know that.

From that, however, it isn't entirely clear if A9 is just using google's search results or if they actually are doing some of their own search voodoo.

I tried a search for marzipan recipe the results matched a google.com search as you suggest so Alexa's contribution would seem to be the

people who visit this page also visit..

that you see if you mouse over the "site info" button.

If you look at Google's privacy policy for the Google Toolbar we see

Google may collect information about web pages that you are viewing when the advanced functionality is enabled. However, this advanced functionality is optional, and can be easily disabled and re-enabled at any time (by selecting "Privacy Information..." in the Toolbar's "Google" menu.)

So Google appear to be interested in analysing individual browser's web trails, and collecting data, already.

It had information that the driver needed but its reason d'etre (pretentious moi!) was the longer scenic routes that were offered as an alternative. While we are at it the early US car companies financed roads as well.

Internet Explorer 7 will support OpenSearch 1.1, which is an XML document describing how an application can use a search engine.

Ah, thanks for the info. I followed your link and this seems to be a really clever and useful application of RSS. I hope other browser's consider following IE7's lead here.

Don't forget A9 - nice interface, text-only ads.

Shortly after, in 1883, Burton's Kama Shastra society, a kind of sexual anthropological club, published the Kama Sutra for private circulation. The book caused such a furor in sexually repressive Victorian England (imagine, depicting women enjoying sex - the very idea!), that the book was banned and not published for public consumption again until 1963.

But even today, the legacy of Victorian censorship lives on. Many editions of the Kama Sutra still lack the full listing and explanation of the various sexual positions that the ancients knew -- rendering the dull pedantic translations that much more dull and lifeless. Furthermore, many of the inaccuracies of the "Burton" translation (for example, the pervasive bias against women asserting their own will and desires) still color modern editions of the text, prolonging our own cultural stereotype of the demure consenting woman and the lusty assertive man.

For those who have wondered why we are being asked to do this... check out http://maps.a9.com/ Since everyone seems to have their own spin on mapping applications, why not amazon too? But the bigger issue... What are the ethical implications of this? Is this just a way of skirting employment laws? Clearly anyone who is participating is working far below minimum wage with no benefits whatsoever.

If you don't want to support the 767-buying, patent-filing search engine, you could switch to ...

... the search engine that snitches on dissidents to the secret police of totalitarian China!

... the search engine run by a bullying monopoly that has run afoul of anti-trust laws.

... the search engine of another company looking to exploit the patent system.

Suddenly I'm wishing at least one university had held on to its search engine (Stanford had Google and Berkeley Inktomi) before spinning it out to make bucks.

The A9 thing is pretty neat. Doing a 'virtual drive-by' is helpful so you can see that the place you're looking for is just a few doors down from something that stands out (like a fast food place).

Here's a nice starting point to play with (it's the (Mann) Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollyweird) for the maps.a9.com experience.

Here's an example of the first hit searching for "Sex" in Los Angeles at the Yellow Pages site (yp.a9.com) - I guess the City of Los Angeles keeps track of sex acts in the Hall of Records?

Don't forget Amazon:
http://a9.com

Yes, the KDE versus GNOME thing is mostly irrelevant. But your statement that broad acceptance is dependent on having fewer options is probably also true. What often happens in situations like this is that the winner takes all. That ultimately leads to fewer good choices. Sure there will always be choices on the fringe but you can pretty much guarantee that it'll take more effort to live there.

I think this whole discussion is pretty much irrelevant anyway. The real problem with Linux is not applications. The problem is device drivers. I think a huge chunk of the windows market would be happy to use open office, gimp, etc... if they know that when they buy that new wireless card, camera, printer, frikin usb mouse, etc. it would just work. The way this will get resolved is when one of the big boys really decides to compete on the x86 desktop OS market. By big boys, I mean one of IBM, Google, or Apple (yes I know about OS/2). When one of these players starts making deals with device manufacturers you will see a snowball effect in adoption. Granted, it may end up being a BSD based OS. That just underscores my point that the openness of the OS is somewhat of an illusion anyway since one of these companies will end up owning *the* distribution that everyone will standardize on.

16,000 books is small compared to what Amazon started with, 120,000[1]. It's tiny compared to what they have now, which is probably over a million[2] -- and that's just what's live on their website. Who knows how many they have scanned and ready to go? Contrast this to Google Print, who eschew Amazon's "scan what we have" philosophy and instead go for "scan whatever we can lay our hands on." You'd only guess that they have about 200,000 from a simple search[3], but since their program is fairly young it's reasonable to assume that this represents a fraction of the material they haven't yet made live. Plus it was just a search for the number 1, so presumably there are several books that don't contain that particular numeral.

My point, for those of you who were asleep during the first paragraph, is that Project Gutenberg will never come anywhere near to the scope of Google Print, A9, or ultimately Yahoo!.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/507 108/102-4368024-5588945
[2] http://a9.com/4 -- make it show books, not the web
[3] http://print.google.com/print?q=1

>>>I am intrigued by the thought of Kojima actually pulling off realistic urban guerilla
>>>warfare, but wonder if we have reached the stage where we can actually do that.

Why experience it merely in a video game?

This is so much better!

I don't think monopoly means what you think it does.

In the speech, Adam Bosworth predicted that "RSS 2.0 and Atom will be the lingua franca that will be used to consume all data from everywhere" because they "are simple formats that are sloppily extensible."

It's true that many seem to be moving in this direction. For example, A9's OpenSearch is a simple extension to RSS. The Findory API offers simple, RSS-based access to news and blog search results. Yahoo offers a few services through more the more complex Yahoo APIs, but offers many more through Yahoo RSS, including news and web search results.

It seems that most web services may end up standardizing on simple REST protocols using RSS and Atom.

http://a9.com/

Enough said. They use XMLHttpRequest A LOT, and they belong to amazon.com

--Coder

Some related info:

More on Google 3D maps
3D Buildings
Lets start with the big things first. On selected US cities, you can view a grey scale 3D rendering of the city skyline. Pictures are worth more then words so I'll let the screenshots do the talking. ...
This was in Keyhole but it's still amazing. Screenshots really can't capture how amazing it is to freely move around a 3D world.


Amazon's "Blockview"
The most powerful technology A9.com invented for Yellow Pages is "Block View," which brings the Yellow Pages to life by showing a street view of millions of businesses and their surroundings. Using trucks equipped with digital cameras, global positioning system (GPS) receivers, and proprietary software and hardware, A9.com drove tens of thousands of miles capturing images and matching them with businesses and the way they look from the street.

Actually, the convergence of search and syndication is what led A9 to create OpenSearch. OpenSearch is a standard for search results that, not coincidentally, is built as an extension to RSS. In just a couple of months a few hundred sites have adopted it -- seems like there is a market there. (Disclosure, not that there is a conflict of interest there, but I am the lead for the project.)

And it's not just for A9 -- anyone can use OpenSearch to syndicate their search to anyone else. One example of a search aggregator other than A9 using OpenSearch is OSFeed. And example of a search engine that can be accessed by anyone is AWS OpenSearch, which lets you search Amazon via RSS.

So in other words, when done well search and RSS are highly compatible.

Actually, the convergence of search and syndication is what led A9 to create OpenSearch. OpenSearch is a standard for search results that, not coincidentally, is built as an extension to RSS. In just a couple of months a few hundred sites have adopted it -- seems like there is a market there. (Disclosure, not that there is a conflict of interest there, but I am the lead for the project.)

And it's not just for A9 -- anyone can use OpenSearch to syndicate their search to anyone else. One example of a search aggregator other than A9 using OpenSearch is OSFeed. And example of a search engine that can be accessed by anyone is AWS OpenSearch, which lets you search Amazon via RSS.

So in other words, when done well search and RSS are highly compatible.

I was at HP's site yesterday, and those specific models mentioned can be bought in the States with FreeDOS instead of Windows. So unless the HP-supplied Ubuntu CDs come with custom kernel modules, there's nothing stopping US customers from buying these and installing Linux themselves.

I wonder if HP's upcoming special-edition Turion notebook will officially be supported for use with Linux too. That model is going to debut in the States only, but the specs look really tempting.. wide 14" screen, under 6 lbs weight, affordable price; the only question mark at this point is battery life, but it's got to be better than Acer's 15.4" behemoth.

http://a9.com/-/company/YellowPages.jsp

Yahoo has been digitizing the front of buildings in major cities for some time now. It'd be great to see this imagery merged with Google's satellite view data from their KeyHole acquisition, to allow for 3d flythroughs of your favorite metropolitan area.

This could take sites like MapQuest to a new level, providing 3d photo-realistic flythroughs of your route between two locations. Sure beats reading directions!

It's not just A9. My Yahoo Search, My Ask Jeeves, Findory, and A9 all have had this feature for a while.

[Disclaimer: I work at Findory]