Google To Answer Your Questions Directly

RabbitWho writes "Last week Google launched a redesign of its search results page, and is now introducing some changes to the content of its results too. The company says it will directly answer 'millions of different fact-seeking searches' with short answers at the top of its results. Search for 'Catherine Zeta-Jones date of birth', for instance, and the date shows up at the top, along with where Google is pulling the information from. Google says the feature is based on Google Squared, the experimental search tool it rolled out a year ago that gathers facts from the around the Web and presents them in an organized way. "

Comments

Questions that need answering

[Wowsers]

So Google will answer questions will it. Okay, how about; Question 1: Why is Youtube uncontactable by email when companies are deliberately taking the P with their copyright claims, because a video you uploaded has 5 seconds of something in a 10 minute clip they take down the whole clip AND trash your "account standing" with Youtube's idiotic three strikes rule. Question 2: Why does Youtube think it is acceptable for unaccountable companies to file bogus DMCA notices on videos, and then expect YOU to give them your life story and inside leg measurement to counter these bogus DMCA notices? My private details are my business, not the property of the company that filed the bogus claims, and not the property of Youtube (who would data mine it for Google for ads my browser doesn't load). Strangely, Google do not have these answers in their search engine.

Re:The 'Decision Engine' ?

[Shakrai]

This, and the left side search refinement panel Google have introduced, are both directly lifted from Bing.

That left side search refinement panel is an eyesore. It's an eyesore at high monitor resolutions and downright painful at smaller ones. Try running a Google search now at 800x600 or 1024x768.

Google made it big in part because of their minimalist interface. They need to provide an opt-out for this new "feature". They've never before forced something like this on their userbase -- new features like iGoogle were always rolled out on an opt-in basis.