The expanse of white space at the bottom of Google's main Web page, possibly the most valuable undeveloped real estate in cyberspace, is about to be subdivided.
Moving more directly into competition with portals like Yahoo, MSN and AOL, the search company on Thursday unveiled a feature that allows users to personalize the Google home page with features they use frequently, like stock quotes, news and e-mail.
Google's goal is to give its users an expansive, one-stop home page.
"It's Google formally declaring that they are a portal," said Danny Sullivan, the editor of searchenginewatch.com, a Web log devoted to the industry. "And it's a very competitive market."
Google announced the new feature, called Fusion, at the end of what it called the Google Factory Tour, a carefully staged daylong event in which it briefed reporters and industry analysts -- more than 100 in person, and 500 more by Webcast -- on its current services and future directions.
Until now, Google has insisted that it is first and foremost a search engine, with no plans to join the portal wars. But it has steadily added services that provide functionality far beyond searching Web pages.
Last year, Google introduced Google Desktop Search, a direct challenge to Microsoft's control of desktop computing, as it searches for information on a user's personal computer as well as on the Web. Yahoo and MSN now offer a similar feature.
For its part, Microsoft this year introduced MSN Search, a bid to counter Google's Web search capability.
"It's obviously another major effort by Google to try to combat the portal lock-in that MSN and Yahoo have," said James Lamberti, vice president of comScore Networks, a market research company.
"The question for Google is how to give consumers more utility with Google as a home page rather than just search," Lamberti said.
Competitors were quick to assert that Google was simply following a trail they had already blazed.
"Yahoo has a long and successful history in personalization," said Helena Maus, a Yahoo spokeswoman. "We launched My Yahoo nine years ago."
My Yahoo, which allows customization of content on the Yahoo home page, had 26 million visitors last month in the US, according to comScore Media Metrix, which tracks Web usage.
Adam Sohn, director of global sales and marketing at MSN, Microsoft's Web portal, said of Google's announcement: "It validates an approach we've had for a very long time. It's a less functional version of stuff we've had in the market since 2001."
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft