July 2005 Archives

If you didn't know already know corporations have been trying to patent everything these days since the US Patent Office seems to let just about anything through now. Now Google is joining the fray by trying to patent ads in RSS feeds. The problem is someone else thought of the idea and used it first. But big corporations have the money to get the process pushed through. Read on.

Google Patenting Ads in Syndicated Feeds?: "

Apparently Google has filed for a patent in 'Incorporating targeted ads into information in a syndicated, e.g., RSS, presentation format in an automated manner.'

Uh Oh. TechDirt reports on this disturbing idea. After all, many folks have been doing this for some time...

Patent here.

(Via John Battelle's Searchblog.)

SpaceRef recently started featuring Google's Ads and although they aren't as optimized as they should be yet, they will be when I get back, the results have been pretty good. Interesting to note that our web site Commercial Space Watch gets the highest clcickthrough rate. The following article from Search Engine Watch is worth reading.

Goodman Revisits AdWords Changes & Importance Of Clickthrough: "The Importance of Clickthrough Rate (CTR): Has it Changed? from Andrew Goodman at Traffick is a very long look at recent changes to how Google is making use of clickthrough rate as part of its ad system. He highlights that AdRank is no longer CPCxCTR but instead takes in some other factors such as historical performance or ads with certain unspecified characteristics. In short, it's CPCxQS, with QS being a quality score made up of some things an advertiser can't visibly see. So an end to the importance of clickthrough? Andrew hopes not, seeing clickthrough as still a great indicator..."

(Via Search Engine Watch Blog.)

Ok, so I have been remiss in posting material on my blog about the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) Research Station and the fact that right now I'm in the high Arctic supporting the project. The picture to the right is of our group watching the space shuttle Discovery launch this morning.

I've been in the high Arctic since July 16, first in Resolute Bay and now at the project site on Devon Island next to the Haughton crater.

There's some incredible research going on here inlcuding a prototype Mars greenhouse, Mars drilling, various geology and biology projects, advanced communications, robotics, spacesuit systems testing, a Mars rover and much more.

Nanotech is an area I try to keep up to speed on especially when it concerns space or medical applications. Howard Lovy writes an article Wired that showcases how medical nanobots might one day fight diseases such as cancer. Personally my attitude is that if I can keep myself healthy long enough I might benefit from some of these future technologies which could extend my life.

Nanotech Moves Closer to Cure: "Dr. James Baker and his lab at the University of Michigan are turning tiny, tendril-covered particles into weapons against disease and illness. By Howard Lovy."

(Via Wired News.)

I tested the new Google home page features but I'm not impressed at this point. After all I've been using Yahoo's "My Yahoo" home page for years and it is very polished. I'll keep you posted if there are any new features worth talking about.

New Google Homepage Features: "SecularG writes 'It seems that Google has added new features to it's Personalized Home. To edit the content of your personalized homepage you click 'Add Content' in the top right, and a list of options slide out from the left. You can add your own bookmarks, select from more news feeds, and add your own RSS news feeds.' Of course since Slashdot is already available from their default list of technology sites, why would you need the ability to include an RSS feed?"

(Via Slashdot.)