mediajunk

Tidbit: Yahoo has this week from giving 20 results per page (which it had done for years, since it started) to giving 10. Why? Because Google has 10 results per page.

If you can't beat 'em, copy 'em.

Speculation is mounting that Google is planning to launch its own web browser. The New York Post reports that "based on the half-dozen hires in recent weeks, Google appears to be planning to launch its own Web browser and other software products to challenge Microsoft."

Possible clue: certain bloggers have reported seeing an as-yet unidentified browser from the Google domain visiting their sites.

Another clue: a WHOIS search on the domain Gbrower.com reveals that the name is registered to Google.

Some in the internet industry have been crying out for Google to create a browser -- as a serious challenger to Internet Explorer, the first since the demise of Netscape -- for years. See usability consultant John Rhodes's article on the subject, written in 2001.

More recently, Jason Kottke wrote:

Google could use their JavaScript expertise (in the form of Gmail ubercoder Chris Wetherell) to build Mozilla applications. Built-in blogging tools. Built-in Gmail tools. Built-in search tools. A search pane that watches what you're browsing and suggests related pages and search queries or watches what you're blogging and suggests related pages, news items, or emails you've written.

Personally, I think we'll see the gBrowser soon. I expect it will follow HTML and CSS standards more closely than it's Microsoft rival, and will probably come with a few bells and whistles that nobody else has yet thought of.

This map says it all. Notice that Ireland is an offender (gasp!) while, contrary to popular belief, African nations hardly figure at all.