WWW Newsbytes: Google Desktop Search, MP3 Player Wars, Pod Casting, AP RSS Feeds

Newsbytes From The World Wide Web: Google Desktop Search Utility, MP3 Player Wars, Pod Casting, Associated Press RSS Feeds Now Available

Newsbytes From The World Wide Web

- by Jim Edwards

© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
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** Google Desktop Live **

Google's free desktop search utility made it out of the
"beta" stage and users can now download a finished 1.0
version from http://desktop.google.com for free.

With improvements over the "beta" version released in 2004,
the finished version not only allows you to search your own
computer for Microsoft Office documents, emails, and
instant messaging history, but now supports music, video,
images, PDF files, and the Firefox and Netscape Web
browsers.

In their never-ending quest to make their name synonymous
with "search," Google's Desktop Search utility makes a bold
step towards dominating the desktop search market.

Available for Windows XP and Windows 2000, Google's desktop
search remains miles ahead of MSN and Yahoo!, who released
their own beta version desktop search utilities several
months after Google.

Google also chose to create an environment friendly to
third-party software developers by encouraging them to
develop "plug ins" that expand the capabilities of their
Desktop Search application.

By allowing others to add their "two-cents" to the program,
Google will further cement their position as the leader in
this emerging field of "desktop" search.

** MP3 Player Wars Boiling Over **

In response to Apple's iPod Shuffle, a low priced flash
memory MP3 audio player, Sony announced plans to offer a
comparably low priced MP3 player in the $100 to $150 range.

This in response to complaints from consumers that Sony's
past MP3 player offerings rated too expensive next to the
feature-rich iPpod.

Consumers can expect several developments in response to
Sony's entry into the "Under $150" MP3 player market.

First, increased use of the portable players will cause
related businesses selling the actual MP3's and accessories
to experience continued growth, both online and offline.

Second, a new trend known as "pod casting" is getting set
to explode.

"Pod casting" involves content providers (radio dj's,
entrepreneurs, columnists, musicians) creating MP3 audio
content and then making it super simple for listeners to
automatically download these "broadcasts" online and listen
to them at their convenience.

The fact that consumers can now get their hands on the
equipment to download and listen to these broadcasts so
cheaply means a whole world of amateur dj's and talk show
hosts is about to hit the cyber-airwaves.

Though you've heard rumblings about it, and people are
grasping around in the dark trying to get a grip on how
to implement it, now you can actually plan to see and hear
about the widespread use of "pod casting" in the very near
future since a potential audience of listeners with the
right equipment is now set to grow.

** Associated Press Offers RSS Feeds **

The Associated Press now offers RSS feeds of their top news
stories. RSS (Real Simple Syndication) makes it possible
for content providers to offer instant updates to their
readers without sending email.

Anyone with an RSS reader such as FeedDemon
(www.feeddemon.com) can receive and read RSS feeds.

Traditionally, the Associated Press marketed their services
exclusively to newspapers and online sources such as Yahoo!
News.

Now, by offering their RSS feeds directly to consumers at
www.ap.org, the Associated Press is obviously seeking to
bypass online news sources and go directly to the consumer.

The fact that the world's oldest and largest news source
has chosen to start offering content this way demonstrates
quite clearly that RSS is fast coming of age as an
acceptable mass-communication medium and that widespread
consumer adoption is imminent.

Soon, there'll be an RSS reader on every computer desktop
and the use of RSS will become as widespread as email.

--
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how
to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted
visitors to your website, affiliate links, or blogs...

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