SearchEngineUpdate with Vanessa Zamora - 04-10-2008 Part I
Abstract: 1. IAC to Kick Off Start-Up Web Sites, In First Steps Of Split, 2. Microsoft To Unveil Traffic Jam Resolution Technology
Vanessa Zamora
Video Content Producer, SearchEngineWorld
4:29 pm on April 10, 2008 (utc 0)
Transcript
Thursday April 10, 2008
IAC to Kick Off Start-Up Web Sites, In First Steps Of Split
Barry Diller, chairman of Ask.com parent company IAC has announced plans to release a series of start up Web sites aimed at specific groups and covering special interests. IAC, which will be separated from its other four largest businesses as early as this summer, will comprise 30 or so Web ventures, among them search engine Ask.com, dating site Match.com and the start up sites. The first site, which launched today, is called RushmoreDrive.com, and caters to the black community by offering relevant search results, news and job listings. Other projects reportedly in development include a site aimed at news fans, a virtual-world Web site targeting children and "tweens” with a focus on helping the environment and others, and a personal-finance site called FiLife, scheduled to launch by the end of June. IAC has had mixed success with its Web start-ups in the past, but is hopeful that its latest sites will take off successfully.
Microsoft To Unveil Traffic Jam Resolution Technology
Microsoft plans to release a mapping service that uses a software, called Clearflow, to provide drivers with directions to avoid traffic jams on both freeways and side streets. The software works by taking into account traffic patterns, derived by software algorithms that model traffic behavior and actual trip data collected over four years, when delivering directions to drivers. The Clearflow mapping service, developed by artificial intelligence researchers at Microsoft, is part of Microsoft’s efforts to catch up with Google, the dominant search engine provider, by offering a variety of related services surrounding its Live search service. The Microsoft Clearflow system will be available for free and will cover 72 cities in the United States.
4:29 pm on April 10, 2008 (utc 0)