"Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine, impresses users—but not enough to make them switch from Google, TechCrunch reports. Asked to rate Bing’s feature

"Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine, impresses users—but not enough to make them switch from Google, TechCrunch reports. Asked to rate Bing’s features, users in a study by the Catalyst Group thought Bing beat Google in almost every category, including visual design, organization, and filtering options. The exception was search result relevance, in which they found Google and Bing to be equal. Nonetheless, two-thirds of the users said they wouldn’t switch because of their familiarity with Google."

More Families Pull The Plug On Their Home Phone

"Government research shows that more and more households are getting rid of their land line. And for the first time, cell-phone-only homes outnumber those with just land lines."

MySpace to Cut Two-Thirds of Global Work

"MySpace, the social networking website owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, said on Tuesday it plans to cut about two-thirds of its international workforce and close at least four of its offices outside the United States. The proposed restructuring plan would reduce MySpace's international staff to about 150 people from 450, the company said in a statement."

ThisMoment is the Newest Social Networking Debutante

"Vince Broady insists his new site, Thismoment.com, isn’t just another way for you to share videos and pictures with friends, and find out about their likes and dislikes. The site, which debuts today after six months in a private beta, is a place to create “moments,” similar to what you might do on Facebook or Twitter, but also making use of the various media all over the Net."

Report: The College of 2020 - Students (Executive Summary)

This is the executive summary of a report from the Chronicle of Higher Education research division. The actual report costs $75, but I was able to send this executive summary at no cost.

Beta of Free Microsoft Antivirus Suite to be Released Tuesday

"Microsoft is putting consumer antivirus makers on notice Tuesday, when it will release the beta of its Microsoft Security Essentials, a new anti-malware suite. Unlike its predecessor, Live OneCare suite, a subscription service which is being phased out, the new software will be offered for free to consumers."

British Library Publishes Online Archive of 19th-Century Newspapers

"Over two million pages of 19th and early 20th century newspapers go online today, part of the vast British Library collection. . .Searches are free, but users can pay to download information."

Google Set to Add Microblog Search

"Evidence suggests that Google will soon introduce a 'MicroBlogsearch' feature, indexing and searching Twitter and its imitators, Ars Technica reports. Google-watchers noticed a reference to the new feature hidden in Google’s translation service. Unlike Twitter’s own search, which seeks out any and all tweets containing the search terms and displays them chronologically, Google will seek to rank the links by relevance."

Twitter Delays Downtime to Aid Iran Protesters

"Twitter has pushed back work that would have taken the site offline to avoid disrupting the flow of information from Iran, Computer World reports. The site, which has proven to be a vital link between Iranian protesters and the rest of the world, will now be offline 2 to 3 pm Pacific time for essential maintenance. . . "

How MySpace Lost Its Crown

"MySpace was overtaken by Facebook for the first time last month and without some serious innovation, Rupert Murdoch's big buy may end up joining Friendster in the ranks of the also-rans, Dawn Chmielewski and David Sarno write in the Los Angeles Times. The world of social networking moves at an unforgiving pace, the two note, and MySpace has been playing catch-up instead of leading, as its own initiatives tanked."

Koogle: A Search Engine for Orthodox Jews

Koogle is "a Hebrew-language search engine that filters out non-kosher content and appears to meet Orthodox standards."

Broadband Adoption and Prices Increase, Pew Survey Finds

"Pew's annual Home Broadband Adoption Survey released today shows that 63% of Americans now have broadband Internet connections in their homes, up from the 55% in last year's survey. One of the big drivers has been an increasing number of subscribers to premium broadband services. The survey found that 34% of users reported subscribing to premium services in 2009, up from 29% in 2008. By contrast, the percentage of broadband subscribers who used basic services held about steady at 53%."

Microsoft Search Still Growing with Bing: comScore

"Microsoft Corp's share of Internet searches continued to grow for a second week after the introduction of its new search engine Bing, industry tracker comScore Inc said on Wednesday. ComScore said Microsoft's share of search result pages in the United States rose to 12.1 percent for the period of June 8-12, up from 11.3 percent in the June 1-5 period, and up from 9.1 percent in the work week prior to Bing's introduction."

Opera Unite Attempts to Reinvent the Web

Opera today launched a nifty new service that allows anyone to use the Opera browser as a server to host rich content. Whether the free service -- called Opera Unite -- helps the Oslo, Norway-based browser maker grab market share from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Chrome remains to be seen.

Facebook Tests New Search Feature

"At last, Facebook is beginning to test an expanded search feature that will plumb more than just member profiles and start dipping into content. The test is beginning with only a tiny fraction of folks on the social networking service, though, so it's unlikely you'll see the new features any time soon. . ."

Librarians Fighting Google's Book Deal

"'This is a monumental settlement that's at stake, and for the government to show this kind of attention is heartening,' says Lee Van Orsdel, dean of university libraries at Grand Valley State University. 'The increased scrutiny on the part of the DOJ tells us that our concerns are resonating far beyond the library community,' concurs Corey Williams, associate director in the office of government relations at the American Library Association."

Family Time Eroding in U.S. as Internet Use Soars

"Whether it's around the dinner table or just in front of the TV, U.S. families say they are spending less time together. The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks, though a new study stopped just short of assigning blame. The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is reporting this week that 28% of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. That's nearly triple the 11% who said that in 2006."

Google's Move Into E-books Could Be Explosive

"E-books may have been a niche technology so far, but Google Inc.'s entry into the market could burst the online business wide open."

Podcast: How Google Book Search Affects Academe

"Depending on whom you ask, Google’s Book Search book-scanning project lays the foundation for a universal, digitized library or creates a dangerous monopoly on information. The Chronicle sat down with Adam Smith, director of product management at Google, to talk about Book Search, the proposed settlement in the authors-and-publishers lawsuit against it, what it means for academic authors and researchers and so-called orphan works, and fears of a Google monopoly. Listen to a podcast of the conversation."

Studies Explore Whether the Internet Makes Students Better Writers

"The rise of online media has helped raise a new generation of college students who write far more, and in more-diverse forms, than their predecessors did. But the implications of the shift are hotly debated, both for the future of students' writing and for the college curriculum. . .A new generation of longitudinal studies, which track large numbers of students over several years, is attempting to settle this argument. The 'Stanford Study of Writing,' a five-year study of the writing lives of Stanford students — including Mr. Otuteye — is probably the most extensive to date. . ."

Time on Social Networks Almost Doubles in a Year

". . .the latest figures showing the number of minutes spent on social networking sites in the United States has almost doubled over the past year."

Colleges Consider Using Blogs Instead of Blackboard

"Mr. Groom is an instructional technologist at the University of Mary Washington, and he was the keynote speaker at an event here on how to better run CUNY's online classrooms. The meeting's focus was an idea that is catching on at a handful of colleges and universities around the country: Instead of using a course-management system to distribute materials and run class discussions, why not use free blogging software — the same kind that popular gadflies use for entertainment sites?"

U.S. Military Using Facebook, Twitter

"The U.S. military in Afghanistan is launching a Facebook page, a YouTube site and feeds on Twitter as part of a new communications effort to reach readers who get their information on the Internet rather than in newspapers, officials said Monday."

Google's Move Into E-books Could Be Explosive

"E-books may have been a niche technology so far, but Google Inc.'s entry into the market could burst the online business wide open."