Helping Search be more helpful!

It's always gratifying to be able to do something that improves the experience of millions of people. It was very satisfying to launch the "fresh query suggestions" search feature. Check it out!

You should now see more timely related search suggestions on Google.

That's my cloud!

Today, a friend of mine told me about a bunch of engineers who just got handsomely funded for a "Cloud Computing" startup without even having something built. Wow! That's a buzz word! They must be on Cloud 9.

But remember that there are now big players in the cloud - Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! ... Google (my team) just launched dead-simple search for web sites - Google Site Search)- it taps the power of the cloud - so while it may not be Cloud #9, it should be noted that Googol represents a very large number :-).

How friendly are the skies?

The West India Company

Globalization is here and now! Tata Motors just acquired the luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover from beleaguered Ford Motor. Not only is this a huge acquisition, it also turns out to be a symbolic one. The land of big cats has captured a big one - a preeminent sign of affluence, power and sleekness! And it just so happens that both brands are British. I'd go as far as to say that if not for the East India Company, globalization (at least from an India perspective) would not have been the same. Maybe I'd not be writing this blog post!

Now it is up for an Indian company to prove it can deliver on global quality standards. That may not be hard for Land Rover, given that it did not do too well under Ford (apparently last in JD Power 2007 rankings), but we're talking about being able to continue to develop a global luxury automotive brand like Jaguar. Given the positive reviews of the recent Nano, I'd say Tata is off to a good start.