Vertical Search is a new phenomenon in the internet world and it has been created to give people the search results that would actually be useful (alteast most of them).

Broad-based search engines like Google and Yahoo fetch crawl a very large numbers of websites and documents and save the results in a common database and it is from this database that search results are pulled out and given to the user.

Vertical search engines, on the other hand, send their spiders out to a highly refined database, and their indexes contain information about a specific topic. The results thrown up by the vertical search engines cater to what the user is really looking for. The companies that advertise on these search engines reach the very niche they cater to.

Here are some of the vertical search engines – Looksmart, Retrevo, Pluggd, KnowledgeStorm’s KnowIT.

RSS or Real Simple Syndication is a format used for syndicating news and content from websites or any other internet source. RSS is currently used for any kind of information that can be broken down into a common data pattern. Using RSS, users can monitor news, email, the weather or any update that they may require.

The origins of RSS came from a system called Meta Content Framework (MFC). MCF was a project funded by Apple in 1995 and the person responsible for the creation of the MCF system was Ramanathan V. Guha. Guha created an application called HotSauce and by 1996, a few hundred sites were creating MCF files and users used HotSauce to view these files. After Steve Jobs’ return to Apple in 1997, the project was scrapped and Guha left Apple to join Netscape.

Working along with a colleague called Tim Gray, who was one of the pioneers for XML, Guha started moving MCF to a XML format. This project was called Resource Definition Framework (RDF). Resource Definition Framework was specifically developed for representing metadata and the relationships between objects.

Microsoft, on the other hand, further developed MFC into a system called Channel Definition Format (CDF). Channel Definition Format is XML based and CDF can illustrate content and metadata from a website. CDF was introduced in Microsoft’s latest browser at the time, Internet Explorer 4.0. Microsoft later used CDF for their operating system software, Windows, and introduced Active Desktops.

Keeping Microsoft’s advances in view, Netscape launched a portal service called “My Netscape Network” and this portal service featured RSS for the first time. At this time, RSS stood for “RDF Site Summary” and using this technology, the portal was able to display headlines and data from other sites. The user was able to select what topics interested them and they received headlines under those topics all within the same page.

You can learn more about RSS on Wikipedia and on www.webreference.com and you can download a feed aggregator from FeedReader.

Soon, we will be looking at how RSS feeds can be used to help businesses and come up with new marketing ideas.

RSS or Real Simple Syndication is a format used for syndicating news and content of news-like sites like yahoo, wired.com, blogs, etc. RSS has evolved and is currently used for any kind of information that can be broken down with a common data pattern. Using RSS, we can now monitor news, blogs, job listings, personals, and classifieds. Many sites and blogs offer feeds, which you can identify by a small button that says either RSS or XML. However, if you click one of these links, you will most likely get a page full of code in your browser. To properly read this feed, you will need an RSS reader or aggregator. Click here to get an RSS reader. To learn more about RSS, click on the links below

Webreference

Wikipedia

RSS Reader

GPS (Global Positioning System) is a satellite based network which consists of 24 satellites orbiting Earth. These satellites have been placed by the U.S. Department of Defense and just like the internet, GPS was originally intended for military use, but was made available to civilians. These satellites orbit the Earth twice a day and transmit signals to Earth. GPS data is used as navigation aid for planes, ships and cars and is commonly bundled into PDA’s, phones and computers. The GPS system is divided into 3 components – space, control and user.
The ‘Space segment’ consists of the satellites orbiting Earth about 12,000 miles above us. They travel at speeds of about 7000 miles per hour.
The ‘Control segment’ consists of the tracking stations all over the world. These stations measure and compute signals from the satellites.
The ‘User segment’ consists of the GPS receivers and users.
To learn more about GPS, click on the links below
Global Positioning System
Global Positioning System Overview
How GPS Receivers Work

VoIP (Voice over IP) is the method of sending voice conversations over the internet. VoIP converts analog signals from a phone into a digital format, sends it over the internet and then converts it back to analog at the other end. There are 2 ways you can place a call using VoIP. The first method is to use software like ‘Skype’ and call any number from your computer using a headset. The second method of using VoIP is to use a phone that has an adapter which is connected to a broadband connection. The advantage that VoIP has over traditional phone calls is that it is cheaper to use VoIP. The reason that traditional long distance calls are expensive is due to the fact that if you were calling someone from Canada to Australia, your telephone company would have to use the infrastructure of other phone companies which are on route to Australia to complete your call. On the other hand, with VoIP, you are using an existing infrastructure, which is the internet, to make the call. Below are some links on VoIP if you want to learn more.

How VoIP Works
Voice over IP
CNET
Get upto Speed:VoIP

Phishing is the method of sending out fake emails written to appear as if they have been sent by banks or other companies like eBay, with the intent of getting the recipient to reveal sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, account IDs, ATM PINs or credit card details. Typically, phishing attacks will direct the recipient to a web page which will look exactly like the target organization’s webpage and have the same colors and logos. I once got an email which took me to a page that looked like an eBay webpage and asked me for my username and password. I figured it was a fake by looking at the web address on the browser address bar. It did not look anything like an eBay address although they did use the word eBay in the address just to throw people off guard. Be very careful about entering details on a page that is linked from an email. If you want to learn more about Phishing, click on the links below.
Wikipedia
How to Spot A Phishing Scam
Webopedia