Webware

Adobe Systems is helping Google and Yahoo to uncover Web content that was previously "invisible" to Web searches.

Both companies have been given optimized Adobe Flash Player technology to help them better index dynamic Web content and rich Internet applications that include the Flash file format, or Shockwave Flash, Adobe said in a statement. Search engines already index static text and links within Shockwave Flash files, but rich Internet applications and dynamic Web content are elusive to search engines because of their changing states, Adobe noted.

Adobe's technology means that millions of pre-existing RIAs that use Flash technology, including content that loads at runtime, are immediately searchable without alteration by companies or developers, Adobe said. Google has already added the optimized Flash Player to its search engine, while Yahoo plans to add the technology to a future update of Yahoo Search.

"Designers and Web developers have long been frustrated that search engines couldn't better access the information within their content created with Flash technology. It's great to see Adobe and the search engines working directly together to improve the situation," Danny Sullivan, editor in chief of SearchEngineLand.com, said in a statement. "The changes should help unlock information that's previously been 'invisible' and will likely result in a better experience for searchers."

Is googling your best friend from preschool going nowhere? If you suspect that he might be lurking on a social-networking site, you can try to find him with YoName, a people-search engine that looks across MySpace, LinkedIn, Digg, Facebook, Friendster, Match, and Xanga.

There are other social-site crawlers, such as Upscoop beta, which shows who in your Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, or AOL address book uses MySpace, LinkedIn, or other sites. There's a lot of buzz already around the unreleased Spock people finder. Loopster and ProfileLinker beta sift through various networks and let you see when friends update their pages. The brilliance of YoName is that it e-mails you when somebody else has found you through YoName, likely to pique your curiosity and prompt a visit to the site. Plus, you can use it without logging in.

To be fair, YoName remains in beta testing, but I'm not so impressed by its search capabilities. You can't refine by age or location, for instance. And of the 8.5 million Jennifers pinpointed by YoName on MySpace, I could only view the first 10 people.

If you're really stalking someone, then turn to ZabaSearch instead. Let me rephrase that. Please, don't stalk anyone. If you can't afford for someone to stalk you, which is no laughing matter, then ask YoName to remove your listing. You used to be able to snail-mail a letter to ZabaSearch asking to be removed from its rolls. Now, that ZabaSearch has hidden its mailing address, however, it offers these inconvenient suggestions, relinquishing itself of the responsibility for your data (the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has more).

It's perfectly legal for someone to mine your data from the Internet and from public databases, then make it accessible in one simple search field. You can't hide unless you actively remove yourself from digital lists and also refrain from creating a virtual presence on the Web. If you're a regular on social-networking sites, then keep your profile private and don't post personal photos. If you're easily embarrassed, now would be a good time to stop using your personal e-mail address or any username that resembles your real name for making gushing posts to, say, that Abba fan club Web site.

For more potentially creepy Web news, see Josh Lowensohn's post on Google Web History.

One of the things I love most about Google is how it has made other search competitors focus on simplicity and elegance in their interfaces. A prime example of this trend is Ask X, which can be described as the better-looking sibling of Ask.com.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Ask X uses Ajax to provide users with a refresh-free searching experience. Clicking among various search options such as images or video automatically refreshes your results without having to reload the page. The same goes for any new search you enter. Ask X has three window panes: one for typing searches, one for viewing results, and a third for displaying other types of results such as images or blog posts.

If you've never strayed from Google, both Ask and Ask X have a few features worth checking out. For one, a tiny pair of binoculars next to each search result lets you know you're checking out a relatively popular site. Hovering over these with your mouse results in a live preview of the page, similar to a feature offered by the Web service Snap. As you're typing a search, Ask X will provide you with a list of terms and phrases it thinks you might want to use, just like Google Suggest. Ask also has a handy list of related search terms to help you narrow or expand your original request.

Ask X is slick and fast. While not nearly as instantaneous as the regular Ask, it definitely holds its own when compared with Google and Windows Live Search. The big advantage of Ask X is its rich set of varied search results, which are more enjoyable to look at than white-washed pages of text.