WebProNews

Google to Alert Webmasters of New Software Versions

Google is going to start letting webmasters know when the software they run on their site is outdated. Through Webmater Tools, Google will begin alerting users of new versions of software when they are released.

Google Doesn't Know if Your Site is in the Cloud

Google's Matt Cutts discussed how the search engine handles sites that that are "in the cloud" with regards to how listings are affected. Matt's explanation was a response to the following user-submitted question:

Google Enhances Real Estate Search

Google has added some new real estate search features to Google Maps. Earlier this year, Google expanded this functionality by letting you select "real estate" from the "more" menu. Now you can just search for "real estate" or other real estate-related geographical queries and get listings.

YouTube Launching Automatic Video Captions

YouTube is readying the launch of an automatic captions feature for the site's videos. This and a new automatic caption timing feature will make it easier for anyone to add captions to their videos, and will enable anyone to read captions on more videos.

Google Ditches the Google Base Search Page

Update: Google has officially retired the Google Base search page. The company announces:

Google Improves Google News on More Mobile Devices

Google has announced a new Google News for iPhone, Android, and Palm Pre users. The company already offers one for other devices like Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and S60, although they say more improvements to those versions will be coming soon, as well. Today's new version includes a new Google News homepage, which shows more stories, sources, and images, but keeps the same basic look and feel.

Google Testing a Revamp of the Search Results Page

Google is testing a new user interface for its search options feature. If you are unfamiliar with the search options feature, it is the link on your search results page that says "show options" and brings up a menu on the left-hand side of the screen providing a number of ways to filter your results.

Google: Page Speed May Become a Ranking Factor in 2010

Over the course of 2009, a consistent theme that Google has been involved with is that of speed. In announcement after announcement, Google has talked about the importance of speed on the web, and how the company wants to do everything it can to make the web a faster place. Has it occurred to you that how fast your page loads may have a direct effect on how your site ranks in Google?

Google Finally Shows Off Chrome OS

Everybody has been waiting to see a glimpse of Google's upcoming Chrome OS - that is Google's new operating system. Those who attended an event at the company's headquarters today had a chance to view a demo in person, and many more details than previously available are now out on the OS. Google has now opened up the code for Chrome OS, so developers can get in there and see what it's really all about. For all of the non-developer types, Google has provided the following short video, which sums up what Chrome OS is as a concept.

80% of Consumers Would Not Pay For Content

As you've more than likely heard by now, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch in an interview last week talked about the possibility of blocking search engines from indexing News Corp. publications' content. While this may or may not actually happen, it is one of the latest (and biggest) examples of a publisher taking the position of search engines hurting them rather than helping them.