Search help dances to the rescue
If you’ve ever been overwhelmed sifting through the search results generated by Internet search engines Yahoo or Google, an Indianapolis company wants to help.
The company, www.chacha.com, claims to be the first search engine to provide assistance from a live person. After users enter a search term, a human “guide” will chat in real-time to help narrow the search and find the most appropriate websites. Chacha will make revenue through advertising.
A recent request for help finding “Chinese restaurants in downtown Denver” quickly resulted in several links presented by a chirpy guide named Nicole.
The website, which launched in September, rolled out its latest test version last month. It pays between $5 to $10 per hour to its 14,000 guides, many of whom are college students and those who work from home.
“For many Internet users, the results delivered from traditional search engines are less than satisfactory, as many in the industry note frequently,” said Scott Jones, Chacha.com’s founder and chief executive. “Our guides know how to zip through million of possible results to find the exact information you’re seeking.”
– Will Shanley, The Denver Post
A more finger-friendly keyboard
If you were asked to redesign the computer keyboard, chances are you would end up with a very different design from the standard QWERTY layout, which was developed for typesetting more than 130 years ago.
The New Standard keyboard is one recent attempt that minimizes travel distance for fingers and reduces the number of keys almost 50 percent. The letters are in alphabetical order, each thumb has its own space key and the arrows sit prominently in the center of the keyboard. ($70, www.newstandardkeyboards.com)
– Warren Buckleitner, The New York Times
