Google Desktop 5 Beta Released  (Various Sites)

Just about half of the sites in my feed reader has written something about the new Google Desktop.  The main new features include a redesigned sidebar, redesigned gadgets, previews in the search results, and increased security (include built-in badware warnings).  I'd say if you're a Google Desktop user it should be a worthwhile upgrade.  But if you're the cautious type wait until it's been out just a little bit longer.  Official announcements here and here.

  Yahoo Ready to Get Google  (Marketing Pilgrim)

According to this report, Yahoo CEO Terry Semel and CFO Susan Decker are calling either this year or next year the year of Panama.  Now that the new system in place, Yahoo management expects to see benefits to the company… but not until the second quarter.

  Ask.com's CEO, Jim Lanzone, Calls Yahoo Paid Inclusion "Hypocritical"  (Search Engine Land)

Lanzone said that charging for something that search engines should be doing anyway was "hypocritical" and does a "dis-service" to the search engine results.  He said it made trusting results from engines that include paid results more difficult.  I see his point, too.  Search engines are only as good as the sites they index.  So you'd think it'd be in their best interest to crawl as many sites as possible (take note of that, Ask.com) without the need to charge people to be include.  But I guess as long as people continue to pay money for it, some search engines will continue to engage in the practice. 

  Google Dismisses Rivals' Criticism on Copyright  (MarketingVOX)

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that the concerns about copyright (including lawsuits over book indexing and YouTube content issues) were all part of "normal business" in the media industry.  He said negotiating with media companies just includes being "sued to death".  At least it seems like they're ready for it.  Because I have a feeling it's just a matter of time before the lawsuits starts to pile up.

  February Search Market Share: Live Search is on the move  (Compete)

According to Compete data, Live.com actually saw an increase in usage during the month of February.  We pointed out in November that Windows Vista (coupled with IE7) should have an impact on Live.com's usage.  And apparently that's what Compete is suggesting was behind the increase in traffic to Live.com.  I have a feeling it can't be because of the search itself… because it's still pretty lousy.  So I'm on board with Compete's analysis here.

  YouTube banned in Turkey after video insults  (Times Online)

Part of me is surprised by this and part of me isn't.  Apparently some Turkish and Greek YouTube users have been fighting via video clip on the site.  When the Greeks began to slam the country's founding president, a court in Istanbul ordered the ban.  Can't really say much because they were just following the law.  In Turkey, it's illegal to criticize the founding president or "Turkishness".  So regardless of YouTube's promise to remove the offending videos, the country (which has a single, state-run ISP) flipped the switch today.

  Let's Remix a Few More of Your Headlines  (Copyblogger)

Brian Clark at Copyblogger wants your bad headlines.  Clark is currently accepting links to articles with headlines that might need a little tweaking.  He's going to select a few headlines to retool complete with explanations for the changes that he makes.  This could be a good opportunity to get a little feedback - not to mention some free advice.  If you're interested, drop by the post and leave your URL in the comments section.