Yahoo launches Axis 'search browser'

May 24, 2012 -- Updated 1559 GMT (2359 HKT) | Filed under: Web

Yahoo's Axis browser delivers thumbnail images instead of text for search results.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Yahoo launches Axis, a "search browser" with a focus on mobile
• Axis returns search results as thumbnails of the actual Web pages
• Yahoo currently has about 16% of the Web search market
• Google and Microsoft's Bing also are working on innovations

(CNN) -- Yahoo has joined the browser wars with Axis, its very own tool designed to enhance its search with a clear eye toward the rapidly expanding mobile Web.

Axis, the company announced late Wednesday, is a stand-alone app currently available for Apple mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad and on desktops as an add-on to established browsers like Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari.

Yahoo special project director Ethan Batraski wrote on the company's search blog that "with a mobile-first focus," the company "set out to completely re-think and re-design how users search and browse the Web."

The result was Axis, a visual-rich tool that aims to combine searching and browsing into one experience. On mobile devices, a query returns thumbnail images of actual Web pages instead of a list of links. People can use the touchscreen to scroll and choose a page.

Why can't Yahoo keep a CEO?

Early reviews have been positive for the mobile version of the tool, which addresses the rising percentage of time Web users spend accessing the Internet on phones and tablets.

"Mobile is where the action is, so it makes sense that Yahoo threw the bulk of its development love into the tablet and smartphone versions," wrote CNET's Rafe Needleman. "On the iPad, Axis is simply a great browser. The integrated search feature is intuitive, and being able to move through search results without having to go back to search makes sense. After only a few minutes using it I thought, Why hasn't Google done this yet? It's that good."

A pull-down feature lets users flip back and forth between a Web page and their search results. It also features search bookmarking and integration with Pinterest.

Users can also integrate Axis among multiple devices, saving a personal homepage and searches on phone, tablet and desktop computers. The tool's main page also shows "trending" searches at any given time.

On the desktop version, Axis appears as a small search box in the bottom left corner of the browser window, allowing people to keep using whatever browser they like.

The unveiling of Axis comes as Yahoo is trying to jockey for position among the big three of Web search -- Google, Microsoft's Bing and Yahoo Search.

Google controls about 64% of the search market, according to March numbers from Experian Hitwise. Yahoo (which is powered by Bing) had about 16% of the market, while Bing itself accounted for another 14%.

E.B. Boyd, of Fast Company, writes that the release of Axis marks a new charge in the browser wars, as all three companies work to revamp, and redefine, Web search.

Boyd wrote:

"The three leaders in this space have each realized that the conventional paradigms for search, architected over a decade ago when bandwidth was low, few people used the Web for more than research, and almost all computing was done at desktops, no longer work in an age of mobile apps, multiple devices, big data, and ever greater expectation on the part of the consumer that working online is about getting things done, not just perusing documents."

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Russian man jumps in chute to escape girlfriend

It is not clear why the man went to such lengths to avoid his girlfriend

A man in central Russia had to be rescued by emergency workers from a rubbish chute after he jumped into it to hide from his girlfriend.

He plunged three floors from the eighth floor of an apartment building in Tyumen, Siberia, before getting stuck. Residents then heard the 31-year-old man's cries for help.
Rescue workers had to use tools to cut him free. He was not seriously hurt.
He had had a row with his girlfriend, officials said, without elaborating.
Soviet-era buildings in Russia frequently have a metal rubbish chute in the stairwell, with a latch opening on each floor.
Tyumen emergency service officials contacted by the BBC said the incident happened late on Wednesday, but the man is already back at work.
"According to the 31-year-old victim, he jumped into the metal chute on the eighth floor to escape his girlfriend," a statement on the service's website said.
The officials said there had been a similar incident in Tyumen a few years ago, again with a happy outcome.

Ferdinand to be Left Out of England’s Euro 2012 Squad

Rio Ferdinand, captained England before his injury

England manager, Roy Hodgson is set to omit Rio Ferdinand from his squad for Euro 2012 while fellow defender Kyle Walker misses out through injury.

Ferdinand, 33, has not played for the national side since the 2-2 draw with Switzerland in June last year, reports the BBC.

The 23-man squad will be named at 13:00 BST on Wednesday.

It is understood that Chelsea defender, John Terry, who was stripped of the captaincy for a second time in February, will be included.

Former England captain, Ferdinand has been hampered by back problems in recent years but made 30 Premier League appearances this season, the most times he has featured in a campaign since 2007-08.

But his club manager Sir Alex Ferguson said recently: "You play something like a game every four days. Rio Ferdinand couldn't do that."

Ferdinand's situation was also complicated by an ongoing issue involving Terry.

Chelsea defender Terry lost the England captaincy in February after allegations that he racially abused Ferdinand's brother, QPR defender Anton. He denies the charges and is scheduled to stand trial in July.

Former coach, Fabio Capello publicly criticised the Football Association's decision to remove Terry of the captaincy - a turn of events that led Capello to resign.

Ferdinand, who has never played in a European Championship and won the first of 81 caps in 1997, was given the England armband in February 2010 after Terry was removed from the role for the first time following allegations about his private life.

But the United defender suffered a knee ligament injury in England's first training session in South Africa ahead of the World Cup and missed the tournament.

Ferdinand's subsequent unavailability saw Capello pass the captaincy back to Terry in March last year.

Tottenham full-back Walker, 21, won his two England caps in November last year, but sustained a toe problem in the 2-0 victory over Fulham at the weekend.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp had initially suggested that Walker's injury was minor and that he would be fit to link up with Hodgson's squad.

Hodgson has also decided to cancel the planned training camp in Malaga and the squad will now meet up in England next week.

They head to Norway for Hodgson's first game in charge on 26 May before their final warm-up friendly against Belgium at Wembley on 2 June.

England kicks off Euro 2012 against France on 11 June and also face Sweden and Ukraine in the group phase.