The word "Google" started out as a proper noun, but it ended up a verb. That's hardly surprising, given that it's more convenient to say "Google" than "use a search engine", and everyone knows what it means.
Google, however, isn't keen on us doing this; after all, history provides many examples of companies that lost trademarks when they lapsed into generic use (aspirin and trampoline among them). But when a US court ruled in 2017 that Google could keep its trademark, its reasoning was clear: people don't use "Google" to mean any search engine. They use it to mean Google.
It may not be quite a monopoly, but the platform handles 92 per cent of the world's search queries. Its nearest competitor, Bing, has a mere 2.6 per cent market share.
A 'private' search alternative
So, given Google's massive dominance, you might wonder why anyone would bother launching a competitor. But Brave, a web browser dedicated to the privacy of users, has announced a plan to do exactly that. It believes there's demand for a platform that does not track searches or build profiles of its users. Brave Search, as it'll be known, is billed as the "the first private alternative to Google Search", with a completely independent index and a no-snooping guarantee. The big question is whether we care enough about our privacy to change what has become an instinctive habit: to Google things.
Opinions differ as to how Google reached its dominant position. The company believes it's a superior product that does its job brilliantly. Others allege that Google has used anticompetitive behaviour to force its search engine upon us. That allegation forms the basis of a lawsuit filed against the company by the US Department of Justice.
What’s abundantly clear is that the competition is meagre. Discounting country-specific tools such as Baidu in China and Naver in South Korea, smaller search engines are all either powered by Google or Bing. Among those are two privacy-focused engines, DuckDuckGo and the French-built Qwant, which both use Bing to deliver results.
They, along with Brave, would contend that Google's near-monopoly is damaging. DuckDuckGo's chief executive, Gabriel Weinberg, describes Google's approach as a "surveillance business model", whereby the accumulation of personal data is used to make money through evermore accurately targeted advertising.
Former US assistant attorney general Makan Delrahim says the fact that the product is free does not matter; this, he says, is about "consumer welfare". That welfare could encompass the way Google's model causes advertisements to follow us around the internet, or the filter bubble that allows Google to serve search results it believes we're likely to click on, rather than the ones we might actually want.
How will Brave work?
Unlike DuckDuckGo and Qwant, Brave is entering the fray with its own search engine, built from the ground up. The task of constructing an index as comprehensive as Google’s is an insurmountable challenge, so it’s taking a different approach: to anonymously analyse searches and clicks to build up a picture of what’s relevant.
"What we're trying to do is different, it's not based on crawling the web," Brave chief executive Brendan Eich told technology website The Register. Brave's system can detect "when you don't convert on the search, and you leave the results page, and you find the better results through some number of clicks". Those clicks improve the engine – and they can't be traced. "There's no way to say this query was from the same user as that query," he said.
The company is combining this with a technology called Goggles (unrelated to the Google spectacles of the same name), which uses the Brave community to maintain filters of preferred information sources. So, instead of using Brave to search the entire web, you look for one of those filters instead. A paper produced by Brave gives examples of such filters: "Product reviews without commercial intent," "Nature lovers in the Pyrenees," "Recipe search that my mum likes," and so on.
The question is whether a restricted search such as this is as valuable as the exhaustive, web-wide index that Google provides. James Temperton, digital editor at Wired UK, believes it is.
"Most of the things I search for are easy to find," he wrote in a column in November 2019. "I had, based on zero evidence, convinced myself that finding things on the internet was hard and, inevitably, involved a fair amount of tracking." But after two years of using DuckDuckGo, he realised this simply wasn't true.
A changing search landscape
Through sheer frequency of use, we've come to believe that Google is indispensable. But it may not be. Regardless of how Brave Search ends up performing in comparison to Google, it will have difficulty prising people away, not least because Google – despite the lawsuits and privacy issues – is regularly shown in surveys to be trusted. But the search landscape is undoubtedly changing.
This month, the US Department of Justice renewed efforts to pursue evidence relating to Google's alleged anticompetitive behaviour. And as Brave made its big announcement, Google dropped a bombshell – it revealed plans to stop using browser history to tailor advertising and to stop making tools that track people's data across its products. A company representative even referred to "rising consumer expectations for privacy".
And, as rumours swirl that Apple is developing a search engine, and other privacy-focused contenders such as Neeva prepare to launch, the search marketplace looks as if it might get a little crowded. And, who knows, "to Google" could even, one day, fall out of favour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
More on Quran memorisation:
My Country: A Syrian Memoir
Kassem Eid, Bloomsbury
Tour de France Stage 16:
165km run from Le Puy-en-Velay to Romans-sur-Isère
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The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
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Rajasthan Royals 153-5 (17.5 ov)
Delhi Daredevils 60-4 (6 ov)
Rajasthan won by 10 runs (D/L method)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
