Google IPO

Roundup: Google Aims to Raise $2.7 Billion in IPO. CNET News.com. April 29, 2004.
CNET's recent coverage of Google's upcoming stock offering.

Lycos.com may be sold

Web Portal for Sale, Slightly Used. By Jim Hu. CNET News.com. April 27, 2004.
Terra Lycos is said to be exploring the sale of Lycos.com. The past fortunes of other Web portals are also discussed.

New Search Engine at Amazon.com

Site Lets Users do Power Search. By Jan Dempsey. The Post-Standard. April 28, 2004.
Amazon.com's new search engine, A9, combines its "Search Inside the Book" feature with search results from Google.

Gmail

Where are You Now? by Hiawatha Bray. Boston Globe. April 26, 2004.
Google's forthcoming e-mail service, Gmail, is discussed. The proposed service has caused a brouhaha because Google would display advertisements based on the contents of users' stored messages.

Google's SafeSearch Discussed

Google's Chastity Belt Too Tight. By Declan McCullagh. CNET News.com. April 23, 2004. 4:00 AM PT.

Google's pornography filter, SafeSearch, which users can elect to use or not, is shown to block sites containing particular trigger words or sequences of characters, filtering out many innocuous sites. David Drummond, of Google, points out that people who use the filter "care a lot more about something sneaking through than than they do about something getting filtered out."

College Rankings Exposed

College Rankings Exposed: The Art of Getting a College Education in the 21st Century. Paul Boyer. Lawrenceville: Peterson's. 235 pp. (ISBN: 0-7689-1360-8).
For twenty years U.S. News & World Report has published its much-touted and influential rankings of American colleges, with those at the top of the list crowned "America's Best Colleges." Many parents and college-bound students rely on these rankings in making their college choices. Consequently, many schools have altered their policies to help them obtain more favorable ratings. This situation is alarming because, as Boyer shows, the rankings are subjective and superficial, and bear little relation to the conditions and goals of modern education. The more prospective students know about the real issues involved and what to look for in choosing a college, the better decisions they will be able to make.
The author explains that the student’s aim should not be merely to get into one of the “best” schools, but to find a college that best matches their individual goals and situations. Schools fall into the general categories of research universities, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive colleges, and community colleges. Each type of institution has various traits in common which affect their appropriateness for different students.
To aid in evaluating the educational programs they offer, Boyer lists five criteria of a quality education. These pertain to the schools’ commitments to general education; writing, speaking and critical-thinking skills; active learning; opportunities to extend learning beyond the classroom; and the provision of a diverse and respectful community. For each of these the author suggests related questions to ask during the college visit.
This enlightening book is well worth recommending to parents or students who are starting their college searches.