Skylarking

Leapfish.com

Quite recently the multi-media search engine site, LeapFish.com, announced they’re developing a real time search engine. You can find the press release here.

Real time, I assume, means that when something happens on the web, anywhere, LeapFish will be able to find it for you. This will be quite a feat as even search engines like Google or Yahoo may take a few days, some times, to add or update content, though information from major sites may be updated more frequently.

Leapfish will be drawing information from Google, Yahoo, MSN, and other search sites and portals, and proving answers from any and all of these sites on a single page. This way you need not go to each of the individual sites to make a search. All you’ll have to do is go to Leapfish.com, conduct your search, and results from all the other sites will be compiled for you.

Truthfully, sites like Yahoo and Google prioritize and categorize results differently. I’m sure you’ve discovered this on your own, and, despite your personal preferences, you may still find yourself visiting several search sites for the information or entertainment your need.

The current Leapfish site has a clean and simple layout. The home page shows information for the stock market, AP News, Youtube Video, and more. This can be useful if you want to see what’s hot on all these sites without having to go to the individual site. The new site should be something to see.

Speaking of which, if you’re interested in checking out the upcoming site in advance, you can request a private demo by contacting them at demo@leapfish.com.

… or “Remembering My Grandparents on D-day”.

The past two days I’ve been trying to watch the movie Pearl Harbor (2001)  on cable. I had wanted to see this movie when it came out (despite the poor reviews) and I managed to catch the end last night, and the rest of it this morning … okay, this afternoon … when I woke up.

Grandmother

World War II is significant for my family in several ways. My grandmother was American and worked as a welder in the shipyards of Baltimore, and my Scottish grandfather served in the British Merchant Marines on a supply ship that crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the war my grandparents from two different countries met, got married, and had a son, my father.

But I haven’t been thinking about playing Tetris at all lately, and I haven’t heard of anyone coming together over this game that is typically played solo.

“What in the world am I talking about” or “where am I going” you ask?

Well, after finishing the movie, and taking my laundry out to the cleaners, I turned on my computer and went online. My start page, as always, Google.com, and I am confronted by the Lego like logo today. “???” appeared over my head, shortly followed by “!!!”

Google/Tetris

Now, I know that Google uses a special logo design when they decide to signify some special event or occasion; so I just had to wonder what was behind the new logo. I clicked to find out and it took me to a page about Tetris’s 25th anniversary. It was launched on June 6, 2004 at the Soviet Unions’ Academy of Science by then 29 year old Alexey Pajitnov.

Of course, June 6, 1944, 65 years ago, was the start of the Normandy invasions by the Allied Forces that lead to the end of the war in Europe a little less than a year later. My grandfather survived the war, as did my grandmother. They married the year before the invasion, and my father was born shortly after.

Do a search for “June 6 1944″ and D-day is all you’ll see in the results. No mention of Tetris.

I know, I’ve been absent again.  January is always a bad health month for me. Anyone care to pay for my deviated septum surgery?  … No?  Okay.

Microsoft’s Live Search service is offering cash back on purchases made when using Live Search. You can find great deals on the products you want. They have links to the stores you trust: J&R  (www.JR.com), Barnes & Noble (www.bn.com), Hewlett Packard (www.hp.com), and NewEgg (www.newegg.com). And, yes, they even have my favorite, TigerDirect (www.tigerdirect.com).

All you have to do is go to the Live Search site at http://search.live.com/cashback and search for the products you want to buy, then each time you click a Live Search cashback listing, you’ll find great deals on the product you chose from a variety of topnotch online vendors. Your results will list the cashback savings you’ll receive off the store price, and your final bottom-line price that includes tax and shipping costs.

Here are a few of the cashback percentages you can find:

• Barnes & Noble: 10%
• J&R: 7%
• TigerDirect: 5%
• Banana Republic: 8% (I have to be real hungry to eat a banana. –What?  … They sell sweaters? … I don’t eat sweaters.)
• Barbecues.com: 7% (Can’t wait to fire up the grill again.)
• Cajun Supermarket: 5% (Just add a little cayenne pepper … ooo-wee!)
• Eddie Bauer: 5%
• Excellent Diamond Cutters: 2-10%

The list of stores connected to the Live Search cashback system is enormous. You can access a complete list of stores and the cashback amounts provided, and whether or not free shipping is included with your purchase.

When you search you’ll be able to compare and sort products by the bottom-line price, and then you can click the best deal to go to the store. Everything you buy during that store visit will be eligible for Live Search cashback.

On your first time using Live Search cashback, you’ll be asked for an email address so your cashback account can be setup for free. You can keep saving money each time you use Live Search cashback. Every time you make a qualifying purchase, they’ll send you an email to confirm your cashback savings.

Typically 60 days after your purchase you can claim your cash once your account has accumulated a minimum of $5.

Got Something to Sell?

If you have an online shopping service, you may be able to promote your products through Live Search. Find out more about promoting your products in Live Search.