News about what is happening in technology today!

Operator commands are simple tools, or modifiers, that you can add to a search query. Entering an operator command into a search field along with the query narrows down your results to a specific type of data. Operator commands can also provide simple services like spell checking. All engines have them, but Google’s Operator commands are extensive. Not too many people know about them, so here are some resources.

Google’s cheatsheet lists some common operators and other rules to narrow your searches. But this post at Subnixus lists several commands that can produce advanced search results. Search document titles (allintitle:), stock ticker symbols (stocks:), specific file types (filetype:), and phone numbers (phone:) among other things.

Reuters reports that Seagate Technology would buy rival computer disk-drive maker Maxtor Corp. for $1.9 billion. Seagate is already world’s largest hard drive manufacturer and Maxtor is the third largest after Seagate and Western Digital.

Computerworld’s Robert Mitchell wonders if the FCC could one day have regulatory power over the Internet. The causes? As telephone calls are increasingly delivered as an IP service, and traditional telephony fades away, traditional telephone companies are demanding a level regulatory regimen for all service providers. From the article: “Assuming that the FCC buys arguments such as this, we could see a new regulatory focus on the Internet and a decline in the hands-off attitude shown in the past. From the regulators’ viewpoint, the Internet increasingly may be viewed as just another utility that requires oversight.”

The acquisition of Maxtor Corp. by Seagate Technology for approximately $1.9 billion Wednesday is poised to boost Seagate’s Far East manufacturing capabilities and strengthen its position to dampen expected PC pricing changes in the coming year.

However, industry analysts point out that Seagate will have its hands full completing the technical aspect of the Maxtor merger in late 2006 as it simultaneously transitions to perpendicular recording on many of its devices.

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JMP Securities on Tuesday raised its global advertising forecast for not only this year but for next year and beyond. The firm now expects the global online ad market to grow at a 25 percent clip annually for the next five years, up from a previous forecast in the low 20 percent range.

In the next year the Wall Street firm expects the online ad market to grow to $26.4 billion worldwide and to $33.2 billion in 2007.

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