Posted 09/21/09 at 02:09:28 PM by Paul Lilly

Over the last couple of weeks, you've probably noticed Google has been on a sci-fi kick by replacing its standard doodle with a series of UFO-based logos. The first one showed a UFO abducting the second 'O' in the logo, and after decoding an accompanying Twitter message that read "All your O are belong to us," everyone concluded it was simply a throwback to the poorly translated video game Zero Wing in recognition of its 20-year anniversary.

But then more doodles started to appear, including one which linked to a search for "crop circles," along with another Twitter clue. For those of you that figured out this all somehow tied in with H.G. Wells, pat yourself on the back.

"Now, we're finally acknowledging the reason for the doodles with an official nod to Herbert George, who would be 143 years old today," Google revealed in its blog. "Inspiration for innovation in technology and design can come from lots of places; we wanted to celebrate H.G. Wells an an author who encouraged fantastical thinking about what is possible, on this planet and beyond. And maybe have some fun while we were doing it."

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Posted 07/21/09 at 05:38:00 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Yahoo has lifted the curtain on its new homepage, which has been rolled out in beta. The homepage has not only received a facelift but also a number of newfangled features, including the ability to keep pace with updates from your favorite websites without leaving Yahoo.

 With social networking websites almost holding internet users captive for long periods of time, the new Yahoo homepage will let users have one eye on the latest from their friends on social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Other notable additions include the ability to customize the homepage using widgets and the introduction of a top ten search list just under the search bar.

But the launch has been far from smooth, as some users still haven’t encountered the option to try the new beta homepage. Yahoo is under considerable pressure from Microsoft’s latest search offering Bing, which is increasingly closing in on Yahoo in the online search market.

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