Google's Singhal: Speech, natural language recognition among search's biggest challenges

PCWorld - As Google aims to expand search’s ability to answer increasingly difficult questions based on contextual information, several key obstacles still stand in its way.

Knowledge Graph, a feature designed to put users’ searches in context and deliver tailored results, as well as understanding speech, natural language and conversation are the four biggest technological challenges the company faces today, said Amit Singhal, Google’s senior vice president of search.

Google’s Amit Singhal

“None of these are solved problems,” he said Sunday during a Q&A session at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas.

It’s not surprising that Singhal would identify those four areas of search as the most in need of improvement—they comprise the backbone of the company’s ambitious efforts to turn Google search into a “Star Trek computer.”

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10 Google search secrets

Google search secrets: Introduction

Everyone knows how to pop a search term into Google and hit the search button, but very few realize the true power of Google. In this short-but-revealing gallery, I uncover 10 little-known facets of Google that are guaranteed to make even the most astute searcher a better searcher. A few of the topics I will be covering are how to search FTPs with Google; how to block sites from your search results; and how to search Google Docs. If you’re an advanced Google search novice, that’s okay! Just be sure to read the recommended articles beneath each description in this gallery and they’ll turn you into a pro in no time. And now, without any further ado, here are 10 Google search secrets.

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