Subject: [os2genau_digest] No. 312
From: Digest <deadmail>
To: "OS/2GenAu Digest" <deadmail>
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 00:00:04 EST-10EDT,10,-1,0,7200,3,-1,0,7200,3600

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Wednesday 03 April 2002
 Number  312
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Subjects for today
 
1  [os2genau] Google Technology : Gregory Hicks <ghicksatihug dot com dot au>

**= Email   1 ==========================**

Date:  Wed, 03 Apr 2002 22:33:26 +0930
From:  Gregory Hicks <ghicksatihug dot com dot au>
Subject:  [os2genau] Google Technology

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Just taken from Linux SA mailing list...

http://www.google dot com/technology/pigeonrank.html

its a coo (pun intended)
--

cheers

Gregory Hicks
Q48036388 3rd Year CQU BIT

"I took a bigger challenge - study externally and long distance"

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<link rel=stylesheet href="../google.css">
<title>Google Technology</title>
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<body class=search bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000CC" vlink="#800080" alink="#ff0000" topmargin="2">
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  <tr> 
    <td width="1%"><a href="/"><img src="/images/google_sm.gif" border=0 width="143" alt="Return to Google homepage." vspace="5" height="59"></a></td>
    <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> 
      <h1 style="margin-top:10px"> 
        <table width="100%">
          <tr> 
            <td>&nbsp;Our&nbsp;Search:&nbsp;Google Technology</td>
          </tr>
        </table>
      </h1>
    </td>
  </tr>
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<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width="95%">
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    <td width="153" valign="top"> 
      <p> <small><a href="/">Home</a><br>
        <br>
        <a href="../about.html">All&nbsp;About&nbsp;Google</a><br>
        <br>
        <a href="../help/index.html">Help&nbsp;Central</a><br>
        <br>
        <a href="../help/features.html">Google&nbsp;Features</a><br>
        <br>
        <a href="../options/index.html">Other&nbsp;Ways&nbsp;To&nbsp;Google</a><br>
        <br>
        <b>Our&nbsp;Technology</b><br>
        <img src="../images/bluearrow.gif" width="4" height="8">&nbsp;<b><font color="003399">PigeonRank</font></b><br>
        <br>
        </small> 
      <table cellpadding="1" width="120">
        <tr> 
          <td style="background-color: #efefef"> <small> 
            <div class=sidesearch> 
              <form action="http://googlesite.google dot com/search" method=get>
                <div align="center"> <font size="-2"> 
                  <input type=hidden name=output value=googleabout>
                  <input type=hidden name=site value=googlesite>
                  <i>Find on this site:</i><br>
                  <input type=text name=q size=10>
                  <input type=submit value="Search" name="submit">
                  <br>
                  </font></div>
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    <td style="background-color: #cccccc" width="1" valign="top"><img src="/images/cleardot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td>
    <td style="background-color: #ffffff" width="10" valign="top"> <img src="/images/cleardot.gif" width="10" height="1"></td>
    <td valign="top"> 
      <div class=content> <font face="Arial, sans-serif"><b>The technology behind 
        Google's great results</b></font> 
        <p> As a Google user, you're familiar with the speed and accuracy of a 
          Google search. How exactly does Google manage to find the right results 
          for every query as quickly as it does? The heart of Google's search 
          technology is PigeonRank&#153;, a system for ranking web pages developed 
          by Google founders <a href="../corporate/execs.html#larry1">Larry Page</a> 
          and <a href="../corporate/execs.html#sergey1">Sergey Brin</a> at Stanford 
          University.</p>
        <p><img src="pigeon_system.jpg" width="580" height="129" alt="PigeonRank System" hspace="5"></p>
        <p> Building upon the breakthrough work of <a href="http://www.bfskinner dot org/">B. 
          F. Skinner</a>, Page and Brin reasoned that low cost pigeon clusters 
          (PCs) could be used to compute the relative value of web pages faster 
          than human editors or machine-based algorithms. And while Google has 
          dozens of engineers working to improve every aspect of our service on 
          a daily basis, PigeonRank continues to provide the basis for all of 
          our web search tools.</p>
        <p><b><font face="Arial, sans-serif">Why Google's patented PigeonRank&#153; 
          works so well</font></b></p>
        <p>PigeonRank's success relies primarily on the superior trainability 
          of the domestic pigeon (Columba livia) and its unique capacity to recognize 
          objects regardless of <a href="http://www.google dot com/search?hl=en&q=pigeons+mental+rotations">spatial 
          orientation</a>. The common gray pigeon can easily distinguish among 
          items displaying only the minutest differences, an ability that enables 
          it to select relevant web sites from among thousands of similar pages. 
          </p>
        <p>By collecting flocks of pigeons in dense clusters, Google is able to 
          process search queries at speeds superior to traditional search engines, 
          which typically rely on birds of prey, brooding hens or slow-moving 
          waterfowl to do their relevance rankings.</p>
        <p><img src="diagram.gif" width="180" height="140" alt="diagram" align="right">When 
          a search query is submitted to Google, it is routed to a data coop where 
          monitors flash result pages at blazing speeds. When a relevant result 
          is observed by one of the pigeons in the cluster, it strikes a rubber-coated 
          steel bar with its beak, which assigns the page a PigeonRank value of 
          one. For each peck, the PigeonRank increases. Those pages receiving 
          the most pecks, are returned at the top of the user's results page with 
          the other results displayed in pecking order.</p>
        <p><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><b>Integrity</b></font></p>
        <p>Google's pigeon-driven methods make tampering with our results extremely 
          difficult. While some unscrupulous websites have tried to boost their 
          ranking by including images on their pages of bread crumbs, bird seed 
          and parrots posing seductively in resplendent plumage, Google's PigeonRank 
          technology cannot be deceived by these techniques. A Google search is 
          an easy, honest and objective way to find high-quality websites with 
          information relevant to your search.</p>
        <p><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><b>Data</b></font></p>
        <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5">
          <tr>
            <td><img src="graphs1.gif" width="210" height="165"></td>
            <td><img src="graphs2.gif" width="200" height="165"></td>
            <td><img src="graphs3.gif" width="200" height="165"></td>
          </tr>
        </table>
        <p><b><font face="Arial, sans-serif">PigeonRank Frequently Asked Questions</font></b></p>
      <p><b>How was PigeonRank developed?</b></p>
      <p class=indent>The ease of training pigeons was documented early in the 
        annals of science and fully explored by noted psychologist B.F. Skinner, 
        who demonstrated that with only minor incentives, pigeons could be trained 
        to execute complex tasks such as <a href="http://www.google dot com/search?hl=en&q=pigeons+ping+pong+skinner">playing 
        ping pong</a>, <a href="http://www.google dot com/search?hl=en&q=pigeons+skinner+bombs">piloting 
        bombs</a> or <a href="http://uscode.house.gov/title_26.htm">revising the 
        Abatements, Credits and Refunds section</a> of the national tax code. 
      </p>
      <p class=indent>Brin and Page were the first to recognize that this adaptability 
        could be harnessed through massively parallel pecking to solve complex 
        problems, such as ordering large datasets or ordering pizza for large 
        groups of engineers. Page and Brin experimented with numerous avian motivators 
        before settling on a combination of linseed and flax (lin/ax) that not 
        only offered superior performance, but could be gathered at no cost from 
        nearby open space preserves. This open space lin/ax powers Google's operations 
        to this day, and a visit to the data coop reveals pigeons happily pecking 
        away at lin/ax kernels and seeds.</p>
      <p><b>What are the challenges of operating so many pigeon clusters (PCs)?</b></p>
      <p class=indent>Pigeons naturally operate in dense populations, as anyone 
        holding a pack of peanuts in an urban plaza is aware. This compactability 
        enables Google to pack enormous numbers of processors into small spaces, 
        with rack after rack stacked up in our data coops. While this is optimal 
        from the standpoint of space conservation and pigeon contentment, it does 
        create issues during molting season, when large fans must be brought in 
        to blow feathers out of the data coop. Removal of other pigeon byproducts 
        was a greater challenge, until Page and Brin developed groundbreaking 
        technology for converting poop to pixels, the tiny dots that make up a 
        monitor's display. The clean white background of Google's home page is 
        powered by this renewable process.</p>
      <p><b>Aren't pigeons really stupid? How do they do this?</b></p>
      <p class=indent>While no pigeon has actually been confirmed for a seat on 
        the Supreme Court, pigeons are surprisingly adept at making instant judgments 
        when confronted with difficult choices. This makes them suitable for any 
        job requiring accurate and authoritative decision-making under pressure. 
        Among the positions in which pigeons have served capably are replacement 
        air traffic controllers, butterfly ballot counters and pro football referees 
        during the &quot;no-instant replay&quot; years.</p>
      <p><b>Where does Google get its pigeons? Some special breeding lab?</b></p>
        <p class=indent>Google uses only low-cost, off-the-street pigeons for 
          its clusters. Gathered from city parks and plazas by Google's pack of 
          more than 50 Phds (Pigeon-harvesting dogs), the pigeons are given a 
          quick orientation on web site relevance and assigned to an appropriate 
          data coop.</p>
      <p><b>Isn't it cruel to keep pigeons penned up in tiny data coops?</b></p>
      <p class=indent>Google exceeds all international standards for the ethical 
        treatment of its pigeon personnel. Not only are they given free range 
        of the coop and its window ledges, special break rooms have been set up 
        for their convenience. These rooms are stocked with an assortment of delectable 
        seeds and grains and feature the finest in European statuary for roosting.</p>
      <p><b>What's the future of pigeon computing?</b></p>
      <p class=indent>Google continues to explore new applications for PigeonRank 
        and affiliated technologies. One of the most promising projects in development 
        involves harnessing millions of pigeons worldwide to work on complex scientific 
        challenges. For the latest developments on Google's distributed cooing 
        initiative, please consider signing up for our <a href="../contact/newsletter.html">Google 
        Friends newsletter</a>.</p></div>
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    <td width="1%" valign="top"><img src="/images/art.gif" width="143" height="53" vspace="5" alt="o ooO" hspace="5"></td>
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    <td style="background-color: #ffffff" width="10" valign="top"><img src="/images/cleardot.gif" width="10" height="1"></td>
    <td valign="middle"> 
      <div class=footer> <small> &copy;2002 Google - <a href="/">Home</a> - <a href="../about.html">All 
        About Google</a> - <a href="../jobs/">We're Hiring</a> - <a href="../sitemap.html">Site 
        Map</a> </small> </div>
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