user: Q: Google Brings Social Search to the Masses

Google has kept Social Search pretty much hidden from the general public, choosing to make it an opt-in Google Labs feature. Today, however, Google is pushing the feature to beta status and turning it on for all signed-in English Googlers.

You may recall that Google Social Search is a standard search results page add-on that displays socially relevant content from people in your online social circle, as determined by your Google Profile.

With the beta release, Google’sGoogle also integrating social search into Google Image searches, which means you can scroll down to view pictures matching your query that contacts from your circle — friends and friends of friends — have shared online.

With the beta release Google is also introducing new UI elements to tie the social search experience together. So two additional links will appear next to the “Results from your social circle” heading, with “My social circle” and “My social content” taking you to pages that display your social circle in address book format and the content for your own results, respectively. The experience seems focused on information over design, so don’t expect any frills here.

We think the beta rollout to all English searchers is more significant than the initial labs feature, as it exposes the contextual search results to a mainstream search audience. While it’s officially a beta product today, the Google Social Search rollout will occur over the next few days. If you don’t have Social Search already, you can expect to start seeing the social results fairly soon.

For a demonstration of Google Social Search check out the video below:

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A: Google is pushing Social Search to beta status and turning it on for all signed-in English Googlers.


Q: Dollar flat, set to extend monthly winning streak

The dollar index ended little changed on Friday as it stayed on track for a record eighth month of gains on improving U.S. data and comments from Federal Reserve officials that bolstered bets for a interest rate rise later this year.

This measure of the greenback against the euro, yen and four other currencies was set to mark its longest streak of monthly gains since the greenback was floated as a fiat currency in 1971. February's gain of about 0.52 percent, however, was the smallest of the eight months.

The dollar overcame earlier month-end selling that followed a rally on Thursday, as more evidence suggested the U.S. economy will expand in the coming months.

"The trend is still in place to support the dollar," said Eric Viloria, currency strategist at Wells Fargo Securities in New York.

Read More Fed urged to wait before steeper US rate hikes

The dollar index initially eased from a one-month high set on Thursday, before ending the day flat at 95.295.

The greenback hovered near a one-month peak versus the euro, last up 0.08 percent at $1.1188. It firmed 0.24 percent against the yen at 119.700 yen.

The euro rebounded from a three-week low versus the yen, last up 0.2 percent at 134.015 yen.

The government said on Friday it downgraded fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product growth to a 2.2 percent annual pace from an initial estimate of 2.6 percent. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a revision down to 2.1 percent.

A: The dollar index ended stayed on track for a record eighth month of gains on improving data and comments from Fed officials.


Q: Police add more cops on trains to fight rise in subway crime

Monday, June 22, 2015, 11:53 PM

More cops are riding the rails — collecting overtime along the way — to combat a spike in subway crime, Transit Chief Joe Fox said Monday.

There were 61 robberies in the transit system in May, an increase of 30 cases from the previous year. Overall, there were 47 additional major felonies, hitting 216 for May, from 169 the prior year — a 27.8% increase.

Fox said cops were stepping up enforcement on trains when about 70% of transit crime began to occur on the rails in April — instead of on platforms or in station mezzanines — up from the typical 60%.

“We want them on the trains to be present and visible,” Fox told MTA board members.

To hit back against a spate of felonies, Fox said more transit officers were on patrol and shifts were extended. “We’ve been deploying a lot of overtime in the last couple of months,” Fox said.

The show of force also followed an uptick in felony assaults. There were 99 attacks this year through May, a nearly 27% spike from 78 in the same period in 2014.

Robberies this year are also outpacing 2014 by 4.8%, with 196 cases through May compared with 187 during the first five months of last year. Fox noted robberies in the subway in 2014 reached “historic lows.”

MTA board member Jonathan Ballan pointed out that arrests seem to have “plummeted” with an 18.1% drop in collars for May, and a 16.2% decline since January.

Fox explained that part of the decrease is due to an “even greater focus on quality over quantity.”

A:

assistant: More cops are riding the rails to combat a spike in subway crime, Transit Chief Joe Fox said Monday.