Google Search

Problem: It seems to me that one of Google's strengths is also a big weakness. Google returns search results virtually instantaneously. It is pure and immediate gratification. But this begs the question whether Google is really giving you the highest quality results. Clearly, the results you get are based on some massive indexing that Google is doing on a regular basis.

Solution: I am not here to second-guess the secret algorithms generated over years of research by the geniuses at Google. It just seems to me that you should be able to tell Google that it can take more time and give you some higher quality results. Two features one might expect are (1) change the time Google may take on initial search from "immediate" to "n seconds". This way, if you are willing to wait n seconds for your results you can get higher quality links returned. ("Quality" can be based on personal preferences you have configured, or perhaps going beyond the standard index to look at more recent articles that are not yet fully indexed). (2) While you are reviewing results, there could be an option where Google continues to run in the background. You can click a button to "upgrade" your results whenever you like, which would potentially give you better results that have been found since your initial query.

I'm not sure what Google's incentive would be to implement the above, since they own the market on search. However, perhaps they could include a randomization element in the "upgrade" option. This would mean that the same search could yield different results each time (if the randomization option is enabled my the user). This could potentially increase revenues for Google by giving access to a broader number of advertisements for a given search.

Make Your Own Emoticons

Problem: When sending Instant Messages, the available emoticons never seem quite right for the emotion you want to convey. For me, the one I can never seem to find is something on the order of "bemused".

Solution: I would like to see a website that takes an image of you and converts it into an emoticon, suitable for use in the common Instant Messenger applications. Then you click a button and it adds it to your current emoticon list, or at least gives you some simple instructions for how to access your new emoticon.

Televised Golf Slopes

Problem: In this day and age, televised sports benefit from incredible technology. The strike zone pitch replays in baseball, yellow first-down line in football, replays from all angles, etc. Golf even has the super slo-mo replays of tee shots, bunker shots, etc. However, they have never come up with a camera that comes even close to properly representing the slopes on the greens. If the announcers don't tell you, you have almost no concept of the steep slopes on the greens until you see which way the ball rolls.

Solution: I am not an expert in video/photography. But it seems to me that they show all of their shots from overhead cameras that show the entire green, but which flatten out all of the slopes. I think they could properly demonstrate slope by using more cameras that are at the ground level. To me, this would be much more valuable than some of the other junk they waste money on, like all the slo-mo analysis they do of the golf swings.