With much pomp and proclamation, <a title="Google - as if you don't know the URL" href="http://www.google.com">Google</a> unveiled its latest search engine technology, Google Instant. And Arthur C. Clarke would be proud: Apparently the technology is so advanced that it's indistinguishable from magic. The <a title="Google search adds touch of mind reading" href="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/09/09/google_search_adds_touch_of_mind_reading/">Boston Globe reported</a> Google Instant "is the closest the 12-year-old company has come to realizing its founders’  ambition to build a search engine that reads its users’ minds". <a title="Google Instant Mind Readers" href="http://google.about.com/b/2010/09/08/google-instant-mind-readers.htm">Other</a> <a title="Google Instant: Quit reading my mind!" href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/hottopics/archives/220827.asp">blogs</a> and <a title=" Mind-reading web searching from Google Instant" href="http://www.bitterwallet.com/mind-reading-web-searching-from-google-instant/34323">reports</a> <a title="And Now... Google Instant Search Mind Reader?" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20100909/tc_nf/75095">headlined</a> the mind-reading capabilities as well, and Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president for search products and user experience, jokingly stated, "There’s even a psychic element to it."

Joking aside, Sergey Brin, one of Google's co-founders, remarked, "It’s a little bit of a new dawn in computing."  The <a title="Google Instant redefines search but is world ready?" href="http://http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/61429/20100911/google-instant-redefines-search-but-is-world-ready-1.htm">International Business Times</a> cited the analyst, Hadley Reynolds, as saying "the  speed and streaming aspects of Google's understanding of the user  query  and presentation of the results will be revolutionary".  Revolutionary? You betcha, agrees Internet analyst Jordan Rohan who, according to the <a title="Google Unveils Tool to Speed Up Searches" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/technology/techspecial/09google.html?_r=1">New York Times</a>, said, "It's been awhile since there's been a game changer in search, and this is." Rohan went on to claim that the technology could not be easily reproduced by Google's competitors.

True enough. Google's competitors didn't replicate the technology, but 19-year-old Standford University student, <a title="Feross Aboukhadijeh" href="http://www.feross.org/">Feross Aboukhadijeh</a>, <a title="'YouTube Instant' creator, 19, finds instant fame" href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/09/14/cnet.youtube.instant.creator/index.html?hpt=C2">did the very next day</a>. After making a bet with his roommate that he could re-create Google's mind-reading magic within an hour, Feross whipped up the bare-bones <a title="YouTube Instant" href="http://ytinstant.com/">YouTube Instant</a>.[1. But he lost the bet. It took him three hours to crack the code.] After posting a Facebook link to his new creation on Thursday night, he woke up the next morning to a deluge of emails congratulating him on his accomplishment, interview requests from various media outlets, and a potential new job, which was offered to him over Twitter by YouTube CEO Chad Hurley. [2. A job offer over Twitter. Which reminds me, I need to start coding up Twitter Instant after finishing this blog.]

So what is this technology that is so mythical that it can purportedly revolutionize the search industry, instantly (pun intended) create internet sensations, and is one step closer to reading your thoughts? Four words (and some hyphens): Search-as-you-type.

Yes, that's what all the hype the past week has been about: Google now brings up search results while you type in your query. Give it a try. Type "G" and you start seeing what Google thinks (or hopes) you are looking for (in this case, "<a title="Gmail" href="http://www.gmail.com/">Gmail</a>", showed up as my first result). Add an "o" or two and "<a title="Goggle Maps" href="http://maps.google.com">Google Maps</a>" makes its first appearance. Finish up with an "f" and a "y" and you're treated with images of one of <a title="Goofy!" href="http://www.siirparki.com/goofy_1024.jpg">Disney's famous characters</a> whose name, not coincidentally, matches my personal opinion of this latest search rage.

Lest you think my opinion overly harsh, let's step back and examine the sleight-of-hand that Google is performing. Let's repeat what we did, this time with Google Instant search turned off. Type "G" in the search box, and a drop-down list appears with "Gmail" as the first result. Continue with an "o" or two and "Google Maps" makes its appearance. Add "fy" and press the search button. Does any of this sound familiar? It should. Google has had word-completion technology implemented in its search box for some time now. And, obviously, it's had search engine technology in the bag far longer than that. The trick is that Google now sends its "completed" words quietly back to the search engine while you type. And even the technology behind this isn't new. Google's word-completion relies on a common web technology known as "Ajax", which is what permits Google to quietly find words while you type.