According to a recent survey done by the University of Michigan, average Americans are happier with Google than they are with any other web service. Americans rank their satisfaction with Google at 86%, up ten percent from the previous year. The next highest on the list is Yahoo, which clocks in at a 77% satisfaction rate. On the other end of the scale is AOL, which sits at a disappointing 69% satisfaction rate.

Six Apart, the company responsible for the Movable Type blogging platform, has put together its own blog directory. The directory, appropriately known as blogs.com, covers a wide variety of subjects, from marketing to movies to golf. Each blog is also searchable by keyword, allowing you to zone in on the content that you really want to read about.

Websites aren’t just for browsers anymore. We have two new programs that let websites, even mail services like Gmail, to leave the browser and become their own free-standing, application-like tools. On the Windows side of things, there’s Bubbles. For all of you Mac fans out there, there’s Fluid. With both Bubbles and Fluid, you have the added bonus of being able to set the refresh rate on your new tools. That way, the Bubble containing your eBay auction can update every five seconds, while the Bubble containing CNN can update every five minutes. No matter the operating system, both Fluid and Bubbles are a fine way to retake your browser while staying in touch with the services that are the most important.

As many as you know, learning a programming language, especially one written for web use, can be daunting experience. The OPAL Group understands this, and they are willing to help. OPAL’s new tool, the SelectORacle, is an online CSS-to-English translating dictionary. Just type in the code or the website and press a button. In no time at all, the ORacle will explain everything in simple, easy to understand English, or if you prefer, Spanish. The SelectORacle is the perfect way for beginners to feel comfortable reading code without feeling too overwhelmed or flustered.

A big topic of conversation at the Search Engine Sessions conference in San Jose is the emergence of video search engine optimization, or VSEO for short. Our friends at WebProNews have a great article about both the concept and the minds behind it. This piece is a must for anyone who works with video on the web or is interested in where the web is going.