John Lister

Google is working on a way to search microblogging sites such as Twitter. But the news has led some experts to warn that such real-time searching might lead to a major flood of spam. Twitter already has its own service allowing people to search any ... term mentioned by any user. However, while these people get almost instant updates of posts from other users, messages don't appear in search results until around 20 minutes after their original posting. Google, which updates in seconds rather than minutes, sees this as a market gap. The independent site Google Operation System notes a line in some ... (view more)

According to a recent report, Microsoft's search engine ' Bing ' may be better designed for incorporating advertising than Google. The news comes amidst suggestions that the site's early success was merely the result of short term curiosity on the ... part of web users. Small Sample, Encouraging Results The ad research comes from User Centric, a Chicago-based firm which specializes in the way people interact with computers. It asked 21 people to carry out four searches both Google and Microsoft, then used eye tracking technology to see what they actually looked at. The research found that, on ... (view more)

The European Union (EU) is asking rival Internet browser manufacturers to suggest ways to prevent Microsoft acting unfairly in its promotion of Internet Explorer. The responses could help determine any punishment if the EU upholds a preliminary ... ruling that bundling the browser with Windows breaches competition rules. Officials have sent out a questionnaire, due to be returned by the end of this week, asking interested parties to comment on possible measures. The recipients aren't limited to those who've formally attached themselves to the case (such as Google and Mozilla, who are both ... (view more)

Micro-blogging site Twitter is working on a scheme to verify that "celebrities" posting on the site are the real deal. But it says it will not be settling out of court in a legal action brought by St Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. Starting ... this summer, the site will work on a beta (test) program to allow public figures to verify their identity. Once they have done so, their account will be labeled with a special logo to show it is indeed run by the claimed personality. Potential Charges for Account Verification At first the scheme will be open to celebrities, sporting stars, ... (view more)

One of the most powerful figures at Wikipedia has resigned after it was discovered he'd been editing entries under bogus names. David Boothroyd, who is also a British politician, had even used the fake account to edit the pages of political ... opponents. As well as being a registered volunteer editor, Boothroyd had been elected to the powerful Wikipedia Arbitration Committee: a group of around 15 editors which make final and binding decisions for any disputes on the site that cannot be resolved informally. In some cases, the committee could even overrule Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. ... (view more)

Microsoft will release critical updates for six security issues next Tuesday. This Patch Tuesday will include a controversially delayed Mac MS Office fix , but won't solve a recently discovered directx flaw for Quicktime files. Biggest Monthly ... Update This Year The monthly update, which will be biggest so far this year, will contain critical fixes for Windows, Internet Explorer, Word and Excel in particular, and Office in general. In all cases, hackers could gain remote control of an affected computer. The Internet Explorer issue appears particularly serious as it reportedly affects all ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed Windows 7 will get its official release on 22 October. It's also updated some of the details about the Starter edition which will appear on low-spec machines such as netbooks. The October release date had been widely expected ... since the head of Acer in the UK revealed one of his firm's new models would be on sale running Windows 7 on the 23rd -- one day out from the confirmed release date. October Release a Pre-Emptive Strike The release is three months before the earliest date Microsoft had previously hinted at (January 2010, three years after Vista's release). The ... (view more)

The company that makes parts for popular electronic reader devices, including the Kindle, is buying out the company behind the technology used in the displays. Though the two firms say it will be good for consumers, there are some claims it might ... limit competition. The deal involves Prime View International of Taiwan, which is set on buying E Ink, based in Massachusetts, for $215 million. Prime View is today responsible for the display screens on both the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader. Electrophoretic Film: Otherwise Known As Electronic Paper E Ink, a company started by Massachusetts ... (view more)

Google is set to challenge online retail giant Amazon by selling contemporary electronic books. And unlike Amazon, it will let publishers set the prices. The move is a new development for the Google Book Search scheme, in which the firm scans texts ... so that users can search for particular phrases. While Google does intend to bring in paid access for full editions of some books covered by Book Search, the vast majority of titles in the scheme are either out of print or out of copyright. At the moment, most modern books included in the scheme only have 20 per cent of their pages available for ... (view more)

Microsoft has officially unveiled the replacement for its Live Search tool. However, the new instrument will be known as "Bing" rather than "Kumo," and is billed as a 'decision engine' rather than a search engine. The working name for the new ... service had been Kumo, but Microsoft eventually settled on Bing despite some problems trade marking the name. The firm appeared to be looking for an active name which could be used as both a verb and a noun, in the same way as 'to Google' has become another way of saying 'to search online'. As we've noted before, the main difference ... (view more)