Google has announced tweaks to downgrade the position of links to piracy websites in its results. But the way it is doing so is still upsetting legitimate content providers. The changes, already dubbed the “Pirate update” in the search industry in reference to the previous “Panda” update, cover three tactics to try to make results […]
When we hear news of a natural disaster or other problem in an area, it’s common to worry about people we know living in that area. Facebook is launching a new feature to cut down on worried enquiries. With the new safety check tool, which is launching worldwide, Facebook will mark particular areas as being […]
It’s no secret plenty of us with health concerns check symptoms by typing them into Google long before we go to see the doctor. Now Google may remove that time gap altogether. The company has confirmed it is testing a feature that will offer to connect people searching for health related terms to speak to […]
Facebook is said to be working on an application that would allow users to post under a false name. It follows on from a relaxing of the “real names” rules on the main Facebook site. Officially at least, Facebook has always insisted members use their real name, something it believes makes users more accountable for […]
The man who’ll almost certainly be Europe’s next head of digital issues appears to be standing by his comments that victims of the recent celebrity photo leak were “stupid” and can’t be protected. Gunther Oettinger introduced the statement by saying that it was impossible for lawmakers and regulators to mitigate all risks. He then gave […]
Reddit has raised $50 million in funding. It’s now planning to offer “shares” in the company to users, though exactly how that will work is uncertain. The funding round is designed to raise money for a program of measures to better maintain and establish the site including taking on new staff, targeting mobile devices and […]
An interesting video explaining how Youtube works and the actual mechanism behind the buffering process. [Computerphile]
A new social network designed to appeal only to the richest users will cost $9,000 to join. Netropolitan — which has a not-particularly-glamorous .info domain — removes some of the technical issues many people have with sites such as Facebook. All content is behind a password and is blocked from indexing by search engines. There’s […]
Comcast has flatly denied it has ordered customers to stop using the Tor browser, or that it has taken any action to enforce such a ban. The statement follows a report at DeepDotWeb, a site specializing in the darknet — a term that can cover both darknet filesharing (a form of peer-to-peer with a restricted […]
Two funny commercials from SolarWinds show what people would look like if they’d start acting the same way in person as they do via email. [SolarWinds on Youtube | Via Neatorama]