Webware

Google is arousing the anger of rival search providers who argue that the company is intentionally and unfairly ranking content from its own specialized search services above their own.

The complaint centers on searches for specialized or local content, such as travel services, health sites, and reviews of local restaurants and businesses. In the past, users searching on Google for such content were typically directed to specialized search providers, companies like TripAdvisor.com, WebMD.com, and Citysearch.com.

But as Google has increasingly ramped up its own specialized search services, these companies believe the search giant is stacking the deck … Read more

An outage that took down some of Amazon's European Web sites yesterday was caused by hardware error and not hackers, according to the company.

The online retailer's shopping sites in the U.K, France, Spain, and Germany were down for about half an hour starting around 9:15 p.m. GMT, leading to initial speculation that Amazon had been hit by hackers associated with the pro-WikiLeaks group Anonymous.

But in a statement released to Reuters, Amazon attributed the cause to hardware problems.

"The brief interruption to our European retail sites earlier today was due to hardware failure … Read more

OAKLAND, Calif.--It's fairly rare in 2010 to walk into a technology company where the first thing presented to visitors is a whiteboard covered in multicolor Post-It notes.

But that's exactly what lies just beyond the receptionist's desk at Ask.com, the venerable yet beleaguered Internet company in the middle of yet another strategy shift. The sticky notes are actually part of the company's product-development workflow, giving everyone a visual representation of the number of balls in the air at any given time, not just those logged into the project management software.

Doug Leeds, president of … Read more

Google quietly added an advanced search feature over the last couple of days that sorts the Internet by reading level.

Search Engine Roundtable noticed that when you click on the "advanced search" link next to a Google search box on the right, you're now presented with an additional option to sort by "reading level," which lets you "annotate results with reading levels," "show only basic results," "show only intermediate results," and "show only advanced results."

A Google representative said in a statement that the company added this &… Read more

YouTube is rewarding users who do what it asks of them.

The company announced in a blog post yesterday that it has lifted the 15-minute limit on video uploads for "selected users" who have "a history of complying with the YouTube Community Guidelines and our copyright rules." It seems that those who have violated its terms in the past are still limited to 15 minutes.

YouTube didn't explicitly say for sure that well-behaved users will have an unlimited amount of time for their uploads, but it did say that if users upload "original content, … Read more

Angry Birds creator Rovio is ruffling its feathers and spreading its wings. At an event today touting the game's popularity, the company discussed an in-app payment system it will soon open up to all developers.

Dubbed Bad Piggy Bank, the service is designed to be a "one-touch payment" option for consumers who want to buy goods in-game. Rovio was quick to point out that no registration or credit card is required at the time of purchase. Instead, users will be billed on their monthly phone bill.

Rovio said its decision to launch Bad Piggy Bank is rooted … Read more

The Anonymous group that has been attacking Web sites of organizations that it deems enemies of WikiLeaks has apparently issued a press release to explain its motivations and structure.

"Anonymous is not a group of hackers," Anonymous representatives wrote in a statement (PDF) issued today. "We are average Internet citizens ourselves and our motivation is a collective sense of being fed up with all the minor and major injustices we witness every day."

The group said it does not intend "to steal your personal information or credit card numbers" and does not plan on … Read more

Just in time for New Year's resolution season, a site called Fitango has launched, intending to provide a marketplace where people can buy "plans" from experts who can offer online tutorials in anything from training for a marathon to transitioning to a vegan diet to learning as much Italian as possible one month before traveling to Florence.

It's structured like an app store. Pick an "Actionplan," pay for it (though some are free), and you'll receive instructions, including video and audio, where applicable, over a given span of time. You're invited to … Read more

Enthusiasm for a promising new standard called Web Sockets has quickly cooled in some quarters as a potential security problem led some browser makers to hastily postpone support.

The Web Sockets technology, which opens up a live communication link between a browser and a server, remains an important part of plans to make the Web a home for more dynamic, interactive sites. It could, for example, speed up Google Instant searching and multiplayer games. But Mozilla and Opera put their Web Socket plans on hold this week until the wrinkles are ironed out.

The reversal is only the latest difficulty, … Read more