Steve Bryant

A recently published patent reveals the basic rules governing results in Google Blog Search, said the Google Operating System blog. The patent, filed in September 2005 and published last week, reveals that Google uses — or at least planned to use — the following indicators to rank blog search results: Positive signals Negative signals (spam […]

Google may not be redesigning itself as Yahoo anytime soon, but it has started to offer some more personal touches to Google Personalized Homepage (GPH). Starting today you can choose from seven theme images to grace the top area of your GPH. The themes change appearances depending on the time of day in your zip […]

A pair of Microsoft researchers claim to have discovered how to combat spam blogs, or splogs, and say that Google’s Blogger hosting service is to blame for permitting such phony doorway pages to grow like kudzu. According to The New York Times, a technical paper published by the researchers says the links promoting such pages […]

Comcast is negotiating with Microsoft to replace Google as its search portal technology partner, reports the Wall Street Journal. Comcast, which thinks it should get a larger search ad rev share, isn’t happy about the terms of the deal, which is set to expire at the end of this year. Comcast.net gets about 15 million […]

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency executed a search warrant against YouTube and Hotmail as part of an investigation against a drug trafficker who was threatening the life of his brother, Google Watch has learned. The drug trafficker, who was arrested in May, 2005 at the Mexico/California border after agents found 25.3 kilograms of […]

A Google exec has confirmed that Google is developing a mobile phone but is downplaying the phone’s significance. “Some of the time the engineers are dedicated to developing a mobile phone,” said Isabel Aguilera, Google chief executive in Spain and Portugal, to the Spanish news Web site Noticias.com. Aguilera noted that the phone was only […]

Google, long a source of concern for privacy advocates worried about the publication of personal search histories, announced yesterday that it would start anonymizing those records 18-24 months after the searches are made. But privacy advocates have mixed feelings about Google’s efforts, reports the New York Times. Google’s privacy practices came under some scrutiny last […]

And during the fifth month, the lawsuits came. Media conglomerate Viacom filed today a $1 billion lawsuit against Google and YouTube over alleged unauthorized use of the company’s copyrighted video. The complaint, filed in New York federal court, accuses Google and YouTube of “massive intentional copyright infringement” and seeks an injunction against further violations. Viacom, […]

Why are you still sitting at your desk? Viacom sued YouTube and you should be running around like Mark Cuban with his head cut off. Below, Viacom’s argument as presented in their official complaint, filed in New York federal district court. I’ve taken the liberty of editing the language a bit and consolidating a few […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday announced civil charges against three Indian men who allegedly manipulated Google “put options” and Sun Microsystems shares by using stolen log-ins to break into online brokerage accounts. The trio set up accounts at lesser known online brokerage firms and bought large quantities of thinly traded securities, the prices […]