John Lister

Google has put together an aerial map of the world free of clouds. The project has involved pasting together different satellite shots to form a clear, unobstructed view of the earth. The Google Earth map shows an aerial view rather than ... first-person shots. Although the map is not as detailed as Google's Street View cities, it does cover the entire globe. Google notes that the famous "Blue Marble" image created by NASA covers around 500 meters with every pixel. The new Google image covers 15 meters with every pixel, representing a significant improvement. Image The Size Of City Block ... (view more)

A European court says Google should only be forced to delete search engine listings in extreme circumstances. It's a blow to campaigners seeking a legal 'right to be forgotten.' The court comments follow the case of a Spanish man whose home was ... repossessed in 1998. A local newspaper published a government announcement about an auction for the property. That article remains online today and is among the first results when you search for the man's name using Google. He says the repossession is far in the past and wants the link to the newspaper article removed. The man complained to Spanish ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning two dozen leading search engines -- including Bing, Google, and Yahoo -- that they must do more to show the difference between paid advertising and "natural" search results. The FTC warned that blurring ... the lines between the two could be classed as an unlawful and deceptive practice. The warning comes in a formal letter detailing updates to guidelines first published in 2002. The letter says that since that time, search engines are doing a worse job of distinguishing paid ads and that there has been "a decline in compliance with the letter's ... (view more)

Stanford University is working on a new tool that will help Internet users stop advertisers from tracking their online activity. But efforts to produce an industry-wide solution remain bogged down in negotiations. The issue revolves around ... 'cookies,' small text files that are created by a website and stored on a user's computer. Later, they're used as reference information when a user re-visits a site. Cookies can be very helpful. For example, if you type your zip code into a movie listing website, the site will often create a cookie. The next time you visit that site you'll get local ... (view more)

The percentage of people willing to pay for online news appears to be on the rise. However, an international study suggests the vast majority of people are still unwilling to pay for the news they find on the Internet. Reuters has published a study ... based on research in nine countries. The study examines the way people consume news on the Internet, both via laptop and desktop computers and through portable devices, like smartphones. (Source: digitalnewsreport.org ) Researchers found the percentage of people who had paid for an online news service, such as a digital newspaper subscription, ... (view more)

Google has been accused of not doing enough to stop a) illegal pharmacy sales, and b) Internet piracy. Mississippi's attorney general says he plans to demand Google hand over confidential documents to see if the firm has breached any laws. The ... complaints come from Ken Cuccinellli, Jim Hood and David Louie, the attorneys general of Virginia, Mississippi, and Hawaii. Together, they're alleging that Google is guilty of "assisting in the sale of prescription drugs without a prescription and intentionally ignoring reports of rogue pirate sites selling stolen music, movies, software and video games ... (view more)

Yahoo and Apple have revealed how the US government accesses their customers' private information. It's part of an ongoing campaign by tech firms to try to avoid being tainted by the ongoing National Security Agency's PRISM scandal . Until recently ... neither Yahoo nor Apple had discussed their role in the scandal, which involves government surveillance and secretive data requests. However, both firms have now published statistics showing how many times the government demanded information about their customers. Yahoo Hit With 2,000 Data Requests A Month Yahoo says that between the beginning of ... (view more)

If you rarely use social networking sites or share links with friends, there's some great news. You might just see fewer advertisements thanks to a new plan from Yahoo. The company has filed a patent covering a system by which advertisers can pay ... extra to reach users with a high "social authority". (Source: uspto.gov ) A social authority ranking would be based on several factors, including a person's use of sites like Facebook and Twitter. The number of friends or followers the person has on these sites would also be considered. Advertisers Looking For Social Network Chatterboxes Through the ... (view more)

Google has revealed extensive details about what it does when the government asks for access to your personal data. It's part of an ongoing attempt by the search giant to distance itself from the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance scandal . ... Google's explanation is designed to make a clear point: that it delivers the data directly to the government, rather than allowing the government to physically access Google computers. The company wants to make clear it doesn't allow officials the opportunity to access more data than the law requires. (Source: nytimes.com ) Google continues to ... (view more)

Think you're a safe driver because you use hands-free technologies to communicate with friends and family while behind the wheel? Think again. The American Automobile Association (AAA) is recommending drivers not use such tools at all while driving ... their vehicles. The recommendation follows a study by a cognitive distraction researcher and his team at the University of Utah. The researchers carried out a series of tests that showed drivers could still be distracted when using hands-free communications tools. AAA chief Robert Darbelnet said the group's suggestion to avoid the technology might ... (view more)