China Blocks Google Over Porn, Foreign Search

Google will give users a choice in hopes to appease Beijing

(AP) - Google will stop automatically rerouting users of its China search site to its Hong Kong site, the company said today, after Beijing threatened the company with the loss of its Internet license. Instead of automatically being switched to Hong Kong, visitors to Google.cn now see a tab that says in Chinese "We have moved to google.com.hk." "They made it clear to us that they did not think the redirect was acceptable," said a Google spokeswoman. She declined to say what reasons the government gave for its objections. More»

Helpful features make Microsoft's search engine more than a Google copy

(NEWSER) - It's easy to mock Bing as Microsoft's latest attempt to rip off a competitor. Bloggers, in fact, have christened the search engine "But It's Not Google." That’s actually true, writes David Pogue in the New York Times. "In many ways, Bing is better." Here's how:

• When you hover your mouse over a search result, Bing opens a pop-up window that displays the first few paragraphs. Saves time clicking on dead ends.

Surf Canyon and SearchWiki provide different methods to customize results

(NEWSER) - Two new tools aim to make your web searches more valuable—and while both succeed, differences in how Google’s SearchWiki and Surf Canyon operate will make the difference for users, Katherine Boehret writes in the Wall Street Journal. SearchWiki acts as a function of a Google account: While logged in, it allows users to change the order results appear in and add notes on the link. More»

Language barrier keeps search engine a bit player in big market

(NEWSER) - "Google" is a verb in many dictionaries, but the challenge of pronouncing it in Chinese has spelled trouble for the planet’s biggest search engine. "G-O-O-G-L-E is not a normal Chinese spelling and people don't pronounce it right," one Google exec tells Bloomberg of China, where the company holds less than half the market share of leader Baidu. More»

Move likely to cost firm more than $1B

(NEWSER) - Google has given all its employees a little holiday surprise: a $1,000 bonus and a 10% raise starting next year, reports Henry Blodget at Business Insider . And, citing employee feedback, Google will convert a portion of their bonuses to their salary—though merit-based bonuses will still be awarded separately. And just to be swell, Google’s paying the taxes on the $1,000. More»