Google admits overriding algorithms

Google has admitted it uses whitelists to manually override its search algorithms, more than a year after its European corporate counsel denied the existence of whitelists when defending the company against anti-trust complaints in the EU, says The Register.

According to Search Engine Land, Matt Cutts, head of Google's Web spam team, told a Silicon Valley conference that Google uses “exception lists" that prevent certain algorithms from affecting certain sites.

There is no global whitelist, Cutts said, but for some algorithms, Google will make an exception for sites it believes have been wrongly demoted on its search pages.

US Internet firm AOL is to cut 900 jobs, nearly 20% of its 5 000-strong workforce, as part of a move to restructure the company in the wake of its purchase of online newspaper the Huffington Post, reveals the BBC.

AOL bought the Huffington Post in February for $315 million. The job losses are intended to offset duplication between the two companies.

Some 200 jobs are expected to go from the company's US content and technology divisions.

The iPhone 5 is set to be powered by the same A5 dual-core processor as the iPad 2, according to developers who have looked into the inner workings of the iOS 4.3 firmware update, reports V3.co.uk.

The iOS 4.3 release code contains a kernel for a device named N94AP, which is widely tipped by developers to be the codename for the iPhone 5.

A developer, known as @chronic, found that the part number for the A5 processor is S5L8940. The original iPad and iPhone 4 contained the same A4 chip, lending further support to the theory.

Facebook unveiled two new safety features yesterday in conjunction with a White House summit on bullying, according to CNN.

A new reporting tool will allow Facebook users, including teens and younger users, to privately report troubling content not just to the site itself but to parents, teachers and others in their support system.

An improved Safety Centre, due out in the next few weeks, will provide educational videos, articles and other content created by bullying experts to help adults address the problem.