Major upgrade for Google search
A new algorithm in the Google search engine interprets users’ search request more accurately.
The algorithm, codenamed Hummingbird, is the first major upgrade to the system in three years. At a presentation on Thursday, Google explained that it had already been in use for a month and helps longer and more complex searched.
Hummingbird works out connections between the words, rather than searching for individual entities, making the searches more accurate and ranking them based on intelligent understanding, rather than simply indexing websites like its predecessor, Caffeine.
NSA reform seeks to limit surveillance
The Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Reform Act has been proposed as a key Senate bill in the US.
IT is the most comprehensive package of surveillance reforms presented to the senate so far.
In a reaction to whistleblower Edward Snowden, three democrat senators: Ron Wyden, Mark Udall and Richard Blumenthal, and Republican Rand Pall, have introduced the bill in an attempt to bring the National Security Agency under control.
The bill proposes to ban the mass collection of phone-record data, ban the collection of internet communication data, close search loopholes, reform the surveillance court and help companies and tech multinationals that are required the secretly hand over customer data to watchdogs.
OFT to move against in-game app fees
The Office of Fair Trading is threatening action against game app makers who are in breach of consumer protection laws by taking payments on apps without explicitly stating so.
The OFT says it has seen evidence of "potentially unfair and aggressive commercial practices" after studying 38 popular titles.
They are particularly concerned that children are susceptible to such tactics after several stories have hit the headlines of parents having to shell out hundreds of pounds to pay for payments unknowlingly made on apps by their children.
The OFT wants to ensure game providers do not mislead gamers and provide up-forn information about the costs associated with the game prior to downloading and not use language that may exploit a child’s inexperience to persuade them to spend money.
