Yahoo Takes On Google News With Beta

By Nate Mook | Published April 14, 2005, 12:49 PM

While Google News may be garnering all the attention, Yahoo has been quietly refreshing its own news aggregator, which is now available in beta form. The revamped Yahoo News streamlines the site's interface to pack in more headlines and pictures, along with adding support for user-added news sources via RSS feeds.

Unlike Google, which has even begun including blog postings as news, Yahoo only pulls headlines from a limited number of major media outlets. But to make up for the smaller pool of content, Yahoo members can add headlines from any RSS-enabled Web site, which appear in the "My Sources" tab.

The new tabbed structure allows visitors to quickly flip through news sources without having to reload the page. "And we've added wider story areas and clearer links to related information. All this so you can get to your stories with less effort," the company says.

Yahoo has also hooked up its Y!Q technology to the beta, which highlights similar stories below news articles to enable users to find additional information on a specific topic.

The company has not said when it plans to replace its current Yahoo News page, but it has begun promoting the beta atop its news pages and asking for feedback from users.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

Google knows both what information to provide, how to present it better, and has better customization features.

It's something you have to have a flair for. As a former online sports editor/writer I know how important presentation and organization of content is.

Google gets an 8 out of 10 for presentation. Very close but not yet a 10.

Yahoo gets about 4.5 out 10, nice try but you can do much better than that.

Score: 0

|

Exchange Server 2010 goes live, will extend rights-managed e-mail to browsers

A new feature will give companies a way to prevent users from manipulating e-mail content they receive based on what the messages contain.

Google Chrome 4: Yes, it's fast, but is it usable?

As Betanews readers have responded to our stories about Chrome's JavaScript superiority...Does that mean we'd actually use this browser? Well...

Video: Netflix on PlayStation 3

Netflix has come to the PlayStation 3 via Blu-ray and BD-Live.

Early build of Moblin 2.1 improves connectivity, but not device support

The Linux Foundation's Atom-centric OS yesterday received a major overhaul with the project release of Moblin 2.1 for netbooks and nettops.

Microsoft's Top 3 advances in Exchange Server 2010

The latest round of changes launched today will impact how admins deliver services to e-mail recipients, and how much companies will pay along the way.

Qualcomm: $1.3 billion Samsung licensing deal unrelated to fair trade violations

Samsung has come to a 15-year licensing deal with Qualcomm over 3G and 4G wireless technology.

Firefox turns five: Thanks for giving us a choice

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: No longer the phoenix rising from the ashes, Mozilla has carried on more than just Netscape's legacy.

Nokia's 'limited number' of recalled chargers exceeds 14 million

Today, the Finnish phone maker has begun a recall of mobile phone chargers that are a shock hazard.

Ubuntu 9.10 upgraders report frustration

For those Wine aficionados out there, beware of the remote possibility that your Linux system could be infected by Windows-seeking malware.

Supreme Court considers patentability of abstract methods today

Can software that executes a formula for a business process qualify for federal patents? An appeals court already said no, and inventors are making their case.

Thanks, iPhone: Google buys mobile advertiser AdMob for $750 million

AdMob came to thrive thanks to the iPhone's popularity, now Google has bought it.