Google has updated its News feature. At first look into the behind-the-scenes mechanics, it doesn’t seem to be leveraging any specific or cool semantic technology to align stories with what users indicate they’re interested in reading about, and from what sources. But we’re doing a write-up just the same, because the revise is generating a lot of angst among the Google News crowd. A lot of them want their old Google News back.

Below a few samples of the outrage:

Dig a bit deeper into the messages and you’ve got users complaining that it’s a ploy to create a more ad-sales friendly layout; that what was a nice, clean and easy-to-absorb web page is now a busy mess that’s actually more splattered with stuff they don’t care about; and that if users wanted personalized news instead of pre-categorized news, darn it, they’d go to one of the tons of other sites that let them get that.

The change affects only U.S. Googlers as of this point. And it’s quite possible many of them like the change — the dissidents are always the most vocal in the online world. But hey, if you are one of the folks unhappy with Google’s revision, apparently you can choose Canadian English as one of the other News Editions options and get your old Google News back, one tipster on the message board reports.

Semantic Tech & Business Conference Returns to San Francisco

Semantic Tech & Business Conference returns to San Francisco in June! Join us from June 3-7 for complete coverage of Big Data, Linked Data, Extreme Information Management, and Semantic Web. From breakthrough approaches to solving business problems to the big data implications of fast–evolving technologies, SemTechBiz provides you with an unparalleled interactive experience and delivers tangible business value. We're offering a special early rate when you register by February 17. Sign up now!