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Google To End Google.cn Redirect
shmG writes "Google Inc. has announced a 'new approach' in China after the government said the company could no longer automatically redirect users to the unfiltered Hong Kong site. This gives Baidu Inc., which already has a greater than 60% share in Internet search in China, a chance to expand. It has announced new plans to hire US engineers to enhance its technical skills and propel its growth globally."
Update: 06/29 18:27 GMT by S : Changed the headline to more accurately reflect what Google is doing. They're ending the redirect and applying for a license renewal, so it's still in question whether they'll actually go dark in China. However, they say they're also looking for ways to continue allowing uncensored search, such as putting a high-profile link to their Hong Kong site on the google.cn landing page.
We have therefore been looking at possible alternatives, and instead of automatically redirecting all our users, we have started taking a small percentage of them to a landing page on Google.cn that links to Google.com.hk—where users can conduct web search or continue to use Google.cn services like music and text translate, which we can provide locally without filtering. This approach ensures we stay true to our commitment not to censor our results on Google.cn and gives users access to all of our services from one page.
Over the next few days we’ll end the redirect entirely, taking all our Chinese users to our new landing page—and today we re-submitted our ICP license renewal application based on this approach.
It's kind of funny, the "landing page" is a false image of a search box and when you click anywhere on the page, you go to Google Hong Kong. How this is okay as opposed to a redirect, I'll never know ... and once that page starts eventually taking users to unfiltered results of Tiananmen Square, I think the Chinese Government will take a few more steps to stop it.
Of course it looks like ibtimes has a policy that only allows them to link to more ibtimes sites instead of -- you know -- the original source of all their quotes.
My work here is dung.
I can't wait!
Might it be a tad dangerous for any one group to control something so vastly powerful and important as the media, something that all by itself can start wars, end wars, sway elections, and tell people what they should fear?
Might it be a tad dangerous that the media can influence people that severely? Who do you blame...the media for its influence, or the people that allow themselves to be influenced by it?
Living With a Nerd
That's what this reads like, pro-China PR. Bad round-eye company kicked out, good Chinese company on to world domination!
The only thing missing is the agitprop poster of the worker leading the masses to victory.
"far-left progressives" do not exist in America, at least not by any definition of "left" that the rest of the world is used to. The Overton Window has shifted Americans so far to the right they no longer know what is left unless it is so extreme as to have a Hammer and Sickle stamped on it.
If the media were not influential it would be replaced by media that was.
Those that sit atop the Kingdom got there because they best understood the current game and won it.
Humans are social creatures, and ultimately a pack animal. I'm beginning to believe that the natural order for humans is in fact some sort of feudal system that has leaders ruling the pack. How the leaders are chosen varies over time but ultimately the Leaders rule the pack.
I say this in the context that it may be inherent in humans to be influenced (by those in [power|control|influential-position]). /.ers fall into some variation of this category.
Further, the more you are a free-thinker, anti/non-social or otherwise a non-conformist the less you are likely to accept this natural order and not only cry out against the injustice of the powerful but wonder why the rest of the people around you don't. And I suspect that most
If you think imaginary property and real property are the same, when does your house become public domain?
Sorry, but as much as I disagree with much of what the current power base does, I'm not quite ready to join a bunch of raving nutters who think the solution is to abolish government entirely or return us to some imagined utopia that never existed where the economy was always stable and everyone was always prosperous (seriously, look up some of the many financial collapses that occurred while we were on the gold standard). Ron Paul has some good ideas but he also has some that range from the wildly impractical to the borderline insane.
The Free State Project is basically an example of a few hardcore extremists being cheered on by a bunch of the same people you decry: they sit around and complain but when push comes to shove, they do nothing. That project has been around for many years, and so far the vast majority of people who claim to support it aren't moving and have no real concrete plans to move. Even if they somehow got enough people to move they'd quickly realize what has become apparent in some of the tea party organizations: beyond a general anger at the government, the people in the movement agree on very little. They have no unified plan as to how to fix any of our problems other than "kick everyone out and stop taxing me", which is not really a useful plan.
The people on the extreme right today have the same problem as the extreme left of the 1960s: they're great at protesting and getting attention, but they have no real practical solutions to any of the problems we face. They're heavy on idealism and ideology but very light on pragmatism and reason. They don't represent a feasible alternative to what we have now, which is why they have so much trouble gaining traction beyond their far-right base, and why we're still stuck with the same old government we've always had.
To really rub China the wrong way Google should move all "Chinese" operations to Taiwan with a statement that google.cn will still be available in the one bastion of free Chinese, Taiwan.
Tisha Hayes
Socialism will meet the needs of the great majority of our people and lay the basis for solving our social, economic and environmental problems.
Now tell me, do you personally as an American trust government to meet the great majority of your needs? I could be wrong, but I don't think many people would say yes.
The whole dichotomy between left and right is so flawed that it is more a tool used to divide us than anything meaningful. For example, I favor government that works: I don't care if healthcare becomes state-run or remains independent as long as the more serious problems are fixed. I don't care if gays get married or do anything else they want, as long as it's not hurting other people. I do favor freedom to use guns, and all other basic freedoms. I do think we should help people who need help, whether with a welfare program or some weird faith-based initiative like Bush was pushing, I don't care, as long as it works.
A lot of people don't fit into the left-right mold, and breaking into teams only serves to help those who want us to be fighting (ie. politicians who are always looking for a reason why you should vote against the other guy). Don't give in to their manipulation, instead favor government that works.
Qxe4