Google Talk Like a Pirate Homepage
Google has a couple of playful language variations of their homepage (like Klingon or Elmer Fudd). Now they released a new lingo – Pirate, as today is Talk Like a Pirate Day. Save the settings page and you’ll see a new Google homepage interface. Here are some of the translations used…
| Google Search | Google Searrrch |
| I’m Feeling Lucky | I Be Feelin’ Lucky |
| Advanced Search | Use Me Better Spyglass |
| Preferences | Me Likes An’ Dislikes |
Also see Google 1407.
[Thanks Dave Shaw! Also see Google’s post on this.]
[By Philipp Lenssen | Origin: Google Talk Like a Pirate Homepage | Comments]
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Google on the “Intelligent Cloud”
Google’s Franz Och and Alfred Spector add their thoughts to Google’s series of musings on the future of the internet and Google over the next 10 years:
<<In coming years, computer processing, storage, and networking capabilities will continue up the steeply exponential curve they have followed for the past few decades. By 2019, parallel-processing computer clusters will be 50 to 100 times more powerful in most respects. (…)
Thus, computer systems will have greater opportunity to learn from the collective behavior of billions of humans. They will get smarter, gleaning relationships between objects, nuances, intentions, meanings, and other deep conceptual information.>>
The writers add:
<<The impact of such systems will go well beyond Google. Researchers across medical and scientific fields can access massive data sets and run analysis and pattern detection algorithms that aren’t possible today.>>
Google and other companies may use this for smarter tools – smarter tools which won’t be without privacy implications to consider*.
*Depending on what people decide to store in the cloud, Google may be able to run their analysis and pattern detection over information such as our emails, health records, search behavior, browser surfing behavior, docs and blog posts which are live or in draft, over uploaded videos, Google reader subscriptions, satellite imagery and more, as “research and analysis … in order to … improve services” is part of Google’s privacy policy. Beyond that, depending on local laws, Google may share information collected in the cloud with “companies or individuals outside of Google” if they believe that doing so satisfies “applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request”. Government policies and requests to Google vary by country.
[Via GoogleWatchBlog.]
[By Philipp Lenssen | Origin: Google on the "Intelligent Cloud" | Comments]
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Google Stopped Censoring Human Rights Watch in China
Entering site:hrw.org into Google China for a long time resulted in a censorship notice instead of a link to the Human Rights Watch organization (Google went live with a self-censored Google.cn in January 2006). Now when I enter that query into Google.cn, at least here from Germany, I get the real site and no censorship notice anymore. I don’t know when this happened, and why; perhaps Google received an updated blacklist from the Chinese government, perhaps something changed with Google’s censorship algorithm, perhaps Google lobbied for this site to be taken from the list, or something else happened.
Does this mean Google stopped agreeing to censor human rights organizations in China? No. For instance, a search for site:hrichina.org still results in zero pages, along with Google’s Chinese message which auto-translates to “According to local laws and regulations and policies, some search results were not revealed.” The top headlines at that site, Human Rights in China, currently are:
- “Chengdu House Church Files First Suit in China Against Government Religious Authority”
- “Mao Hengfeng, Petitioner on Family Planning Issues, Reports Continued Abuse in Prison”
- “HRIC September Take Action: Put an End to Torture in China”
- “Petitioners Call Sentence Repeal a ’Victory for Civilization,’ Thank International Media”
- “Authorities Relent on Reeducation-Through-Labor Sentence for Elderly Women who Applied for Protest Permit”
- “Action Bulletin: Activist Hu Jia Serving 3 1/2-year Jail Sentence”
- “Action Bulletin: The Earthquake in China”
Also see the Google censorship FAQ.
[By Philipp Lenssen | Origin: Google Stopped Censoring Human Rights Watch i ... | Comments]
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A Photo a Day for 17 Years (Video)
[Dan Hanna says these are “17 years worth of taking 2 photos a day as my head rotates in sync with the Earth around the Sun.” Via Andy.]
[By Philipp Lenssen | Origin: A Photo a Day for 17 Years (Video) | Comments]
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Better Not Link to Google News Hosted Articles
Ever Since 2007, Google hosts stories by some news agencies like Associated Press as part of Google News. While many other news sites (e.g. CNN) carry stories by news agencies too, linking to Google News hosted stories seemed like a good idea if you like to point readers to an uncluttered version of the report. However, as Digital Inspiration points out and as Google explains in their help, these Google News articles disappear after 30 days – compare this article which is currently live (also see screenshot) with this one which is gone by now*. Digital Inspiration suggests to link to CNN, NYT and other websites instead to create more permanent links for your visitors.
[Via Friendfeed.]
*If you want to get an idea of the phenomenon known as link rot, try to check the older archive of a blog that has been running for many years, like Boing Boing or this one.
[By Philipp Lenssen | Origin: Better Not Link to Google News Hosted Article ... | Comments]
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