et tu Google
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Eh, it's their own fault. They don't want anyone to speak French. A brief anecdote of acquaintances who did the tourist thing in Europe... They're not bilingual, but like most tourists, they know enough words and phrases in the host language to almost "get by." They go to Spain, and try to speak a little Spanish... The locals, in general, are glad to see them making an effort, and help them along here and there (I've personally encountered a similar treatment in Mexico - Very friendly people). Then they go to France, and try the same thing, trying to speak French a bit... The locals, for the most part, were unfriendly or downright hostile, insulted that they're "screwing up" the language by mispronouncing it. Granted, I've never been to Europe, aside from one business trip to London, so this is all second-hand (Well, third-hand), but if it's anywhere near true, it's no surprise that nobody gives a damn about the French :) Oh, and before you mention the "sexy" accents... Give me an Aussie or a Kiwi woman any day... THOSE are sexy accents.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in? Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)
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Back during the Cold War, I had a use for the French, I knew if the Soviets went West, they would think 'Nuke Russians on German soil? Two-fer!' :laugh:
Opacity, the new Transparency.
They had nukes? Wow... I figured they wouldn't have any decent WMDs, since they generally refuse to buy military hardware from anyone else.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in? Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)
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They had nukes? Wow... I figured they wouldn't have any decent WMDs, since they generally refuse to buy military hardware from anyone else.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in? Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)
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ragnaroknrol wrote:
Because private companies should never push personal agendas...
No, my opinion is that Google shouldn't push any agenda.
ragnaroknrol wrote:
They aren't an entity that is supposed to be neutral folks. Anything they decide they want to put on their site is their right. If they wanted to tell us all to assist Nigerian Bankers they could. (Be almost comical if they did.)
No argument with that. But, pushing a particular agenda could raise concerns over bias. In the case of AGW, would sites such as RealClimate[^] be ranked higher than sites like Climate Audit[^]? Doubters could argue that the company that accommodated the Chinese Government would have no qualms in accommodating Al Gore and AGW.
Bob Emmett
The difference here is that Google just plain wouldn't do this for 1 and only 1 reason. They make money because of their reputation. They have the best and most accurate searches. I've tried Bing and yeesh, doing a search on their and on Google is almost like day and night. Yes it is getting better but they have a LOT of catching up to do. You can find stuff with Google and you find it by popularity and referencing. They make it a habit of finding out if people are trying to game their system and they shut down the method. And I really don't care that in order to get into a market the size of China they were willing to work by the rules of the country. They could have refused, but how do you fix something if you never try and work with it? China is going to find their tactics will fail eventually. Systems like that don't work when you have a ton of people visiting free countries and then going home. This next generation is going to know what they are missing and will eventually be the ones in charge. When they change things, Google will already been in place and is going to take advantage of it.
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Unfortunately, if fired at Germany their nukes would launch, stop mid flight, and offer to surrender rather than detonate. When asked the scientist would respond "We gave it a very real French A.I. computer." except that was all said in a haughty accent and in an all but dead romance language.
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Unfortunately, if fired at Germany their nukes would launch, stop mid flight, and offer to surrender rather than detonate. When asked the scientist would respond "We gave it a very real French A.I. computer." except that was all said in a haughty accent and in an all but dead romance language.
To misquote St. Robin (Williams)... "Those filthy Americans... We hate you, Americans! Go home, Ameri-- Oh no, the Germans are coming! Hello, Americans! We love you, Americans! Yes, come on in! Come, build a theme park! We won't go there, but build it anyway!"
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in? Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)
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The difference here is that Google just plain wouldn't do this for 1 and only 1 reason. They make money because of their reputation. They have the best and most accurate searches. I've tried Bing and yeesh, doing a search on their and on Google is almost like day and night. Yes it is getting better but they have a LOT of catching up to do. You can find stuff with Google and you find it by popularity and referencing. They make it a habit of finding out if people are trying to game their system and they shut down the method. And I really don't care that in order to get into a market the size of China they were willing to work by the rules of the country. They could have refused, but how do you fix something if you never try and work with it? China is going to find their tactics will fail eventually. Systems like that don't work when you have a ton of people visiting free countries and then going home. This next generation is going to know what they are missing and will eventually be the ones in charge. When they change things, Google will already been in place and is going to take advantage of it.
Bob Emmett wrote:
But, pushing a particular agenda could raise concerns over bias. In the case of AGW, would sites such as RealClimate[^] be ranked higher than sites like Climate Audit[^]? Doubters could argue that the company that accommodated the Chinese Government would have no qualms in accommodating Al Gore and AGW.
I am not saying that Google would be guilty of bias, merely that doubts could be raised as to bias, and that their accommodation of the Chinese Government could be used against them. (Think Uncle Alex and Phelim McAleer.)
Bob Emmett If it ain't broke, it ain't Britain.
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To misquote St. Robin (Williams)... "Those filthy Americans... We hate you, Americans! Go home, Ameri-- Oh no, the Germans are coming! Hello, Americans! We love you, Americans! Yes, come on in! Come, build a theme park! We won't go there, but build it anyway!"
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in? Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)
Actually, they were total dicks about their weapons program, too. They kept up an atmospheric test program for years after everyone else stopped. They only quit after the fallout (snigger) from the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior[^]. [edit] Apparently I'm mistaken about the atmospheric aspect of their testing - the last atmospheric test was in the 70's. Heh. Beat y'all to it. :-D [/edit]
modified on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 3:54 PM
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If you run on over to http://www.google.com/[^], below the search button they have "New! Explore impact of climate change on Google Earth". It's takes you to a video of global warming propaganda narrated by Americatowns greatest hypocrite Al *douchebag* Gore. I guess the thing that annoys me is that up till now I Google seemed to stay impartial on issues banging their little drum of "don't be evil". I just want to search for info from them, not have them advocating one thing or another. On their home page no less. Perhaps next they'll throw their support behind Scientology and provide links on the home page for discussions of Zenu and how all other faiths are false. Maybe it is time to give bing a try....
thrakazog wrote:
I just want to search for info from them, not have them advocating one thing or another. On their home page no less.
And you've just started to notice they've been doing this for quite a while now? You should have seen the uproar over them having a *gasp* fossil as their banner for a day. It's amazing how many people started crying to boycott google within the first couple hours, but given their short attention spans they quickly forgot about it and moved on to other horrible threats to Christianity, like gay marriage. That said, at least you can articulate dismay without resorting to hysterics, that's a vast improvement over the last batch.
modified on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 3:55 PM
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Bob Emmett wrote:
But, pushing a particular agenda could raise concerns over bias. In the case of AGW, would sites such as RealClimate[^] be ranked higher than sites like Climate Audit[^]? Doubters could argue that the company that accommodated the Chinese Government would have no qualms in accommodating Al Gore and AGW.
I am not saying that Google would be guilty of bias, merely that doubts could be raised as to bias, and that their accommodation of the Chinese Government could be used against them. (Think Uncle Alex and Phelim McAleer.)
Bob Emmett If it ain't broke, it ain't Britain.
Very true. But let's look at the common man on the street that does online searches. Do they : A) know about what concessions Google had to make for China? b) care about a? c) want to find that YouTube video of the guy getting kicked in the nuts? d) look for porn? You will find A and B to be dead last. Heck, the number of people that care about either of those two you mention is so small in number that if they did uncover a genuine problem, the best you could hope for is about .5% of the internet population finding out because the fanatics following them repost everything and someone actually noticed they were right for once. In the meantime I think the founders of Google will continue to swim in $100 bills in their large bank vault made of gold.
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Actually, they were total dicks about their weapons program, too. They kept up an atmospheric test program for years after everyone else stopped. They only quit after the fallout (snigger) from the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior[^]. [edit] Apparently I'm mistaken about the atmospheric aspect of their testing - the last atmospheric test was in the 70's. Heh. Beat y'all to it. :-D [/edit]
modified on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 3:54 PM
Only the French could manage to surrender to a bunch of hippies in a ship that is named that fruity...
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thrakazog wrote:
I just want to search for info from them, not have them advocating one thing or another. On their home page no less.
And you've just started to notice they've been doing this for quite a while now? You should have seen the uproar over them having a *gasp* fossil as their banner for a day. It's amazing how many people started crying to boycott google within the first couple hours, but given their short attention spans they quickly forgot about it and moved on to other horrible threats to Christianity, like gay marriage. That said, at least you can articulate dismay without resorting to hysterics, that's a vast improvement over the last batch.
modified on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 3:55 PM
Distind wrote:
And you've just started to notice they've been doing this for quite a while now?
Yeah, there have probably been several slip by that I didn't notice.
Distind wrote:
their banner for a day
The banner thing never bothered me as it just launched their search for the topic at hand. If the topic had 2 sides to consider both usually present themselves in the returned results. The link they had up the other day was more of: Here's a bunch of one sided information we're presenting as fact. I am probably just naive for expecting better from them.
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Very true. But let's look at the common man on the street that does online searches. Do they : A) know about what concessions Google had to make for China? b) care about a? c) want to find that YouTube video of the guy getting kicked in the nuts? d) look for porn? You will find A and B to be dead last. Heck, the number of people that care about either of those two you mention is so small in number that if they did uncover a genuine problem, the best you could hope for is about .5% of the internet population finding out because the fanatics following them repost everything and someone actually noticed they were right for once. In the meantime I think the founders of Google will continue to swim in $100 bills in their large bank vault made of gold.
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Only the French could manage to surrender to a bunch of hippies in a ship that is named that fruity...
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Eh, it's their own fault. They don't want anyone to speak French. A brief anecdote of acquaintances who did the tourist thing in Europe... They're not bilingual, but like most tourists, they know enough words and phrases in the host language to almost "get by." They go to Spain, and try to speak a little Spanish... The locals, in general, are glad to see them making an effort, and help them along here and there (I've personally encountered a similar treatment in Mexico - Very friendly people). Then they go to France, and try the same thing, trying to speak French a bit... The locals, for the most part, were unfriendly or downright hostile, insulted that they're "screwing up" the language by mispronouncing it. Granted, I've never been to Europe, aside from one business trip to London, so this is all second-hand (Well, third-hand), but if it's anywhere near true, it's no surprise that nobody gives a damn about the French :) Oh, and before you mention the "sexy" accents... Give me an Aussie or a Kiwi woman any day... THOSE are sexy accents.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in? Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)
At one time the French really lived up to the impression you have. My first visit was in 82 and they could just look at you and know you were American. If you tried to speak French to them, they'd ignore you. The ones who had regular business dealings with Americans were fine though. My next visit was in 91 and by then fashion had changed so they couldn't spot us at 100 paces and the Common Market was pushing English on them. I was mistaken for being German. :omg: I was in Paris in 99 getting ready for the end of the world and even with the Parisians reputation for being some of the rudest people in the world,I was surprised how easy it was to get around in English. Even when I tried to speak French, they'd switch to English. Another guy with the group was the original ugly American and would just walk up to people and lauch into English. He had no problem. Some people even went out of their way to try to be helpful. Things seemed to have mellowed out a bit over that time period. However, they could have backslid in the last 10 years.
You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists.
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At one time the French really lived up to the impression you have. My first visit was in 82 and they could just look at you and know you were American. If you tried to speak French to them, they'd ignore you. The ones who had regular business dealings with Americans were fine though. My next visit was in 91 and by then fashion had changed so they couldn't spot us at 100 paces and the Common Market was pushing English on them. I was mistaken for being German. :omg: I was in Paris in 99 getting ready for the end of the world and even with the Parisians reputation for being some of the rudest people in the world,I was surprised how easy it was to get around in English. Even when I tried to speak French, they'd switch to English. Another guy with the group was the original ugly American and would just walk up to people and lauch into English. He had no problem. Some people even went out of their way to try to be helpful. Things seemed to have mellowed out a bit over that time period. However, they could have backslid in the last 10 years.
You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists.
Nah, my info is from the mid 90s... The real difference, though, is when you try to speak THEIR language... The response could be: "Oh, that's very good, but you pronounce it like this... Try it. Great! :)" or "Ugh, stop... You suck at French... Just speak English and we'll tolerate your presence..."
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in? Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)
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Nah, my info is from the mid 90s... The real difference, though, is when you try to speak THEIR language... The response could be: "Oh, that's very good, but you pronounce it like this... Try it. Great! :)" or "Ugh, stop... You suck at French... Just speak English and we'll tolerate your presence..."
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in? Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)
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Distind wrote:
And you've just started to notice they've been doing this for quite a while now?
Yeah, there have probably been several slip by that I didn't notice.
Distind wrote:
their banner for a day
The banner thing never bothered me as it just launched their search for the topic at hand. If the topic had 2 sides to consider both usually present themselves in the returned results. The link they had up the other day was more of: Here's a bunch of one sided information we're presenting as fact. I am probably just naive for expecting better from them.
thrakazog wrote:
The link they had up the other day was more of: Here's a bunch of one sided information we're presenting as fact.
Funny, that's exactly what the creationists where saying. Not trying to accuse you of anything, but just pointing it out for any relevant concern that may generate with you.