Category Archives: Google

Google. Bastards.

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So I wake to find that Google had disabled a GMail account. No reason at all. It cannot have been compromised – I use stupidly long passwords – I have not spammed, it is superlow volume, they just did it for kicks. As everyone who has ever tried to contact them knows Google has no Support team. No-one. Nothing. Support budget? $0. So the option to send a Support request is useless. And what do they want otherwise? My mobile phone number. Those “privacy means sod all unless you work for Google” people want another piece of my information just so they can give me access to my email account. So that account will be closed and I’m off to Hotmail or even another domain of mine. I barely use Google now and I’m no worse off and events like this just make my hatred of them burn brighter.

Omar Hamoui needs a clue.

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In the history of technology and innovation, it’s clear that competition delivers the best outcome. Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress.

The company that dominates search, that buys companies and so obliterates the competiton who cannot compete on development and that breaks the law is saying competition is good? Omar hasn’t a clue, not one. Idiot.

About Google. Again.

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Safe Browsing

Diagnostic page for example.com

What is the current listing status for example.com?

This site is not currently listed as suspicious.

What happened when Google visited this site?

Google has not visited this site within the past 90 days.

Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?

Over the past 90 days, example.com did not appear to function as an intermediary for the infection of any sites.

Has this site hosted malware?

No, this site has not hosted malicious software over the past 90 days.

So Google has not visited the site for 90 days but has decided that the site has not acted as an intermediary and has not hosted malicious software. But that site DOES host malware – I just checked. It’s a nasty site I will not link to but trust me, the above result is what Google says. If you skim that page – as people do – Google say it’s safe. The very first line says it’s safe. So maybe people go there and get their sites and computers infected with crap because Google say it’s safe. If they think they are important – and we all know they do – then they should take stuff like this seriously and give a proper answer. They make billions of dollars and can’t get something as basic as this right.

Thanks Google

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As far as I’m concerned, Google Groups is dead.

What is a Usenet Newsgroup?

Usenet is an online bulletin board system that began at Duke University in 1979. Usenet users can post messages to newsgroups that can be read (and responded to) by anyone who has access to the system through a newsreader. Over the years, the number of newsgroups has grown into the thousands; they’re hosted all over the world and cover every conceivable topic.

Google Groups contains the world’s most comprehensive archive of Usenet postings, dating back to 1981. Using Groups, you won’t need a newsreader and you can search this archive the same way you’d search on the web. You can also use Groups to post your own comments to an existing Usenet newsgroup.

It started in 1979. Google bought Deja.com’s archives in 2001. And what happens with each and every Google product without a single exception? Spam. You’d think they would (1) recognise it and (2) have a clue how to deal with it. But they can’t, they don’t and their lack of interest means one of the most interesting places on the net has gone. Just went looking for uk.people.bodyart and it’s all spam. rec.arts.bodyart is slightly better but only just. alt.games.mame is spammy. Everywhere is. Yet the company that says it makes billions of dollars cannot be bothered to clean things up. Brightest people work at Google? So why can’t they figure spam out? Anyway, it’s a shame because Usenet was a great place despite some trolls.

Thanks Google.

Dr Google wants to sell you meds.

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Google: When I first started working on Google Health, I was shocked by how hard it is for people to access their own medical records. I wondered why that’s the case when it’s so easy to access other types of personal information like bank transactions, cell phone records, and utility bills. In many states you can even renew your car registration online with a few clicks. Yet when it comes to something arguably much more important, such as your own medical records or a current list of medications, we have little to no access. It just doesn’t seem right.

Given that Google is saying it, it seems perfectly right.

We’re working to solve this problem. With the recent addition of CVS/pharmacy to our network of pharmacy partners, more than 100 million people can now access their prescription history online and import it into a central, secure place ? a Google Health Account.

Well hell yeah like the first place I’m going to think of writing ANYTHING that personal about my health will be online and even less so with Google.

How the hell can people see this as secure? People freak enough about cookies and yet Google wants to know what STD’s you’ve had so it can flog you some contraception.
We’re working to solve this problem. No. This is NOT a problem. You are saying it is a problem. You are inventing a problem that does not exist. You are selling hype, selling something for the sake of selling something. But then you would because without ads there is no Google.

Google Health? Not a fecking snowball’s chance in hell chance of that happening.

Blogger: a help-free site

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I find yet another blogspot blog stealing my posts. I login and decide to see if Google have yet changed their absolutely stupid rules regarding stolen content displayed on their domain:

See the Help link?

Google has no help

Takes you here:

http://help.blogger.com/bin/static.py?page=start.cs
Google has no help

See the Help Center link? Takes you here:

Google has no help

So not only do Google help spammers and sploggers by making it just about impossible to remove them (flagging stuff is a joke. I’ve flagged many blogs and many youtube accounts and it’s has not made the slightest difference) but it also does not let you find out.

And the DMCA?

To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by fax or regular mail — not by email, except by prior agreement)

As they don’t provide free fax, and as they probably know fax machines are not easily available they choose to use it because it slows everything down to what must be a complete stop for your average blog creator. That’s being pretty evil to your average person.

Edit:
http://www.google.com/dmca.html

If you are sending a large number of URLs in one removal request, please also send an electronic copy of the notice to removals at google dot com.

Why don’t they have an actual email link there? Don’t they trust their own spam software? Are the people on the end of that email afraid of, well, work?

Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit Google to contact you (email address is preferred).

So they want the easy way but you take the hard way?

Apparently Google are hiring. I looked through several pages of their jobs. I couldn’t find a single one that was focused on user support. Now what does that tell you?