Google To End Google.cn Redirect 183
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.
Re:Absolutely IMPORTANT! (Score:4, Insightful)
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?
Slashdot running CPC propaganda? (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
Rather than lose China, I'd comply with the government's wishes and obey the law (i.e. filter). Nice guys who "do no evil" ultimately finish last.
On the other hand, they have my vocal support. I'm glad I went with an Android based phone. I'm glad I've developed only on Android and not iPhone. I never used Bing. I never used Bing Cashback even though my friends told me it was giving them money back. And I'm glad I've used Google. Given two competing products of the same functionality in the future I'd go with Google's. At the same time I am aware they are flawed, have privacy issues and will play ball with the American government by folding faster than superman on laundry day.
I'm not a blind stark raving idiot fanboy but upon hearing of Google's commitment to move to unfiltered search results, they have achieved something in my mind and brought themselves to a level of idealism that I identify with.
Does it hurt their pocketbook? You bet. But to say it does nothing else is disingenuous. You may not consider my admiration monetarily worth anything but it is something.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:3, Insightful)
It's amusing you still believe "nice guys finish last" while you're fine with being evil but have to resort to begging for other people's used, cast-off hardware. The lesson seems to be lost on you, but in a nutshell it's a myth that evil triumphs while good fails. In fact, "good" and "evil" have absolutely nothing to do with success or failure. To believe otherwise is simple superstition.
Re:Absolutely IMPORTANT! (Score:5, Insightful)
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
Uh, going dark? (Score:2, Insightful)
How on earth is this considered "going dark"? Google will no longer automatically redirect to .hk, but they're doing that specifically so they stay up in China. What's happening is the opposite of going dark.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:3, Insightful)
Nice guys who capitulate to evil still finish last, and feel bad about themselves besides. If you want to win by being evil, you have to embrace it, not merely capitulate to it.
Re:China is the model the west wants to emulate (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:3, Insightful)
Baidu might even gain enough power to come to the US and dominate our market too.
Only way this could ever possibly happen is if every other search engine available in the US decided to start charging for access.
There is a huge difference between buying cheap, shoddily made Chinese manufactured physical objects & trusting a free Chinese search engine.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
Baidu might even gain enough power to come to the US and dominate our market too.
Yup. I can't wait to use products from a company who's in the back pocket of the Chinese government.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:3, Insightful)
You can still get married and have kids while being a nice guy. In fact it greatly helps!
Love does not involve hitting a woman over the head with a club and dragging her back to your cave, you know. :)
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:1, Insightful)
Lost of people choose not to have kids, jackass. What are you, a mindless animal?
If they really wanted to torque off China (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:2, Insightful)
The problem is that being selfish and doing everything you believe necessary for your own advancement can backfire. One can easily end up been isolated and left in the cold. In my experience, those who have taken their time to help others, establish trust and rally people around their own interests do better in the long run. You have to give a little to get a little. Selfishness is a huge turnoff.
Re:China is the model the west wants to emulate (Score:3, Insightful)
There are no serious Libertarian candidates. That's the nature of Libertarianism. No serious, thoughtful person takes that ideology seriously. It makes perfect sense as explained, it just doesn't happen to jive with the reality of human behavior, so it is forever assigned to the minds of people who choose to believe simple platitudes instead of paying attention to the vagaries and difficult-to-explain nuances of human nature.
And Ron Paul is a great example of that.
Re:China is the model the west wants to emulate (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
It's not a matter of being nice. It's a matter of having a spine and not selling your principles the second it becomes convenient to do so. And actually bragging that you would... well. I guess you just set the new record for being pathetic. Congratulations.
I could also comment on how your eagerness to cooperate with the Chinese dictatorship combines with your frequent implications of libertarian leanings to create the picture of a truly pitiful individual, one completely devoid of any values besides personal gain and completely undeserving of any freedom yourself since you're willing to help remove it from others for money, but frankly, why bother? You're not going to care, and anyone else has sufficient knowledge to ignore you and your worthless opinions from now on.
Crawl back to under the rock you came from, worm.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
Nice guys who "do no evil" ultimately finish last.
No, actually, they don't. In short: cooperation is beneficial, and it's easier to find cooperative partners if you have a reputation of being "nice". If we're talking about a one-round zero-sum game, then nice guys finish last. Most practical "games" don't fall into that category.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:3, Insightful)
Because, they have PS3s just like you. They have flat screen HDTVs just like you. They have cars, one or two per house hold just like you. Their girls sport Louis Vuitton items, just like the American girl who saves up three or four paychecks to get one herself. They go to clubs, parks and museums, rock concerts and other outings just like you.
No, they really fucking don't. How did this get modded up? The Chinese market isn't just useless because of the vast poverty of the overwhelming majority of its citizens, you can't even sell to them, without partnering up with the party *cough* a local business, and one of the rules of entering the Chinese market is that you have to hand over whatever technological IP you might have. Still on the plus side, trade unions are starting to take hold there after the Foxconn mess, and they will be forced to compete fairly on the international market with the value of their currency. Alternately they can try to sell to Chinese people instead of rich Americans and find out rather rapidly about how keeping most of your workforce at subsistence levels means you're cutting your own nose off to spite your face.