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Monday, April 02, 2007

Google fun

I don't get it. I use Google all the friggin' time, so how come I haven't seen a single one of these Google April Fool's jokes?
(I wonder if they are only on google.com, not google.co.uk? A couple of years ago I started to get automatically redirected from google.com to google.co.uk, and I don't know how to change it.)
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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous3 Apr 2007, 06:31:00

    The link to Google TiSP was on the front page of Google.com, under the search box. On Sunday.

    I rolled on the floor laughing. The idea one should run a fiber optic cable through one's toilet sewage plumbing is so inventively ridiculous that it almost makes sense!

    Also, I love how carefully they've constructed the pages. Press Release, FAQ and all. You can't beat that.

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  2. Anonymous3 Apr 2007, 07:59:00

    "A couple of years ago I started to get automatically redirected from google.com to google.co.uk, and I don't know how to change it.)"

    I think they want to "geolocalise" us in order to distribute the load (they have data centers around the world), and also to force feed us with localised services.

    However, you can always use this URL:

    http://www.google.com/ncr

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  3. Eolake Stobblehouse3 Apr 2007, 08:25:00

    You see, I had a sneaky feeling that you could give me the solution to this.

    How do you know stuff like this?

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  4. Anonymous3 Apr 2007, 10:00:00

    "How do you know stuff like this?"

    Because I have suffered this exact same problem, except that for me it's even worse because Google insists on redirecting me to a Finnish version of the Google homepage (www.google.fi).

    Now, I do understand Finnish (it's my native language), but in my brain all computer vocabulary is wired in English. Plus, I've noted that searches on the localized versions of Google prioritise local results. I don't want that.

    I picked the "ncr" thing from the "Google.com in English" link on the local home page. Plus I noticed they had used it somewhere else to override the redirection. Apparently it is the supported way.

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  5. Eolake Stobblehouse3 Apr 2007, 10:20:00

    "I picked the "ncr" thing from the "Google.com in English" link on the local home page."

    Ah! See I don't have that, because obviously the UK page is in English anyway. :)

    Thank you very much.

    NCR would mean... "No C... Redirect"... ?

    Obviously, often I *do* like the local version, especially when shopping. (I buy so much online that couriers fall over each others on the stairs to my apartment.)

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  6. Anonymous4 Apr 2007, 02:12:00

    Eolake said...
    "I buy so much online that couriers fall over each others on the stairs to my apartment."

    Here's a tip : ask for female courriers, and ready your camera.
    There's more than one way to tip a delivery person...

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