so upon hearing of the new web browser launched by Google , I decided to give it a try ,I went to the website : www.google.com/chrome
and I had this error message :
The requested URL /service/prod_unavailable.html was not found on this server.
at first I thought there was actually something wrong with some server thingie , but then I read this post ,and all became clear again .
it seems that our friends in Google corp. have decided or agreed to withhold their services from syrian users as part of the embargo by the U.S government against Syria.
I believe this is very unfortunate ,just the other day I was discovering how Google translator is proving to be a very useful tool , I just wish that this will change soon and the services of google could be accessed from Syria as any other country .
as for a campaign to try to change this , I am with any effort to protest this ,however I really don't think it can make such an impact ,that is not to say that we let this pass by unchallenged .
Sunday, September 14, 2008
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9 comments:
lal asaf..
can't find the original post in arabic. is the link correct?
sorry for the nconvinience
i have fixed the link.
thank you. i emailed google press today. no idea if they will respond. i posted about it on our blog too. it's at http://socialmediaexchange.blogspot.com. we're in beirut. hope we get an answer. jd
i have read your post, and many thanks for your interest,please let me know when they respond.
Hi, again. Here's the quote I got from Google:
"In accordance with US export controls and economic sanctions regulations, we are unable to permit the download of Google Chrome in
Syria."
Does this sound reasonable to you?
it is a confirmation that this is part of the sanctions imposed by the American administration against Syria ,
I'll try to answer the question you posted in your blog :
why the "export controls and economic sanctions regulations" apply to downloads but not the Google service in its entirety.
the services that are accessed through a web connection are not blocked since you are using their services on American soil through your internet connection ,while if you wanted to download an application or connect directly to google's servers it is considered a preach of american law .
you can use google mail (gmail) but in case there was an application that you want to download ,say a toolbar you wouldn't be able to do that .
in any case I think it is unfortunate especially since google is keen to offer its products to all parts of the world and its work on open source software ,that shouldn't exclude any nation whatsoever,
i tried to download chrome back when it was launched, so i got what i was expecting , i tried the old trick of using a proxy and downloaded it, even so when u try to install it,chrome checks your geo-location :( i almost gave up at this point.
then i came across a blog post, it was sent from heaven i guess, which contained a link to an offline installer of chrome
i downloaded it and installed it.
sorry but looks like the link is not working anymore
just wanted to share my story
:D
thank you for sharing your experience..:)
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