May 11, 2005

Google, where are you?!

A definite case of not realizing what you have til it's gone. At work, we have not been able to use Google for a few weeks now. We get this big Forbidden message with a bunch of code at the bottom and tips on info to give if you want to contact Google about the problem. After a day or so of it being shut to us, our company's IT department finally let us know why it was blocked. People from our company were running unauthorized automated queries. I hardly know what that means, all I know is that it's not allowed, Google found out about it, and now we're blocked. So apparently someone somewhere is dealing with getting our access back, but it's been awhile now. I keep being away from work for awhile and am shocked when I come back and it still doesn't work. It fucking sucks. People in my part of the company have been using a go-around that at least still lets you access Google, but not in its normal, full form. I've gotten into the habit of using Google as a dictionary, and in this bastardized version, you don't get the usual bar at the top that links to a word's definition. It also doesn't give you suggestions for what you probably meant when you spell something wrong. Anyway, it's just not right to make us work in such lame conditions for so long.