Goojje

It all sounds a little too weird and disturbing at the same time but it looks like a certain Chinese site is ready to replace Google Search altogether. Goojje is the name of the new search engine
and it might become the alternative China needs should Google withdraw from the market.

A certain stereotype says about the Chinese that they can copy pretty much any product. That’s certainly based on the large number of replicas and knock offs coming from China, a country that happens to be producing lots of the original products which it copies later on.

But Google’s search engine should be a lot more difficult to replicate, wouldn’t you agree? Or at least that would be the case if Goojje would be going for world domination in the search market. But Goojje seems to be a quick solution to the search needs of a country like China.

Google threatened to pull out of the market after having discovered that it was the target of cyber attacks originating from China. The Chinese government denied such allegations but Google stood its ground refusing to censor search results anymore. Furthermore the company postponed Android plans for China although Android smartphone manufacturers targeting the Chinese market are still proceeding according to plans.

And that’s how Goojje appeared. The explanation for the chosen word is that the final syllable of the word, “jje” sounds very familiar to the Mandarin pronunciation for Google which ends in “jiejie.” And Goojje search is delivering search results according to Chinese regulations which is why one would think that the service has been conceived in order to replace Google’s presence in China.

Google hasn’t commented on the situation yet but it will be interesting to see what happens next in the Chinese online search business. In the mean time Goojje has a message for Google on its home page:

Sister was very happy when brother gave up the thought of leaving and stayed for sister.

In Chinese Goojje sounds like “sister” while the pronunciation of Google sounds like “big brother.”

Read: Goojje Search Engine Launches in China [Goojje to Replace Google Search in China?] » TFTS – Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Source: nexus404

China’s government plans to require all PCs sold in that country as of July 1 to be shipped with software that blocks certain Web sites, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The move, which is expected to give government censors heightened control over how China’s citizens use the Internet, is intended to protect young people from “harmful” content such as pornography, according to the software’s main developer.

The software, called “Green Dam-Youth Escort,” would block access to banned Web sites by connecting to a regularly updated database of banned sites and block access to those addresses, according to the report. The requirement is aimed at “constructing a green, healthy, and harmonious Internet environment, and preventing harmful information on the Internet from influencing and poisoning young people,” according to a May 19 Chinese government notice the newspaper cited.

The Chinese government has a reputation for restricting its citizens’ access to the Internet.

Last week, on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, China reportedly blocked access to Web sites like Twitter, Yahoo’s Flickr, YouTube, Microsoft Hotmail, Live.com, WordPress, Blogger, and many other social-networking sites.

Internet censorship in China took center stage last year during the Beijing Olympic Games when it was revealed that the International Olympic Committee had cut a deal to let the Chinese government block international journalist’ access to sensitive Web sites, despite promises of unrestricted access.

Report Source: CNET News

The new store is offering discounts of up to 22 percent on various refurbished products. Apple said on its Web site that the products had been previously sold, then returned, and had undergone quality tests, Reuters reported.

An Apple spokeswoman in China would not say how many products are available on the site. But the store was featuring such things as an iPod shuffle for 308 yuan ($45) and an iMac for 14,000 yuan, according to Reuters.

Apple has launched an online store in China selling used products, including iPod shuffles.

Source: CNET News – Posted by Anne Dujmovic

A total of 91 sites have been shut down or blocked since Thursday as part of a month-long campaign that the government says is aimed at stamping out online pornography, the Xinhua news agency said.

Distributing pornography is illegal in China and authorities urged law-breakers to turn themselves into police, warning that tougher measures would come in the following days, the report said.

The report gave few details on which sites were shut down.

China’s Ministry of Public Security and six other government agencies launched the drive against sites that post or link to content that “harms public morality” and corrupts the nation’s youth, Xinhua said.

They have included Google, MSN and Baidu, the most popular Chinese search engine.

Companies that ignore government warnings to remove obscene content or links to such material have been threatened with closure.

Google, Baidu and other Internet portals have since issued apologies and moved against online porn.

Google said Wednesday it had deleted all links to vulgar material from its search indexes and would go all-out to prevent such material re-appearing.

“Google is willing to be a law-abiding citizen in China,” it said in a statement.

China has launched Internet crackdowns on pornography, con artists and political activists in the past but officials have warned the latest campaign would include tougher measures, without giving specifics.

China has the world’s largest online population at more that 250 million, according to official figures, and it is growing rapidly as computer use rises along with income levels.

China’s communist rulers generally exercise strict control over the Internet, blocking sites linked to many politically sensitive subjects.

Source: Yahoo! & (AFP)