Keep using GOOGLE! I make money every time you do!
XOXOXOXOXOX,
Al
Posted on 05/10/2010 10:54:33 PM PDT by Chances Are
From Scroogle (enter a search term, hit enter, and this is the message you'll see....)
We regret to announce that our Google scraper may have to be permanently retired, thanks to a change at Google. It depends on whether Google is willing to restore the simple interface that we've been scraping since Scroogle started five years ago. Actually, we've been using that interface for scraping since Google-Watch.org began in 2002.
This interface was remarkably stable all that time. During those eight years there were only about five changes that required some programming adjustments. Also, this interface was available at every Google data center in exactly the same form, which allowed us to use 700 IP addresses for Google.
That interface was at www.google.com/ie but on May 10, 2010 they took it down and inserted a redirect to /toolbar/ie8/sidebar.html. It used to have a search box, and the results it showed were generic during that entire time. It didn't show the snippets unless you moused-over the links it produced (they were there for our program, so that was okay), and it has never had any ads. Our impression was that these results were from Google's basic algorithms, and that extra features and ads were added on top of these generic results. Three years ago Google launched "Universal Search," which meant that they added results from other Google services on their pages. But this simple interface we were using was not affected at all.
Now that interface is gone. It is not possible to continue Scroogle unless we have a simple interface that is stable. Google's main consumer-oriented interface that they want everyone to use is too complex, and changes too frequently, to make our scraping operation possible.
Over the next few days we will attempt to contact Google and determine whether the old interface is gone as a matter of policy at Google, or if they simply have it hidden somewhere and will tell us where it is so that we can continue to use it.
Thank you for your support during these past five years. Check back in a week or so; if we don't hear from Google by next week, I think we can all assume that Google would rather have no Scroogle, and no privacy for searchers, at all.
— Daniel Brandt, Public Information Research, scroogle AT lavabit.com
Also, as an alternative to using scroogle (while it is down), use google with Firefox with the Tor Button enabled.
To me $80/year is an issue just to search anomalously...
How do I vote for it?
Damn!
****Well, I did a search since I have never used the site (web guy since 1993) and what they seem to do would tick me off if I was Google.
They are taking away Google’s ad revenues or did I miss what they do completely?
If I took DrudgeReport and stripped away all ads and news links and pushed it out, wouldn’t that seem wrong?****
I remember when people bought subscriptions to cable tv to get away from ads. Then sure enough ads became a staple of cable tv as well. I pay for internet access so if I want to eliminate ads I have that right just as Google and Drudge have the right to display them.
It ‘scrapes’ the google return and send them to you. That way google cannot track your search and relate it to your IP.
They track every user that connects to google. They can tell all kinds of information about your pc including OS, location and IP. They can then related your search to your address. They keep the information for a very long time.
Can’t search images on Famlisearch.....
We use GoodSearch... they utilize the Yahoo engine and they share some of the adv revenue with your favorite charity. We’ve added both of our kids’ schools over the years and gained some monies for them. The real rewards come from clicking through them to online retailers - just for that ‘portal’ click-through the retailer kicks in a percent of the merchandise sale to your charity. Something to consider.
This is the same google that supports net neutrality. As they censor certain websites.
So all of us are supposed to believe that google requires the federal government to impose net neutrality in order to stop google from censoring?
That doesn't add up. Doesn't pass the smell test. I'm sure most of us can see through this.
Keep using GOOGLE! I make money every time you do!
XOXOXOXOXOX,
Al
Folks, this is about Internet Privacy from search engines not about raising money for charities.
Scroogle would ‘scrape’ Google search results to provide data that gave you privacy from the Big Brother efforts of the Obama loving Google owners.
Nature hates a vacuum and I am sure that another method will be used to achieve that same results.
It is Google without the ads and storing of cookies or the Search History. I can see why Google would change things to get rid of Scroogle. It cuts some ad revenue and still uses their service.
” We are moving to a Google that knows more about you.” — Google CEO Eric Schmidt, speaking to financial analysts,
February 9, 2005
CNBC’s Mario Bartiromo asked CEO Schmidt in her December 3, 2009 interview: “People are treating Google like their most trusted friend. Should they?” Schmidt tells Baritoromo:
“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”
What is the Tor button?
The Onion Router. It’s an anonymizer.
Maybe it’s just easier right now to use Bing. ;-)
Do you mean "anonymously"? Or are your searches really anomalous?
Ditto...and I also do not tweet nor text...and when some texts me....I see who it is....call them...and when they ask if I read their text, I say...'NO that's why I have a phone' 'If you want to email me use the computer'.
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