NationStates Jolt Archive

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/whereyouthinkyougoing/Google.jpg

Talk about doing a double take...

German Google turned their background black for today,in support of a nationwide campaign to (as I just learned from the link (http://www.google.de/lichtaus/) on Google's main page) turn off the lights for five minutes at 8pm tonight to make a point about climate change while the Bali summit is going on. Whatever.

Either way, it's weird and a tad pathetic, in a way, as such symbolic actions often tend to be. At the same time, of course, it's not, because what else can you do. Having Google turn their site black is definitely a stroke of genius in terms of reaching the masses. Smart campaign organizers, smart Google PR department...

I like it, feels easier on my eyes too.

Awesome.

It's one of those "it's cheesy but it works" things.

and the point of changing one line of code would be.....

and the point of changing one line of code would be.....

I believe the Op already answered that question:

to make a point about climate change while the Bali summit is going on

I believe the Op already answered that question:

in lieu of I dunno, making their office and business more energy friendly?

Wake me up when Google and other companies actually do something about the climate change if they feel so strongly about it.

The irony is of course that LCD screens require more power to produce black than they do white.

Thanks! That was exactly what I was wondering about...

in lieu of I dunno, making their office and business more energy friendly?

Wake me up when Google and other companies actually do something about the climate change if they feel so strongly about it.

How do you know they aren't?

in lieu of I dunno, making their office and business more energy friendly?

Wake me up when Google and other companies actually do something about the climate change if they feel so strongly about it.

You know, had you bothered to do 30 seconds of research before spouting off, you wouldn't look so silly (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/06/BUG4JNDPO31.DTL).

Or did you prefer to, you know, not even pretend to know what you were talking about?

The irony is of course that LCD screens require more power to produce black than they do white.

thats what I was thinking too...

The irony is of course that LCD screens require more power to produce black than they do white.

Ironic only to the extent that a profit driven company would pay for commercials.

Which is to say, not really ironic at all.

You know, had you bothered to do 30 seconds of research before spouting off, you wouldn't look so silly (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/06/BUG4JNDPO31.DTL).

Or did you prefer to, you know, not even pretend to know what you were talking about?

No no no no...you don't do research or look things up, you make an assumption then level an accusation that doesn't actually make a point based on that assumption and walk away.

That's internet for 'clever.'

Yes, maybe it's a little silly.

But they're a web browser company. What the hell else are they supposed to do? I certainly am not going to criticize them for doing what they can to call attention to the issue.

But they're a web browser company. What the hell else are they supposed to do?
They could've made my Google black too.
I'm jealous.

They could've made my Google black too.
I'm jealous.

True... I guess they could have. Come to think of it, I want black google, too. They should do it worldwide.

There's a Google mirror that is like this all the time. I think it's called blackle, or something. I'll post a link if I find it.

EDIT: That was fast. I was right, it is called Blackle and the link is here (http://www.blackle.com/).
Also, some people have said it takes more energy to show a black screen than a white one. Do you have an explanation? I know in theory, a black screen will use less because it is the absence of light, whereas a white screen uses red, green, and blue. I also know that a completely black screen can use less energy, because my screen is black when the monitor is off, using no energy. I admit my ignorance concerning computer monitors, and will probably believe whatever you tell me. But I would like some explanation.

Yes, maybe it's a little silly.

But they're a web browser company. What the hell else are they supposed to do? I certainly am not going to criticize them for doing what they can to call attention to the issue.

actually, the way google and other major search engines work, is they don't "search the internet". Rather, they back up pretty much every website they encounter ont internal hard drives, then when a search is performed, searches their own hard drives which contain copies of the website, then point the user to the webiste they have copes of (this is, for example, why you can look at cached pages that don't exist online anymore).

As such, google functions by basically backing up...the internet. Their power consumption is HUUUUUUUUGE

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/whereyouthinkyougoing/Google.jpg

Talk about doing a double take...

German Google turned their background black for today,in support of a nationwide campaign to (as I just learned from the link (http://www.google.de/lichtaus/) on Google's main page) turn off the lights for five minutes at 8pm tonight to make a point about climate change while the Bali summit is going on. Whatever.

Either way, it's weird and a tad pathetic, in a way, as such symbolic actions often tend to be. At the same time, of course, it's not, because what else can you do. Having Google turn their site black is definitely a stroke of genius in terms of reaching the masses. Smart campaign organizers, smart Google PR department...

You humans amuse me. Surely you are smart enough to know that the reason this "Google" is making its background black is NOT to exhort people to "save energy"; they are doing it in tribute to ME, their (and YOUR) rightful leader, General Zod!

Now follow their wise example and KNEEL!

There's a Google mirror that is like this all the time. I think it's called blackle, or something. I'll post a link if I find it.

EDIT: That was fast. I was right, it is called Blackle and the link is here (http://www.blackle.com/).
Also, some people have said it takes more energy to show a black screen than a white one. Do you have an explanation? I know in theory, a black screen will use less because it is the absence of light, whereas a white screen uses red, green, and blue. I also know that a completely black screen can use less energy, because my screen is black when the monitor is off, using no energy. I admit my ignorance concerning computer monitors, and will probably believe whatever you tell me. But I would like some explanation.

(*follows your link to "Blackle"*)

Ah, Blackle. Whoever designed this page did so with ME in mind, perhaps even in tribute to me, his/her/their rightful leader!

actually, the way google and other major search engines work, is they don't "search the internet". Rather, they back up pretty much every website they encounter ont internal hard drives, then when a search is performed, searches their own hard drives which contain copies of the website, then point the user to the webiste they have copes of (this is, for example, why you can look at cached pages that don't exist online anymore).

As such, google functions by basically backing up...the internet. Their power consumption is HUUUUUUUUGE

Yet here we are, posting on the internet about it.

There's a Google mirror that is like this all the time. I think it's called blackle, or something. I'll post a link if I find it.

EDIT: That was fast. I was right, it is called Blackle and the link is here (http://www.blackle.com/).
Also, some people have said it takes more energy to show a black screen than a white one. Do you have an explanation? I know in theory, a black screen will use less because it is the absence of light, whereas a white screen uses red, green, and blue. I also know that a completely black screen can use less energy, because my screen is black when the monitor is off, using no energy. I admit my ignorance concerning computer monitors, and will probably believe whatever you tell me. But I would like some explanation.

I'm no expert, but how liquid crystal display monitors work is by shooting light through this weird liquid crystal stuff to light up a pixel, and if you put electricity into the stuff it will align with a polarizing filter and make the pixel darker.

EDIT: Or, you could look at the wiki page, that explains it better, because it uses more science words.

and the point of changing one line of code would be.....

Doubt it was a single line

Doubt it was a single line
I was very clearly four.

I was very clearly four.

I'd hazard six, at least. The text on the white page is black and the links blue, and the text on that screenie was white. Plus the buttons, etc. And the image.

I'd hazard six, at least. The text on the white page is black and the links blue, and the text on that screenie was white. Plus the buttons, etc. And the image.

I count
1) Background
2) Font
3) Links
4) Borders

Now the image could be a stock one with a transparent background so they may not have needed to make a change there...

And possibly button fonts I dont remember

I'd hazard six, at least. The text on the white page is black and the links blue, and the text on that screenie was white. Plus the buttons, etc. And the image.Seeing as Google has yet to discover source code formatting, Google's page code is a mere 5 lines.

Properly formatted, it would be about six or seven lines.

"google functions by basically backing up...the internet. "
In Douglas Adams' last book, he mentions a guy who periodically saves snapshots of the whole Internet in a huge vault in the Netherlands. He thought there ought to be a backup for this record, and after asking around (it requires some hefty funding as you can imagine) he got interest from the new Library of Alexandria that the Egyptian government is trying to get going. So, as Douglas points out, now we have two archives of all modern human knowledge, one stored below sea-level in a place known for occasional catastrophic flooding, the other at a site where an archive of all human knowledge was attempted before and was deliberately destroyed.

In Douglas Adams' last book, he mentions a guy who periodically saves snapshots of the whole Internet in a huge vault in the Netherlands. He thought there ought to be a backup for this record, and after asking around (it requires some hefty funding as you can imagine) he got interest from the new Library of Alexandria that the Egyptian government is trying to get going. So, as Douglas points out, now we have two archives of all modern human knowledge, one stored below sea-level in a place known for occasional catastrophic flooding, the other at a site where an archive of all human knowledge was attempted before and was deliberately destroyed.

God bless mankind...

"google functions by basically backing up...the internet. "
In Douglas Adams' last book, he mentions a guy who periodically saves snapshots of the whole Internet in a huge vault in the Netherlands. He thought there ought to be a backup for this record, and after asking around (it requires some hefty funding as you can imagine) he got interest from the new Library of Alexandria that the Egyptian government is trying to get going. So, as Douglas points out, now we have two archives of all modern human knowledge, one stored below sea-level in a place known for occasional catastrophic flooding, the other at a site where an archive of all human knowledge was attempted before and was deliberately destroyed.I figure 4chan will keep whatever information is necessary.

You humans amuse me. Surely you are smart enough to know that the reason this "Google" is making its background black is NOT to exhort people to "save energy"; they are doing it in tribute to ME, their (and YOUR) rightful leader, General Zod!

Now follow their wise example and KNEEL!

(*follows your link to "Blackle"*)

Ah, Blackle. Whoever designed this page did so with ME in mind, perhaps even in tribute to me, his/her/their rightful leader!

ok someone needs to take their meds


funny Google Germany is the only one doing it

The irony is of course that LCD screens require more power to produce black than they do white.
Thanks! That was exactly what I was wondering about...
thats what I was thinking too...
There's a Google mirror that is like this all the time. I think it's called blackle, or something. I'll post a link if I find it.

EDIT: That was fast. I was right, it is called Blackle and the link is here (http://www.blackle.com/).
Also, some people have said it takes more energy to show a black screen than a white one. Do you have an explanation? I know in theory, a black screen will use less because it is the absence of light, whereas a white screen uses red, green, and blue. I also know that a completely black screen can use less energy, because my screen is black when the monitor is off, using no energy. I admit my ignorance concerning computer monitors, and will probably believe whatever you tell me. But I would like some explanation.
Google actually addresses that very fact in the link on their front page. They say that no, they won't leave it black for good, it's just a one time thing for now, because currently it would not save electricity because of the display specifications that you guys mentioned.
They also point to blackle in that regard.

Also, it's not really about the black background saving power as such, is more that Google serves as a tool to symbolically draw attention to the "Lights off!" campaign.

The "Wir haben das Licht ausgeschaltet. Jetzt sind Sie dran - Lichtaus" on the Google page means "We switched off the lights. Now it's your turn - Lights Off", the "Lichtaus" being the link to the info about the actual campaign.

They could've made my Google black too.
I'm jealous.
Just type in de instead of com and you, too, can have the cool version of Google.

funny Google Germany is the only one doing it
It's because they're merely supporting a nationwide campaign organized by others (an unholy but probably effective coalition of environmental protection organizations, the big churches, and our biggest and worst tabloid. ><).
I.e. it's only a German thing.
They switched off the light at the Brandenburg Gate and other landmarks in other cities, too, so at least they had some pictures to show in the evening news...

Hrmpf, I wanted to take part and now it's nearly eleven and I sorta missed it. :[

Hrmpf, I wanted to take part and now it's nearly eleven and I sorta missed it. :[

Even though I made a thread about it, just for you. Le sigh.

Even though I made a thread about it, just for you. Le sigh.

I sorta got sidetracked by another thread - incidentally, subbing for you, mademoiselle!

I sorta got sidetracked by another thread - incidentally, subbing for you, mademoiselle!

Well, that's why I just retroactively dedicated this thread to you, n'est-ce pas?

Well, that's why I just retroactively dedicated this thread to you, n'est-ce pas?

Dunno whether that's why; I have fortunately been granted temporal suspension of my mind-reading abilities when logging onto NSG.

You might still need to explain the reproach in your comment ;P

Dunno whether that's why; I have fortunately been granted temporal suspension of my mind-reading abilities when logging onto NSG.

You might still need to explain the reproach in your comment ;P
Which reproach?

Which reproach?

Even though I made a thread about it, just for you. Le sigh.

You reproach me for not remembering even though you -allegedly- made the thread for me, and then you add an expression of reproaching despair. No fair! *sulks*

Only a tad?!

Only a tad?!

Next time, you might want to quote the post you are referring to. You do that by clicking the little green 'quote' icon in the lower right-hand corner of every post.

You might also want to consider expanding your argument a tad.

You reproach me for not remembering even though you -allegedly- made the thread for me, and then you add an expression of reproaching despair. No fair! *sulks*That's because you missed it even though I made a thread about it, just for you. Le sigh.

Only a tad?!Well, would it have been better had they not done it?

That's because you missed it even though I made a thread about it, just for you. Le sigh.

Mistviech, verdammtes. Kuh, blöde. Kuh, doofe. ;P

Next time, you might want to quote the post you are referring to. You do that by clicking the little green 'quote' icon in the lower right-hand corner of every post.

You might also want to consider expanding your argument a tad.
He's referring to my "it's a tad pathetic" in the OP.
See? I totally keep my mind reading abilities when going on NSG. Makes things so much easier. :p

He's referring to my "it's a tad pathetic" in the OP.
See? I totally keep my mind reading abilities when going on NSG. Makes things so much easier. :p

Internet Karnac!

He's referring to my "it's a tad pathetic" in the OP.
See? I totally keep my mind reading abilities when going on NSG. Makes things so much easier. :p

I know (well, about the first part, I do), but I don't generalize from my clearly superior cognitive skills to other people's skills, y'know, and I think in order to serve everyone's needs, one ought to post coherently.

Mistviech, verdammtes. Kuh, blöde. Kuh, doofe. ;P
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/whereyouthinkyougoing/Smilies/troest.gif

Internet Karnac!

Internet quoi?

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/whereyouthinkyougoing/Smilies/troest.gif

https://elearning.uni-bielefeld.de/studip/pictures/smile/ass.gif (Do Stud.IP smileys show for outsiders?)

https://elearning.uni-bielefeld.de/studip/pictures/smile/crocodile.gif

https://elearning.uni-bielefeld.de/studip/pictures/smile/ugly.gif

https://elearning.uni-bielefeld.de/studip/pictures/smile/zausel.gif

Also, some people have said it takes more energy to show a black screen than a white one. Do you have an explanation?

LCD screens are constantly back-lit and selectively block out certain wavelengths of light - they consume energy to block light when creating a black screen. So, they do not work like CRTs at all.

(Do Stud.IP smileys show for outsiders?)

No.

No.
dto.

No.

:[ Such fabulous smileys. Shame.

Oh, and hi :]