Google Admits Mistake After New Browser Release Riles Web UsersThursday September 4, 2008
Google has made its reputation - and a lot of money - by not making many mistakes.
But the company admits it may have erred this week, after launching its highly publicized browser to compete with Microsoft's dominant Internet Explorer. When "Chrome" was finally released on Tuesday, eager early adopters rushed to the search engine giant's site to give it a try.
But some of the more savvy were stopped when they read something called the EULA - the End User Licence Agreement. That's that endless series of conditions most people ignore as they download a program they want off the Internet. It spells out the terms and conditions of use of the freebie and what you can - and can't - do with it.
But Google added a bizarre clause that seemed to suggest anything you did with its new Chrome wonder would be their property. "Any Content which you submit, post or display on or through" the browser belongs to Google, it read.
That led to outrage from the web community and a quick fix from the company. They quickly reworded the text, leaving the rights in the proper hands of the browser's users.
A company spokesperson explained the odd statement by saying, in effect, it was a case of saving time.
Apparently, someone from the Internet giant simply copied and pasted a previous EULA into the licence for the program and then put it out on the web that way, even though it didn't quite match the conditions they intended.
If you're still game to try the new program,
it can be found here.
