Google software engineer Sean Kapp tells us Google "...means 'sunglasses' in Norwegian, and, well, even the non-lawyers can see where this sort of problem leads." Indeed. With copyright paranoia gripping the so-called Free World, Norway must have proved a bitch. No matter. The boys and girls at the Googleplex are professionals and well paid to boot. They proved up to the challenge and this week Norway and Kenya became Google's 102nd and 103rd domains."Check them all out," urges Sean, before asking: "Hey, anyone got an up-to-date atlas we can borrow?" Well no, Sean, I don't have an atlas for you, but I figure you don't need one. South Africa's at the bottom of Africa. It's easy enough to find. In fact, if you go to www.google.co.za, you'll find a familiar interface. Yeah, it's yours. So tell me, Sean, why is this domain not customised? Why is South Africa, so to speak, not on Google's map? If sunglasses spelled 'trouble' for you in Norway, what heinous problems does Africa's most wired country pose the Web's most used engine?
Listen, I have nothing against Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Burundi, Lesotho, Libya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Mauritius, Cote D'Ivoire, Malawi, the Congo Republic, Chad, Gambia, or Goddamn Djibouti but, for Chrissakes, man, can you not see our rainbow flag enjoying its place in the sun? If you can distinguish your one Congo from the other, your request for an atlas is a red herring. I'm onto you, Bubba. You've a blind spot called South Africa and I know what your problem is. It's either our eleven official languages or those bloody Norwegian sunglasses you're wearing.
