Google is messing things up....

I have had problems with Google services all over the last days.

First, Google Apps for your domain failed to authenticate myself and my domain users through SMTP and POP3.
Without any explanation, it took some time to figure that the only thing that helps is to "unlock a captcha" at https://www.google.com/a/[yourdomain.com]/UnlockCaptcha

Here is an example of what you will see:



Now, despite the semantic misnomer compared to what it actually seems to do (how do you unlock a "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart" ?!), there are some really disturbing points:

1. Most simple mail clients will shield the user from the details of the communication, so all they will know is that it doesn't work, but not really WHY it doesn't.


2. There was no indication whatsoever in the Google Help that will help to figure out this problem, because it doesn't just affect Outlook 2003, but also Apple Mail for example. It's even worse to ask Google themselves:
   

   
   Your search - Unlock Captcha - did not match any answers in our Help Center.
   

   
   


3. It seems that this has to be done from every location you want to use to access your account. Which means if you travel with you laptop, it's likely better to have this link at hand.


4. It has a side effect on downloading of the messages. The only thing that will resolve it in practice is to reconfigure the POP Access to "Enable POP only for mail that arrives from now on."

Despite that, Blogger seems to have troubles as well. Recently readers may find nothing more but this:



I am starting to look for alternatives, but at the same time I am wondering if it is a matter of size? Microsoftization of the worlds largest search provider? Growing too fast doesn't seem to be very good for QoS and their recruiting process doesn't seem to help either (but now, that's a very personal opinion of mine; see my Google Lost in Translation entry from March).

Update:
Just figured, even AdSense is messed up:


WTF?

Interesting idea...

Seems like I am just not reaching the right people at Sun, but some seem to realize the same I did:
Sun: Pay open-source developers

Almost ironic when I think of my blog entries Why courage is essential, not just relative and Collecting for a MacBook Pro.

Life is weird sometimes, but at least there is always something that can make us laugh.

Also today, I was having a coffee and I read an arabian proverb that somehow got stuck in my mind:

Who does not understand a look, neither will understand a long explanation.

How very true.....

Thanks....

...well. My almost two months donation seeking action is finally over. Managed to survive 32 years up to day without, so I guess I won't repeat it, anyway....

...a big thanks goes to the two contributors Achim and Mario and to those other friends that wanted to, but that I didn't let do it. Your donations went into paying the next two years of domain services for coalevo.net and a new external keyboard (which I hope helps me to cope better with my actual typing throughput)