Francev Google 法国V谷歌 XavierNiel is playing rough with the internet giant 泽维尔-尼尔与互联网巨头激烈对抗 Jan12th 2013 | PARIS| from the print edition Tweet IN2011 Google spent over 100m on grand19th-century digs in Paris which look a little like the Elyse Palace, the official home of the president. That may have been amistake. The firms deep coffers have now attracted theattention of Xavier Niel, an entrepreneur who delights in making pots of moneyat the expense of the establishment.2011年谷歌斥资一亿欧元在巴黎购买一幢19世纪的豪华寓所。该寓所看上去类似爱丽舍宫法国总统的官邸。这一举动也许是个错误。谷歌的雄厚财力引起了承包商泽维尔-尼尔的注意,他很乐于以谷歌为踏脚石赚取巨资。 OnJanuary 3rd Mr Niels company, Free, which is Frances second-biggest internet-service provider , upgraded thesoftware on the modems it supplies to customers. Online ads were blocked bydefault. The move, which was aimed chiefly at Google, caused a massive rumpus. 1月3日,尼尔的公司法国第二大网络服务供应商FREE,升级了供顾客使用的调节器的软件。系统默认拦截广告。这一主要针对谷歌的举措引发巨大争议。 TheAmerican firm had reportedly been in negotiations with Free over whether to paythe ISP directly for the connection to its subscribers. On the internet, theconvention is that ISPs such as Free cover the cost of their networks bycharging their subscribers rather than providers of content. Google isaccustomed to grumbles by ISPs that it does not contribute directly to the costof their networks. It is also used to governments, such as Chinas, blocking its services for political reasons. But never has itfaced an attack of this type from a private company. |