Every day we use the Google search engine,
which is now considered the best in the
world. However, Google is not just a search engine, email, maps and Google+
community, we all know. Google is much, much more!
The name Google comes from the mathematical
term meaning 1 with a hundred zeros. The creators wanted to organize a huge
amount of data on the Internet, so
this name is perfect.
Yahoo had the opportunity to buy Google for one million dollars, however, they rejected
this proposal. Today Google is worth $ 350 billion! Yahoo might still regret
this decision, because Google currently has more than 70% of the market. Google
bought so far a lot of companies, for example,
Android for $ 50 million and YouTube for $ 1.5 billion.
However, Google is not present only on the
Internet. The company Nest owned by Google supplies homes with thermostats and smoke
detectors that inform about the threat, also deaf people with light or blind
using signals. They also conducts research in order to invent a cure for
cancer, or lenses that can measure the level of sugar in tears.
Google also invested in the robot industry.
Boston Dynamics, which is totally dependent on Google, creates robots designed
for the US Army. One of the inventions is BigDog. It can move through different
surfaces because instead of wheels it has
4 feet. It was created to assist soldiers, but unfortunately it is too noisy.
They also developed a Cheetah robot, which is able to reach speed of 48 km/h
and robots, which move like a real
person. For more information, please visit the website: http://www.bostondynamics.com/. Google also has invested in Meka robotics, which
creates robotic hands.
Google is working on an automated car that can
move itself, without human intervention. In America already runs 20 such
vehicles. Within six years there have been only 14 collisions involving
Google's self-steering cars. During this time, they overcame more than 3
million kilometers, but collisions were not the fault of Google, but other
people. Most often they were hit in the
back. Google is also working on artificial intelligence. They want to create a
computer that will teach and also have the ability to reprogram itself.
Google wants to provide the internet for the
whole world, even to places where it is not possible to build a network
terrestrially. The project, called Loon, uses high-altitude balloons placed in
the stratosphere at an altitude of about 18 km to create a wireless antenna at
up to 4G-LTE.
In my opinion Google is involved in many
interesting projects, but the thought of collecting all the data about their users
is a little frightening. Sometimes I feel that my browser knows more about me
than I do :).
Questions:
1. Do you use Google on a daily basis and what is your opinion about it?
2. Do you think Google is progressing well,
being engaged in so many projects?
Sources:
Comments
Google employs so many people in so many specializations that it has to progress well. Of course there are many hopeless ideas and products of them, but generally it does well.
For example, let's imagine that we are in the center of city which we completely don't know. What do we do first? Take to hand our smartphone and... start to browse in Google some interesting things or start Google Maps to navigate. Of course, some people probably use maps from apple (I don't know its name ;) ), but I'm sure they use google search. Next example, a lot of people (I'm not sure, but it is probably about half of all users) have smartphone with Android OS.
What's more, Google's products are really good. Come back to Google Maps. Apart from the fact it navigates us to destination very easily, it provides information about traffic jams and calculates time needed to reach destination. It is very precise - with an accuracy of one minute (regardless of traffic jams!). I use it every day despite knowing the route. I just want to know if I will be on time.
To sum up, I think it's impossible not to use Google's products, but even if it is possible (using smartphones and Internet in a normal way) our daily life is much easier with Google. There is one more aspect - privacy. I think they collect to much data about our private life, but this is another case, which is not discussed here.
My opinion is similar to yours - "Yeah, for sure". Of course, if we talk about collecting all data, it's propably impossible, but I think it's not so difficult to get information about one - selected - person.
Imagine that we have 3 TB of data about only one person: messages, photos, contacts, relationships, locations and so on.. It's very difficult to go through it (if possible). But if we want to find e.g. something humiliating, we probably start from checking photos, relationships or locations. Then it's not 3 TB of data, but much less.
That's why, depsite the fact I would like to believe that Google has too much data to browse through all of them, I know that clever person is able to filter it and break our privacy.
Before I've read your article I'd had no idea that they create so many projects/inventions, moreover still trying to resolve some seemingly insuperable problems.
I like this company because they invest huge amounts of money in research and development leading to innovations.
I also use the email, YT and also think most of us do.
In my opinion it is a very positive aspect and part of a development stage of a company to set new goals and explore other segments of markets as well, so as prestigious as Google is, I think it is a good idea.
But I really admire Google company for being so much innovative. They earn so much money and spend some of them to develop new technologies. They have resources to, I hope so, build a better world.
I think that this is important for such big company to develop and to "take care" of different sections of technology and mechanics. They have got a technology, people who know technology and science, so they have got conditions for development. It would be sad if they wouldn't to expand to different technics. It's good that they can, and they are innovative.
Yes, almost every person in Poland uses google in terms of searching information on the internet. It’s easy to use, it’s user-friendly, it has great cognitive algorithms. Currently we do not have any competition of the market expect Bing, but it not on the level of google.
2. Do you think Google is progressing well, being engaged in so many projects?
Google is becoming tech Moloch with almost all new projects, startups and innovative ideas being bought by this huge company. It’s so huge that they had to make Alphabet Inc. an American multinational conglomerate founded by founders of the Google. It’s progressing so well that soon there will be no possible competitive fund or company in digital world.
It’s so popular that term “Google it” is now the universal saying to “find it in the internet”.
My phone system is made by Android – a firm owned by Google so even when I’m not using my computer I Still use Google products.
Even though Google collects data, I don’t really mind it because it’s probably the only company that I somewhat trust.
Probably you’ve heard that in Google they have a rule of “80/20”. You have to spend 80% of the time on work and 20% time on your own ideas. That’s how such great products as Google Cardboard and also Gmail were created. Google never put all eggs in one basket. They always try to solve problems in different fields of life. Of course, not all of them are good, for ex. Google+ or Google Spaces (which is even worse that Google+).
I didn't know that they sponsor Boston Dynamics. I love their work and videos they put on Youtube.
For me, it's great that Google invest money in so different projects. They already are the leaders in Internet industry, why not to be in others as well.
My favorite project of the mentioned above is Boston Dynamics - I really enjoy watching this videos with their robots.
And I still don't care that Google knows to much about me, because they provide so many services needed, that I can't resist using it every day.
Like most here I use Google on a daily basis, and I can't imagine learning or working without it. I worry about privacy, but the products that Google provides are worth the risk.
I definitely think Google should concentrate more on a few core projects, instead of doing so much at once. Many Google projects have been discontinued, before they reached maturity, or have left a sizeable user base that have relied on this product without their favourite service (like with Google Reader).