Kosmokaryote, the life thereof: Three Cheers for Google

2008-06-22

Three Cheers for Google

Sure, they might become evil some day, if not already, but as far as companies go, I'm definitely part of the audience they cater to, and they cater well. I will hire them for my 25^th birthday.

I think I might like them as my friend Frank enjoys Apple. I am currently enjoying their Post to Blogger iGoogle gadget. In the future, it might be supported in their other containers (e.g. Google Gadgets for Linux).

The attention they pay to Linux is really phenomenal. I mean, our market share is so relatively slim. The future does belong to Linux, but not the present. They even go to efforts to assist Open Source. Google Code makes me smile all the time. The Google Summer of Code is huge. Oh- my girlfriend beckons- there's a video she wants to show me on Google Video (which I prefer over YouTube (which is another thing- YouTube isn't profitable for them, and they'll still gracefully taking the hit)).

I have more to say, about my "new" computer, my girlfriend's birthday, dead hard drive, and the journey we'll embark upon to retrieve its contents. Yay!

3 comments:

LivJun 23, 2008 01:54 PM
I am under the impression that Frank is also a hearty fan of the Google, and while you may attribute some of my migration to their services as fan-girl flocking, of course it wouldn't stick if they didn't give good product. (A slew of webservice accounts lay dead behind me. Some abandoned near moments after their birth. :( )

Have you felt a tangible shift towards Open Source in the mainstream since your interest in it began? Has the revolution sped up at all?

And to what do you attribute Google's interest in Open Source avenues and attitudes?

Also: You have a profile? A pretty, pretty profile!
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RichardJul 21, 2008 11:38 PM
I believe Frank is a greater fan of Apple. I don't think he finds as many uses for Google as I do.

I fan-boy flock to Google :) It's why I joined Blogger: Pyra was bought by Google.

I think that Google's webservices survive longer because they're lively and they interact with one another, and they advance.

There's a shift in favour of it, in that more consumers get exposed to it. Firefox and Linux on netbooks are two prominent examples. I know more people who use OpenOffice.org without realising it is open source. The OLPC project was good publicity, though it and the ASUS Eee PC have abandoned Linux exclusivity.

I think it is quite gradual. I think that Apple's growth in the market (8-9%, something said recently :) will help advance the cause of alternative Operating Systems altogether.

Anyway, something else important to keep in mind is the inevitability of success. I cannot really articulate the how and why yet, as I'm mostly a believer, but it's not for irrational reasons. Some remaining barriers that keep getting pushed back include Prettiness OMG and hardware support. With more machines shipping Linux and more vendors interested in supporting it (think AMD and Intel), many of the primary objections should dissolve. Game support and support for DRM for fun media might suck for the foreseeable future, of course :)

I think Google has had a moral edge. Even if it's intended mostly as good marketing, I think the engineers believe that they Do Good. I think it has grown up in a technical culture that rejected Microsoft and its established ways as Evil, so Open Source, as a natural competitor to Microsoft and, lacking much incentive for greed, very close to Good, is a natural ally. Google has also benefited financially by being able to effectively deploy Open Source code to its advantage, finding it flexible and economical.

Of course, I don't know anything. This will be all very interesting to review in retrospect in another 20 years.

Yes, I have a profile. I wish there was an Open Source profile service (not too much like Facebook- just the profile part). This Blogger profile is quite out of date, but that's the way I like it.
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LivJul 29, 2008 07:33 PM
Possibly. I also attribute their success to their... I was going to say simplicity, but perhaps elegance. They don't try to cram a million features into one tiny little box just to say they've got A BOX WITH A MILLION FEATURES. Instead, it mostly seems to flow nicely. Contact merging aside. (*cringe*)

Ohhh, the semantic implications of ceasing to be a consumer of a product, and instead a user of a program.

I used to think of operating systems diversity as a rather bad thing, as it inhibited me greatly to be in a Mac minority when I wanted to play games. Different file formats also cause irritations and tedious explanations to Windows users. However, while text formatting tends to explode from time to time, it mostly seems dealt with, and I'm happy to see things working on multiple platforms.

Is your "faith" in OS at all related to your "responsibility" for Linux? ;)

I think the problem for MS getting into OS is largely the same one that often gets quoted: "But how do you make money then?" It's one I still have some difficulty wrapping my brain around at times. Yes, you have companies and individuals who will pay to have their specific problems solved, but... where do they get their money? Performing a service for someone else. But where do they get their money? And onwards. If this strain of logic (and it may be a strain ON logic) follows, then perhaps it leads to a gift economy, or Communism, or some other horror. Not knowing my feelings on different political systems this is where I shut up, but I can see how it might frighten or confuse someone who is in it for the capital gains.

I wish there was an Open Source profile service (not too much like Facebook- just the profile part).
Make one? ;)
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2008-06-22

Three Cheers for Google

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