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Google's Next Steps
danimlp writes "An article at SearchEngineWatch states that Google and Yahoo have become as almost parts of the operating system, a 'layer' above Linux, Windows or Mac OS. Another article at Kottke.org says that Google is building a a huge computer with a custom operating system that everyone on earth can have an account on. Some people predicts that, after Gmail, Google could start a new instant message service or even its own electronic currency."
The only "Google Desktop" I would consider using would be one that ran on X. And at this point windowmaker does me just fine. If google could make a window manager that was truly effective and integrated directly with their upcoming gmail/web storage, then maybe Microsoft would have to start worrying.
a huge computer with a custom operating system that everyone on earth can have an account on.
Some people predicts that, after Gmail, Google could start a new instant message service
or even its own electronic currency.
Gee, I don't know. I thought they had a good search engine.
Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
I'm amazing. You aren't. SUCK IT
Google mail would be nice, especially if it had quality POP3/IMAP access that only cost $5-10/month. But that's nothing terribly special, there are some good services out there that already do that. Now if they made Google chat available, and based made it a Jabber based service and just put the Google name it on, that'd be awesome. It'd have the name recognition to get popular, and programs like gaim wouldn't have to constantly fight for access like they do with the AIM, Yahoo, and MSN protocols.
ce n'est pas un Sig.
how prominent Google and Yahoo have become as almost parts of the operating system
Ok, so Google is a really good search engine (although you should also look at Vivissimo, it's quite excellent too) and I use it all the time, and everybody I know uses it all the time, and my dog would become depressed if he didn't use it regularly too. But Yahoo?
I don't remember the last time I used Yahoo. Or rather, I know I have an Egroups^H^H^H^H^H^HYahoo Groups account that I've given up on using since Yahoo decided to dump a million metric ton worth of advertisement on me in each page, and I think I went to yahoo.com to check it out with a glazed eye when I read somewhere that it stopped using the Google search engine not so long ago, like it mattered to anybody since I fail to remember anybody I ever met who uses Yahoo for anything whatsoever.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Google search, email, and file storage
Sun Java Linux desktops for home users
Sun Ray thin X clients for corporations
Sun enterprise servers running it all
How superb this could be...
and what would Microsoft do?
Cheers, Joel
Google now has all sorts of information on hand. They have the Google search engine to index web pages, various offshoots to index news, images, and similar, Orkut to index people, and Gmail to index peoples' communications. With all this information at their fingertips, the sky is the limit (and it is good to know they seem responsible in the way they use their information, separating advertisements from search results, for example). I know that Google has some exceptionally brilliant researchers on staff, and I expect to see even more excellent services from their camp in the future. Does anyone else think that Google is on the cutting edge of Computer Science research?
Ebay is full of scammers and the feedback system is horribly broken since scammers can pad their own feedback, but if you leave them negative, they will leave you negative feedback as well as revenge. Somebody needs to come up with a better system and google has the ability to actually make a better system popular.
just the $.02 of someone sick of browsing pages of scams to find a dvd.
If I were Google's executives (and any future stockholders), I'd be getting the vote out for GWB this fall. We know where his administration stands on punishing monopolies.
This "Google is God" concept is really interesting, We (Geeks) tends to have a "good guy" and a "buy guy" in the bigs company world, IBM has been the bad guy for years, m$ / sco could be thought as the bad boys, and google seemed to be a good guy candidat all the time, it's run by one of us, could it be otherwise?.
But what is really interesting, is, beyond the fact that some geeks has gone out of proportion in their google dependence, many non geeks has too!.
So the word Google has gone out to the streets, When you see all your techies friends has the same page as their Mozilla's home page, you just say "Slashdot, you are powerfull"; but when you see lots of non-techies that has the same page as their IE's Home page, and that page is not sport / porn related, Then we should start worring.
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
One word:
BEENZ.
It would follow the same model as Beenz's:
1) Launch currency
2) ?
3) Crash and burn like a plane made of pentane coated magnesium bricks!!!
I'm amazing. You aren't. SUCK IT
Microsoft has come pretty damn close, in some ways.
We have Office, the OSes, some hardware (mice, controllers, keyboards...), among many other things. With this news about the "GooOS", perhaps Google will try to overtake them?
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Never criticize religion on Slashdot. You will be modded down for "Troll" no matter how factual it is.
I forgot one key thing...
Google users will need an office suite.
And guess what Sun happens to own...
Google IM, with alerts from Gmail would be great, they could possibly build on the jabber protocol, a big player behind standardization is always good. This might be going a little far, but online currency would also be good, but maybe not for google... We need something to replace paypal, something that could actually be regulated. One of the problems with paypal is that they're not accountable for their actions, because they're not a bank. I dont if google would want to enter this, or if they should, but somebody needs to replace paypal...
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
I agree that Google shouldn't try to do everything but I think IM is a great idea (call it Joggle?). Google can supply their search results via IM. I love ActiveBuddy.com services. I love using my IM client, gaim, for posting to my blog. I'd like it to be the interface to many other services too. I think google would be the ideal company to host it.
I just want to know from a slashdotter if the beta is all it's cracked up to be. I've seen a few screenshots and some blathering about the GUI...but is it really that cool? Is there a NDC so you can't talk about it? So they are going to target ads based on e-mail content...what if you encrypt? Is this against the user agreemnet?
I just hope they can keep this together without becoming EVIL (read shareholder value centered)
Inquiring minds want to know.
McK
It's pretty awesome. Keyboard shortcuts, clean, simple user interface, labels, a distinction between the inbox and the archive... the list goes on. I also tested encrypted emails with GPG, and this does not violate the policies.
It's all that you'd imagine and more. I am thoroughly impressed, though I don't yet want to make it a primary account over the 100mb IMAP service I have.
Slashdot is a little late... http://www.forumgeeks.com/forum/index.php?showtopi c=411 ...better late than never I guess. :)
Here's how I see it:
If Google starts offering a free 1000 MB of email account, what is stopping Yahoo/Hotmail etc from offering a 50 or 100 or even 1000 MB of free email account by making money in a similar way as google ?
Competition is good !!
I am patenting the encryption software and Gmail Viewer that will interface with Gmail with one Click. Basically, you use Gmail/GOS for storage and email delivery but your content is encrypted using 128 bit or 256 bit or 512 bit or 1024 or 2048... encryption before it goes to Gmail servers. You just upload and download encrypted files and email messages to the Gmail Viewer on your PC using 1-click feature with your gmail user name and password...
Well, I am just kidding but what is to stop someone from creating such a viewer/encryptor if they want to keep their information private(less readiy accessible to Google bot/PhD's). If they want to read the content, they have to first break the encryption....using email viewer means that once you download attachment, the viewer decrypts it with the key and you can read the mail as if you were using it in your favorite POP mail reader....
Like these? www.google.no - they are one of the few who have managed to keep their domain even after being taken to court by Google. Only in Norway - home of deCSS, and where American lawyers fear to tread - of course. <wink />
What microsoft it doing ? They were first to start passport and wallet services. One thing is for sure, Google is going to give yahoo and microsoft run for its money. Wall Street is eagerly waiting for google's IPO and so it public. I am sure it will be oversusbscribed. I would still like to have multiple players competing for different services rather then one main player having monopoly. One example for competition is 1 GB email service offer from google. Competition is great. it takes its own course.
I just recently thought about how Google is becoming so massive and powerful that they might soon be equated to Microsoft, and how people hate MS so much but love Google to death. They both have control over their respective sectors, but I think the defining issue is what kind of business practices they keep and how open and giving they are to their "customers". If you ask me, it seems like Google is well on their way to being a monopoly that everyone loves.
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
-- George Orwell
Google, if you decide you actually do want to do instant messaging, please just throw up a jabber server and give people a Google-branded client instead of re-inventing the wheel. I know I'm not alone in wanting wider adoption of Jabber, and Google could go a long way with that step.
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This page certainly makes me wonder.
I've found that my posts don't format quite right w/o a sig.