Google's Growing Love For the Mac

An anonymous reader writes "While browsing the 2007 Macworld speaker bios, I found an interesting Google+Mac piece of news. Looks like Google has appointed the famous Amit Singh in charge of their Mac Engineering (also confirmed on Singh's website). While Google generally seems to lag behind in Safari compatibility they have been offering some native Mac software. We earlier heard Google CEO Eric Schmidt's joining Apple's board of directors. Then following Microsoft MacBU's lead, Google started their own Mac Blog a few weeks earlier. Google's jobs website also lists several Mac openings. If Singh's technical expertise and history of OS X wizardry any indication, we can hope for some cool Mac software from Google. Also wondering if all this is just Google's response to Apple's market growth or maybe a more serious partnership is coming? ;-)"

Comments

it's all about TV ads and Google PC

[boxlight]

The way I see it, Google wants to own the multi-billion dollar TV ad revenue market. And Apple is on the verve of owning the way TV is distributed from the internet to the living room.

Google + Apple is natch.

Additionally, Google has been long-rumored to want a "Google PC" -- if I was google I would OEM Mac hardware and ship it with "mom friendly" software that just does email, photos&tv, and web browsing software clients that only run full screen.

boxlight

Re:it's all about TV ads and Google PC

[nine-times]

Additionally, Google has been long-rumored to want a "Google PC" -- if I was google I would OEM Mac hardware and ship it with "mom friendly" software that just does email, photos&tv, and web browsing software clients that only run full screen.

If that were the case, if they just wanted the hardware, wouldn't it make more sense for Google to go to Asus or whoever it is (I forget) who actually manufactures the Apple hardware? The only reason to go to Apple is if they don't want a "Google PC" but want OSX running Google software.

Re:Come on, what about Linux

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

Google isn't a charity it is a business. How would this help Google make one cent of income?

Companies regularly make strategic moves that make them money in the long term, via an indirect route. Google throwing their support and development behind a desktop Linux distro could do a number of things. It could provide a stable target for other developers. It could promote a commoditization of the OS, and thus remove MS's largest weapon against them. It could save Google money internally by providing a cheaper platform for their employees internally.

I'm not saying it is a good idea, or the best option available to them, but there are lots of reasons it might be.

many google employees seems to be mac users

[quisxt]

It seems like every other Google employee I meet is using a Mac laptop. That probably has something to do with it.

Re:Sounds like a good thing to me.

[b0s0z0ku]

I think for the average user, web based applications are an ideal solution. Most of the "advantages" of the personal computer have been a disaster for the average joe - it puts them in the pilot's seat when the best place for him is really back in the passenger area. Here's how I see it, with Gmail as the example:

I'm still advocating local caching of applications and data, at least for frequently used stuff. It's grossly inefficient to keep downloading the same data over and over again. There's also stuff (like financial records) that should not be stored anywhere but under the control of the owner. I don't trust never-delete-anything Google that much with my personal data. The problem of hard drive failure can be dealt with via smaller (1.5?") drives running on a Raid 1 scheme. Yes, even on a laptop. Or perhaps automated software that does backups to flash disk...

Also, fast wireless Internet access for laptops isn't that ubiquitous just yet. In urban and suburban areas, yes, but elsewhere you often revert to a slower mode or have no access at all. Even many tunnels for trains and buses still don't have cell service.

For enterprises, it makes a lot more sense to use a bunch of dumb terminals and keeping all the application logic and data where it can be centrally managed.

Agreed for within a business, depending on how critical it is to have some ability to do work 24/7. Intranets are very reliable and fast these days. Not so the internet, IMHO. HOWEVER, with dumb terminals you're introducing a single point of failure (the network and the server room) that will render multiple machines incapable of use if it fails. Not so with apps running or at least cached locally.

-b.

It's all about iTV and Google Video Services

[iendedi]

Apple's new iTV gizmo coming out in January will be able to feed google and youtube video to your television in a nice handy way. I think the idea is to bring a new age of video to the masses via google and Apple.

This is the endgame that I think they are aiming for.

A new hope

[megaditto]

We have been looking at this all the wrong way. Microsoft is branded an Evil Empire while Google is exhaled, hence the hoopla about Google expansion (whoopie-doo, OSX can run Goog13). Perhaps it is time to consider the alternative?

Consider that Bill Gates puts his money where his mouth is in terms of giving the largest private donations to fight AIDS and poverty, not buying up party planes and grabass photoshoots like certain individuals in charge of a certain search enGine.

Secondly, Microsoft seems to be on the right track regarding user privacy (having been bitten in the ass by their prior lapses), while Google told us they will retain our personal search and email data indefinitely, and do with it whatever they like (and are proud of that).

Thirdly, Microsoft is waking up to the impact their busness practices have on people: they considered withdrawing from China if the current police-state policies persist there. Google, on the other hand, is happily doing business with a dictatorship that jails people for voicing unpopular opinions and executes tens of thousands of Chinese to harvest their body organs. Google has no problem going out of its way to filter the search results to please the Big Brother. MSN tries not to do that.

Wake up people. Google-the-Rebel is long gone; a new Evil Empire has emerged.