Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google's Head of Research — We Don't Do Hardware

Posted by Zonk on from the to-the-gmobile dept.

mr_sifter writes "In a recent, wide-ranging interview Google's Head of Research, Dr Peter Norvig, revealed the firm has no interest in developing its own hardware. (Except a phone, apparently.) Said Norvig, 'We want to work everywhere and be neutral. That neutrality is important.' Interestingly, Norvig is tough on where the company's priorities are at the moment, saying: 'I think there could be much better tools, we're [Google] still kind of isolated in what we do. You give us a question and we give you an answer ... We're really focused on either the five second-type question ... We don't really support the five month or the five year queries, the project or life-long goal.' He also talks about the importance of adding a narrative to search, mobile technology, and how Google's strong financials mean the company can run research in an unusual way."

6 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Oh no!!! by wandazulu · · Score: 5, Funny

    My Google Search Appliance just disappeared in a poof of smoke and logic!

    1. Re:Oh no!!! by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 2, Funny

      "I have a masters and I do not do hardware"

      I'm curious what the hell that was even supposed to imply. Was he saying that hardware is relegated to BS and below, or PhD? And does he think that anyone's impressed by a masters' these days? They're usually no harder to get than a BS (or indicate that someone bailed on their PhD program).

  2. Is that "do" as in "make"... by eno2001 · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...or "do" as in "copulate with". Because if it's the later, I'm glad to hear they aren't going the route of Microsoft developers. ;P

    --
    -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
  3. I remember another company once said this... by downix · · Score: 3, Funny

    I remember when Microsoft was all "We don't do hardware"...

    **looks at his co-workers X-box, microsoft mouse and microsoft joystick**

    --
    Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
    1. Re:I remember another company once said this... by cp.tar · · Score: 2, Funny

      The funny thing is, MS arguably has better hardware than they have software.

      <troll>Well, it could hardly be worse.</troll>
      --
      Ignore this signature. By order.
    2. Re:I remember another company once said this... by iabervon · · Score: 2, Funny

      You've got a good memory, then. I had a Microsoft mouse for my IBM XT 20 years ago. I hear they eventually made a GUI that used it, too, that's become somewhat popular. Unfortunately, they didn't document it nearly as well as their mice, so it isn't nearly as nice to work with.