Google, Circa 2001
An anonymous reader writes "If you have 10 minutes to spare, take a look at an archive that Google has posted to mark the company's 10th anniversary. The search engine and its results are based on data from 2001, but it's interesting to see what turns up when popular 2008 terms are entered. For instance, iPod generates a reference to Image Proof of Deposit Document Processing System, and the 771 Barack Obama results centered around his duties as an Illinois State Senator."
Try al qaeda iraq.
Search for: "fannie mae" "freddie mac" collapse
Hit up the archive of the first link. It's Fred L. Smith, Jr.'s testimony before the House Banking Committee's Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Government Sponsored Enterprises.
He warns that the current setup of those two lenders are working to destabilize the marketplace.
From his testimony: "At best, this mixing of private and political incentives creates marketplace confusion; at worst, it leads to a serious misallocation of capital and an increasing risk for American taxpayers."
Results 1 - 10 of about 681 for wikipedia. (0.01 seconds).
but plagiarism
Results 1 - 10 of about 35,400 for bit torrent. (0.01 seconds)
and piracy were so much harder back then:
Now: Results 1 - 10 of about 264,000,000 for wikipedia. (0.27 seconds)
Results 1 - 10 of about 67,500,000 for bit torrent. (0.07 seconds)
Prediction: The real iPhone killer is going to be sex robots from Japan. Think about it.
nothing (16,500,000) 750,000,000
cotton candy (100,000) 5,520,000
This just in: The Internet is a lot bigger now than it was in 2001. Shocking, I know. However, the most important search result, the one that shows you how truly wonderful the world is now compared to the world of 2008:
porn (4,490,000) 236,000,000
Interesting, from #2:
"In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq."
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
The most striking to me is Blackwater. Notice that back then Blackwater was basically just a huge gun range and training center for law enforcement and citizens. They really took advantage of the "growth opportunities" provided by 9/11.
"They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
Digg: Yapima Digg (the poem)
Youtube: No results
Myspace: http://freediskspace.com/ also in 2nd is Myspace.com.au, a home improvement site.
Facebook: Environmental Science and Public Policy "facebook" on Harvard's website.
Twitter: A nature site? Even viewing the "archived" version takes me to the 2006 social networking site, so I'm just going by the title.
del.icio.us: No results
PS3: A news story discussing the PS3 circa the PS2 launch. Also, apparently Sony owned the domain name 'ps3.net'
Xbox 360: A site called "360Net," with people anticipating the original Xbox. Now defunct, apparently.
Wii: Williamette Industries, they make forest products supposedly. The other results are equally irrelevant.
Nice slice of pre-web 2.0 life.
Really?
As a Debian user I enjoyed the time trek back to when Ubuntu had nothing to do with linux.
http://www.google.com/search2001/search?q=ubuntu&hl=en&btnG=Search
In the currently charged political climate, I could care less about the troll or flamebait mods anymore so I might as well as fun.