This is an incredible "pocumentary" [possible documentary] about what Google could be doing, might be watching and is using to make the entire human race transparent. No secrets from anyone, at all, ever. Scary, but possible.

Labels: Don't Do Evil, Google

The term Googlebot is fast becoming one that may have more impact on the world than people initially suspected. Co-founder of Google, Larry Page, recently let slip that Google is not as far away from creating Artificial Intelligence (AI) as people might suspect.

I am not saying that this move is an evil one or that it will end badly. I am going to suggest that Google is not necessarily interested in staying within the boundaries of online world.

There are moral as well as ethical issues surrounding AI; if it is self-aware can it be controlled? If it is self-aware is it murder to get rid of it if it is not serving its purpose? These are just two issues of many.

Labels: Artificial Intelligence, Google

It appears that even error messages and missing links are all being dominated by Google these days. I am not sure what is going on but today my attempts at logging on to various websites have drawn me straight to the Google homepage. I find this unnerving and somewhat confusing.

In an attempt to log on to my facebook account i was taken to the Google homepage while the url in the address bar maintained its facebook status. Very strange.

Labels: Google, web errors

I recently read a brilliantly written article about Google owning fiber optic networks. They have been very careful to not actually purchase any companies that own the networks but have entered in to agreements with the companies to control the networks themselves. Thus avoiding all monopoly trouble in the industry.

Read the article, watch Google grow and fear the takeover. Google might be good, but anything that is secret and growing this quickly must have some flaws somewhere in the organisation.

Labels: Fiber optic networks, Google

Google has gone and done something that I am slightly confused about. OK, not confused but intrigued. Google Answers is a search engine with a twist. Firstly it's not free. Secondly it isn't really a search engine, it's an answer engine. You ask it a question and a panel of apparently over 500 researchers will source your answer for you and email you back within 24 hours.

This is grand, but I think I would rather pay myself to sift through the Google search results and come up with an answer. Or even -no I can't say it, OK I have to- use real life resources like people to find myself an answer.

Google seems to have become somewhat money hungry. I believe that absolute power corrupts absolutely and I am beginning to think that Google is heading in that direction. Money is supposed to make us comfortable not happy. Google appears to have lost their direction slightly, what happened to the media, the people and the industry coming first? Don't get me wrong, I understand that they need to pay these researchers to look for shit, but I don't get paid to use Google (let's be honest, they WILL be using Google to find their results).

Anyways, check it out for yourself and see if you agree.

Labels: Google, Google Answers

I have recently been viewing alot of my photos through Google's Picasa. This program is great and adds photo's to itself by searching your hard drive for the photos. This is all well and good and I love making use of Picasa and have in the past. But for Picasa to read your photos they need to exist somewhere on your hard drive. This is where my concern kicks in. I have many, many photos that span many trips, jobs, times and places in my life. I don't want to lose any of the photos to a corrupt hard drive, lightning or an external hard drive melt down.

So I was viewing some photos today through Picasa when I noticed the "web albums" option on Picasa. The web album allows you to upload folders of photos to your own personal Picasa page where you can store, view and if you want share your photos with others.

I am personally not interested at the moment in sharing my photos with the world. I am merely looking for a third backup of photos that I really, really don't want to lose. Very useful tool I think.

Labels: Google, Photography, Picasa, TechAttack