My "Big Brother" friend Google has just launched it's newest addition to it's growing family of toys.
At this rate, Google will (if it is not already) soon be the "One Stop Shop" for everything related to computing. How long before we are being offered a "Google OS" (operating system).
I just looked in their "Labs" section and I do not see anything close to the OS thing just yet....well maybe the "Google Desktop" is a first incarnation....but there is so much out there with the "Google" brand on it that one could almost run a computer with nothing but "google made" applications.
Don't get me wrong here. I love Google. I just have some concerns that all of the things that they are into and or getting themselves into could end up being used against the average citizen in the future. Gmail for one thing and the search feature of the "google desktop app", where all of the items on one's desktop are actually links that are available via a web interface.
The gmail thing is definitely creepy. So the company that says, "Don't be evil" (or whatever) is now saying, "Serving Chinese Internet users (is) the company's No.1 priority". This was recently quoted from Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt at a conference in Beijing. I'm sure we all know how Google is handling its searches in China.
I can just see some scenario in the future where the [insert enforcement agency here] subpoenas your Google data and says, "Well, according to this email and your calendar you were involved with the [insert pro-peace, electronic freedom or left-wing group here] when you met with 'Jeff' at his 'house'. We know that Jeff is involved with [group mentioned above] and we easily found his house thanks to satellite mapping technology.
Paranoid? Maybe...but it seems to me like we're giving away our freedoms for the sake of convenience.
My previous notion that "google" is out to take over the world may not be that far fetched. They sure do have their fingers in an awful lot of "cookie jars"...
Gotta love all this innovation!!
Go Google!!!
Click below for the full story:
CRN
And a direct link to the google calendar home page where you can download the newest "beta" of this new application:
http://www.google.com/googlecalendar/overview.html
And for all those nifty little "toys" that google is playing with in it's "labs", take a look at the web sites here:
http://labs.google.com/
http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/
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