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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
10/29/09
10/28/09
10/29/09
Actually if you zoom in to about the level where you can start seeing the roads most of the US just bears Googles copyright. The other copyrights as you zoom out are likely due to the images used in the satellite views rather than the actually road maps (which are pretty much all Google now). Also the article did specify that they'd mapped the US so obviously Tokyo is going to be different.
Thing is as the article points out it's only the US that's primarily mapped out by Google right now but they are working on the rest of the world. It's only a matter of time before they catch up and the closer they do get to that world map that's under their control the bigger the threat they are.
The fact it's managed to smash the stocks of other major GPS manufacturers simply by showing off a beta shows that even if they won't kill them off they can still cripple their opponents with ease. It's not a case of simply introducing competition, it's introducing competition with the force of a stampede behind it. #google
10/28/09
What kills me it how much the people who endorse Google and (buy) their little minion products, services, and companies will complain about how Google is taking over the world at a rate that would make L. Ron Hubbard have (necrophilic) wet dreams. Wanna stop them? Go support the other evil army trying to take over the planet and buy an iPhone. Or start a revolution. Either way I've got my machete (for zombies), my microwave sans the door (for robots), and a doobie (aliens are pot-heads). I'm prepared for Jobs's worst.
That's all, I'm good now. Carry on. #google
10/29/09
And yet your iPhone has app's for farting?
I don't see the point of your first point though. Are you trying to say that somehow Google should have made browsing on a phone better than browsing on a PC? Or maybe that browsing on an iPhone is better than browsing on a laptop. Last I checked internet on a mobile device is a convenience feature, handy to have but should be avoided if possible.
Also dedicated mp3 players are a dying breed, everything is multi-purpose these days. Take the iPod Touch for example: it's gotten to the point where even I am considering one, and I rarely listen to music.
Also Apple can hardly be considered trying to take over the planet. They have had a huge success in the PMP/Smartphone market but outside that they haven't had any other major successes. Their computer division was revitalised somewhat by switching to Intel processors and it's pretty damn amusing how much boot camp probably helped revive its flagging Mac sales. I will agree that they are evil though. #google
10/28/09
Google has indeed made a business out of providing and indexing information, and valuable information at that. Just because they have a different plan for how money should be made doesn't make their practices unfair to other businesses.
I don't understand how you at all think this will take companies like Garmin out of business? Garmin or TomTom don't rely on maps to make money, they rely on hardware, specifically Garmin, who doesn't even have an "App" on the market at this time, correct?
The stock market is not that reliable of a source to determine a companies situation, as 1-2 days can result in massive drastic changes. #google
10/28/09
omg don't be so naive in public. sometimes things are EXACTLY as they seem. #google
10/28/09
The maker of an operating system decides to recreate the functionality of a popular application and bundle it in for free with the OS. Predictably, the makers of the original application quickly find it is hard to compete with free and their market share plummets. Fifteen years ago, the application was a browser and the OS was Windows. Five years from now, the app will be navigation and the OS will be Android.
Google's defense is
#1- that Android's market share is tiny compared to Windows', but that may change in the future
and #2- they were previously customers of Tele Atlas so can call this a "cost saving measure" instead of "creating a competing product". Of course, it's certainly NOT saving them any money, but they will claim the mapping is a core technology that is impossible to un-bundle from the mobile operating system without hurting their customers (again, sound familiar?) #google
10/28/09
10/28/09
and with the sexy motorolla droid phones...might do some damage
Nobody cares if you're a mosquito bite, but once you start growing...then they get scared...
10/28/09
Besides google's "bigness" isn't really changed by the fact that they've now got a couple of android phones on VZW. #google
10/28/09
Not parallel to MS at all. #google
10/28/09
10/29/09
10/29/09
Google could also easily make the case that it isn't bundling of apps that is making people choose their navigation app. After all, all the alternatives are easily available on the app store, just a few clicks away. They could make the case that it is their price of "free" that is what is motivating people.
Comparing this to M$ and IE is a poor comparison because all the browsers in the M$ case were free. However, people were still flocking to IE because it was bundled with Windows. With Google however, it will be hard to make the case that it is because of the bundling that people tend to choose the Google Navigation app. It's obviously because of the price. And Google has no control over what their competition charges.
10/28/09
10/28/09
Later on, they'll cut the hemorrhaging by including some mini ads on the interface.
As it develops, my guess is they will make money by being the gatekeeper/hot waitress of choice for all the information you want at any given time. Wanna find the best fried chicken joint along your route? There's an ad for that. Wanna know what the weather will be like at your Grandma's house for Thanksgiving at the end of your drive? There's an ad for that, and by the way, Google knows that you like caramel apples, and it just so happens there's a 5 star rated caramel apple stand only half a mile off your path.
One thing I like about Google is that they think long term. They have the bales of cash to effectively do so, and they're not afraid to have a business that won't make money for a while. That's how real innovation has to work, and I for one am ready to accept my new Google overlords. #google
10/28/09
world domination!
and then they decide to charge all their users.
we're screwed #google
10/28/09
10/28/09
You mean you weren't scared of the part where the spider can lay eggs into your ear while sleeping and when you wake up, you'll see little baby spiders crawling out the side of your head? ;) #google
10/28/09
10/28/09
Come on, Microsoft redefined the true measure of business success: being so large that it has to be regulated to keep from crushing industry competitors, but essential enough that it can't be allowed to fail lest it drag the rest of the industry down with it. #google
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
11/04/09
10/28/09
I wonder what the reaction would have been if Microsoft had announced the free nav app this morning.
Seriously, I'm amazed by the "Google can do no wrong" attitude that is so prevalent, but the European Union thrashes away at companies because they have a browser or a music player, or too many databases (yeah, I'm alluding to Microsoft and Oracle).
I remember the furor when Microsoft's "might" at being the OS manufacturer was considered an unfair advantage when it launched Office (a "for money" app) and companies like Ashton-Tate and other word processor and spreadsheet makers were portrayed as the victims. #google
10/28/09
10/28/09
The endgame is when Walmart becomes Google Shops. #google
10/28/09
[www.amazon.com] #google
10/28/09
10/28/09
It's not that it would bring a death of creativity, it's that creators would have a hell of a hard time getting PAID for their works. and you can only make albums in your bedroom for so long before you need a sam'ich. #google
10/28/09
What you would not see are feature length movies - even a crappy movie usually has a budget around $10mm. Sure maybe the actors and writers don't mind working for free, but how about building sets, renting equipment and hiring specialized technicians? Today lots of "indie" movies are bankrolled by Fox Searchlight and the like, but even truly independent ones try to make money, and if you make enough money-losers, you eventually stop making them. Even independent nature documentarians try to sell to PBS, if only to fund their next expedition. If I remember the book correctly, there was still some ad-supported TV, but you could only sell ads for the various first showing, since all reruns could just be downloaded for free.
When it comes to writing, there are lots of folks who write for a hobby, and that would likely survive, but what about people who commit to it full time - if they aren't idle rich, they might have a problem with food and shelter. #google
10/30/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
Can I say that or am I now offending Germans? #google