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Project Loon

google.com

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Re: Project Loon

#51

Post by temp453463343 »

ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #19

It's fascinating to see how well Google has branched out. It started as just a search engine competing with Lycos, AltaVista, & Yahoo and yet they didn't just stop, they kept going. They built all these new services & products around their core product (search) and it's paid off tremendously. It's definitely something to model future companies off of. When you win the race, don't stop, keep running.

Almost everything they're done is centered around ads and getting more data on their users to sell more ads. Even this project, in the end it's about getting more people online to look at their ads. (not sure how much ad revenue you can get from poor places, but whatever)

EDIT: To those saying they're playing the long game; Playing the long game doesn't make sense. The long game is being fully wired. By the time poor areas become economically important enough to be advertised to, they will have traditional telecoms servicing them.

Re: Project Loon

#52

Post by nostromo »

jamesaguilar wrote: post #44
adamnemecek wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Project Loon balloons float in the stratosphere, twice as high as airplanes and the weather."

But they're tethered, right? Or no? if they're untethered, that's just crazy awesome. If they're tethered, I'm still slightly worried about the cables. OH! They're just going to make enough that there is always one overhead! That's so damn cool. I can barely believe it. Wireless technology is some of the most amazing stuff.

Not tethered -- watch http://www.google.com/loon/how/

Re: Project Loon

#53

Post by HaloZero »

temp453463343 wrote: post #51
ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #19

It's fascinating to see how well Google has branched out. It started as just a search engine competing with Lycos, AltaVista, & Yahoo and yet they didn't just stop, they kept going. They built all these new services & products around their core product (search) and it's paid off tremendously. It's definitely something to model future companies off of. When you win the race, don't stop, keep running.

Almost everything they're done is centered around ads and getting more data on their users to sell more ads. Even this project, in the end it's about getting more people online to look at their ads. (not sure how much ad revenue you can get from poor places, but whatever) EDIT: To those saying they're playing the long game; Playing the long game doesn't make sense. The long game is being fully wired. By the time poor…

Even if its true, it's still a great win-win for everybody then.

Re: Project Loon

#54

Post by redthrowaway »

temp453463343 wrote: post #51
ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #19

It's fascinating to see how well Google has branched out. It started as just a search engine competing with Lycos, AltaVista, & Yahoo and yet they didn't just stop, they kept going. They built all these new services & products around their core product (search) and it's paid off tremendously. It's definitely something to model future companies off of. When you win the race, don't stop, keep running.

Almost everything they're done is centered around ads and getting more data on their users to sell more ads. Even this project, in the end it's about getting more people online to look at their ads. (not sure how much ad revenue you can get from poor places, but whatever) EDIT: To those saying they're playing the long game; Playing the long game doesn't make sense. The long game is being fully wired. By the time poor…

>not sure how much ad revenue you can get from poor places, but whatever

They're playing the long game. They see the third world as a market in the making, and they want to be entrenched when it develops.

Re: Project Loon

#55

Post by EFruit »

nostromo wrote: post #46

I've always wanted a near-live satellite image for Google maps. If this takes off that'll be possible. I could find a parking spot from the sky. :)

You act like that's a good thing.

I don't want some Google balloon watching me every step of my day.

Even less so if what it's seeing is published near-instantly

Re: Project Loon

#56

Post by ngoldbaum »

temp453463343 wrote: post #51
ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #19

It's fascinating to see how well Google has branched out. It started as just a search engine competing with Lycos, AltaVista, & Yahoo and yet they didn't just stop, they kept going. They built all these new services & products around their core product (search) and it's paid off tremendously. It's definitely something to model future companies off of. When you win the race, don't stop, keep running.

Almost everything they're done is centered around ads and getting more data on their users to sell more ads. Even this project, in the end it's about getting more people online to look at their ads. (not sure how much ad revenue you can get from poor places, but whatever) EDIT: To those saying they're playing the long game; Playing the long game doesn't make sense. The long game is being fully wired. By the time poor…

They're thinking long term. If you provide cheap (free?) balloon-based internet access, you will open opportunities for people who have little access to the outside world.

Re: Project Loon

#57

Post by temp453463343 »

jamesaguilar wrote: post #44
adamnemecek wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Project Loon balloons float in the stratosphere, twice as high as airplanes and the weather."

But they're tethered, right? Or no? if they're untethered, that's just crazy awesome. If they're tethered, I'm still slightly worried about the cables. OH! They're just going to make enough that there is always one overhead! That's so damn cool. I can barely believe it. Wireless technology is some of the most amazing stuff.

Definitely not tethered. Cables become super heavy at those lengths. Not to mention you need very strong/thick cables.

If you just try flying a kite on a good windy day an keep feeding it string, it will pretty quickly start loosing altitude.

Re: Project Loon

#58

Post by sn0v »

ameen wrote: post #29
ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #19

It's fascinating to see how well Google has branched out. It started as just a search engine competing with Lycos, AltaVista, & Yahoo and yet they didn't just stop, they kept going. They built all these new services & products around their core product (search) and it's paid off tremendously. It's definitely something to model future companies off of. When you win the race, don't stop, keep running.

I'd say it still hasn't branched out. It is very much an "internet" company. So anything related to the internet (and data nowadays) is somehow going to benefit their bottom-line.

That said, no internet company has products as diverse as Google's? Smartphone OS, wearable computing, gigabit internet etc.

Re: Project Loon

#59

Post by pizza »

aidenn0 wrote: post #39
pizza wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Minor nitpick: AT&T has done a shit-ton of research: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs edit: apparently a different beast than today's AT&T

Minor nitpick: The company now known as AT&T is essentially Cingular wireless; they bought the remnants of AT&Ts cell network and the rights to the name.

Thanks, didn't know.

Re: Project Loon

#60

Post by redthrowaway »

rfnslyr wrote: post #49
ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #19

It's fascinating to see how well Google has branched out. It started as just a search engine competing with Lycos, AltaVista, & Yahoo and yet they didn't just stop, they kept going. They built all these new services & products around their core product (search) and it's paid off tremendously. It's definitely something to model future companies off of. When you win the race, don't stop, keep running.

And now they sell your data?

No, they sell ads targeted at you based on your data. Nobody but Google and the gov't has access to any of your data on their servers.
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