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Google is NOTHING like Bell Labs. Bell did real research, not research that had a ROI counter tied to it. Google researches what makes Google money - period. If this is the current generations "hero", then we're doomed.
Right, Microsoft Research, IBM Research.. they really have nothing to show for. Google also has what an advertising system and a site to search things for, send/receive email and watch videos, some phones.. that's it. Everything else has been videos and PR.
True. I'll admit that there is probably a fair amount of bias because Google has a better PR department. But I doubt it's that much better than these other guys . . . I think much of the research being done is around incremental improvements, and the point is that Google seems to be dreaming much bigger and thinking much more long term.
Just because Google doesn't put as much work into keeping their future ideas secret, you can't assume Apple doesn't have equally ambitious ideas. You just won't find out about then until Apple thinks it is worthy of your attention.
Just because Google doesn't put as much work into keeping their future ideas secret, you can't assume Apple doesn't have equally ambitious ideas. You just won't find out about then until Apple thinks it is worthy of your attention.
I've been reading The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner recently and I feel like the parallels between the two are really striking. The advent of Google X projects, the Motorola acquisition, and all of the recent robotics acquisitions make it feel like Google is actually building the future that I've been dreaming of since I was in elementary school. I only hope that the next wave of technological innovation will be far mo…
> Apple has pretty phones and tablets and that’s really it. interesting conclusion. i must be hallucinating my macbook air, mac pro, os x + apps, and airport network then.
So:
1. A smaller, lighter, computer in an industry where every generation of devices is smaller and lighter. A trend that existed before Apple even made laptops.
2. Mac Pro. A faster, more powerful, computer in an industry where every generation of devices is faster and more powerful. A trend that existed before the Macintosh existed.
3. OS X + Apps. I consider the app store a step backward for humanity, as it centralizes something that had been decentralizing and democratizing over decades of hard fought battles between open and closed. The best things about OS X are the best things about UNIX. And, I consider Linux a better UNIX (but, I'm willing to admit that the Macintosh experience for most users is superior, due to it being a unified hardware+software product, wherein Apple can make it all work together flawlessly). I don't consider it revolutionary, however.
4. Airport? WTF? Expensive WiFi is revolutionary?
I'm not really an Apple hater (aside from my strong preference for Open Source over proprietary, especially in important platform choices), but it's absurd to compare Apple's innovation to self-driving cars (or the kinds of innovation Bell Labs used to lead the way on).
> Apple has pretty phones and tablets and that’s really it. interesting conclusion. i must be hallucinating my macbook air, mac pro, os x + apps, and airport network then.
Ok they have a computer and an operating system as well as a nice way to transfer files . . . big whoop. I think we can all agree that this isn't groundbreaking.
Uh, Apple created the Macintosh, the iPhone, and the iPad. I would give them a bit more credit for creating new industries if we're going to start comparing them to Google on that front.
Now what platforms has Google built that is changing the game for everyone else? You have YouTube and thats pretty much it. Android is a me-too product, Chromecase is a me-too product, Chrome is a me-too product. I won't lie Maps, and Translate are amazing services but hardly worth deity status. Plus has been a spectacular flop, and my father (who isn't in tune with tech) is completely confused as to why people by their cloud machines from Amazon.
Lastly, Google isn't putting anything on the line. 95%+ of Google's revenue is advertising. If Ford started work on an autonomous car that would be putting it on the line. What Google is doing is the equivalent of a rich kid buying fancy toys. Google X gets a lot of PR, but thus far it isn't all that much different from Microsoft & IBM Research.
I'm not going to say what Google is doing is wrong, I think its great actually. However we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves by saying Apple is doing nothing. That company is focused on building amazing products on what pretty much amounts to yesterdays technology. Every phone today has a capacitive screen but how long has that been around? Retina displays? How long did we suffer with 1368x768 laptops?
So while Google is not reliving the 80s "household of tomorrow" pipe dream, It doesn't seem wise to say Apple just builds "only phones and tablets." given that those phones and tablets have been the center of current tech industry and are out now rather than "just 5 more years!"
Google is NOTHING like Bell Labs. Bell did real research, not research that had a ROI counter tied to it. Google researches what makes Google money - period. If this is the current generations "hero", then we're doomed.
Don't be silly, all research done by companies has an ROI counter tied to it . . . the point is that some do much more forward thinking research into technologies that might not yet have a specific application quite yet, and others are focused 2-3 years in advance and that's it.