Steve Jobs (Apple) is using the architecture of the iPad and Apple's dominance when it comes to software to try maximize profits and crush competition.
For Google, the project is a pre-emptive move to get a foothold in the living room as more consumers start exploring ways to bring web content to their TV sets.
"I think Google is gearing up to be potentially quite a formidable competitor to existing telcos and ISPs, given their moves into the infrastructure level," Warren Chaisatien, research director and principal analyst at Australian firm Telsyte, said.
First they're making phones, now they're putting in the pipes.
It seems like every city in America wants Google Fibe
And who can blame them? Ever since Google announced its plan last month to bring ultra-high speed Internet connections (as in, up to 100x faster than what most of the country has today) to between 50,000 and 500,000 people, cities across the U.S. have been clamoring to curry the favor of the search giant.
First there was Topeka, KS, which renamed itself by proclamation to Google, KS.
Austin, TX, Charlottesville, VA, Greensboro, NC, Portland, OR, Grand Rapids, MI, and Indianapolis, IN are also in on the action with either official or citizen-led campaigns to catch Google’s attention.
Google wants to install Google Fiber in some small US cities. These Googlevilles, although experimental and in a small scale, could foreshadow some potential repercussions of the digital divide. Would you like to live in Googleville?
The founder and Chief Executive of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, announced at a recent conference that Facebook's Open Graph project will soon enable an even greater degree of personalisation as people surf the net.
I think this probably has implications for user experience, in terms of viewing popular sites through the prism of social networking - and it gives sites more authority to store data about individuals.
Because Facebook seems to be so pervasive nowadays, it seems like we won't have much say in the matter...
Also business implications. This is direct competition for Google's increasingly personalised 'user experience', not just Buzz and the raft of location services but the uniquely personal search that has slipped quietly onto our browsers.
How can we be concerned about what governments know about us when we've handed willingly to businesses so much more information!
Allison, that's a great point, I've tried to quit using the site but I stop when I realise that I won't know about upcoming social events - unfortunately its the primary means of communication used by some friends!
Yes and I think Facebook take full advantage!
A lot of my friends have been posting notes on FB about changing privacy settings now that the new features have come in. So, people are trying to resist but in a more subtle way than dropping out of FB altogether.
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