Firmuhment

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Firmuhment

Marc Andreessen on everything in Silicon Valley

I mentioned this on twitter last night before the video was available... here's the full show for your viewing pleasure: this is Marc Andreessen in conversation with Charlie Rose about all things Internet-related and why the next iPhone will probably have a kindle-sized screen. Andreessen is completely ready for us to be more wired and is optimistic about what technological innovation can bring to society and the economy. It is refreshing to hear that the end is not nigh because we have a dependency on technology.

They're Watching Us: The Google Edition

I started uploading personal information on Google about two years ago when I opened up a photo sharing account. Since then, I have my resume uploaded, created a small personal website for professional purposes, and used Google docs for school and work. Between this blog and my email, Google probably knows everything about me aside from my birthday and social security number. They have my credit card information and my employment background and obviously, they know where I live since I plug it into my computer for transit information nearly everyday.

This all got me thinking about what sort of risk we all are at as Google extends its reach farther into our private lives. This year--or sometime in the near future, Google plans to make PCs (as in personal computers... we're not talking macs vs. PCs, though Google and Apple are in this together) obsolete. Your home computer will just be a portal into your Google world.

According to an article from The Guardian:

The PC would be a simpler, cheaper device acting as a portal to the web, perhaps via an adaptation of Google's operating system for mobile phones, Android. Users would think of their computer as software rather than hardware. It is this prospect that alarms critics of Google's ambitions. Peter Brown, executive director of the Free Software Foundation, a charity defending computer users' liberties, did not dispute the convenience offered, but said: "It's a little bit like saying, 'we're in a dictatorship, the trains are running on time.' But does it matter to you that someone can see everything on your computer? Does it matter that Google can be subpoenaed at any time to hand over all your data to the American government?"

Google refused to confirm the GDrive, but acknowledged the growing demand for cloud computing. Dave Armstrong, head of product and marketing for Google Enterprise, said: "There's a clear direction ... away from people thinking, 'This is my PC, this is my hard drive,' to 'This is how I interact with information, this is how I interact with the web.'"

Beware the GDrive! I would caution against giving your life to Google because they make everything so easy and free.

If you're not already convinced that they may be working against us, see the video below, animated with great graphics and narrated with British-accented gravitas.

Also, a Simpsons clips below because everything in life has a Simpsons reference.