A New Twist in Google Information
December 17, 2008
Matt Cutts is or was a Googler last time I saw him. I must be upfront and say that I don’t pay any attention to his Web log. Googlers’ or Xooglers’ Web logs are not too useful. The GOOG makes people sign interesting documents that prohibit much, if any, useful information about the company from seeing the light of day. I owned part of a company a few years ago and had the opportunity to talk with a person with some experience in this arena. Sorry, I can’t provide more information. My attorney is angling for a new houseboat, and I don’t need to aid his cause.
Mr. Cutts has a Web log here. It covers a range of topics that don’t interest me. I care nothing about search engine optimization. I understand that most Web sites get near zero traffic, and SEO is important to some people. Mr. Cutts also includes whimsical comments about online. I am too old for whimsey. Skip that. But the article “Ten Things I Don’t Like about Google Chrome” hooked me. What is a Googler or Xoogler doing criticizing a very important Google product, not a beta, but a real, honest to goodness product?
The article said:
Normally when I have suggestions or complaints about a Google product, I talk directly to that team within Google — the Google Chrome team is especially good about listening to feedback. They also provide a very easy way to file bugs or feature requests against Chrome, and they do triage those requests. But I’ve written so positively about Google Chrome in the past that I wanted to show the sort of feedback that I give when I really care about a product.
Wow, this reminds me of a Luigi Pirandello scene. A character is talking to the audience to show how that character would talk to the real audience if the people in the theatre were not present.
I don’t think Chrome is a browser. My research suggests that Chrome is a code component that hooks the device via an umbilical to the big Googleplex of data centers. Chrome makes it easy for Google to run containers on the device. One of the features of Chrome is that separate windows can hold Google applications such as Gmail. The device’s operating system is wrapped in a software layer that is one component of Google’s virtual data center operating system. VDOS is not an official Google acronym but it makes clear what Chrome’s function is. Veterinarians in Kansas uses a similar method to keep track of cows’ health. The cow is hooked to a system that can make sense of cow behaviors. Chrome is similar to this only in digital form, not stuff in a plastic bag and shoved in the cow’s stomach.
Mr. Cutts runs down a list of issues he has with Chrome. When I read this list, I wondered, “What’s the purpose of this? Is Mr. Cutts eager to spend time giving a deposition about his revelations on his personal or quasi personal Web log? Is he trying to reinforce his image as a ‘good person’? Is he a cat’s paw for Google’s burgeoning and somewhat erratic public relations machine?”
I have no idea., What’s clear is that this article walks down a less well traveled path. As Pirandello allegedly said:
Logic is one thing, the human animal another. You can quite easily propose a logical solution to something and at the same time hope in your heart of hearts it won’t work out.
Stephen Arnold, December 17, 2008
Comments
5 Responses to “A New Twist in Google Information”
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A think its a big twist…
whats your problem??? chill out, lots of people actully respect Matt..
Who the the hell are YOU to judge his post so hard??
http://the-anti-google-baloney.blogspot.com/
ALEX,
My, oh, my! This addled goose absolutely delights in informed reactions to his observations. Enthusiasm like this I associate with Macbook users. Well, a happy holiday quack to you, ALEX. The goose does not want to engender stress. Might I suggest you not read this Web log. The goose wants only calm water. Oh, the editorial policy might help you come to grips with what’s included in this Web log.
Stephen Arnold, December 17, 2008
Hi Stephen, the question that someone asked (“What do you not like about Chrome?”) had stuck in my mind, so I started keeping a list in my pocket notebook, and eventually I had enough annoyances that I decided to do a blog post instead of trying to file all the requests as bugs against Chrome.
One thing I’d like to mention is that my site is a personal blog. I write the posts and I don’t send them to anyone else at Google (e.g. the PR folks) for approval. I’ve sent maybe 2-3 posts to Google’s legal team to double-check me when I thought I might say something that could have legal implications. But it is my personal blog and even though I’m a fan of Google and work there, any mistakes or bad blogging on my site should be blamed only on me.
I don’t think S.A. was accusing M.C. of “mistakes” or “bad blogging” … more like pointing out that Matt was remarkably candid. I’m in the same boat – a Microsoft guy with a personal blog, which I don’t run by anyone first.
And anyway, the heart of this post has nothing to do with Matt’s blog – it’s the paragraph about Chrome being “not a browser” but a container-mechanism for the emergent VDOS (nice name!)… Excellent analysis.