they are going after a complete domination of the world...
Yup on the face if it this looks like a noble venture but when you look at the behavior of Google they really aren't the kind of people you want to see in control of something like this.
I read an interesting one last week, duckduckgo wanted to buy the domain http://duck.com/ , check out that domain
Google are a corporation, governed by corporate law, like every other corporation. They have a remarkably good PR and marketing team that encourage large numbers of people to believe that they are a benevolent, well-intentioned upstart that can save us all from those other nasty corporations like Microsoft and Facebook.
When you ignore the PR and hype and look at their actual behaviour, you can see that they're just going for returns for their investors (as required by corporate law), market dominance, and profits.
Balloons, drones, and satellites are just the next venture to increase market share. I doubt it has much to do with providing internet access to developing countries where there's isn't currently any and I suspect it has more to do with undercutting local ISPs in burgeoning new markets (I'd like to know what they're saying about this to their investors rather than their PR statements for the rest of us). Internet provision in the USA looks like an impenetrable market for Google for the foreseeable future since the big ISPs; Verizon, Comcast, Time-Warner, etc.; seem to have too much control over the FCC and congress and are building the potential capacity to extort money from Google -- Pay up or we'll put you in our slow lane.
It's just one big, long dog-fight where you can try to make a profit by betting on it (on the stock exchanges) and everyone has to suffer the consequences. Once they no longer need our help and support, they'll stop being nice to us... you know, like politicians only care about what we care about once every 4 years.
"a Google spokesperson suggested the company's efforts were altruistic. «Internet connectivity significantly improves people's lives. Yet two thirds of the world have no access at all.»"
"altruistic"? Altruistic my... feet!
Yes, the USA might be a headache for them, but why should they worry when they can cover the remaining 93.8% of the world.
Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility.
-Robin Morgan
The pieces are being placed
It'd be easy to tell if a corporation did something altruistic; shortly after the announcement, the share price would drop significantly. Google isn't a trust, a charity, or a non-profit foundation. It's primary legal obligation above all else is to provide a return on investment, pure and simple.
If anyone still has any doubts about Google Inc's intentions or ulterior motives, they only have to look at their recent record: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norman-solomon/google-doing-evil-with-al_b_4079436.html
Organisations in the USA don't get much more evil than ALEC. Bill Gates was recently named and shamed as a major donor to ALEC too. At least he had the good sense to stop. However, he's now investing hundreds of millions in a broad attempt to undermine public education and make it more susceptible to privatisation.
Yup Google are a horrible company.
Here is one I read last week, Google are trying to force independant music labels to allow their content on a paid streaming service, but Google being Google dont want to share the spoils. They are threatening to block the existing videos of labels who dont agree to their terms.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jun/04/youtube-independent-record-label-deals
So, lets say they control internet access in the developing world, what will their subsequent demands on those governments be?
For a start they will want complete control over the audience. They will lock / filter out competing services / software. They will curtail any choice on the part of the user. They will try and force all commerce onto their platform and they will extract as much revenue as possible from those countries and pay little if anything back.
Google enter markets offering value in the short term. By making things "free" using money from other businesses they ensure there is no competition. Once they have established an unasailable position they undergo a kind of reverse metamorphosis from butterfly into a big fat hairy caterpillar that wants to eat every living thing in the garden.
Wow!
I thought there was something wrong with the link and had to click it for a second time.
Duck hunting season started?
Truly speechless.
Yup, putting their vast wealth to the noble task of domain squatting.
For the time being, www.cat.com and www.dog.com are safe.
www.pigdogo.com isn't registered yet. Maybe Google should consider it.