Google poised to become your phone company

Google poised to become your phone company

www.cnn.com

(Wired) -- Google is set to become your new phone company, perhaps reducing your phone bill to zilch in the process.

Seriously.

Google has bought Gizmo5, an online phone company that is akin to Skype  but based on open protocols and with a lot fewer users. TechCrunch, which broke the news on Monday, reported that Google spent $30 million on the company.

(visit the link for the full news article)

BAN Guidelines: Mod Edit: Copy the Exact Headline



[edit on 11/15/2009 by semperfortis]

Google is quickly becoming involved in every aspect of the digital era. Google is already the world's most successful search engine, most profitable company, working on becoming the host of your medical records, has parking spots for the company's planes at a couple of NASA locations and has its software on cellphones. Now it wants to have even more control of how you digital contact others. Don't forget that it also has 1000's+ of books in digital format under its control!!

Yes, I know MS (Microsoft) is on 95%+ of pc's/laptops throughout the world and on smartphones which causes them to be the target of numerous monopoly lawsuits. Have we not learned what happens when ONE company holds all the cards?

I can't think of any company I trust to control:
*thousands of books in electronic format (thanks Seiko!)
*electronic copies of my medical records
*maps of the world and space
*cell-phone software
*local phone coverage
*world-wide phone service
*search engine results

and so on..... Seems like a MAJOR bad idea.

That would mean they control medical, communication, exchange of information and knowledge.



www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)


[edit on 14-11-2009 by Roadblockx]

BAN Guidelines: Mod Edit: Copy the Exact Headline

[edit on 11/15/2009 by semperfortis]

google is the last company i want controling my phone service. or anything else for that matter, maybe its time i start using bing.

I remember discovering google, and noticing it worked better then yahoo. As a search engine I was really liking it. Then slowly it became something more. With a stated goal of cataloging every piece of knowledge on the net it has grown into a monster.

It will catalogue everything it touches, searches, books, phones calls, even applications with it's venture into cloud computing and operating system coming next.

I started suspecting many years ago google was actually the new face of the cia, dod, fbi, whatever you call it.

It's too big, and that always worries me.

Originally posted by srslyguyz
google is the last company i want controling my phone service. or anything else for that matter, maybe its time i start using bing.

I was a huge MS fan and thought they were great when I first started into my tech career. 11 years later, I see they have their roots in every single thing we do. Google is going to be even more agressive as they look to be the "rival" to Microsoft and everyone (most) wants to see MS fall. Who is going to stop Google? MS? Pick your posion. End result seems to be the same.

reply to post by Seiko




Great points! I forget about them cataloging the books! D@mn. I better update the thread. The face of the cia/nsa/alphabet soup is another great observation.

Phone company, internet company, business software company, gaming company, education company, advertising company, law enforcement company, spy agency company, social media company,
The list goes on.

Kind of like a drug pusher, give them what they need for free a few times, then they will come up with money to keep getting it.

The way I see it is they are going to fill up everyones life with free stuff that people think that they need and can not live without it. Google is going to push out all competition at first then start the serious takeover. Then after everyone is interwoven into google so bad they can not get out, they will start to charge.

Google 10 years from now is going to have its own country and government. And that country might be the entire world.

Google has a service called Google/voice. When you sign up you receive a telephone number and can make free calls anywhere to the US as swell as send and receive SMS messages for free.

Originally posted by Phlegmi
Google has a service called Google/voice. When you sign up you receive a telephone number and can make free calls anywhere to the US as swell as send and receive SMS messages for free.

Nothing is free. They are probably digitalizing voice patterns for biometric files.

funny thing, i made a gmail account yesterday and guess what they asked for ? my phone nr to send a verification code to,
they dident have that last time i made one

Google was playing with the thought of giving the Android cell phone and service for free if you were willing to put up with advertisements on it. I could still see them doing something like that.

reply to post by pavil


How would that work? - so your like in the middle of a call and there is an advert played into the call?? I suppose it would be easy enough to deliver text messages, or even more visual messages to a smarter phone - hell I'd probably put up with that for a free phone service...

To be honest I know I should be concerned about the omnipresence of Google - especially cos of the incredible spped they have come from nowhere... But I'm not, they are very clever at what they deliver and they really do seem to like the end user getting everything at little or no cost - which I like...

Cool!!!! I would much prefer them handle it all than AT&T.

I dont understand why people are so worried about google. They are the least of the evils already out there.

When does it come to my neck of the woods? Sign me up!

Google is probably the all seeing eye of the illuminati. If you break the name down it is go ogle. here is the definition for ogle.

Main Entry: 1 ogle
Pronunciation: \ˈō-gəl also ˈä-\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): ogled; ogling \-g(ə-)liŋ\
Etymology: probably from Low German oegeln, from oog eye; akin to Old High German ouga eye — more at eye
Date: 1682
intransitive verb
: to glance with amorous invitation or challenge
transitive verb
1 : to eye amorously or provocatively
2 : to look at especially with greedy or interested attention

I tend to like the second definition.
How is this for a conspiracy in plain sight?

Why can't these organizations just settle for their current success and stick to what they're good at
Surely Globalization can only go so far.
The fewer brands that control our resources the greater scope for filtration and control.

Am an avid user of Google services. They have yet to give me a reason not to trust them. Until that time comes good service and smart products are king and I'll use the best (google).

Bring it on, Google has always had the mentality of a great architect and leader in a technological internet evolution.

Originally posted by Roadblockx
Google is quickly becoming involved in every aspect of the digital era. Google is already the world's most successful search engine, most profitable company, working on becoming the host of your medical records, has parking spots for the company's planes at a couple of NASA locations and has its software on cellphones. Now it wants to have even more control of how you digital contact others. Don't forget that it also has 1000's+ of books in digital format under its control!!

Yes, I know MS (Microsoft) is on 95%+ of pc's/laptops throughout the world and on smartphones which causes them to be the target of numerous monopoly lawsuits. Have we not learned what happens when ONE company holds all the cards?

I can't think of any company I trust to control:
*thousands of books in electronic format (thanks Seiko!)
*electronic copies of my medical records
*maps of the world and space
*cell-phone software
*local phone coverage
*world-wide phone service
*search engine results

and so on..... Seems like a MAJOR bad idea.

That would mean they control medical, communication, exchange of information and knowledge.

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)


[edit on 14-11-2009 by Roadblockx]

Don't forget that Google products are majority open-source, and the reason that Google is so successful is due to its open mainstream involvement with its product with every day developers, something that Microsoft has not established, yet only kept their ideas below their umbrella.

1. Google Web Toolkit is an open-source engine
2. Google Chrome browser, recently signed a contract with Sony VAIO to set up a default browser on all the new laptops. Is also an open-source product.
3. And many other technologies out there
4. Google mail is a free product at no additional cost
5. Google maps and and an open-source contributing online content repository
6. Many more ...

[edit on 11/15/2009 by krystalice]

Google will absolutely destroy Microsoft and every other company not satisfying customers while it takes over most of the digital era companies and grows and grows...

In that way I think its terrific. We as consumers and programmers get better technology to work with and use. They are incredibly inventive. But yes, your privacy will be a distant memory in the future.

Originally posted by Kalomar
funny thing, i made a gmail account yesterday and guess what they asked for ? my phone nr to send a verification code to,
they dident have that last time i made one

Its also required to use Google App Engine to store/run your Google Web Kit applications.

Yes, privacy is going to die with Google. They will know who you are behind your Internet alias. What will they use it for? Remains to be seen.


[edit on 15-11-2009 by Copernicus]

reply to post by Copernicus


Yes privacy will come at a price of sacrifice, but what is there to hide, unless you are doing something unlawful.

One may expected if he or she is to be treated professionally and and without any additional cost from the consumers point of view, than I'd expect some form of identification from that person.

If they are willing to log and statistically data mine my usage than let it be so, alternatively for the skeptical ones you can always logout from their products if you are concerned about their privacy.