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0 pointsskriticos212y ago0 comments

Google has flaws like all companies and individuals. I'd be careful to share sensitive information with them. That said, they have a long track record of contributing back to the community (e.g. release stuff as open source like chromium); generally support open and royalty free standards (WebM, SPDY); and generally do nice stuff like Summer of Code.

If they'd turn evil over night or just stop existing, we'd still have a big net positive left. Not something that can be said for some competitors.

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3 comments · 1 top-level

threeseed12y ago· 2 in thread

This is a joke ? WebM and SPDY aren't some altruistic gifts to the world.

WebM is just an pointless nuisance. The world already has a open, video standard that is widely supported, technically superior and stewarded by a wide array of competing companies. And it's only royalty free because nobody can be bothered to sue them yet. It definitely is patent encumbered (see MPEG-LA's recent 'gift' of patents to VP8).

SPDY was another technology that was developed by Google unilaterally instead of working through the existing IETF process. If Google didn't own Chrome it simply would have never taken of.

foxylad12y ago

To be fair, I think there was a mix of altruism and self-interest with both technologies. Without WebM being a credible alternative, I think we'd have seen H264 licensing tighten up considerably.

And the fact that SPDY was developed unilaterally doesn't take away from Google's generosity in making it available to the world. It's generally well-regarded, and Google haven't attempted to limit it's use by other browsers in any way - much the opposite. Can you imagine Microsoft doing the same when they were the dominant browser?

Again, I'm not saying they introduced either of these technologies from pure altruism. But I am saying I'm glad they exist, and Google's approach to IP is a welcome breath of fresh air (so far).

acdha12y ago

It's wrong to place SPDY in the same class as WebM: it actually provides a significant, meaningful benefit versus the status quo. The performance benefits alone are worth deploying it for most sites and it's having a big, positive influence on the standards process as people learn from real-world deployment experience and start discussing how it makes web development better.

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