Wednesday 13 October 2021

Google and the provision of public goods

Anything that makes the Android operating system more valuable to users is good for Google. More people taking up the Android platform means more people in the Google universe, using their apps, seeing the ads that they sell. 

They have rather decent inventive to do awesome things for the platform.

Yesterday, about 2.55pm, I got a push notification on my phone. It made a sound I'd never heard before. I looked over and it noted that there'd been an earthquake, estimated magnitude 5.6, about 100 kilometers away off shore. I'm going from memory here as I didn't screenshot it. 

By the time I remembered that Google had added earthquake warning functionality into the Android OS, and remembered David Hood's skepticism about it, the room started shaking. Somewhere between 3 and 10 seconds. I should have started counting. 

Had the number on the phone been bigger than 5.6, I'd have gotten under the desk. And I've had had time to do it too. 

I kinda hate earthquakes. But now, I'm kinda looking forward to the next minor one. I want to count it down, like the gap between lightning and the thunder. 

Thank you Google!

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