Google is a search company.
OK, Google started as a search company in 1998, when Sergey Brin and Larry Page were doctoral students at Stanford. And fifteen years later? Google is a verb. That's how ingrained it's become into our lexicon, as well as into our lives. If you want to know something, you "Google" it.
On August 10, 2015, Google became part of the umbrella company, Alphabet, with Sundar Pichai taking charge as CEO. The announcement came as a surprise to everyone when it was dropped on Google's blog by Larry Page.
Of course, Google is so much more now. It's an advertising company (which still provides the bulk of its revenue). It's a video-hosting company, with YouTube. It's a social network, with Google+. It's a mobile company, with Android. It's leading the wearables revolution with Google Glass and Android Wear. Google's making inroads into enterprise with its web-based infrastructures, to the point where municipal governments and private businesses alike are ditching the server racks for the cloud. It's seeking to change the way we use computers with its not-quite-a-thin-client Chromebooks.
And that was just the first 15 years.
Where will Google go next? That's a question many of us can't wait to see answered. And, understandably, it's a question many are wary of. Is Google too big? Is it too powerful? Does it know too much? Is it doing the right things for the right reasons? Or is it just trying to become as rich and powerful as it possibly can? Those are all fair questions, and ones that Google should ask itself, and ones that we as its customers should continue to it.
Latest about Google
Android 15 might let your display reach new lows
By Brady Snyder published
Even dimmer Google appears to be working on an "even dimmer" brightness setting that might come with the Android 15 upgrade.
Mysterious Wear OS smartwatch listing makes us wonder what Google has up its sleeve
By Brady Snyder published
Mystery smartwatch? A new Google product was added to the Federal Communications Commission's database, but it's unlikely to be the Google Pixel Watch 3.
Chromecast with Google TV (4K) may finally get a successor
By Brady Snyder published
Big upgrades coming Prior reports indicated Google was developing a new streaming device powered by Android, and that product is now confirmed to be a 4K Chromecast with Google TV follow-up.
Google Gemini for Android might grab a neat trick from the web version soon
By Jay Bonggolto published
Real-Time Responses Google Gemini on Android might soon let you see replies as they're typed.
Google Wallet could make paying with your watch a pain now too
By Jay Bonggolto published
a tad slower Using Google Wallet on Wear OS might make tap-to-pay a bit less handy with a new PIN requirement.
Google's Circle to Search may gain some useful updates for sharing and more
By Nickolas Diaz published
Something to expect Google was spotted working on smaller, handy updates for its Circle to Search AI feature.
Google rolls out second April security update to fix Pixel cellular issues
By Nickolas Diaz published
Hopeful Google has started pushing an update for a few Pixel devices to correct frustrating cellular service problems.
Google Drive just got a handy search upgrade for Android users
By Brady Snyder published
Precise searching More than a month after appearing on iOS, Google is finally making finding files easer on the Google Drive app for Android with search filters.
Android 15 will show you the remaining lifetime of your phone's storage chip
By Brady Snyder published
Storage health With phones potentially lasting longer due to software support, all eyes are on the hardware to keep up. That might get easier thanks to Android 15's upcoming storage health feature.
Google Meet will now let you annotate while presenting content
By Brady Snyder published
Live drawings Google is adding annotations to Google Meet, so now you can draw on shared screens, files, and apps. But it's only coming to select Google Workspace tiers.
News Weekly: Google's big change, live Pixel 9 Pro images, a wooden Motorola phone, and more
By Derrek Lee published
News Weekly Catch up on this week's top headlines in tech.
Google Chat now works with Slack and Microsoft Teams
By Jay Bonggolto published
No more app fatigue Google Chat can now chat with Slack and Teams directly, no more app juggling to talk to everyone.
A recent update just brought AV1 support to your Android phone
By Nickolas Diaz published
Smooth as silk Google confirmed that it has switched to a newer, more efficient AV1 decoder on Android.
Google just changed forever
By Andrew Myrick published
This is huge A weird time for such a dramatic change.
Google lays off more workers and fires protestors in tumultuous week
By Brady Snyder published
Deep cuts Google's persistent layoffs, which have been occurring on-and-off since January 2023, have hit at least three teams in the latest round of cuts.
Google announces major hardware and software reorg with AI at the center
By Nickolas Diaz published
Time for change Google announced that it has merged its Android and hardware teams to further its AI efforts.
Google Maps may soon use satellites even if your phone is offline
By Brady Snyder published
Off-grid updates Google is steadily preparing satellite connectivity support in Android, and the latest implementation of it will make Google Maps location updates more reliable off-grid.
Google preps mysterious Assistant feature for the Pixel Tablet
By Brady Snyder published
Hidden features Google appears to be working on a fresh way to interact with Pixel Tablets called "Look and Sign," and it appears to be related to "Look and Talk" on the Nest Hub Max.
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