Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is huge. And it’s no news that it is getting bigger.
But keeping track of the company’s everyday innovations is still mesmerizing.
Google just announced that they are working on Spark, a new Web-based development tool. This could give us enough to talk about for a week. But novelties with Google never come alone. The company has also launched ‘Project Link’, an initiative to help increase global Internet access. This doesn’t mean that it’s leaving behind its old projects. Mozilla Firefox’s incomes keep increasing, and guess where its money is coming from?
New Sparks
Until now, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) didn’t seem to be focusing on programming tools. It was one area where native software was still dominant. This Google project, Spark, is about to change this.
Spark is a Web-based IDE (integrated development environment) that runs in a browser for developers writing Chrome apps. What’s a Chrome app? In short, it’s a Web app that runs on Chrome. This involves the advantage of Chrome abilities, such as Native Client, and be distributed through the Chrome Web Store.
What this means, among other things, is that Chromebook coders would have a way of being productive without having to move to a Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Mac OS, or Linux box.
Google Brings Internet to Developing Areas
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) will provide Internet to developing areas through the establishment of fiber-optic networks. Kampala and Uganda –where broadband access is still limited to pre-broadband speeds- will be the first to benefit from this initiative.
“By connecting Kampala to existing long-distance fiber lines, we can provide the city and the region with a foundation for growth as we help people get online” stated Google on the project’s website.
This is not the first plan Google had on this matter. Earlier this year, Google announced Project Loon, an Internet connection scheme that aimed to provide access to those in remote areas through using high-flying balloons. First piloted in the Canterbury area of New Zealand with 30 balloons in the air and 50 testers on the ground, the project gave people access to the Internet without the need for complex infrastructure.
As always, you can take this as a solidarity movement, or just as good business.
Also, Google is Pumping Money into Firefox
Something quite extraordinary has happened to Mozilla. Firefox’s maker’s revenue has almost doubled.
What’s so strange? Well, Mozilla is almost entirely reliant on Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) for its income, although it competes with Chrome: 90% of Mozilla’s revenue comes from the income generated by Google referrals.
So why did Google’s payments to Mozilla increase so significantly? We can only guess. The most logical answer would be that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) put a much better offer on the table for Mozilla to switch its default search engine and homepage to Bing, and left the open-source browser maker in a much stronger bargaining position with Google.
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