It doesn’t bother you that a search for high speed Internet in your town is useless because Google lets lead generators game their system so that the first several pages of results are ISPs that don’t even have service there?
Money and monopoly power has corrupted Google’s search business (and associated services like Maps). They are obviously not strapped for cash, they should spend a few bucks fixing their search engine. Until they do, we should look for and use better search engines. So don’t use Google to find a locksmith. Better choices like Yelp and Angies List come to mind, plus probably some I’m not thinking of at the moment. From: Josh Reynolds Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 9:05 AM To: af@afmug.com Subject: Re: [AFMUG] SAD day You just described every large scale data source ever. Congratulations On Feb 2, 2016 8:41 AM, "Ken Hohhof" <af...@kwisp.com> wrote: Locked out of your house? Don’t use Google to find a locksmith. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/business/fake-online-locksmiths-may-be-out-to-pick-your-pocket-too.html Read the whole article to find out just how badly Google search and map results are corrupted. This locksmith must be legit, I can see their building on Google Maps. Oh, not really there, created by Photoshop and “crowdsourcing”. And driven by a “lead generator” to make it look local. And advertising $19 but paying twice that to Google for the AdWords click. SCAM, SCAM, SCAM. From: George Skorup Sent: Monday, February 01, 2016 11:44 PM To: af@afmug.com Subject: Re: [AFMUG] SAD day Nobody says "Let me Bing/Yahoo that". So yeah, Google is how you search the interwebs. But I agree on the other point. I do not trust any company that has (or can have) such huge control over information. Be it Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc... or the government. On 2/1/2016 11:36 PM, Travis Johnson wrote: I would use Yahoo or Bing or any other search engine. Nothing would change if Google went away tomorrow. Blackberries and Android wouldn't even exist if Apple hadn't created the first iPhone. Same with tablets... look how many people tried tablets before Apple, and they all failed. I purchased a Macbook for my daughter headed to college 5 years ago. She used that laptop literally every day, for over 5 years. She graduated with two Bachelor's degrees... using that same laptop. Every paper, thousands of emails, etc... and she has never had a single issue... no viruses, no hardware issues, no software issues. Never a single issue. No OS reload, no malware scanners, nothing. It just works. Just like all the rest of Apple's products... they just work. Travis On 2/1/2016 10:28 PM, Josh Luthman wrote: The world's most popular site and you don't think the world would change? Really??? Apple is gone. People buy Blackberries and Android. Tablets probably won't exist. Mp3 players would probably have come to fruition without them. What else do they have? Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 On Feb 2, 2016 12:22 AM, "Travis Johnson" <t...@ida.net> wrote: At least Apple makes products... products that literally changed the computing world, the phone world, the retail world, created apps, and the music world. Google created a search engine (actually copying Yahoo, Webcrawler, Altavista and several others at the time). They aren't a "product". They don't "sell" anything. They are a webpage, just like Facebook. Imagine your life without Google or Facebook. NOTHING CHANGES. Yes, they built a better mousetrap using their intelligence and hard work... but they aren't "inventors". They didn't create anything new or groundbreaking. Travis On 2/1/2016 10:09 PM, Colin Stanners wrote: I'd much rather Google / Alphabet Inc. be in that position than Apple with their overpriced yet restricted / non-upgradable / crappy consumer electronics. Google is making themselves the curator of access to the world's information and communications. When you consider the value of those, it's not just the most valuable company in matters of money. The founders had incredible foresight in addition to their intelligence and hard work. On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 10:55 PM, Travis Johnson <t...@ida.net> wrote: http://www.ibtimes.com/alphabet-inc-goog-surpasses-apple-inc-aapl-become-worlds-most-valuable-public-company-2289113 "The world isn't run by weapons anymore, or energy, or money. It's run by little ones and zeroes, little bits of data. It's all just electrons." ~ Cosmo (Sneakers 1992) Literally, a one page website for a company that is less than 19 years old is now the most valuable company in the world. :( Travis
