What is Google?
Google is one of the most popular technology companies in the world. It is responsible for handling the vast majority of all online search requests worldwide and has influenced the Internet in so many ways that the word ‘google’ has become synonymous with using a search engine. The company was founded in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page while they were students at Stanford University, California. Today, it is a multi-billion dollar company that has grown into a global force in hardware, cloud computing, advertising and artificial intelligence.
Google’s search engine is its most well-known product and the most popular service in the entire world. Google’s name comes from the googol, a mathematical concept that describes a number that is infinitely large. The name reflects the goal of the website to organize the world’s knowledge and make it accessible to people around the globe.
In addition to the search engine, Google offers a wide range of other products and services including Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Google Earth, Android devices, Google Chrome, and many more. The corporation also has an extensive network of data centers around the world that house millions of interlinked computers. These massive computer clusters are powered by three proprietary pieces of software code called GFS, Bigtable and MapReduce.
Some of the more interesting services offered by Google include:
Google Docs – A free solution that allows users to create documents, edit files and share them across multiple devices and browsers. Google Keep – A fantastic service that allows users to store and track notes and tasks. Google Calendar – An excellent tool that integrates with other Google services and offers calendar reminders. Google Maps – A fantastic mapping service that allows users to view any part of the planet, get directions and find nearby restaurants and shops. Google Duo – A cross platform video calling service for Android devices. Google Chrome – An extremely popular web browser.
Another great Google product is the YouTube video streaming service. The site is visited by over a billion people every month and offers a huge library of videos ranging from the funny to the serious. Google’s Waze app is an international smartphone navigation service that provides drivers with real time information about traffic delays and accidents.
The list of Google’s other products and services is almost endless. The corporation has even created a service to help you find lost items. Then there is Google Fiber, a limited fibre optic Internet service that has only been made available in select areas of the country. Google also has its own TV service called YouTube TV and a self-driving car project known as Waymo.
In 2015, Google renamed itself Alphabet Inc and broke into two parts: Google and Other Bets. Its Other Bets division includes projects like the self-driving cars and the FitBit fitness tracking device. It also has a research lab in Mountain View, California and operates a fleet of driverless cars for testing.
