5 ms·

Can you please quantify the "most consistently innovative large-cap around" comment? What Google did lately which was innovative? I'm not trying to be anti-Goo

by tlogan 14y ago

Can you please quantify the "most consistently innovative large-cap around" comment? What Google did lately which was innovative? I'm not trying to be anti-Google, I'm just honestly asking. For example, can you compare innovations Google put forward in last couple of years and compare it with, lets say, MSFT?

zfran 14y ago
Android?
- tlogan 14y ago
  Android is more like fast-following Apple and not innovative. If Android makes Google innovative, then they are not really more innovative than MSFT because MSFT did Windows Phone, Surface, Online Office (really surprisingly good - but still not innovative because Google Docs was the first), Outlook.com, etc. I think Xbox Kinect is innovative.
  - hiddenstage 14y ago
    ? Android usually has features long before iOS.
  - tsycho 14y ago
    EDIT: Fixed formatting (was italicized by mistake). Just because something is not the first to market doesn't make it not innovative[1]. Android is not a feature-by-feature copy of the iPhone, and I think various Android features (Google Now for one) are quite innovative. Furthermore, Apple also "copied" various Android features (notifications for instance). Similarly, while the Kinect is universally considered as innovative, I think Microsoft's Metro UI + OS is also quite innovative in that they came up with a refreshingly different and clean interface. First to market may drive important metrics like adoption/success/profit, but doesn't define whether a product is innovative or not. [1] sorry for the multiple negatives in that sentence.
bvi 14y ago
Google Glasses and the self-driving cars come to mind.
- jmelloy 14y ago
  I'm pretty sure Microsoft was the real innovator in the vaporware space. Google is just copying that strategy.
  - cube13 14y ago
    Don't forget about IBM! Seriously, Glass and the car projects are simply slightly more practical outputs of Google's research division. MS and IBM are doing a lot of research in areas that simply aren't as practical.
    - juiceandjuice 14y ago
      Why are you lumping IBM in with MS? The reality is that IBM is no longer consumer facing, and neither is their research. MS still is and has to be (and losing), but IBM just abandoned being a household name a while ago, except with things like Watson.
tensor 14y ago
Self driving cars. Glass. Google Now. Maps. Plus all the internal innovation such as new database technologies, custom routers, computer science research, and other technology. There are few places that compare to Google.
- tlogan 14y ago
  Good points. Vaporware (Self driving cars. Glass.) is not what I'm considering innovative because these things are not in production. And IBM and MSFT are very very good at vaporware. Maps are not innovative (they might be the best for some people but, on my iPhone, Nokia maps are actually better). There are few places that compare to Google. I'm not disputing that. Google is definitely a great company. But the claim was "the most consistently innovative large-cap around".
  - andrewljohnson 14y ago
    1) The self-driving cars are hardly vaporware - not only do they actually work, but Ford and other companies have large investments in the space too. Moreover, Nevada and California have already legalized robot cars. 2) Maps may no longer be the most innovative product in the space, but Google defined the tiled, online map, and they forced Apple to provide free turn-by-turn by doing so on Android. Moreover, Google has made two press announcements (we made our own maps via StreetView, and then we made it free on Android) that destroyed the market cap of the major nav companies to the tune of double digit market cap percentage losses, which amounted to billions of dollars, in a day... twice. 3) As for Google Glass, I don't expect much from this project actually, but vaporware is not the right term for something that is already being worn and used.
    - Steko 14y ago
      1) & 3) Plenty of vaporware actually works and is invested in. Vaporware is defined loosely as stuff-we-talk-about-a-lot-but-you-can't-buy-today TM. When they release it, like Daikatana and Chinese Democracy, it ceases to be vaporware anymore. And don't forget that vaporware does not imply non-innovation! Plenty of vaporware is innovative but fails for other reasons.
minwcnt5 14y ago
In search alone, Google launches hundreds of improvements per year. Most people would call that innovation. The biggest recent example is the knowledge graph, and there was stuff like instant, but they're constantly doing algorithm changes behind the scenes that are not as visible. They also do a lot of stuff for advertisers (their real customers) that you probably won't know about if you don't manage advertising campaigns. Android has had lots of innovations, such as being the first NFC-enabled mobile OS, the first with turn by turn directions, voice actions and the quality of their speech recognition in general (which requires constant innovation), etc. Google Translate. Google Takeout. Google Transparency Report. The Google+ sharing model (circles), which forced Facebook to respond and implement something similar. etc.

by tlogan 14y ago

zfran 14y ago

Android?

tlogan 14y ago
Android is more like fast-following Apple and not innovative. If Android makes Google innovative, then they are not really more innovative than MSFT because MSFT did Windows Phone, Surface, Online Office (really surprisingly good - but still not innovative because Google Docs was the first), Outlook.com, etc. I think Xbox Kinect is innovative.
- hiddenstage 14y ago
  ? Android usually has features long before iOS.
- tsycho 14y ago
  EDIT: Fixed formatting (was italicized by mistake). Just because something is not the first to market doesn't make it not innovative[1]. Android is not a feature-by-feature copy of the iPhone, and I think various Android features (Google Now for one) are quite innovative. Furthermore, Apple also "copied" various Android features (notifications for instance). Similarly, while the Kinect is universally considered as innovative, I think Microsoft's Metro UI + OS is also quite innovative in that they came up with a refreshingly different and clean interface. First to market may drive important metrics like adoption/success/profit, but doesn't define whether a product is innovative or not. [1] sorry for the multiple negatives in that sentence.

bvi 14y ago

Google Glasses and the self-driving cars come to mind.

jmelloy 14y ago
I'm pretty sure Microsoft was the real innovator in the vaporware space. Google is just copying that strategy.
- cube13 14y ago
  Don't forget about IBM! Seriously, Glass and the car projects are simply slightly more practical outputs of Google's research division. MS and IBM are doing a lot of research in areas that simply aren't as practical.
  - juiceandjuice 14y ago
    Why are you lumping IBM in with MS? The reality is that IBM is no longer consumer facing, and neither is their research. MS still is and has to be (and losing), but IBM just abandoned being a household name a while ago, except with things like Watson.

tensor 14y ago

Self driving cars. Glass. Google Now. Maps. Plus all the internal innovation such as new database technologies, custom routers, computer science research, and other technology. There are few places that compare to Google.

tlogan 14y ago
Good points. Vaporware (Self driving cars. Glass.) is not what I'm considering innovative because these things are not in production. And IBM and MSFT are very very good at vaporware. Maps are not innovative (they might be the best for some people but, on my iPhone, Nokia maps are actually better). There are few places that compare to Google. I'm not disputing that. Google is definitely a great company. But the claim was "the most consistently innovative large-cap around".
- andrewljohnson 14y ago
  1) The self-driving cars are hardly vaporware - not only do they actually work, but Ford and other companies have large investments in the space too. Moreover, Nevada and California have already legalized robot cars. 2) Maps may no longer be the most innovative product in the space, but Google defined the tiled, online map, and they forced Apple to provide free turn-by-turn by doing so on Android. Moreover, Google has made two press announcements (we made our own maps via StreetView, and then we made it free on Android) that destroyed the market cap of the major nav companies to the tune of double digit market cap percentage losses, which amounted to billions of dollars, in a day... twice. 3) As for Google Glass, I don't expect much from this project actually, but vaporware is not the right term for something that is already being worn and used.
  - Steko 14y ago
    1) & 3) Plenty of vaporware actually works and is invested in. Vaporware is defined loosely as stuff-we-talk-about-a-lot-but-you-can't-buy-today TM. When they release it, like Daikatana and Chinese Democracy, it ceases to be vaporware anymore. And don't forget that vaporware does not imply non-innovation! Plenty of vaporware is innovative but fails for other reasons.

minwcnt5 14y ago

In search alone, Google launches hundreds of improvements per year. Most people would call that innovation. The biggest recent example is the knowledge graph, and there was stuff like instant, but they're constantly doing algorithm changes behind the scenes that are not as visible. They also do a lot of stuff for advertisers (their real customers) that you probably won't know about if you don't manage advertising campaigns. Android has had lots of innovations, such as being the first NFC-enabled mobile OS, the first with turn by turn directions, voice actions and the quality of their speech recognition in general (which requires constant innovation), etc. Google Translate. Google Takeout. Google Transparency Report. The Google+ sharing model (circles), which forced Facebook to respond and implement something similar. etc.