[Ilugc] Opening Google..
- From: ksriram@xxxxxxx (Sriram Krishnan)
- Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2004 02:44:07 +0530
Then suddenly I realized that for all the goodwill that Google seems
to have garnered, it is not open, and hence, by default, suspect.
Come on..this is paranoia. Google has an amazing track-record.
Like what happened to George Bush, the word jew, etc, and Page
couldn't explain why it was happening. (or didn't want to).
Hmm..if I remember, Page said that he didn't mind such Google bombs.
Now, I have to go with Arvind here..how are we gonna gain out of knowing
Google's PageRank algorithm? This is not a Linux kernel which you can
download and play around with. Lets say you do get the code..how is
anybody going to understand it without Google's data? We can just make
educated guesses..but that's what it'll be at the end of the day -
guesses.
But Google, on the other hand, stands to lose a lot. People like MSN,
AltaVista who have access to the same type of data can easily profit
from Google opening up its algorithms..and no one would know about it.
On a slightly unrelated note, I have always wondered whether it would be
possible to build a P2P search engine..basically have millions of users
spidering and indexing all the time. I guess that sounds more like a
grid-computing initiative, but I'm sure you understand what I mean.
Regards,
Sriram
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-----Original Message-----
From: ilugc-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [
mailto:ilugc-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of rajendran
Sent: 23 April 2004 12:27
To: Chennai Linux Group
Subject: RE: [Ilugc] Opening Google..
Well Arvind,
I don't know why you are picking on me like this for an innocent post.
Anyway, now that you dragged me into it, some more "thoughts"...
While 'open source search engine' has a nice ring to it, it
isn't very meaningful, any more than 'open source house' is.
I don't know how you got the idea that I searched for an open source
search engine, by typing in "open source search engine". :-(
Suppose google published what they claim to be their source
code and said its GPL'd. Now what? How do you know that its
actually what they're running? Duplicate their 100,000 machine
server farm
You are talking about correctness verifiability here, I guess. That has
always been a tough nut. But, I am not talking about that. I am talking
about those strange things that happen... Like what happened to George
Bush, the word jew, etc, and Page couldn't explain why it was happening.
(or didn't want to).
and verify it? (yes, 100,000.) And if you're not happy with
google what do you do? How does the source code help you?
Those 1 lac only store data. I am not talking about data. I am talking
about the softbrain that sifts through it. I don't need to replicate
their server farm, to do that.
Wake me up when hardware gets cheap enough for hobbyists to buy
enough memory to store the whole web.
Yes, I agree with you. But, didn't you read that recent post where Bill
Gates went on record saying Hardware will soon hit Zero Cost? And, by
the way, that line is self-negating. You can't EVER have enough memory
to store the whole web, because, semantically analyzing your sentence,
the web is nothing but what is there in a million odd boxes around the
world. And, so how can a box ever aspire to have everything including
what it has inside itself? :-)
You say this is "decidedly non-decentralizable", yet the
website you've pointed to below says that it is concerned
exclusively with distributed efforts. I think it might be
better to get some idea of what we're talking about first.
Yes, they only talk about it though. I said it was decidedly
non-decentralizable because, like you say, it was hardware INTENSIVE, to
make any sense. Software, being the vapour that it is, is so easily
decentralized. Look at how Nasa is down to its knees begging for
free-cpu-cycles from homepc guys for its seti search and protein
folding?
This is an issue of trust, not sofware; a social, not a
technical concern. The only way out of your problem is for
everyone to
operate
their own search engine. Duh.
I beg to differ here. I don't think that is the only way out. (Correct
me if I am wrong). I feel, once Google gets its game right, launches
IPO, makes enough money for three generations, and sets up an
exceptionally good file system and hardware-mirror-around the world, it
surely can do a great good turn to the whole world (cyber/physical) by
giving its algorithm out! (Thereby ensuring that no other search engine
comes any nearer!!)
Don't you think so??
Rajendran.
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