Why I Sold My Soul To Google

     It seems like nowadays, lots of companies want to steal your soul (and take your money). They want to provide and, to some degree, control your electronic and internet services. They all want you to get your music/movies/books/apps/everything else exclusively from them. A few of the big ones vying for your soul: Microsoft, Apple, and Google. Amazon and Barnes and Noble also kinda want your soul too, but not as much.

     Microsoft has had possession of the majority of the souls for the longest time, with Apple as its biggest competitor. If you use a computer, you’ve probably used something made by Microsoft. You may have even have been required to take a class teaching you how to use a Windows computer or Microsoft Office. But Microsoft doesn’t just make operating systems and office software. If you’re

I like this logo better than the new one.

using a Windows computer and you use the internet, if you haven’t changed it, Internet Explorer (or, if your computer is old, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Windows Internet Explorer) is probably your default web browser. Remember MSN? It stands for The Microsoft Network. How about Hotmail and Windows Live? Microsoft. By the way, if you’re still using Hotmail, give it up already. You’re not cool. Go get a Gmail account. Also, because of the fact that Hotmail isn’t cool anymore, Microsoft is working on a new email service to replace it, Outlook.com. Need to search the internet for something? Microsoft has Bing to help you with that too (though, Bing has yet to become a verb). Tired of Facebook? Well, they just bought the social network, Yammer. So, give it a little time, and there might be a Windows social network. The company has even expanded beyond computers, productivity, and internet. They have the Zune and its related software and store if you want music. And the Xbox (360 (s)) for games. They’re even responsible for Age of Empires and the Halo series of games. And don’t forget your Windows Phone! Very recently, Microsoft has gotten into the tablet business with the really really cool (and expensive) Surface. I heard on a podcast the other day that apparently there’s an exclusive Windows App store now too. And of course, all of their various services are conveniently integrated into Windows 8, which can run on everything from your phone to your tablet to your computer, so you can surround yourself completely with Microsoft products, and they can always have a hand in your wallet.

     It seems that Apple has been Microsoft’s arch enemy since the companies began. Growing up, I was always aware of Apple computers, but I used a Mac for the first time in my life less than two months ago. I do know people, though, who are hardcore Apple

I can’t fault them for their logo.

people. Apple not only has its own operating system, but they also sell the (sexy and also really expensive) hardware it runs on. I’m pretty sure email addresses from me.com are Apple related. Apple’s iPod, pretty much, is the reason mp3 players became popular, and you probably know at least five people who own iPhones. All of those use iTunes and its tightly controlled store for music and apps. If you’ve never seen iOS, you probably live under a rock. And if you have an iPod (especially a Touch) or iPhone, when you finally break down and decide you need a tablet, you might as well buy an iPad since you already know how to use iOS and iTunes and so you don’t have to rebuy all of your apps. That’s a lot of i’s. And I’ve heard talk of something called Apple TV, but I don’t know if that’s a real thing or just a rumor. It’s also hard to switch from Apple anything to anything else because nothing is compatible. If you have an iPhone, it automatically saves all new contacts to the phone instead of your SIM card (if you have one), so if you get a new iPhone, no problem, there’s Apple software to transfer them, but if you get anything else, you loose your contacts, or you have to manually move them over. App store apps are only compatible with Apple devices, and only the ones that are new enough. And software made for Macs isn’t compatible with Windows or Linux. Heck, my Ubuntu computer had trouble with my iPod. That’s not to say that stuff made specifically for Windows or Linux or Android is compatible Mac or iOS or even with each other, though there is a little more cross over there, but at least with Windows, Linux, and Android there are a heck of a lot more hardware options. Also, Apple seems to have a habit of changing chargers, cords, and connectors every couple of years to keep loyal customers buying new stuff. Like I said, I’m not an Apple person.

     Google is kinda like the new kid on the block, though, it has been around for almost as long as the internet. If you’ve never used

Google’s founders weren’t very good at HTML.

Google as a verb, you probably also still have a collection of encyclopedias and use books in libraries for research too (just kidding, I still have a collection of encyclopedias and use books for research >.>),or you’ve never used the internet, in which case, you’re probably not reading this (or maybe you’re an Amish kid doing that whole living in the real world for a year thing. If you are, email me ’cause that’s pretty interesting..). It has pretty much made its money by advertising, not by selling software or hardware. Recently Google has gotten more into those fields, with the Google Chrome web browser, Chrome OS, Android mobile OS, Chromebooks (netbooks running Chrome OS), Nexus 4 (phone), and Nexus 7 and 10 (tablets). Oh, and Google TV, which does exist. Besides internet searching, Google offers a slew of other services, including Gmail, an office suite, and maps. All for free. Google also owns Blogger and YouTube. Did I mention the social network, Google+? It isn’t a popular as Facebook, but I predict if Facebook ever goes the way of Myspace, Google+ might be the one to take its place. Of course, Google also has its own music/book/movie/app store, but most of the apps are compatible with every Android phone or tablet, no mater who makes them, and the music and books don’t use crazy file types that only certain programs (iTunes, Kindle, Nook) made by the same companies who made the crazy file types know what to do with. And, did you know Google is building a fiber-optic infrastructure in Kansas City (both of them) as part of a broadband Internet service project? Google it. It makes me with I lived in Kansas City (either of them).

     Back when it was just Windows and Mac, I was most definitely a Windows person. The first Apple product I owned was my fifth generation iPod Video that I bought in eighth grade. Well, that’s not entirely true. I used iTunes to organize my music before I got an iPod. I now own three iPods (the Video, its battery is showing its age; a nano 3rd gen, why did they change the design?; and a Classic, I guess that’s 6th gen) and an iPhone (3G, which is pretty much useless since I have a new phone, and I have a total of three apps on it that still work). Google has been my homepage for as long as I’ve used a computer. Maybe the fact that Google is so familiar has something to do with why I like it so much. The first email account I made for myself (besides the one my dad set up for me) in 2006 was my Gmail account. And it’s still my main account. My school email is even Gmail based. It’s familiar. I know how it works, and where stuff is. Even after Google changed the layout some, I could still figure it out. I have a yahoo account too, but I barely use it because I still have no idea what I’m doing. Growing up, seeing the Google home page, meant I was connected to the internet (and all of the possibilities that go with that). If I needed to know something, Google was always there, waiting for me to ask. If I ever needed directions somewhere, Google Maps would give me reliable, printer friendly (since I have lacked GPS until very recently) directions. When Michael Jackson died, I got my news from Google. I wouldn’t have been able to pass French without Google Translate, and when my friend texts me things in German, I wouldn’t know how to respond. Any web browser besides Google Chrome feels heavy and cluttered and slow to me now. When I needed to create a blog for my World Literature class, Blogger was there, all neatly integrated into my Google account. And what does Google want from me? It never asks for much. It wants information. It wants to organize information. And it wants me to look at ads that I might be interested in.

     Now it’s offering ebooks and music and movies and apps. I refuse to buy anything from iTunes. But I don’t mind so much buying those things from Google because Google has already given me so much for free. I feel forced to use Microsoft products because they’re so ubiquitous (though sometimes when I feel rebellious, I like to use Ubuntu and other open source software), and Apple has only ever asked for money, only to stop supporting my device and expect me to buy a new one. I know Google is a business, and as such, its main focus is to make money, but it doesn’t feel like I’m being used. With most of Google’s services, its not making money directly from me. It’s making money by showing me ads that companies are paying for. And I can deal with that. It’s like a trade: Google gets to track what I’m searching for and show me some ads, and I get good search results.

     Google wants to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”…and of course, take over the world. The company philosophy is “Don’t be evil.” At least if Google takes over the world, it would be an organized world. And there would be lots of free stuff! It would probably be pretty fun too. If my major had anything to do with computers, I would aspire to work for Google. It seems like a fun company (Google “askew”. Just do it.). So, Google can have my soul, and I will enjoy my Android phone, and my Nexus 7, and my Gmail, and all the other Google stuff I use. And I will probably buy books and music from the Play store in the future.