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That Project To Allow Google Searches In Ket Not Likely To Happen Now

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by Kevin Maney
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Oct 16 2008 6:28pm EDT

That Project to Allow Google Searches in Ket? Not Likely to Happen Now...

Kevin Maney writes: One thing we can conclude from Google's earnings announcement today is that Google is no longer a gravity-defying, money-printing freak show of a company that can afford to treat its employees as if they are at a day spa for former valedictorians. CEO Eric Schmidt told analysts Google is going to trim costs in these economic times because it's "the right thing to do."


And at Google, it shouldn't be a hard thing to do. The company famously has perks that outdo just about any other company's perks, from free gourmet lunches to free haircuts. But it's not just the obvious amenities. Google employees get 20% of their time to work on whatever they want. Sometimes, those projects turn out to be terrific, real offerings from Google. A huge number of them are just a waste of time.

Exhibit A: Last month Google created the ability to do searches in Pirate language. You could already do searches in Esperanto, Klingon and Elmer Fudd. What's next? Ket?

How about Google Gadgets like the virtual flower pot or AnswerBall? Bet those are really adding to revenue.

Or the Google Labs project called InQuotes. It compares quotes from politicians about topics like Iraq and oil. How useful is that? (I did discover that Sarah Palin has NO quotes about the recession. Hm.)

All these things have made Google fun and entertaining, but it seems like the economy is going to force Google to act a little less like a playground.


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