« The Federal Reserve now has commercials | Main | ...are doomed to repeat it »
Google Heads to Sea, Will You?
The NYTimes Bits Blog reports:
The search and advertising company has filed for a patent that describes a “water-based data center.” The idea is that Google would create mobile data center platforms out at sea by stacking containers filled with servers, storage systems and networking gear on barges or other platforms.
This would let Google push computing centers closer to people in some regions where it’s not feasible, cost-effective or as efficient to build a data center on land. In short, Google brings the data closer to you, and then the data arrives at a quicker clip.
Perhaps even more intriguing to some, Google has theorized about powering these ocean data centers with energy gained just from water splashing against the side of the barges.
Hmmm, do I spy the work of Patri Friedman, libertarian, Googler and seasteading proponent? Perhaps the seasteaders are ensuring that they have good internet access. As you may recall, Paypal entrepreneur Peter Theil is backing the seasteaders so there is more than one Silicon Valley entrepreneur with an eye on the sea.
By the way, the First Annual Seasteading Conference will be held in Burlingame, CA on October 10. The conference is sure to be interesting but shouldn't it have been held here?
Posted by Alex Tabarrok on September 17, 2008 at 07:04 AM in Science | Permalink
Comments
I question the idea that places where "it’s not feasible, cost-effective or as efficient to build a data center on land" are going to be the kinds of places that have the infrastructure to even benefit from the supposed increase in network speed. Traditional internet requires extensive wire-to-the-curb controlled by a sophisticated network. Wireless requires ubiquitous transmitters linked by a similar network.
Let them file patents all the they want. Meanwhile the real economy, such as it is, trudges on.
Posted by: Scott Ferguson at Sep 17, 2008 9:45:32 AM
Libertarians are wacky , but entertaining.
Posted by: meter at Sep 17, 2008 9:54:03 AM
Seasteading seems very interesting. I had the oppurtunity to interview Patri about it for a recent Podcrash (the official podcast of Bureaucrash, the Smaller Government/pro-market activist group) http://bureaucrash.com/node/podcrash-013-patri-friedman-seasteading-interview
Posted by: Xaq Fixx at Sep 17, 2008 10:35:17 AM
I can't believe the patent office would take such a patent filing even half seriously. On the other hand, maybe they've already decided to grant it...
Posted by: foo at Sep 17, 2008 11:53:48 AM
Is the 21st century equivalent of Radio Caroline the pirate datacentre?
Posted by: JennyB at Sep 17, 2008 12:01:26 PM
I agree with foo. What's become of the patent system if a major company (not some nutcase) thinks that they should file a patent on what is just an obvious combination of well-known techniques?
Here's the abstract, for reference:
A system includes a floating platform-mounted computer data center comprising a plurality of computing units, a sea-based electrical generator in electrical connection with the plurality of computing units, and one or more sea-water cooling units for providing cooling to the plurality of computing units.
Posted by: at Sep 17, 2008 3:56:05 PM
Y'all are way behind on noticing that the patent system is totally fucked up. Like, decades behind. Maybe we need to start trying some new systems somewhere else...hmm....:)
Posted by: Patri Friedman at Sep 17, 2008 4:24:32 PM
A patent will do no good in seasteading: it's extraterritorial and thus outside of patent law.
Patri is merely the latest of a long list of wishful thinkers taking up seasteading ideas, as he extensively documents himself. I really doubt seasteading literature has contributed anything to these ideas from Google: it piggybacks on much other marine architecture literature.
Posted by: Mike Huben at Sep 17, 2008 9:58:28 PM
"A patent will do no good in seasteading: it's extraterritorial and thus outside of patent law." -Mike Huben
Mike, where do you think people are going to build these seasteads? I'd guess somewhere that respects patent law.
Posted by: Jayson Virissimo at Sep 18, 2008 3:52:33 AM
Really? A patent on this? It's not just a seasteading thing. Isn't Sealand basically just an ocean data center? How is it anything other than obvious to combine those two things?
Posted by: mjh at Sep 18, 2008 6:14:57 AM
I am all about google going the seasteading route, but a patent? You have to be joking. I have prior art going back to 2000, actually implemented. If you want theory, you can go to cypherpunks, circa 1994. If you want novel, (as in fiction, not new), you can go to Cryptonomicon.
Patent? What crack have google lawyers been smoking?
Posted by: Sameer Parekh at Sep 18, 2008 11:44:43 AM
Patent or not, I love the idea that major companies in the USA are forward thinking and trying to do 4 things that successful entrepreneurial ventures should strive for: 1) minimizing costs, 2) minimizing regulatory issues that red-tape industries to death, 3) making the product adaptable to consumer needs and 4) going green in the process. I love this and want to give kudos for those who "think outside the box". I agree that this venture is likely not patent-worthy, but that should not undermine the innovativeness of such a venture.
GO GOOGLE!! Any solution that makes both the company and the customer come out ahead gets my vote... not to mention the energy-saving strategy that is possible. Google is #1 in the industry for living on the edge and trying new things such as this seasteading idea. We could all stand to learn from their cutting-edge practices.
Posted by: TS at Sep 22, 2008 4:00:23 PM
