Who Runs Google?

I believe that the end of long, boring days at work is near! I'm on the last section of my programming manual, and I think I can get it done tomorrow, which means that I can start my project on Thursday! Very exciting for me in addition to having gotten my fab badge today. Anyway, when you think of Google leadership, I'm sure that Mr. Eric Schmidt comes to mind. What if someone were to tell you that he doesn't wear the pants? So who does then? Forbes seems to think it's the employees, and I think they make some good points. Google prides itself on hiring only the best, which leaves very little room for those who just follow the pack. Aren't the sheep the good soldiers who build strong companies though? It looks like that doesn't hold true in Google where the management seems to be much more laxed and the "sheep" are told that they're probably smarter than their bosses! I think it's dangerous to give engineers such power because they can become stubborn, but when you have enough of them in one place, I'm sure that proper discourse can iron out the big problems. This strategy would explain why we see so many random products out of Google though. Forbes seems to end the article praising this methodology, but I'm still skeptical of it. How long before this lack of unified direction starts to hurt them? The more they stray from their bread and butter into far less lucrative ventures the more likely someone else is to come and usurp every miniscule piece of market share they may incidentally sacrifice. But who knows, maybe Google has really struck gold here?

Remember how I mentioned strong rumors yesterday about Google Spreadsheet? Well, as you can see to the left here, it was real. In fact, it looks pretty damn cool because it integrates with Google Chat for better collaboration. No clue as to whether it will export/import Excel, but I'll be sure to let you all know when the beta is available for the rest of us to play with. Microsoft has beefed up the collaboration on its next release of Office, as well. Even current applications with such capabilities, like Outlook, seem to have been made more practical, which sounds very cool. Apple has finally admitted something that fans have noted for a while now, their laptops seem to have a piece of plastic over the vent that causes the machine to overheat. It's a very easy fix, of course, but they act as if they meant for it to happen. Other fans are hoping that Apple gets into gaming, but a former employee makes a good case for why they probably won't. The idea I felt was the best explanation was how family-oriented Apple is as opposed to how violent most games are, but they could make a smash hit that's not violent (in the vein of Guitar Hero and Geometry Wars). Lastly, yet another industry is being portrayed as the deciding factor in the next-gen DVD format war: the PC industry. While I realize how important it is as a consumer electronic, I don't see it as being nearly as important as video games or porn simply because people prefer watching movies and such on their televisions, and the average person doesn't have a home media center based on a PC.

I should start off by noting that today marked the release of The Omen, and a Tuesday is quite a rare day for a movie to be released on. Still, it's a good publicity boost given the numbers in the date. The next big release is just a couple of days away: Cars. If you're itching to see it, then a few more clips have surfaced online to appease your craving. Zhang Ziyi has signed on to play the leading role in a live action version of Disney's Mulan, which sounds like a pointless project to me. I love her and Mulan is admittedly one of my faves as far as Disney movies go, but do we really need a remake of it so soon? We have two creepy new trailers today. The first one is for Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, which I'll warn you to turn the volume down for towards the end. The other one is meant to be a thriller with just a creepy trailer called The Wicker Man, featuring Nicholas Cage. Anyone else think that he's taken on a few too many movies more recently? I guess it just confuses me to see the same face as a cop, a comic book hero, and a cop, again, trying to solve a mystery. Lastly, in case you really care about The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Yahoo! Movies has a behind-the-scenes clip. I figured that at least one of you would be hardcore enough about racing to really want to see it.

Now for the Ten on Tuesday meme:

10 Ways You Like to Relax
10. Going for a swim
9. Getting a massage (it's rare, unfortunately)
8. Pleasure reading
7. Fiddle with pictures
6. Play guitars
5. Play video games
4. Watch a movie
3. Listen to music
2. Watch TV
1. Napping