A Google patent application filed two years ago but published this fall is getting some new attention because it's just too interesting to ignore. The patent (link) is for putting data centers on ships at sea and harvesting the energy in waves for power.
The biggest benefit for the company, though, could come from changed legal and tax status by placing the ships outside of national jurisdiction. It's a thought both fascinating and frightening, although it also may end up as just another crazy patent filed for the sake of filing it.
Called a Water-Based Data Center, the idea was written up by the UK's Times Online today with slightly misleading verbiage like the following:
Google refused to say how soon its barges could set sail. The company said: "We file patent applications on a variety of ideas. Some of those ideas later mature into real products, services or infrastructure, some don't."
There's lengthy and sometimes well informed discussion of the data-ship patent over at Slashdot today as well. Jeff Nolan does his best to debunk the the idea too. The whole thing also brings to mind the plans by the website Pirate Bay to buy retired British naval platform turned "micro-nation" Sealand. Those plans were not well received by authorities.
Two years ago I wrote about another Google patent, for software that would capture the ambient audio in a room and serve up contextual ads and content. That product hasn't come to market yet, as far as we know. (We kid, sort of.)
It's hard not to want to sound the alarm, though, on such strange plans. Google's huge, centralized store of data about so much of our lives is inherently cause for concern - but put that data out to sea and outside of ostensible government oversight and it's downright frightening. In some places that could be a positive development but generally speaking we're not sure it's a gamble we'd like to take.
We don't know about the ecological impacts or the technical feasibility, but we imagine this idea would be a pretty hard one to resist if it could be implemented.
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That could pose some really interesting activity being done on those servers. Google would have the money to do it, but I'm sure some other groups could take this idea and really take the word pirate back to the old sea once again! :)
Rex
Posted by: Rex
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September 15, 2008 2:25 PM
Not a gimmick, pure economics. The cost savings in electricity alone will make these boats a reality very soon.
But I do doubt the placement - 30.01 miles out to sea means "tax free" yes...
...it also prevents any kind of law enforcement, be it civil or military, from protecting their assets.
Will we see a "Google Private Army", heavily armed with the latest HK weaponry, but dressed all cute in multi-colored Docker® shorts and sandals ( crocs? ), protecting the boats?
Posted by: Todd | September 15, 2008 3:24 PM
Google really may be taking over the world soon :-P.
I do think this would be a winning idea if it ever became feasible to implement. That would certainly be the latest in green computing.
Posted by: fershur | September 15, 2008 3:36 PM
It would be much easier to set them up at the base of a hill with enough water fall to drive some pelting wheels....
Posted by: The Pirate | September 15, 2008 4:36 PM
How would they maintain a fast and stable connection? A satellite link would have too much latency, wouldn't it? Would they be able to tap into a trans-oceanic cable?
Posted by: Mike | September 15, 2008 8:36 PM
Really interesting idea, which would be truly great if we lived in a perfect world.
In our current world though, where "Do No Evil" is a slightly loose concept, I'm not so sure, and I don't mean just from the Google side.
But very interesting idea nevertheless.
Posted by: Mohamed Marwen Meddah | September 15, 2008 9:14 PM
As Mike said,
getting a resilient, high speed Internet connection to ships 30+ miles offshore will pose some tricky engineering challenges!
Posted by: Tom Raftery | September 16, 2008 12:39 AM
You have go to be kidding me. What happens when the ship sinks?
Posted by: Michael McGimpsey | September 16, 2008 1:32 AM
This is the most stupid thing I ever read from a a long time :D
Posted by: Alaa Abdlhaq | September 16, 2008 5:19 AM
Nice one Micheal
Posted by: nowitzki | September 16, 2008 5:24 AM
totally agree with michael and nowizki....this is real?
Posted by: California Supper Lotto | September 16, 2008 11:02 AM
i bet they know the end is comming soon ...
Posted by: Kemeny | September 16, 2008 11:56 AM
I can see it now. "Google boils the ocean with server heat. Endless Seafood Buffet now available."
Posted by: Dana D
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September 16, 2008 12:34 PM
Frightening that it's outside the reach of the kind and gentle Guantanamo-Bay watchers? And the folks who evicerated the constitution with their suspention of habeus corpus? Surely you jest.
Posted by: Matt Barney | September 16, 2008 4:06 PM
I've said it before and I'll say it again. one day Google will rule the world. You just wait and see.
Jiff
www.datools.net.tc
Posted by: Jiffy DoDah | September 16, 2008 4:27 PM
Where are all of the wiggly-eyed, "the end is near" folks that usually jump all over the Google stories? On the LHC threads, most likely. {-)
Posted by: Franklin Hussein | September 16, 2008 4:28 PM
Read the Tom Clancy book Net Force Cybernation and you will see what it could be like.
Posted by: Ronnie | September 16, 2008 5:24 PM
So Google can serve the ads to the fish.
But I like this idea! Soon Google will own(ed) all the undersea cable ...
Posted by: Maelzx | September 16, 2008 5:26 PM
7 miles off-shore is national jurisdiction, dip****.
Posted by: Adam Selene | September 16, 2008 6:07 PM
Harvesting the energy of the waves is cool, but if you could integrate a water cooling system you'd require a lot less energy from the waves in the first place.
It's a shame that I don't think we'll see this for a while.. if ever.
Posted by: David Stone | September 16, 2008 6:48 PM
@#5 and #7:
Google is working with a few companies to lay trans-pacific cables, so they could possibly tap into those...
Posted by: maccam94 | September 16, 2008 9:09 PM
The next thing to this is Google Airlines... Google Bus... Google Car.. Google Homes... Google Processor.. Google Motherboard.. Google Monitor.. Google PC.. Google Laptop... Google bank.. ??? Will google take over the world?
Posted by: charles | September 17, 2008 1:45 AM
Hey - Aircraft carriers run at sea for months with multiple nuculear reactors and enough electronics to run most of today’s fortune 500 companies....if the government can do it why not Google?
Posted by: Jason | September 17, 2008 5:52 AM
I have got to say the comments on this article were by far better than the article itself. Thanks for a great start to the business week—oh, and Google has already taken over the world—you just don't know it yet.
>>
Posted by: bcarter | September 22, 2008 7:26 AM
I have to agree with Jason on this one...if the government can do it why not Google? They have enough money and brain power, might as well!
Posted by: Brian | September 25, 2008 9:55 AM
This rocks! Not that Google needs to save money on their tax bill, but every little counts! This is renewable energy at it's best!
Chris from http://www.boatpride.com
Posted by: Christopher Wethered | September 27, 2008 11:02 AM
Google could do strong wave manipulation by using environment tatics...
Posted by: Pasan Indeewara | October 4, 2008 9:25 PM