Google Makes Earth Engine Available To All Businesses and Governments (zdnet.com) 7
For the past decade, researchers in academia and the nonprofit world have had access to increasingly sophisticated information about the Earth's surface, via the Google Earth Engine. Now, any commercial or government entity will have access to Google Cloud's new enterprise-grade, commercial version of the computer program. From a report: Google originally launched Earth Engine for scientists and NGOs in 2010. One of the world's largest publicly available Earth observation catalogs, it combines data from satellites and other sources continuously streaming into Earth Engine. The data is combined with massive geospatial cloud-computing resources, which lets organizations use the raw data for timely, accurate, high-resolution insights about the state of the world. That means they can keep a near-constant eye on the world's forests, water sources, ecosystems and agriculture -- and how they're all changing.
I spy with my Google eye... (Score:2)
The data is combined with massive geospatial cloud-computing resources, which lets organizations use the raw data for timely, accurate, high-resolution insights about the state of the world.
Hey I can see my house from here! I can also see all the illegal dumping around the neighborhood.
but for how long? (Score:2)
How long until this thing ends up in the google graveyard, or gets monetized?
Re: (Score:1)
How long until this thing ends up in the google graveyard, or gets monetized?
1. This article is specifically about a commercial product i.e. monetized.
2. For a commercial company to either monetize or abandon a product is very very reasonable. What do you think they exist for?
Re:but for how long? (Score:4, Insightful)
Except Google has a nasty habit of abandoning stuff. Even when it's monetized, and often with very little notice. It would be one thing if it was something no one uses, but very popular Google products have been cancelled in the past, even paid products, and now people are gunshy about committing. I mean, look at Stadia - it had issues, but the #1 worry was when Google would shut it down and given it costs money to use, no one wanted to spend any only to see it flushed down the toilet. It became a self-fulfilling product - people worried about Google cancelling it so they avoided it, which caused Google to cancel it.
Now Google wants to make this available to businesses and governments, but could at any time pull the plug, probably right when you need the data the most. That almost makes it not worthwhile to integrate into your business - do you dare use it, knowing Google could abandon it without any alternatives?
It isn't entirely unusual because right when it becomes critical to your business, Google withdraws it with no alternative.
Other companies like Microsoft seem to hang onto dead products well beyond death - likely to help companies dependent transition away from it
Re: (Score:2)
Other companies like Microsoft seem to hang onto dead products well beyond death - likely to help companies dependent transition away from it
Windows 10, we knew you well.
Re: (Score:2)
Stadia isn't cancelled which kind of makes your comment hard to follow. There was a period when Google did a big cleanup and killed a lot of projects, but currently this isn't really the