Why I advocate for Google and hate on Apple

[G+_Ken H]

Why I advocate for Google and hate on Apple.

 

Many think its just fanboy stuff, Android vs iOS (iPhone), but there is actually way more to it than just a preferred product involved. Which company you choose could shape the future of our world. Many don't see their smartphone of choice as a way of shaping the world, but it actually very much is.

 

The technological and business philosophies of Google and Apple are very different and one winning over the other will change the world.

 

Why I choose Google: because Google agrees with me, and not the other way around. Years before smartphones were even invented, I advocated for a little known operating system called Linux. Linux is a 100% free and open source operating system that allows developers and users 100% control. Having such an operating system available allowed growing countries the ability to make cheaper computers and put them into developing schools without paying huge amounts of money for Windows or Mac OS. It used Open Office, a free and open source office suite that saved schools hundreds of thousands of dollars on licensing fees for MS Office.

 

Because I began to see how free and open software was changing the world and bringing education to children who would otherwise never see a computer, I began advocating to my friends and family about these products and I myself ran my whole house on free and open software. However, businesses had a hard time figuring out how to make money at these endevours. Most don't charge for the software but would charge for support and training on the software, which worked in many cases on a small level.

 

Then along comes Google. They have the single most amazing business model I've ever seen. Let's get something straight, Google is not a charity, they are a business. Everything they do is to make more money, that's just what businesses do. It is the way Google makes its money that is so impressive to me. Ads make up 90% of the revenue that come in to Google. Some scoff at ads and are annoyed by them and wish they'd go away, but because of Google's ads many small businesses have found success in their industry because of Google's cheap ad system. Not only that but they have created countless amounts of income for stay at home parents who have learned how to use Ad Sense, a program where people (anyone) are paid to write ads for other businesses and when people click on that ad, these people get a percentage. That's why Google wants to know everything about you, because they want to feed you ads that you will care about. The more they know about you, the more they can show you what you want to see.

 

Since this is Google's main source of income, they have invested heavily in putting the internet into as many people's hands as possible. And how do you get the internet into as many people's hands as possible? Create a free operating system that runs on dirt cheap hardware and give it to anyone legally possible.

 

Let's remember, Google is not a charity, they are a business. But what really gets me is that they make money by being charitable! So far people have used Android to make computers that cost less that $25 (it's called Raspberry Pi) or even higher end computers that cost less than $200 (ODroid-X).

 

When you create technology that is super cheap and accessible, you offer education not only to developing nations but the third world countries. At $20 a pop, schools in Ethiopia can afford computers for their classes. And what happens when you educate kids in third world countries? They learn to get jobs and become productive members of their society and change their country.

 

Apple has done very well with the same old business model. Make the product as cheap as possible and charge an arm and a leg to make you think its better than it really is (works for Starbucks too). They advertise it to death and people buy their stuff. But are any of the third world countries benefitting from Apple's closed source operating system that they won't even sell to anyone else? Uh, no. Apple is a standard business, making money in the same ole way.

 

Google may not have the same income as Apple but I can't think of anyone that would say a multi-billion dollar profit ratio is anything but a smashing success. Apple = taking people's money and offering nothing back except their product. Google = making money off of making other people money and giving away the tools needed to educate developing nations to grow their own revenue.

 

Android is one of the most innovative operating systems out there, but Google's biggest innovation is their business model. Anyone who can figure out how to be a massive success at making money off of being charitable is number 1 in my book.

[G+_Michael Conrad]

It really does come down to what kind of world you want to live in. Great article.

[G+_Ricky Cash]

Thanks for the share

[G+_Nancy May]

Love the article.