Flickr is a good example of how if you're tremendously brilliant and get in early you can compete with Google. For US$25/year Flickr must be the best value online service you'll find. It makes me wonder how Google hopes to compete, charging the same amount for less. Not only does Google give you a sad 6.5GB for photos (which isn't a whole lot), but the system is pretty shite. It looks like something a couple of talented programmers threw together in a few weeks. Flickr feels like 10 guys and years and years of perfecting.
I feel a bit sorry for Google, because they provide a lot of utility without getting a lot of money in return. But I'd be far more likely to pay a yearly fee for Gmail or Google Reader or Google Spreadsheets than I would be to pay for Google's online photo thing. Even if Flickr didn't exist. And unfortunately for Google it does.
Google should have bought Flickr instead of Picasa. Picasa on the desktop isn't even better enough than Flickr on the web. Although I do really like Picasa. I spent a while trying to work out how to connect Picasa up with Flickr, until I realised it was a waste of time.
I wonder what Google is thinking. Maybe they figured they'd just better have something in the market until they can build something good. I don't know why they bother charging for it though.
Google Earth still sucks, too, as an application.
But the content, man, the content.
Reading literature in formatted text in Notepad.
Wil / 9:11am / 20 January 2007
Google Earth is a dog to use. But you’re right, the content makes up for it all.
Ryan / 1:06pm / 20 January 2007