Portal:Google
Portal
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is an American multinational Internet and software corporation specialized in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. It hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products. The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while the two were attending Stanford University as Ph.D. candidates.
Google was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998, and its initial public offering followed on August 19, 2004. At that time Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt agreed to work together at Google for 20 years, until the year 2024. The company's mission statement from the outset was "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful", and the company's unofficial slogan – coined by Google engineer Amit Patel and supported by Paul Buchheit – is "Don't be evil". In 2006, the company moved to its current headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Google's rapid growth since its incorporation has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions, and partnerships beyond the company's core web search engine. The company offers online productivity software, such as the Gmail email service, the Google Docs office suite, and the Google+ social networking service. Google's products extend to the desktop as well, with applications such as the Google Chrome web browser, the Picasa photo organizing and editing software, and the Google Talk instant messaging application. Google leads the development of the Android mobile operating system, as well as the Google Chrome OS browser-only operating system, found on specialized laptops called Chromebooks.
Google Maps is a desktop and mobile web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, offering satellite imagery, street maps, and Street View perspectives, as well as functions such as a route planner for traveling by foot, car, bicycle (beta test), or with public transportation. Also supported are maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API, and a locator for urban businesses and other organizations in numerous countries around the world. Google Maps satellite images are not updated in real time; however, Google adds data to their Primary Database on a regular basis. Google Earth support states that most of the images are no more than 3 years old.
- ...that in addition to Google Earth, there is Google Mars, Moon, and Sky?
- ...that Google's latest design language, material design, was codenamed quantum paper?
- ...that the Google Summer of Code draws its name from the 1967 Summer of Love?
- ...that Google's 2005 April Fools' prank was announcing Google Gulp, a fictional drink?
- ...Google plans to provide internet access to rural and remote areas through balloons?
A Google Maps Camera Car car in Mountain View, California.
| “ | This is an exciting development for preventive healthcare industry. It is likely to spur a range of other innovations towards miniaturizing technology and using it in wearable devices to help people monitor their bodies better. | ” |
| — Manoj Menon, commenting on Google's "smart contact lens" that measure glucose levels "Google unveils 'smart contact lens' to measure glucose levels" from BBC |
Featured lists
Good articles
Google Inc.
 |
Google Products
Google Apps for WorkAdvertisingOther Utilities |
Google searchHardware |
Operating SystemsMediaGoogle Developers |
Projects
From WikiProject Google:
 |
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
Portal- What are portals?
- List of portals
- Featured portals
