http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25395989

It states in the article that Google is taking over all the contracts that Boston Dynamics had with DARPA, the US military research organization, essentially meaning that Google is having its research funded by the military. Not to mention the question of what Google intends to do with military grade robotics.

Personally I hope that Google is working to improve on its existing technology like its self-driving cars, or working on new consumer robotics. Worst case? I welcome our new robot Google overlords...

Skynet. All kinds of nope.

Considering almost everything Google buys goes to shit within a few years and becomes almost unusable, I highly doubt they could successfully do anything with this without pissing the wrong people off. Google makes some amazing things (Google itself, Chrome, Google Earth/Maps, etc.), but as we've seen from YouTube and other items they've bought out, they have a lot of trouble adapting to someone else's concept. I think they just buy shit because they can - not because they're actually going to do something good with it, which basically leads to pissed off users and employees in those areas.

That's why one company can't have so much money :L

Not to mention that, even if you don't use Google as a search engine or watch YouTube videos, they watch fucking everything because so many websites sell their information to them. A lot of them do it on the sly so that you can't opt out of it, too, and only notice if you're really keen of eye. Ex- My friend on fb sent me a link to an airsoft website. I checked it out. Then when I went on YouTube, I got ten fucking recommendations to airsofting videos. FB gives literally everything to Google. I don't trust any of it.

>>3 So much this.

I don't trust anything on the internet anymore.
Nothing is safe or secret.

> I think they just buy shit because they can

I agree.
That's how you get a monopoly.
I've played the board game, I would know.

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They'll make Metal Gears and a nuclear war will start :P

I swear Disney and Google are becoming real life Weyland-Yutani and Skynet.

Good work google

>>9 LOL! That's so true.

that is insain and interesting

wellp looks like googles taking over the world, one company at a time! next thing you know, they'll have a bloody time machine.

As long as the two companies were in agreement for a while, then I'll just go along with the flow.... But this is just a bit ridiculous to hear that Google can take over every technology company :P

Relevant.

Google is taking the steps it needs to become a true Conglomerate. Now, the Forbes article is a little off the mark with this, so I'll fill you guys in. A traditional conglomerate is a company which involves itself in multiple sectors. The examples used in the above article stay too close to Entertainment Electronics, therefore that alone does not qualify Google as a conglomerate. However:

- The implementation of Calico (Health) would count.
- In 2012, Google was investing heavily in Hydroelectric power facilities in Oregon (Energy). That would count.
- The example in post 1 (Military) would count as well.

That, combined with Entertainment, makes four, qualifying Google as a true conglomerate worthy of its salt. It's something of a semantic thing, but it's important because it shows that Google is becoming more of a household name than it already was. A true Megacorp if there ever was one. The only ones that I think rival it are Chevron (Nanotech, GIS, Energy, Engineering) and Samsung (Health, Electronics, and a few other sectors that I can't recall at the moment and am too lazy to search).

Hmm, interesting thread. I like that someone posted something involving robot development, since I'm in a robotics competition myself

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I wonder if this is where the rumor of the government drones will come into play?....

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