Arkady
President
Google is constructing a pair of large, building-like ships, one in the San Francisco Bay, one off of Portland, Maine:
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/05/what_is_google_building_in_san_francisco_bay/
They're being very secretive about what the vessels are for. Some of the rumors are that they're show-rooms to sell rich people Google Glass, but that just seems crazy, to me. As show-rooms, they'd be expensive, inconvenient, and ugly (they're windowless boxes constructed out of shipping containers). Instead, the other rumor seems more plausibe: that they're data centers -- places to set up huge server farms to handle Google traffic. The question, then, is why they'd be set up off shore. Data centers don't need to be located particularly close to population centers, so you wouldn't build an off-shore data center merely to let you get close to a big city without paying big city prices. The NSA, for example, set up its spy data centers in the middle of nowhere, in Utah. And there's no particular advantage to a floating data center, and some significant disadvantages (commuting problems for those who work there, issues around dealing with storms and other naval risks, etc.) So, what gives?
If I put myself in Google's shoes, I can think of at least two ways to use such facilities. One would be as cheap housing for foreign software engineers -- you could set them up in international waters, just outside the US waters, so they don't technically have residence, and you don't need to get residency visas, work visas, etc. They could live there and do most of their work there, but still be able to come into on-shore facilities on a fairly regular basis, on business trips that would have fewer tax implications and red tape than trying to arrange something more permanent.
The other way I might use those vessels is to have data centers that are not subject to any national law. Move them out into international waters, with microwave communications to an on-shore relay. Territorial waters stop just 12 miles from shore, and for some purposes (like gambling) a mere three miles has been ruled to be enough to get outside of on-shore rules. Especially in this era of the NSA strong-arming businesses into sharing personal information of their customers without any warrant or other recognition of Constitutional protections, having a data center that is in international waters, and thus not subject to the abuses of the US police state, might be a real selling point for a IT services provider with customers who are protective of their privacy.
What are your thoughts?
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/05/what_is_google_building_in_san_francisco_bay/
They're being very secretive about what the vessels are for. Some of the rumors are that they're show-rooms to sell rich people Google Glass, but that just seems crazy, to me. As show-rooms, they'd be expensive, inconvenient, and ugly (they're windowless boxes constructed out of shipping containers). Instead, the other rumor seems more plausibe: that they're data centers -- places to set up huge server farms to handle Google traffic. The question, then, is why they'd be set up off shore. Data centers don't need to be located particularly close to population centers, so you wouldn't build an off-shore data center merely to let you get close to a big city without paying big city prices. The NSA, for example, set up its spy data centers in the middle of nowhere, in Utah. And there's no particular advantage to a floating data center, and some significant disadvantages (commuting problems for those who work there, issues around dealing with storms and other naval risks, etc.) So, what gives?
If I put myself in Google's shoes, I can think of at least two ways to use such facilities. One would be as cheap housing for foreign software engineers -- you could set them up in international waters, just outside the US waters, so they don't technically have residence, and you don't need to get residency visas, work visas, etc. They could live there and do most of their work there, but still be able to come into on-shore facilities on a fairly regular basis, on business trips that would have fewer tax implications and red tape than trying to arrange something more permanent.
The other way I might use those vessels is to have data centers that are not subject to any national law. Move them out into international waters, with microwave communications to an on-shore relay. Territorial waters stop just 12 miles from shore, and for some purposes (like gambling) a mere three miles has been ruled to be enough to get outside of on-shore rules. Especially in this era of the NSA strong-arming businesses into sharing personal information of their customers without any warrant or other recognition of Constitutional protections, having a data center that is in international waters, and thus not subject to the abuses of the US police state, might be a real selling point for a IT services provider with customers who are protective of their privacy.
What are your thoughts?
