O Rly?
Revealed: the environmental impact of Google searches
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5489134.ece
I know this article is about environment, which was definitely strange and interesting...but this was the most interesting part to me:
"Though Google says it is in the forefront of green computing, its search engine generates high levels of CO2 because of the way it operates. When you type in a Google search for, say, “energy saving tips”, your request doesn’t go to just one server. It goes to several competing against each other.
It may even be sent to servers thousands of miles apart. Google’s infrastructure sends you data from whichever produces the answer fastest. The system minimises delays but raises energy consumption. Google has servers in the US, Europe, Japan and China."
AND THAT, in a nutshell explains why Google search results are generally speaking, such utter crap. I've always prefered Altavista and Yahoo, and I knew that Google did things weird with their results and that was why I didn't like them, but now I *know* why. They suck. Speed of the server vs. actually finding the best keywords and data for what your looking for and how many people click on that link? What crap.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5489134.ece
I know this article is about environment, which was definitely strange and interesting...but this was the most interesting part to me:
"Though Google says it is in the forefront of green computing, its search engine generates high levels of CO2 because of the way it operates. When you type in a Google search for, say, “energy saving tips”, your request doesn’t go to just one server. It goes to several competing against each other.
It may even be sent to servers thousands of miles apart. Google’s infrastructure sends you data from whichever produces the answer fastest. The system minimises delays but raises energy consumption. Google has servers in the US, Europe, Japan and China."
AND THAT, in a nutshell explains why Google search results are generally speaking, such utter crap. I've always prefered Altavista and Yahoo, and I knew that Google did things weird with their results and that was why I didn't like them, but now I *know* why. They suck. Speed of the server vs. actually finding the best keywords and data for what your looking for and how many people click on that link? What crap.