What is Google?

Google is the world’s well-known internet search engine, which is originally called BackRub. Sergey Brin and Larry Page established it as a search effort in 1996. They started this initiative to find files on the Internet while Ph.D. students at Stanford University. Larry and Sergey created a search engine algorithm that prioritised Web pages based on how many other Web pages connected to them, rather than the content and keywords. As compared to other search engines, this strategy produced more useful results and caused to quickly increase Google’s Web search market share.

Later the name of Google ranking was changed to ‘PageRank,’ which was patented in September of 2001. Because of linking other Web pages to a page, Google’s algorithm returned more useful results that led to becoming Google’s most-used search engine.

The name of Google is chosen by Larry and Sergey, which is inspired by the term googol. Its stated goal is to “organize the world’s knowledge and make it useful and internationally accessible,” and it employs the world’s top search engine, a proprietary algorithm.. That means the information on Google can be accessed anytime, anywhere by anyone via an internet connection. Generally, it was designed to search and retrieve information in order to offer the most relevant sources of data possible. Because of its effectiveness, the term “Google” can also be employed as a verb. When you use Google to search for anything, you might say “Googled”.

For helping users access information, Web search became Google’s main tool; other services also provided by the company. These include:

Image Search: Helps in search for images on the Web
Froogle: Useful in price comparison shopping
Google Groups: Use for online discussion forums
Blogger: It offers a free blogging service
Google Maps: Maps and directions
Google Toolbar: A downloadable search tool
Google Answers: It provides answers to questions on the basis of a bidding system
AdWords: It helps in Advertising services for advertisers
AdSense: It helps in Advertising services for Web publishers
Gmail: Web-based e-mail with several gigabytes of storage

Google beginnings

On 15 September, the domain google.com was registered. The Google company was registered on 4 September 1998. The below image is an example of what Google looked like in 1998.

Google is an auxiliary of Alphabet Inc as of 10 August 2015. When Google stands out from its competition, it gets help to continue growing, and it sorts search results as PageRank technique is its number one search engine. On the internet, Google is one of the best search engines to search and retrieve information. It also provides multiple other services such as, to provide more relevant search results it incorporates Google Maps and Google Local.

Google Software

There are various popular web-based productivity software’s of Google; some are as follows:

Gmail: Gmail is a free email service or web-based email service run by Google. With the help of G Suite, Google also provides premium services to businesses. Gmail mobile app and Gmail Basic are the HTML version of Gmail. Gmail is reliable and comes with 15 GB of storage space to hold your information. It stores your information online, which means you can access it everywhere through the internet.
Google Drive: Google Drive is a cloud-based storage and office application that was launched by Google in April 2012. It is a storage solution where you can store your files online and access them anywhere with the help of a computer, tablet, or smartphone via an internet connection. Although it is mainly used for storing files online, it also offers functionalities in terms of a tool for project collaboration by individuals, schools, and businesses.
Google Docs: Google Docs is a free Web-based application that allows online word processing and document creation. It is a part of Google Drive that is offered by and associated with Google. It is the most popular online word processor in which files can be accessed anywhere by any computer that has complete features of web browser and internet connection. Working with documents, such as creating documents, saving, uploading, sharing, and more, is very easy with Google Docs. Additionally, instead of formatting options, they can be created and modified with an impressive selection.
Google Chrome: Google Chrome is a free full-featured web browser. It is the most popular web browser of choice worldwide as of May 2020, which is used to access web pages on the internet. On 11 December 2008, it was developed by Google. It is also a cross-platform browser that includes multiple features like tabbed browsing, spell check of web pages, synchronization with Google services and accounts, and automatic translation. Additionally, it is available with different versions that work on different mobile devices, computers, and OS (operating system).
Google Play: Google Play is the official Android app store. It is also a storefront for other media like games, music, movies, and e-books. It allows the users to download content directly on an Android device. The Google Play Store also knows an Android Market contains millions of apps and games, and it is available on every Android device by default. Also, it can be installed on Chrombases, Chromeboxes, and other compatible Chrome OS devices.

How to open Google

You need to open the address google.com in your web browser to use Google search. Then, in the search field, type any query, word, sentence, or phrase and hit Enter or click on the Google Search button.

Google Products

Google also develops hardware as well as software. Although there are numerous Google products, some are as follows:

Google Pixel

The Google Pixel is an Android smartphone, which was released by Google on 20 October 2016, and runs the stock version” of Android. The primary objective of developing the Pixel phones was to replace the Nexus. These phones are the official flagship Android devices and accept updates as soon as they are released, whereas other Android phones may delay updates for some time periods. Pixel phones provide its user’s facility to store unlimited pictures as it offers unlimited photo storage on Google Photos. The below image is an example of a Google Pixel phone.

Chromebook

A Chromebook is a cloud-based laptop or netbook computer that runs the Google Chrome operating system, which was first released in 2011. Chromebooks need internet connectivity and run almost everything from the cloud; however, the offline capabilities of Chromebooks have developed. Therefore, they are different from other laptops or computers. A Chromebook can usually accomplish activities such as web browsing, documents and spreadsheets, email, and saving files, but through a cloud-based approach. Generally, Chromebooks are not as powerful as a laptop with Windows or macOS. The below picture is an instance of a Chromebook.

Google Home

Google Home is a voice-activated smart speaker that works with Google Assistant. The tasks include: making calls, setting timers, answering questions, scheduling events, or playing music. It was released by Google in 2017 and included Google Home, Google Home Mini, Google Home Hub, and more. Generally, it is a line of smart speakers that is activated when the users say “Hey Google” or “Ok Google.” The larger Google Home Max and the smaller Google Home Mini are other versions of the speaker. The below image is an example of a Google Home smart speaker.

Waymo driverless cars

A self-driving car is a vehicle that has the ability to travel between destinations without human input. It uses a combination of cameras, sensors, artificial intelligence, and radar to move. Waymo is a company that is at the forefront in the field of the self-driving car, which has ambitious plans for a driverless, ride-hailing service. Also, in dozens of cities, it has real-world testing underway. Below, a picture is given that represents the Waymo driverless car.

Google Services

By Google, there are various services that are provided for consumers and businesses; some are as follows:

Google Stadia: Google Stadia is a cloud gaming platform that marks a significant change in the gaming industry. Google debuted it in November of this year. It includes two primary elements; first: the client that sends input and displays graphics; second: the servers in the background that streams the game to users.

Google Fi: Google Fi is a mobile virtual network carrier that is based in the United States. It offers many services such as SMS, mobile broadband, and voice calling services. The three carriers, T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular, are used by Google Fi. Mainly, it has partnered with U.S.-based cellular carriers. It can be used for international calling as well as international data.

Google AdSense: Google AdSense is an advertising platform that allows publishers to make money by running ads and monetizing their content from Google AdWords. It is an open-source platform for most website owners in which ads generate on the basis of the content the visitor is viewing or searching for. It is also unified into YouTube platforms and Google’s Blogger. If you have a website that includes any type of content, which is useful for users, you can use AdSense for advertising anything on your website that helps to make money for you. When any user visits your website and clicks on the Ad post or link you uploaded, you will get money from Google. How much money you will get depends on Google what percentage they charged for the ad.

YouTube TV: YouTube TV is Google’s product, which is an online streaming service for live televisions. On your phone, computer, or other appropriate device, you may watch live television on YouTube TV. People who wish to cut the cord and get rid of their cable or satellite subscriptions should use YouTube TV. YouTube TV offers a unique set of services to users, making it a compelling platform. However, there are various other live streaming services available that are much like YouTube tvs, such as Hulu + Live, Sling TV, and AT&T TV Now.

Where is Google?

In the beginning, Google was rooted out of its developers’ garage. Decades later, with thousands of employees, Google is a company all over the world. The company includes a team of quality control experts that work on the search engine’s algorithm and make it capable of offering the most related results.

With the time, including Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. (a holding company), Google Inc. was divided into different organizations in 2015. The headquarter of both companies are in Mountain View, California. Across the world, Google operates data centers to offer its services on every continent; however, it has its own offices in more than 50 countries.

Some other Google services and products

Below, a list is given that contains Google services and products with their brief explanation.

Android: Android is an operating system that is commonly used with smartphones. It is a free Linux-based platform, which was initially founded by Andy Rubin in October 2003. Later on, on 17 August 2005, it was acquired by Google.
Blogger: It is used for creating and viewing personal blogs.
G Suite: G Suite, formerly known as Google Apps for Your Domain, is a service provided by Google. It’s a cloud-based software suite for enterprises.
Chrome OS: It is an operating system for portable computers and laptops, which was developed by Google on November 19, 2009. It was mainly designed to work with online web applications.
Google Ads: It is a Google advertising service, also known as Google AdWords. On the Google search engine, it allows website publishers to post advertisements with the help of Google AdSense.
Google Analytics: It is a freemium service from Google that allows users to analyze their website in terms of how much traffic is on their website.
Google Assistant: It is a digital assistant service that is capable of answering your voice requests. In addition, to answer questions, it has the ability to control electrical devices in the home.
Google Books: One of another interesting service that has a lot of different kinds of books. This service is offered by Google, which provides users an option to search all available books.
Google Calendar: It is a service offered by Google that enables you to organize your schedule, share events, set reminders to remember events like birthdays.
Google Classroom: It is a free service that was released by Google in 2014. It gives students and teachers the opportunity to take part in a digital class. It is utilised in schools and universities, as well as in institutions.
Google Allo: It was a mobile app released by Google. It was developed for iOS and Android mobile operating systems, including a web client on Opera, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.
Google Duo: Google Duo allows users to make audio and video calls as it is a cross-platform video calling service for Android smartphones as well as Google and third-party operating systems.
Google Earth: Google Earth is a useful application program that helps users to get directions, to view almost all places on the earth, find interesting places or shops, and much more.
Google Express: It is an e-commerce platform that provides delivery services in most states. On 25 September, it was originally released by Google as a Google Shopping Express.
Google Fuchsia: It is an open-source operating system that was released as a real-time OS by Google on 15 August 2016.
Google Hangouts: Google Hangouts is a communication platform that allows members for video chat, messaging, SMS, and VoIP, either one-on-one or in a group. It is also available for Android and iOS devices and built into Google+ and Gmail.
Google Lens: Google Lens was originally introduced in 2017, which is an image recognition technology. With the help of Google Search, it identifies objects and displays information about them. Identifying real-life objects is a technique that can be used with a smartphone’s camera.
Google Moon: In general, Google Lunar is a browser application that was produced by Google as a part of Google Earth with a map of our Moon and each of the moon landings. It allows for the exploration of the Moon and shows satellite images.
Google Now: Google Now was a feature of Google Search commonly used by mobile users. It provides the most relevant information on the basis of users’ search habits and other factors.
Google Play Music: A very common application and website, introduced by Google on 16 November 2011. Users can create and listen to radio stations, as well as stream, download, buy, and upload music. But now it has been discontinued, and YouTube Music has come on the market that is an alternative for Google Play Music.
Google Sheets: Google Sheets is a spreadsheet web application that is an online free solution from Google. It contains almost all functionalities of a traditional spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel, which was released on 9 March 2006.
Google Translate: Google Translate is a free service provided by Google that allows users to convert text from one language to another. For example, if you want to translate any English sentence into Hindi, you can copy or write that sentence on the Google Translate page to quickly translate it.
Google Wallet: It was a Google payment service that allowed users to send and receive money from others. It was available for Android smartphones, developed by Google.
Wing: Wing is a service owned by Google that delivers packages or lightweight items with the help of drones. It has been approved as of April 2019. In Australia and Virginia, it is starting operations in particular locations.
Google News: Another service provided by Google, Google News presents great news organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. It is available for Web, iOS, and Android as an app.
Google Shopping: Google Shopping is a search service invented by Craig Nevill-Manning. It enables users to find products on the basis of location, prices, type, etc. Formerly, it was also known as Google Products, Google Product Search, and Froogle.
Google Slides: s Google offers users Google Sheets service that has all capabilities of a traditional spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel. Similarly, it also provides a service; Google Slides that is a presentation program and contains all features like Microsoft PowerPoint.
Google Street View: One of Google’s finest offers is Google Street View, an interactive 360-degree picture that allows users to drive through streets all around the world.

A brief history of Google

In 1995, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both computer science students at Stanford University, started working on a search engine called BackRub. It was a computer program that leveraged record data and backlink analysis to track on the internet. The name of a search engine, BackRub, was inspired by the algorithms ranking. An algorithm that calculated how many back-links are included in a web page.

During that time, the result of the BackRub program depended on how frequently words appeared on a web page, which allowed web designers to use the same keywords, again and again, to improve their ranking in search results. A data collection system, the crown jewel of BackRub, was known as “PageRank” that was used to improve the rank of websites with the help of counting the number of pages and based on their relevance to keywords. Consequently, the rank of the higher-quality websites reached to top. This technology became the reason to create Google; even it led to the cresting of Google directly. When Bryn and Page were working out of their Stanford dormitory rooms, they self-funded it.

Before the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Andy Bechtolsheim, Bryn and Page used discounted computer parts and mostly their credit cards. For $100,000, they wrote a check out to “Google Inc. to run the company by 1998, in the same year, 4 September 1998, Google was formally incorporated. On a Stanford professor’s front porch, Bechtolsheim saw an early Google product demo and then reportedly wrote the check.

The name of the Google is chosen by Larry and Sergey, which is inspired from the word “googol.” In the book of the Imagination and Mathematics, the name is formally included. Both Google founders viewed its name as a great way in term of collecting information on everything on the internet and began to encapsulate the difficult task.

With the time, Google released AdWords in 2002 and got popularity. AdWords was an Advertising platform for advertisers. Page and Bryn contacted the technology company for $3 billion in funding that led to creating a chance once again for Yahoo to cash in on Google. Google found the money elsewhere as Yahoo declined for funding. And, over the past 16 years, the Advertising tool (AdWords) has become a huge profit center for Google.

The technology was grown rapidly; Soon after, Google started the various additional key company. Google AdSense was developed in 2003, a product that allows publishers to make money by running ads and monetizing their content from Google AdWords. Later on, on April Fool’s Day in 2004, Gmail, Google’s email product, was released.

Google Easter eggs

There are also various hidden Easter eggs offered by Google throughout its services, which are as follows:

Google Klingon: It is a hidden gem that displays Google’s search page and results in Klingon. For example, you can click on the given link- https://www.google.com/?hl=xx-klingon to redirect to Google’s search page in Klingon.
Google H4x0r: Another well-known hidden Easter egg that displays Google’s search page and results in leetspeak. For example, click on the link- https://www.google.com/?hl=xx-hacker to redirect to Google’s search page in leetspeak.
Google Pig Latin: It shows Google’s search page, including the result in Pig Latin. For instance, click on the given link- https://www.google.com/?hl=xx-piglatin to redirect to Google’s search page in Pig Latin.

Discontinued Google services

There are various Google services that have been discontinued, deprecated, sold off to other companies, and merged into other products. Hence, that is no longer supported. A list of some services among them is given below:

Google+: Google+ was a social networking site, also called G+. It was shut down on 2 April 2019.
Google Answers: It was a site that was shut down in December 2016. However, it is still online, but I can only read it and cannot edit it.
Google Buzz: Replaced by Google+, Google Buzz was a social networking site that has shut down on 15 December 2011.
Google Checkout: It was a service offered by Google that was used to pay with each other. It was replaced with Google Wallet and shut down on 20 November 2013.
Google Code: This service, which allowed users to see source code on websites, was withdrawn on March 12, 2015.
Google Deskbar and Google Desktop: It was a little piece of software that added a Google search to the Microsoft Windows Taskbar, allowing users to search without opening a browser.
Google Dictionary and Directory: Google provided a service, an online dictionary search. Later it became combined into the Google search. Hence, it was shut down. Google also offered a service that allowed users to browse the open directory of web pages modified, which is called Google Directory.
Google Helpouts: It was another service offered by Google in November 2013, through which users could share their knowledge and experience with other users. But it was not more in use and was discontinued on 20 April 2015.
Google Fast Flip: It was officially closed in September 2011, which was an online news aggregator service provided by Google.
Google Labs: It once displayed upcoming features as it was a section of Google. Later, it was shut down due to become not more common.
Google Moderator: This service was developed by Google to allow people to gather the best input from an audience of any size and closed on 30 June 2015.
Google Talk: It used XMPP and was a Messenger program provided by Google. For its own proprietary standard used with Google Hangouts, Google announced to drop XMPP support in May 2013.
Google Sets: Another service offered by Google; it was used to display a list of words related to the keyword you typed. Now, it is not in use and has been closed as other new technologies have come to promote this function.
Orkut: It was a social networking site that has officially closed by Google on 30 September, 2014. It offered users the location to interact with people all over the world.
Picasa: It was a program for images; it allowed to view, edit, and manage images accordingly. On 15 March, 2016, this program was retired and replaced with Google Photos.
YouTube Video Editor: It allowed users to edit videos with essential tools. It was a free feature of YouTube and shut down as of 20 September 2017, but users could add enhancements to their videos.
Google Market and Google SketchUp: Google Market was restored into Google Play in 2012, which was a place to search and download apps for Android. Google also offered a tool, Google SketchUp. On 1 June 2012, this tool is now owned by Trimble; it was for creating and sharing 3-D models.
Google Tango: One of another service provided by Google was officially closed on 15 December 2017, which was an augmented reality computing platform.
Google Web Accelerator: Google offered this service to help speed up browsing for broadband users. Later, it was discontinued by Google.
Google Base: It was a database service. On 17 December 2010, the API and service were discontinued.

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