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Google planning offshore water-based data centers
by Decius at 3:38 pm EDT, Sep 15, 2008 |
Google may take its battle for global domination to the high seas with the launch of its own “computer navy”. The company is considering deploying the supercomputers necessary to operate its internet search engines on barges anchored up to seven miles (11km) offshore. The “water-based data centres” would use wave energy to power and cool their computers, reducing Google’s costs. Their offshore status would also mean the company would no longer have to pay property taxes on its data centres, which are sited across the world, including in Britain.
Combine dreams of floating jurisdiction free anarchist colonies with one of the worlds wealthiest corporations... An interesting idea of a science fiction book but I tend to agree with Hakim Bey that anarchy in the modern world only works in pockets that are small enough in both space and time to avoid the attention of society. |
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RE: Google planning offshore water-based data centers
by CypherGhost at 7:19 pm EDT, Sep 15, 2008 |
Remember that ships typically sail under the flag of the country they are registered to, so unless Google is forming their own country or becoming pirates, they are not jurisdiction-free. There is also question of bandwidth. On the whole, property tax is a very small expense for a data center. Most of them are leased anyway, so the data center doesn't actually pay property tax in the first place (it's built into the cost just like the building itself.) The patent application also doesn't say which country they might want to park these things off the coast of. With longer range wireless options coming on the market, why not park one just outside Shanghai and Taiwan? |
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RE: Google planning offshore water-based data centers
by Stefanie at 10:22 am EDT, Sep 16, 2008 |
CypherGhost wrote:
...so unless Google is forming their own country or becoming pirates...
I just pictured Geoffrey Rush pulling his pirate ship up next to a luxury ocean liner and sending his men aboard to steal the servers. "Aye, ya can keep your dubloons; now where be your data?" |
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Google planning offshore water-based data centers
by Stefanie at 12:18 pm EDT, Sep 15, 2008 |
Google may take its battle for global domination to the high seas with the launch of its own “computer navy”. The company is considering deploying the supercomputers necessary to operate its internet search engines on barges anchored up to seven miles (11km) offshore. The “water-based data centres” would use wave energy to power and cool their computers, reducing Google’s costs. Their offshore status would also mean the company would no longer have to pay property taxes on its data centres, which are sited across the world, including in Britain.
I assume that the Gulf of Mexico has been ruled out. |
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