….In a way, Google has become the Web’s brain, its synapses fired by 3 billion searchable documents and 150 million queries daily. As with HAL in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Google’s smarts can be scary. As the court of first resort for finding information on the Web, Google could exert untold influence over how we think.
With only 300 employees and a modest headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Google seems an unlikely candidate for Big Brother. Touring its offices recently, I was struck by how similar Google is today to other bright, unspoiled tech start-ups of the past, notably Netscape, Apple and Microsoft….
Monday, February 25, 2002 – 12:00 a.m. Pacific – Paul Andrews
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134410682_andrews25.html