Moving and Storage Business News

The News Review:

- PODS out as PGA Tour host after 2008 season – Golf
- Google preps magic GDrive
- On Clean Energy, Google Jumps The Shark

PODS out as PGA Tour host after 2008 season – Golf
ESPN – Nov 28, 2007
In January, PODS signed a six-year agreement to sponsor the March event less than six weeks before the tournament was to begin. But the company was given the option to opt out of the deal after two years. PODS, a Clearwater, Fla. ,-based moving and storage company which is in the process of being sold, will still sponsor the 2008 event, March 6-9. Mark Calcavecchia won the 2007 tournament, which from 2003-06 was called the Chrysler Championship and played in the fall. “We certainly appreciate PODS’ support in being our title sponsor in 2007 and 2008 and keeping PGA Tour golf thriving in the Tampa Bay area,” said tournament director Gerald Goodman. Earlier this week he said the tournament was prepared in case PODS elected not to continue and would go in search of another title sponsor.

Google preps magic GDrive
Register – Nov 28, 2007
The presentation exposed a secret plan to store “100% of User Data”: “With infinite storage, we can house all user files, including: emails, web history, pictures, bookmarks, etc and make it accessible from anywhere (any device, any platform, etc)”, it read, before matter-of-fact-ly pointing out that this sort of thing was already part of company projects known as GDrive, GDS, and Lighthouse. We asked Google if some sort Googlicious storage service is now imminent, but the company completely ignored us. The Journal’s sources say that Google plans to offer a certain amount of storage for free while charging for additional gigabytes. They also say that Google is “hoping to distinguish itself from existing online storage services partly by simplifying the process for transferring and opening files. ” Apparently, Google wants this new service to behave “like another hard drive that is handy at all times”. Does that mean it will behave like another hard drive even when you’re offline? We’d like to see that trick.

On Clean Energy, Google Jumps The Shark
InformationWeek – Nov 28, 2007
The energy project fits into the 10% the company sets aside for innovation. A few hundred million, for a company with a market cap of nearly $217 billion, amounts to a rounding error. Still, does an online search-and-advertising company really have any business moving into renewable energy? To say the least, it’s not exactly among Google’s core competencies. To be sure, Google has entered businesses beyond search — like online storage and mobile phone operating systems. These, however, all further the company’s core mission, which is to get its search function, Web-based applications, and advertising on as many screens worldwide as possible. Keep in mind that other Google ventures beyond search and Web applications, like.