

US Coast Guard visits mysterious Google barge - prawn
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/30/coast-guard-visits-mysterious-google-barge/3318347/

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lylebarrere
>> Tech site CNET has speculated that it might be a floating data center,
while the local CBS TV affiliate points to a floating store for Google's
wearable Glass computer. <<

A giant floating store to sell Glass, that is made out of metal shipping
containers? CBS has gone off the deep-end.

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deletes
Well this is interesting:

>>At least one Coast Guard employee has been required to sign a non-disclosure
agreement with the company regarding the San Francisco project

An inspector with an unidentified California agency said he, too, had to sign
such a document.<<

EDIT: On a second thought, it must be common practice for various inspectors
to sign NDA's since they see private corporate stuff. Thus the signage of the
document has no role in whether inspector would be allowed on board or not.

~~~
markdown
So if they hadn't signed the agreement, the Coast Guard would have been denied
access to the vessel?

It's incredible how much power corporations have in the US.

~~~
saraid216
I love HN. Coast Guard denied access to Google warehouse: corporations have
too much power. NSA suspected of gaining access to Google warehouse:
government has too much power.

~~~
markdown
I wasn't comparing the power a corporation has to the power wielded by the
government; It was more corporation vs person.

I don't think I'd have the power to tell the US Coast Guard to fuck off if
they approached me as I sped across the harbour in my little speedboat.

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johansch
See
[https://www.google.com/patents/US7525207](https://www.google.com/patents/US7525207)
and
[https://www.google.com/patents/US20090295167](https://www.google.com/patents/US20090295167)
("Water-based data center"). Assigned to google employees.

~~~
deletes
>>This document describes systems and methods that may be employed to provide
data center (e.g., computing, telecommunications, or other similar services)
support in an area quickly and flexibly. In general, computing centers are
located on a ship or ships, which are then anchored in a water body from which
energy from natural motion of the water may be captured, and turned into
electricity and/or pumping power for cooling pumps to carry heat away from
computers in the data center.<<

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ck2
I bet the NSA knows.

Google could just troll everyone by floating the barges away and nothing comes
of this.

~~~
adamnemecek
Maybe it's a dedicated data center for _floating_ point operations.

~~~
praptak
I have this sinking feeling about a wave of nautical metaphors starting here
on HN.

~~~
adamnemecek
It will be a real deluge.

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droopybuns
I do not care about google's hype machine oriented around these :mysterious:
ships.

Google: put up or shut up. This is stupid.

~~~
danshapiro
If what they're doing isn't shutting up, what is?

~~~
ryanhuff
I think the parent is insinuating that Google is not only not shutting up, but
in fact, these activities are part of the lead-up to some PR event.

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naaaaak
Might as well attach Google boilerplate to the bottom of this "article" and
link to [http://www.google.com/press/](http://www.google.com/press/).

Summary: We know nothing and can't say.

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ck2
So I've been thinking about this and I am getting a bit upset that a corporate
entity can stop a government policing and enforcement entity and make them
sign a NDA. Coast Guard has the right to board any nautical vessel for
inspection, no?

Can you imagine the police hearing screams and cries for help from inside a
building and the corporate owners of the building stop them and say, well you
cannot come in unless you sign this NDA first.

~~~
waps
I would imagine the "unreasonable search & seizure" protection would protect
people until the ship was actually moving. Maybe even until there is good
reason to search it.

~~~
ck2
You mean like how that protects you at the airport?

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robmcm
Perhaps they will float it out to international waters to avoid the NSA.

(And host monkey knife fighting)

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prawn
Are they visible from populated areas? My first instinct was some form of
advertising/viral promotion.

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noptic
coming up in 2014: Google shipping. With data mined from youtube and the
google crawler our new service can generate slash / shipping storys for any
couple you want! (For legal /copyright reasons all shipping is done in
international waters).

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fit2rule
Is it a SuperPower building?

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jachwe
It's for porn.

