The other big Google April Fool’s Day joke:
As a Google Autocompleter, you’ll be expected to successfully guess a user’s intention as he or she starts typing instantly. In a fraction of a second, you’ll need to type in your prediction that will be added to the list of suggestions given by Google. Don’t worry, after a few million predictions you’ll grow the required reflexes.
In February of 2010 Google announced they’d be picking one lucky city where they’d build a fiber to the home test network, offering between 50,000 and 500,000 users 1 Gbps fiber connectivity. The announcement immediately created wave upon wave of free PR for Google as more than 1,000 cities vied for the search giant’s attentions. However, after Google delayed the project last December, some started wondering if Google was wavering on the plan.
The LA Public Library has only one photo entry for "Soldiers Home" that seems to depict the slum that once existed where the 405 and the 10 intersect.
If you’ve used Google Maps in a major metropolitain area, you may have noticed one or two “neighborhood labels” that seemed bizarre and new to you even though you know the area quite well.
Here is a link to Home Junction on Google Maps.
As best as I can determine, some of these names go back to the 1960s. The reason I think that is because of a little area in west Los Angeles that on Google Maps is labelled Home Junction.
If you look at the intersection of the Santa Monica freeway and the San Diego freeway (I-10 and I-405 respectively), Google Earth has a little label for the area and that label says “Home Junction.”
In fact, if you drive around the area where National crosses under the 405 there is one of those weird blue City of LA signs denoting that you are in a “named region” of the city. It also says, “Home Junction.”
Home Junction? WTF is that? I like to think I know the west L.A. area quite well — between the different neighborhoods and their historic origins — I find that stuff interesting. Palms, Sawtelle, Mar Vista, Rancho Park — it’s my albatross.
So, what I’ve pieced together is this: the junction was so named because it was the meeting point between the spur line and the main trolleyway that once connected Santa Monica with downtown Los Angeles. The spur line connected to the Veterans Administration facility via a little street called Sawtelle. Back then the VA was called “The Old Soldiers’ Home”, hence, Home Junction.
The Chiat/Day relationship with Steve Jobs and Apple is nothing short of legendary. That legend goes something like this:
Chiat was hired by Apple to create the (also legendary) Ridley Scott-directed, $1 million, only-aired-once-cause-it’s-so-goddamn-special 1984 commercial that introduced the Macintosh line of computers during the Super Bowl.
Big Brother on the telescreen in the Apple 1984 commercial
When Jobs was forced out of left Apple, he used some of his newfound wealth to put Chiat/Day on retainer as his personal ad agency; basically, he took them with him when he left the company.
Artist's rendering of Jobs departure
The Building
The ad agency used some of that money to build a new office building.
LOL Binoculars
Completed in 1991, Chiat’s Gehry-designed building on Main Street in Venice is a globally-recognizable structure that boasts office space of 71,935 square feet teamed with the iconic presence of Claes Oldenberg‘s enormous binocular edifice arching over the original parking entrance. The building is within sight of the original design space of Charles and Ray Eames, a stone’s throw from one of our favorite Austrian’s old hangout spots (e.g. Gold’s Gym), and across the street from the original Venice Short Line Ocean Park Yard trolley station (it’s now an MTA bus depot and you can still see some original rail tracks from before the buses took over).
In 1996, the ad agency left that building and moved to Playa del Rey. Jobs was running NeXT computer when that company was bought by Apple. TBWA/Chiat-Day created a self-contained subsidiary called Media Arts Lab. This new organization would be dedicated to a single client, Steve Jobs.
Apple’s New Rivalry
“Make no mistake: Google wants to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them.” – Steve Jobs addressing Apple employees in early 2010
Apple (Jobs) seems to thrive on competition. See Microsoft (Bill Gates) for more info. Jobs has always had a reputation for being the “cool kid” amongst the tech giants. Your cute lab partner in chemistry class? Steve’s ex-girlfriend. And like any good Alpha geek, he’s got a chip on his shoulder. Just let him think he’s in charge and everything will be cool.
Steve Jobs (Noah Wiley) confronting Gates (Anthony Michael Hall) about Windows in The Pirates of Silicon Valley
I’m still researching the origins of their personal relationship, but they’ve been neighbors for years. Schmidt was a big deal at Sun when they developed Java and then went to run Novell before leaving to head Google. He’s taught at Stanford. It seems like the guy has been in the Valley since grad school.
Fast-forward to 2010. Rumours develop of a rift between Eric Schmidt and Steve Jobs.
It’s like watching Lex Luthor fight Dr. Viktor von Doom: baaaaaad aaaass (I leave it up to you to figure out who’s who in that simile)
So, this post will never be done. I have to publish it now or I will never stop working on it.
But the saga continues…
Further reading:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/technology/14brawl.html
UPDATE: An anonymous source at Google confirmed that this theory is not unlikely. Internally, Googlers are a little jealous of the unstoppable climb in Apple’s share price. Coupled with the its fanaticism, the reality distortion field (RFD) at Apple breeds contempt amongst the faithful toward any perceived non-believers.
You know, this picture makes me realize that the camera mount would make a really good spot to place a high gain antenna. If I were Google and I were doing this, I wouldn’t tell anyone about it either.
…the cars weren’t supposed to be collecting any of the data that passed over the networks…
LOL. How’s that now? You accidentally a coca cola bottle?
In recognition of Topeka’s city leaders changing its name to Google, the Mountain View, CA company announced today it has changed its name to Topeka; Best April Fool’s Day joke yet.
Kyle Hayes
My friend Kyle has a blog. Kyle is The Master.
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