We Knew

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It was our three-month ultrasound. We thought it would be like the movies, where you look at an ultra hi-def screen and the baby is crystal clear. It felt like a big moment. I had left work early that afternoon and was hoping to get back quickly. After all, it was just a routine visit, or so I thought. We checked in and were shown into the examination room. The nurse asked Hema to lie down on the bed. She applied gel and began moving the probe across her abdomen, looking for a heartbeat. Her reaction made us realize something was wrong. Hema and I looked at each other. The nurse didn't say anything. She simply said she would be back in a minute. We knew. The doctor came in, repeated the scan, and after a few moments told us that he was unable to detect a heartbeat. It was one of the lowest points of our lives. Three months in, we had already started imagining birthdays, schools, and family vacations. When you experience a miscarriage, it feels as ...
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The Google "Reality"

Google has been one company that started off incognito in the Stanford dorm to emerge as a leading search engine in the 21st century. It has beaten hands down any hint of competition from Altavista, Excite, MSN, Yahoo or in fact any other. Larry Page and Sergey Brinn created history of sorts, when they sat back to decipher, or rather invent the Back Link Algorithm. Imagine downloading the entire web content on your desktop. Well, that was the idea that propped into Page's head before hitting it off with what one can hail as one of the greatest turning points in the internet world with a sleek, usable and simple search engine that caught on easily with the masses.

I came to know some time back of The Google Story written by David Vise and Mark Malseed. I was hunting for this book for quite some time in various libraries, and obviously there are a lot of readers who have made a beeline in the waiting list for this book. Thankfully, after a long time did I realise that the University library had the digital rights for the book, and as I sat back to read this book, I found it really engrossing. The book opens with a presentation by the Google founders at an Israeli school, taking questions at ease from some really bright and intellectual kids. The authors have done a good job in capturing the essence of Google. The way Larry and Sergey get the initial funding to kick off the Google project is exciting to read. Why is it Google and not Googol? What did they do at Stanford? What were the issues in getting funded from a Venture Capitalist? It is also exciting to note how they did not partake any information though they get funded from a venture capitalist. That is not possible and is never heard off being done by any other company. An exciting round up of Googleplex is provided with good insight into Charlie's Corner. The recruitment of Eric Schmidt as the CEO of Google is an interesting read. The best part of this was that neither of them was ready to get into the other's fold. The way Google went public is covered in good detail. The hiccups, the speedbreakers, the agony, the anxiety and everything else is finally overcome by some steady progress that can stimulate anyone in achieving something in life. Overall, Google with its wide array of products has forayed into almost every aspect of internet, without any compromise on quality.

This book is a must read for Google fans. Though the authors at many times have stressed that Google derives its inspiration from technology and not for money, it is difficult to fathom. At the end of the day, money does matter, but it really does not matter to give this book atleast a one time read.

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