Friday, November 1, 2013

"San Francisco Mystery Google Barge Revealed: It's A VIP Party Boat" (GOOG)

To the question posed last Saturday, "'Is Google building a hulking floating data center in SF Bay?' (GOOG)" we can now answer NO.
From Silicon Valley Watcher:

Googlebarge
The mystery Google barge in San Francisco Bay that’s  stacked high with containers over 4 stories high is an invitation-only “luxury showroom” reports CBS KPIX.
Google’s Secret Revealed: Barge To Offer High-End Showrooms
Google’s mysterious barge in San Francisco Bay will feature luxury showrooms and a party deck  to market Google Glass and other gadgets to invitation-only clients, multiple sources told KPIX 5.
 The project, which has been in the planning stages for more than a year, was created at Google[x], the secret facility that Google reportedly runs near its corporate headquarters in Mountain View. It is personally directed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin and is Google’s attempt to upstage rival Apple and its chain of popular retail stores, sources said.
Really?! Apple stores are gleaming white, glass and metal architectural wonders and they are moored in the best high traffic locations — not high tide locations. They are retail super-sites making more money per square foot than luxury jewelry store Tiffany & Co....MORE
Since Samsung has filed a patent for a Glass competitor may we suggest some decidedly "Go-big-or-go-home" architecture for their showroom:

ship 1.png