back to article The search for the 'next billion' users also targets the first billion

Google's efforts to find its “next billion” users has been revealed to also be an effort to build services for the first billion. The Chocolate Factory's revealed this in a few ways of late. Last week it announced that it's taken a mobile-data-number-crunching app called “Datally” from the Philippines to the world. The …

  1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    "The Registe..aware of Asian nations..the likes of WhatsApp have become utterly ubiquitous"

    OMFG.

    Regional variations still exist in software preferences.

    No doubt Google will try to stamp that out ASAP moving to their new global monoculture.

    And what's this first seen in India?

    You'd think a company with a global presence would have tools that auto customize to non-English speaking countries.

    Oh, I forgot.

    They are from California.

    1. Pen-y-gors

      Re: "The Registe..aware of Asian nations..the likes of WhatsApp have become utterly ubiquitous"

      Given the number of Spanish speakers (and other minority languages) in the USA it's amazing that they have no concept of multi-lingual software, or in fact, that there are any differences between the USA and Restoftheworldland.

      A relevant story. I used to work for a large insurance company based in Switzerland. The CEO was persuaded that we needed a wonderful new motor insurance system from a US company. Merkin calls in to demo it. Of course it's all hard-coded English. But it looks slick and sexy. Then the underwriters ask to be shown how they customise the rating system, to allow for all the different 'points' etc, based on age of driver, type of car, annual use, type of use etc. "What do you mean?" was the answer

      In the land of free-enterprise capitalism it seems that the state decides what price people pay for insurance. That's it. No premium calculations by the insurer. And the designers of this software had no idea that that system didn't apply globally. We didn't buy it.

      1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

        Re: "The Registe..aware of Asian nations..the likes of WhatsApp have become utterly ubiquitous"

        Given the number of Spanish speakers

        You probably mean the number of Spanish-only speakers and this is very low: linguistically the US melting pot has proved to be extremely effective.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lands of rotten roads and slow connections setting the agenda

    I presume you mean the Anglophone countries are setting the agenda, then?

    1. Pen-y-gors

      Re: Lands of rotten roads and slow connections setting the agenda

      Na, I think more just the UK. We used to complain about constant roadworks everywhere, slowing traffic. Now it's the lack of roadworks to fix all the potholes that's slowing things.

      I won't mention slow connections as Openreach bod is outside installing my fibre at this very instant!

    2. Magani
      Stop

      Re: Lands of rotten roads and slow connections setting the agenda

      "Services for lands of slow connections and rotten roads..."

      Sounds remarkably like Australia.

      The icon will be familiar to those who drive north of Bris-Vegas on National Hwy 1.

  3. Flywheel

    slow connections and rotten roads

    Oh, that'll be North of Watford then. /s

  4. #define INFINITY -1

    that use 'shortcuts' not accessible to cars and trucks

    So Google is now promoting 'illegal' actviity, blatantly? Does India have official motorcycle-only routes, or is this a case of pandering to people who simply ignore the rules (and the law-keepers have given up)?

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