A recently uncovered patent application reveals some interesting ideas Google have been working on.
http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/09/06/google-planning-offshore-data-barges/In a startling new take on data center engineering, Google has filed a patent for a “water-based data center” that uses the ocean to provide power and cooling.
The patent also confirms Google’s development of a container-based data center, describing “crane-removable modules” to power the computing platforms.
The floating data centers would be located 3 to 7 miles from shore, in 50 to 70 meters of water. If perfected, this approach could be used to build 40 megawatt data centers that don’t require real estate or property taxes.
The offshore location also raises interesting questions about jurisdiction, and which laws would govern the handling of any consumer data managed from the floating data centers. U.S. territorial waters typically extend 12 nautical miles, but other nations’ claims range from 3 miles (Singapore) to 200 miles.
I cant say this is a new idea but perhaps one made feasible by the catch up of technology to enable the idea to come to fruit at last, after all many folks dreamed of a trip to the moon way before it was possible
Folks who want to get rich quick should perhaps be gathering up some usful domain names such as googleatlantic or googlepacific
