GUARDIAN: Google's worst-kept secret: floating data centers off US coasts

[KoKo]

So...Google doesn't have to Purchase Land to house the facilities or pay Taxes on the Land to State or Local Government...BECAUSE they are in Open Waters! Something else bothers me about this...but, I can't quite put my finger on it...

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A barge built with four levels of shipping containers is seen at Pier 1 at Treasure Island in San Francisco, Photograph: Stephen Lam /Reuters

The barges are 250 feet long, 72 feet wide, 16 feet deep and sport tall white spires that could be masts, flagpoles or antennas. They were built in 2011 in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, by C & C Marine and Repair, and are reportedly owned by By and Large LCC, a company with apparent ties to Google.

They recently appeared off Treasure Island, a former military base in San Francisco bay, and Portland harbour. Chain-link fences and security guards block access.

At least one Coast Guard employee was obliged to sign a non-disclosure agreement with Google, Barry Bena, a US coast guard spokesman, told Reuters.

Another person who would only identify himself as an inspector for a California government agency had to do the same because he was present during early construction work on Treasure Island's hangar-like Building 3. He also had to surrender his mobile phone.

Bob Jessup, a construction company superintendent who works nearby, said Google spent the past year working on the project, fencing off a wide area and employing at least 40 welders a day, who worked around the clock without saying a word.

"They wouldn't give up any of the information. It was a phenomenal production. None of them would tell us anything."

He said they worked on the inside and the outside of the containers, outfitting them with electronics – "very hush hush" – and used a crane to load them onto the barge. They put sides on the containers, with glass windows in some of them. Precision welding ensured they could stack.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/30/google-secret-floating-data-centers-california-maine

[Turbineguy]

1. They may find

that the cost of keeping something afloat and operating in a marine environment is more expensive than the taxes and land costs they expect to save.

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

2. Privacy and Net Neutrality?

With internet privacy and net neutrality being such big issues, one wonders if these points may play into whatever they're up to. It could be tax evasion, or some response to the NSA issues, or preparation for the effects the TPP could have on internet companies.

Whatever they're up to, this is an interesting development. I am reminded somewhat of Distress, a science fiction novel by Greg Egan. Hmm.

[NYC_SKP]

3. Recommended. (nt)