I’ve met some true heroes and historic figures at various CE industry events over the years: the first two men on the moon (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin), Mikhail Gorbachev, formerU.K.Prime Minister John Major, Colin Powell and the elder George Bush, plus some minor figures, including Jimmy Carter and John Edwards.
None is in the same league as Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the Google co-founders who zipped into yesterday’s launch event for the T-Mobile G1 cellphone, which is built on Google’s Android operating system. The young-looking duo skated in on inline roller skates to get to the 59th Street venue because of the traffic jams created by the presence of so many world figures and evildoers attending a special session at the United Nations, which is about 15 blocks away.
Most of the historic figures who I’ve met deserve their place in the history books. Neil and Buzz for elevating our spirits after a dreadful 1968; Gorbachev for presiding (however unwillingly) over the decline of the Evil Empire; George Bush (however unwillingly at the start) and Colin Powell (however unwillingly) for launching the first Persian Gulf War.
Larry and Sergey, however, have had the more direct impact on the daily lives of most of us. They’ve made life simpler for students who use their search engine for research, reporters who use their search engine for research, anyone who needs to drive from one place to another, shoppers searching for products and prices, and anyone interested in what Jimmy Carter did for his country.
