BillyS - 10:29 pm on Dec 19, 2005 (gmt 0)

I agree - what's the plan behind Urchin, Picasa and Google Earth (just to name a few)?

I could speculate:

Urchin - a step toward getting into the hosting business (a source of revenue)

Picasa - maybe Google wants to get into the print business (competing with Kodak...)

Google Earth - real estate and travel?!?

Certainly these are a move away from its core business and all involve considerable risk. If there is a big plan, I'm just not seeing it yet. The coming year might help us put some of these puzzle pieces together.