claaarky - 9:44 am on Dec 12, 2012 (gmt 0)

Travel was just an example but I don't think he was describing a package tour system, it sounded to me more like a system for tailoring a bespoke package based on your requirements/preferences, the sort of service you can only currently obtain by picking up the phone.

I'm not a package tour person and I hate picking up the phone to ask someone to put together my travel arrangements for me, but there's no alternative at the moment. Even the websites of the biggest names in travel are fairly hopeless if you want anything beyond the basics. I say bring it on Google.

The point I take from this interview is that they realise they have the power to push the boundaries of what's possible, and that forces others to up their game which is better for the world generally. I remember when Richard Branson came into the airline business - suddenly all the competition (who had been resting on their laurels for years) were racing to match Virgin. Apple turned mobile phones into something you could actually use the internet on, and in a really user friendly way that, even today, nobody else has matched.

There are always casualties but seriously, I wouldn't want the world to go back to the pre-Virgin, Apple, Google, etc. days. I love the idea of the driver-less car that knows when to pick me up and could maybe ensure the heating and lights were on at home, inform the wife I'm on the way, perhaps even make my travel arrangements for the weekend for me by linking in to Google's bespoke travel service......all while I sit and listen to the posts on Webmasterworld being read to me by a computer, pre-programmed with the voices of my favourite comedians to ensure the punchlines are delivered perfectly.

I know many people here have suffered, including me, but I want to see what they can do. They could easily rest on their laurels and cash in like many other big businesses do. We need more of this kind of thinking in the world.