Google has created a project called “Loon”, as in bal”loon”, that is meant to give internet access to less-developed areas of the world as well as to areas that have recently had disasters. The way it works is by having balloons fly over these areas that would give out an internet signal and keep even the developing world connected to explore the wonderful internet.
Many consumers and tech experts alike believe this is a great idea. Well, all but one; and he’s a big one. Bill Gates, the multi-billionaire founder and CEO of Microsoft Corp., who happens to be a philanthropist through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has recently spoken to Bloomberg Business Week on the subject. He states, “Certainly I’m a huge believer in the digital revolution. And connecting up primary-healthcare centres, connecting up schools, those are good things. But no, those are not, for the really low-income countries, unless you directly say we’re going to do something about malaria,” and that, “when you’re dying of malaria, I suppose you’ll look up and see that balloon, and I’m not sure how it’ll help you. When a kid gets diarrhea, no, there’s no website that relieves that.”
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given an incredible amount of money and support to charities in the past, but Google itself has given much to the world as well. This includes Google in Education, Crisis Response, Google Green, Google Giving, and many more.
Surprisingly, even though this project has been criticized by one of the biggest technology company representatives, it is still expected to be accepted well by the public once it officially launches