Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

I am normally a huge Google fan but several things of late have been setbacks to my Google support. First Google started putting paid press releases in their news page as "news", now they have a new feature called Google Compute that is a distributed processing application like SETI@home.

Sounds like a great idea when I first read it. I have never used the Google toolbar, which is where this new app runs from, but allowing more people to put idle CPU cycles to work for various good causes is a good thing. The first project they are supporting is Folding@home, worthy cause, "What are proteins and why do they 'fold'". Then I read on and see this "In the future Google Compute may allow you to donate your computing time to other worthwhile endeavors, including projects to improve Google and its services." WTF? People will sign up for this thinking they are helping some non profit research organization or the like and their cycles in the future may go to work on Google itself?

Shrewd, however I think it skirts the line of an honorable business practice. What I mean is they should not get this network started with projects such as Folding@home and then switch people to Google. Depending on how they do this, whether or not people can tell and choose where to put their cycles, it could be very underhanded. I think it would have been wise just to NOT ever consider putting Google projects in the "Compute" arena.

Maybe its just me?