Happy 14th Birthday Google! (and don’t forget to thank Linux)

Google turns 14 today. Yeaah, I know it really doesn’t seem all that long ago when Google was the ‘new kid’ on the block and we all used AltaVista (or at least I did…).

Like millions of others I first noticed Google because of its use by Yahoo. The bulky Yahoo portal page of 14 years ago was a mess so I just started going to Google directly (like millions of others). Back then Sergey and Larry were also a lot more accessible than they are now. I remember emailing about a result error and getting a personal reply (and a T-shirt) back in response.

14 years later, Google remains the primary search engine most of us use each and every day. Sure Google is more than just search today, but search still remains the core – whether we’re talking Gmail, Android, Maps (IOS 6 sux!) or otherwise.

While Google has built so much innovation entirely on its own, it’s important to remember that in the beginning (and even now) – it was and is Linux at the core that enables all of it to happen.

Google’s search engine sits on Linux. Gmail sits on Linux, Android sits on Linux.

Sure, Google has built tremendous innovation on top (some of it open source, some not..), but at the core, Linux remains.

So happy 14th birthday to you Google. I can’t imagine living without you and likely you can’t imagine living without Linux.

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.