Close X
Monday, January 13, 2025
ADVT 
National

Google's Eric Schmidt talks about hiring Canadian talent, loving BlackBerry

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Oct, 2014 11:04 AM

    TORONTO - Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt made a rare visit to Canada on Wednesday, to help announce a $1.5 million grant to support the educational charity Actua and speak at an event promoting his new book "How Google Works," written with Jonathan Rosenberg, an adviser to CEO Larry Page.

    In an interview with The Canadian Press, Schmidt talked about the company's growing presence in Canada, going up against former privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, and his unabashed love for BlackBerry.

    CP: What is Canada's reputation within Google, what are the offices and employees in Waterloo, Ont., Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto known for?

    Schmidt: We have something like 400 engineers and something like 700 or 800 employees here and I always knew Waterloo was a fantastic engineering centre. What's recently happened is the University of Toronto and Montreal have become real centres for machine intelligence. So within Google in the U.S., we're hiring people from Canada to solve the fundamental problems of artificial intelligence and that's a new fact. It didn't used to be, you tend to think Waterloo was a programming languages university and they broadened what they were trying to do.

    CP: Are there any plans to open more offices in Canada?

    Schmidt: I think at the moment we have enough, what we're trying to do is get these offices to be bigger and bigger and bigger. I would've liked to have had lots of offices everywhere but we get benefit by having everybody in a few places.

    CP: To what extent has Canada been a challenging market for privacy issues, with our privacy commissioners aggressively going after Facebook and Google to push for more safeguards for Canadians?

    Schmidt: I don't think it's been unusual, we have issues in every country and our basic strategy is to work with the government. We don't fight them, we try to solve the problem. But Canadians are very similar culturally ... so there's not much issue, we have problems in lots of other countries, I don't think of us as having trouble in Canada at all.

    CP: What's your current smartphone?

    Schmidt: Motorola Razr X. As you know, Motorola is in the process of being sold to Lenovo but this is in fact the phone that I use.

    CP: You were a noted BlackBerry user, what made you switch?

    Schmidt: Well, I need to carry this. I still like BlackBerrys but I'm afraid they missed a set of transitions that were very important and the new CEO is trying very hard to recover. But the fact of the matter is that Android and iPhone are driving the market now.

    CP: Do you miss the keyboard?

    Schmidt: I have always liked the BlackBerry keyboard.

    CP: Did you ever go the Google engineering team and say, "Listen, I love the BlackBerry, there's a lot of powerful people out there that like the BlackBerry, why don't we make a product that's like the BlackBerry but made by Google and better?"

    Schmidt: Google, remember, largely makes the software and it's up to the hardware industry (to make a BlackBerry competitor). BlackBerry has made its keyboard intellectual property and you can't just copy it.

    Later, at his speaking event with the Empire Club of Canada, he admitted he still does carry a BlackBerry in addition to his Motorola phone.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Nova Scotia To Introduce Legislation To Ban Fracking For Onshore Shale Gas

    Nova Scotia To Introduce Legislation To Ban Fracking For Onshore Shale Gas
    HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government will prohibit high-volume hydraulic fracturing for onshore shale gas, saying Wednesday the ban will remain in place until the province's population is ready to embrace the industry.

    Nova Scotia To Introduce Legislation To Ban Fracking For Onshore Shale Gas

    Catering CEO, Desmond Hague, resigns amid allegations of animal abuse in B.C.

    Catering CEO, Desmond Hague, resigns amid allegations of animal abuse in B.C.
    VANCOUVER - A man alleged to have abused a dog while being video taped in a Vancouver hotel elevator has resigned from his post as CEO of a high-profile catering company.

    Catering CEO, Desmond Hague, resigns amid allegations of animal abuse in B.C.

    Reports contradict PM's view on aboriginal women victims

    Reports contradict PM's view on aboriginal women victims
    Dozens of federal, provincial and community studies compiled by the Conservative government appear to contradict the prime minister's contention that the problem of missing and murdered aboriginal women isn't a "sociological phenomenon."

    Reports contradict PM's view on aboriginal women victims

    B.C. Premier Christy Clark Urges Teachers' Union To Suspend Strike, Resume Talks

    B.C. Premier Christy Clark Urges Teachers' Union To Suspend Strike, Resume Talks
    VANCOUVER - British Columbia Premier Christy Clark is urging the province's teachers' union to suspend its strike and get back to the bargaining table so students can start school.

    B.C. Premier Christy Clark Urges Teachers' Union To Suspend Strike, Resume Talks

    Lawyer asks court to overturn Robert Latimer's travel restrictions

    Lawyer asks court to overturn Robert Latimer's travel restrictions
    VANCOUVER - The lawyer for Robert Latimer says his client should be allowed to travel outside Canada.

    Lawyer asks court to overturn Robert Latimer's travel restrictions

    'Street-messaging' system for homeless could save lives: community group

    'Street-messaging' system for homeless could save lives: community group
    A non-profit Vancouver group says a new text-messaging system that gets information to homeless people could potentially save lives.

    'Street-messaging' system for homeless could save lives: community group