Where are all the people who are always disclaiming to work for Google in every thread about Google? Weird you’re silent on this.
Sorry, I'm only getting paid to shill during office hours.
Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
121–130 of 206 posts
Re: Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
#122As a former insider, I can tell you likely pre-story which might cast a different light on this:
* Google employee comes up with an idea.
* They go and research the idea to check if there are any already existing companies which do it.
* If any are found, they meet and decide if they should buy the company, reinvent the idea, or that it isn't relevant.
* If, after investigation it is determined the company's tech isn't good enough, they will re-invent. Google has fairly strict tech requirements (no php, no shady licenses/ownership, no pirated stuff, etc.), so many companies don't pass.
* When they reinvent, they will do it "clean room" - ie. none of the people who reviewed the original company will be involved in the re-invention.
Re: Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
#123Wow this story is shocking. I want to point out it’s quite believable if you look at this situation historically. Microsoft was known for doing this exact same thing. Their tactic was to wine and dine startups, give them the “big megacorp company treatment”, ask them to divulge just a little of how they were doing what they were doing. Then they would go back to Seattle, put out an identical product 6 weeks later, an…
> Their behavior has changed a ton from then ...
Based on?
Re: Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
#124Google is dirty player. I have very little trust on google! They company politics are violating people's rights. They are manipulating and deleting peoples accounts if they political agenda is not google's agenda. Sad sad google. You are just like any other corporation like facebook and twitter.
Freedom of speech?? - you must be joking
Re: Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
#125As a former insider, I can tell you likely pre-story which might cast a different light on this: * Google employee comes up with an idea. * They go and research the idea to check if there are any already existing companies which do it. * If any are found, they meet and decide if they should buy the company, reinvent the idea, or that it isn't relevant. * If, after investigation it is determined the company's tech isn…
This story showed more than meeting or talking though. Agreements of some sort were signed, and he was asked to move out to Google and work with them.
Sounds like Google's position is that they did do what was alleged, but that Attia had signed terms that made it legal.
What you described above is similar. Legal, but shitty. Some amount of information obtained under false pretenses is surely passed to the "clean room" team. Otherwise, why meet with the target at all?
Edit: This Verge story has pretty good detail on the backstory: https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/17/8048779/google-x-eli-atti...
Re: Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
#126The article presents only one side of the story. I have never heard of Google being accused of something similar in the past. Does anyone have any pointers to similar incidents?
It also presents Google’s answer, which was > that Attia gave Google rights to his technology “without a condition of later payment.” They admit they did it, but claim they were in the right to do it.
Could that mean that the condition was immediate payment? (Salary,bonus, stock, ...)
Re: Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
#127> Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a judge in the case noted last year that the firm has argued that Attia gave Google rights to his technology “without a condition of later payment.” So Google's defense isn't even that the substance of the accusations are false, but that they had the legal ability to do so? Is this common behavior for Google, if the story is true? This may be naive, b…
> with a reputation as huge and important as Google's
Not trolling: What reputation?
Among non-techies, their reputation is one of creepy and spying.
Among techies, it's that company that keeps killing loved products.
Among developers, it's one of terrible support and awful job interviews.
Common to everyone is they are impossible to get hold of, a faceless and heartless machine that makes decisions you can't argue with.
None of this matters because they have the best products on the market in a few key areas and everyone keeps using those regardless of their reputation.
So what reputation do they have to lose? Their reputation is already bad, and it doesn't matter anyway, and they presumably know this as well as everyone else does.
Re: Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> So Google's defense isn't even that the substance of the accusations are false, but that they had the legal ability to do so? But they were under NDA not to disclose the ideas, and yet they started a company marketing a product based on those ideas. If this is a correct interpretation, they don't have the legal ability to do so. Of course the wording of the NDA is everything in a case like this. I'm assuming Googl…
How many of your NDAs have you gotten huge silicon valley companies to sign? If you're a little guy, that never happens.
I know we're all speculating here but what is there to lose? Option 1: Sign my NDA or fuck off. Option 2: Show them everything and then they tell you to fuck off and steal your idea. At least with Option 1 you have some protection.
Different equation if you need money/investment. But if you're already up, running and growing it's easier to play hard ball and demand an NDA.
Re: Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
#129> Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a judge in the case noted last year that the firm has argued that Attia gave Google rights to his technology “without a condition of later payment.” So Google's defense isn't even that the substance of the accusations are false, but that they had the legal ability to do so? Is this common behavior for Google, if the story is true? This may be naive, b…
> with a reputation as huge and important as Google's Not trolling: What reputation? Among non-techies, their reputation is one of creepy and spying. Among techies, it's that company that keeps killing loved products. Among developers, it's one of terrible support and awful job interviews. Common to everyone is they are impossible to get hold of, a faceless and heartless machine that makes decisions you can't argue w…
You're living in a bubble if you think Google has a bad reputation; in fact, they're the sixth-most admired company in the world: http://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/list
Re: Google accused of racketeering in lawsuit
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Seems like the original idea was LEGO-like modular system of components that can be combined into buildings. Which in itself it is not entirely new and largely pre-dates the advent of computers as we know them today. In the '80's and '90's there were all sorts of experiments in the field, it was a "trend" explored in many countries, "modular building prefabrication". I was involved in the time in several projects (a…
(Thanks for the perspective, that was interesting.) Btw, modular/semi-modular home construction is a pretty big thing here in Sweden. Seems like most standalone homes are built that way nowadays. I had earlier assumed it was similar elsewhere, but it seems like it isn't dominant in most other places. I guess our horrible climate makes it nicer/more profitable to build modules in a climate-controlled factory than on a…
>I guess our horrible climate makes it nicer/more profitable to build modules in a climate-controlled factory than on a wintery/coldish/raining building site. Contrast that to e.g. California - decent climate all year around. I'm also guessing that our high taxes on work and a lack of a low-paid builder workforce also contributes to making automation of housing module manufacturing worthwhile.
Sure, that's part of the reasons, but while smallish, "standalone" homes (1-5 floors) can be (and are actually) prefabricated (particularly if based on timber elements, but not only) the mentioned patent (and the personal experience I reported) was for "large" condo or office type buildings, multi-storey (6 or more floors), with a steel or concrete structure, that however allow (or allowed) the architect to introduce his/her own designs (within limits).
BTW - and as a side note - timber based construction have a lot of issues in many countries where strict fire regulations exist, generally speaking single or few apartments homes "fly below" the requirements, but large condos, office and public buildings would never meet fire standards or - in order to respect them - have an unbearable building overcost when compared to steel/concrete.
But what I was trying to highlight is that while prefabricating allows definitely for faster building (and this is particularly evident in the countries, like your Sweden, where the climate is adverse) the claim (of the patent) to save 30 or 40% of the building costs is hard to believe.
I mean, one thing is an alternative technology, and another one is an alternative technology capable of saving several tens per cent of the building costs.
The usual (traditional) reference for prefabricated houses (I am not in any way affiliated to them) in Europe is the (German) HufHaus (which is in the business by some 100 years or so) :
AFAIK at the end of the day they provide exceptionally well engineered and built products but their cost is on par with (in some cases higher than) a "same level" locally built house.
A key point (that many people seem to forget) which makes me personally (where possible) support the prefabricated home concept is that the quality you can obtain in the factory (because of the "right" environment, because the actual workers are highly specialized in each specific task they do, because each and every detail has been already engineered, tested, failed and re-engineered to near perfection) rarely can be obtained locally, still I never found a big difference costwise.