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Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

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Re: Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

#61
post #55

What does Google (or others) use for an intranet or team documentation? We're using Quip and it is just a black hole where documents go to die, never be seen again no matter how badly you want to find it.

Can't tell for Google, but Confluence is widely adopted (still I love to hate on it)

Re: Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

#62
This is pretty misleading: a lot of the presented open source equivalents are nothing like the original. For example, comparing HDFS to Colossus is... optimistic? Having used / worked on/with both, the similarity is roughly that they both store bytes. This would be a lot less misleading if there were annotations and if the "open source/real world" didn't mix together other large companies' products with open source. For example protobuf is open source, but this makes it look like it isn't.

Re: Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

#63
post #2

I had never thought about this before but from this repo I can see all these smart engineers at the big tech firms live within their own walled garden (or prison?). If it weren’t for such a vibrant open source world then they’d really be stuck if they tried to apply their knowledge outside of their companies. Thanks for sharing the repo!

They don’t, and if you’ve got the G-factor, pun intended, to get an offer at Google you can get an offer anywhere. Which, honestly, makes this repository all the more confusing to me. I’m sure there are some people that have lived only within this ecosystem, but that’s the possibly the height of privilege.

Doesn't every college hire at FANG fit that description?

Re: Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you think free food is traded for free time. Free food helps me use my time at work more effectively. I usually have breakfast and lunch with teammates, and it's a mix of socialization and work-related conversations. Half an hour in the free cafe > 45-90 minutes going someplace to buy food.

Isn’t the purpose of the free food to make you spend more time at work? Seems logical that the alternative is more time at home.

But it's not free time at home. It's time cooking and meal planning and grocery shopping. And maybe that's with family and friends, but for many people it's probably done alone.

Re: Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

#65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you think free food is traded for free time. Free food helps me use my time at work more effectively. I usually have breakfast and lunch with teammates, and it's a mix of socialization and work-related conversations. Half an hour in the free cafe > 45-90 minutes going someplace to buy food.

Isn’t the purpose of the free food to make you spend more time at work? Seems logical that the alternative is more time at home.

I don’t work for Google but my employer serves food. This is not true in my experience. Folks finish dinner at 6 and gtfo. Or they pack the food in containers on their way out and eat at home. Having the option of eating lunch within the office means I can spend less time on it and go home sooner. Same productivity, but less time spent at work.

Re: Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

#67
post #55

What does Google (or others) use for an intranet or team documentation? We're using Quip and it is just a black hole where documents go to die, never be seen again no matter how badly you want to find it.

It used to be Google Sites (then part of Google Apps for Business which is now GSuite), Docs and Slides which were indexed by an internal Google search engine called MOMA (which I believe was powered by the Google Search Appliance, but my recollection on this last point is faint)

Re: Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is the part that k8s uses it funny? That would have been one of the goals right? K8s is like lot of these projects except that it was created as a open source version of borg from within Google.

It’s funny because inside google borgmon is deprecated for new projects and has been since nine years at least. Of course google has stretched “deprecated” to its limits.

I keep seeing that Borgmon is deprecated but no references to what the replacement is like.

Can someone please share even a high level summary?

Is the replacement a high cardinality event store like Facebook’s Scuba [0]?

[0] https://research.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/scuba-div...

Re: Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you think free food is traded for free time. Free food helps me use my time at work more effectively. I usually have breakfast and lunch with teammates, and it's a mix of socialization and work-related conversations. Half an hour in the free cafe > 45-90 minutes going someplace to buy food.

Isn’t the purpose of the free food to make you spend more time at work? Seems logical that the alternative is more time at home.

Free food is what you make of it.

If your income as a Google engineer is so tight that you have to make sure you get the most out of breakfast and dinner, go for it (but also maybe have a long hard think). The culture may well vary between sites, but this idea that Google (and others) exclusively employ fresh college grads and try to embrace then 24x7 just isn't true. We have families just like anyone else, and they matter to us every bit as much as everyone else's families matter to them.

I for my part am happy that I get a healthy, hot meal for lunch so dinner can be a quick snack when I get home, so I have more time with the kids. The alternative is more time spent on chores.

Please stop spreading these tired tropes.

Re: Xg2xg: Lookup table of similar tech and services for ex-Googlers

#70
post #55

What does Google (or others) use for an intranet or team documentation? We're using Quip and it is just a black hole where documents go to die, never be seen again no matter how badly you want to find it.

Within Google there are several tools, but the most common (and IMO best) is markdown. (Docs is a close second.)

Pros: Get's checked in like code, gets reviewed, and leaves a nice paper trial of edits.

Cons: Doesn't invite comments/discussions as well as Docs does.

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