As someone with family in Israel and strong views on the ME conflict, I think this is great news. Anything which supports/encourages the Palestinians making their own lives better and producing stuff which doesn't explode is a good thing for everyone in the region. This sort of thing is how a viable Palestinian state is going to come about, if ever.
On the other hand, your government's policies have stifled Palestinians in both regions, in food, shelter, security, and basic medical care. It's kind of hard to produce anything when your house is demolished by bulldozers and your town's farm is burned. This sort of thing is how a viable Palestinian state is going to come about, if ever.
Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
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Re: Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think there's no talent there because: 1. I never knew a Palestinian developer on any mailing list or other forum. 2. I never knew of any software or technological product developed in Palestine. 3. I never knew of any notable developer or software developed in ANY of the Muslim states in the middle east, and that's a huge evidence given that there are >100 million Muslims there.
Maybe you're just not looking hard enough: http://arabcrunch.com/
Re: Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think there's no talent there because: 1. I never knew a Palestinian developer on any mailing list or other forum. 2. I never knew of any software or technological product developed in Palestine. 3. I never knew of any notable developer or software developed in ANY of the Muslim states in the middle east, and that's a huge evidence given that there are >100 million Muslims there.
Maybe you're just not looking hard enough: http://arabcrunch.com/
And to remind you, we are talking about the entire Muslim middle-east here, with >100 million people who live in relative wealth and comfort. But Google is investing in Palestine, who are only a few millions who live in poverty and danger.
Re: Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
#14Re: Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
#15I wonder, why are they doing this? I mean, the reason tech companies go to Israel is because there's an enormous concentration of talent there. Why would they go to Palestine? I don't think there's any talent there. Is this a humanitarian thing? I'd be happy to hear first-hand experiences from people who worked with Palestinian developers or with software produced by Palestinian developers.
I was just in jordan and met a number of Palestinians (expat and visiting from the region) and I can only say that they seemed as technical as any hacker I've met in Cambridge or in the Valley. (this means that I met people as smart and as inexperienced as I've met in those places too)
They work under what we'd consider tougher conditions (less reliable power and rough and tumble internet connections) but that doesn't keep people from experimenting and learning.
As a funny side note, do you know what SICP sells for in Jordan? 11$! (the jd is pegged to the us currency)
Re: Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder, why do you think there's no talent there? Do you think Google would have done some due diligence before hand?
I think there's no talent there because: 1. I never knew a Palestinian developer on any mailing list or other forum. 2. I never knew of any software or technological product developed in Palestine. 3. I never knew of any notable developer or software developed in ANY of the Muslim states in the middle east, and that's a huge evidence given that there are >100 million Muslims there.
[2] http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2010/ http://www.google.com/insights/search/#date=1%2F2010%2012m&#...
Re: Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
#17I wonder, why are they doing this? I mean, the reason tech companies go to Israel is because there's an enormous concentration of talent there. Why would they go to Palestine? I don't think there's any talent there. Is this a humanitarian thing? I'd be happy to hear first-hand experiences from people who worked with Palestinian developers or with software produced by Palestinian developers.
Re: Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
#18Is Google in the practice of making these kinds of investments in very early stage tech sectors? What is in this for them?
It might be perceived as riskier, but I would say that it's likely only slightly riskier than funding a startup anywhere else.
Re: Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
#19I wonder, why are they doing this? I mean, the reason tech companies go to Israel is because there's an enormous concentration of talent there. Why would they go to Palestine? I don't think there's any talent there. Is this a humanitarian thing? I'd be happy to hear first-hand experiences from people who worked with Palestinian developers or with software produced by Palestinian developers.
(I'm a googler, but I didn't cut this deal , so I can't speak to the deal teams) I was just in jordan and met a number of Palestinians (expat and visiting from the region) and I can only say that they seemed as technical as any hacker I've met in Cambridge or in the Valley. (this means that I met people as smart and as inexperienced as I've met in those places too) They work under what we'd consider tougher condition…
Re: Google To Invest Millions in Palestine
#20Inflammatory title. The story is about investments in Gaza and the West Bank. 'Palestine' is not a country, it's a name for an entire region, including Israel and parts of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The author probably meant 'Palestinian National Authority'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_National_Authority