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An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

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Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#131
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - WhatsApp backups not encrypted on Drive Hasn't this been clear since long time ago? For as long as I can remember, the message on the backup screen for Whatsapp on iOS has said that backups are not encrypted.

It's not been secret but hardly common knowledge either.

I'm not sure what more you can ask for than Whatsapp putting a descriptive text about encryption not being applied if use the export functionality, right next to the button to enable export functionality.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#132

I remember when google was the shining light of “be nice company” that we all dreamed of working for, at odds with the evil that was M$crosoft. And, from reading all the “why I left google” posts and hearing about them leaving China, the old google of 20 or even just 10 years ago was the good or even just a better google. With how google went from “do no evil” to this, with how Facebook has always been profits over e…

Since google is as a publicly traded company, they are under enormous pressure to produce steady growth figures, just to please the stock market. Sure that survival has priority over playing it nice.

I mean yes and no. Blue chips can also just pay out their gigantic profits as dividends to shareholders - the growth pressure is more from VCs

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#133
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of FAANG I've still got a soft spot for Netflix. Even if they're selling my data there's less potential for harm given that they're not a glorified advertising company.

> given that they're not a glorified advertising company They're still an advertising company, just on a level people are less aware of. And they might not 'advertise' the usual products.

No they're not. Customers pay Netflix subscriptions.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#134

I remember when google was the shining light of “be nice company” that we all dreamed of working for, at odds with the evil that was M$crosoft. And, from reading all the “why I left google” posts and hearing about them leaving China, the old google of 20 or even just 10 years ago was the good or even just a better google. With how google went from “do no evil” to this, with how Facebook has always been profits over e…

The Google from 12 to 16 years ago was found guilty[1] in an antitrust suit of colluding with other industry leaders to keep tech employee compensation artificially low. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_L...

Yeah I don’t think people understand the extent to which public relations influences our beliefs. Google was able to maintain a polished image in well known areas while silently behaving poorly in others and we believed it for a long time. I remember about ten years ago meetings Eric Schmidt had with US military generals. That didn’t even register on mass media so most people probably never heard of it. I wonder how deep the connection between Google and the government really goes.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#135

Google seriously needs to be broken up into small pieces or disolved entirely. Their leadership just cannot be be trusted and the internet would be better off without them around.

No need to break them up, just regulate te shit out of how they're allowed to use user data and to advertise online. They will shrink to a medium sized company within a quarter.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#136

I remember when google was the shining light of “be nice company” that we all dreamed of working for, at odds with the evil that was M$crosoft. And, from reading all the “why I left google” posts and hearing about them leaving China, the old google of 20 or even just 10 years ago was the good or even just a better google. With how google went from “do no evil” to this, with how Facebook has always been profits over e…

The moment I saw "Don't be evil" as their motto/slogan back in the 90's. I rolled my eyes and said out loud "What a load of shit, I bet they are evil incarnate."

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's about capitalism, which rots the spirit of everything it touches. Money is the most dangerous behaviour-altering drug. It shouldn't be a surprise that a system which rewards sociopathy and discourages kindness and empathy keeps generating sociopathic behaviours.

I don't quite get why capitalism would reward sociopathy more than any other system in history

Your ethics are my opportunity.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#138
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of them, I am quite old to have learned in a capitalist society it is always about the money. Company mottos, cultural values, we are family, and all the marketing garbage that they sell for new hires to feel good is just that, plain marketing. When things get though, the "values" hardly matter to get deals or fire people.

Yeah and communist society is about who has the best connections to the people in the party who decide who gets what. And socialist societies are about not making too much money because you'll lose the subsidies.

Strawman... The alternative to purely profit driven society is not a communist society. It's social democratic where values of freedom rights and wellfare actually matters and are not just axes to grind on.

The US internal anti socialist propoganda is so strong that it makes people believe that this middle ground doesn't exist.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#140
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked on GCP until recently. I remember celebrating (in-office) our product within GCP surpassing one million dollars of revenue per day. GCP would be fine.

Revenue can be made easily enough, profit is harder. The latest number I saw online suggest that GCP lose more than one billion dollar per year. Edit: losing $1.2B on a revenue of just under $4B. That only work because ads are paying for the construction of datacenter and infrastructur.

How are the services provided to Alphabet subsidiaries taken into account? I’d bet that the cloud bill for YouTube alone would exceed GCP revenue numbers.

In other words, if GCP is spun out, and Google services keep using it (with realistic pricing) it’s going to have a revenue far exceeding $4bn.

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