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Google Labs no more

labs.google.com

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Re: Google Labs no more

#41
post #19
post #4

RIP Google Sets :(

The logic behind Sets actually lives on, at least for now, within the autofill feature of Google Spreadsheets. Fill a cell or two with sample data, then option-drag (control-drag on Windows) the square autofill handle.

Yes, or if you search for "Oregano" you will notice the auto-complete for subsequent searches strongly favours herbs and spices.

Re: Google Labs no more

#42
post #26

Does anything remotely like Bell Labs exist today? Is it simply not possible with everyone tightening their belts? If you're unfamiliar with what came out of Bell Labs, check out this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_labs#Discoveries_and_devel... Or is it the fate of software innovation that it is to be decentralized and happen in our spare time now?

Microsoft Research?

MS Research is quite good. Done lots of fundamental research work.

Re: Google Labs no more

#43
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft Research?

And it expands into many fields

Absolutely. Just for the curious, though off-topic, here's a link to the various things MSR is involved with: http://research.microsoft.com/apps/dp/areas.aspx.

Re: Google Labs no more

#44

Does anything remotely like Bell Labs exist today? Is it simply not possible with everyone tightening their belts? If you're unfamiliar with what came out of Bell Labs, check out this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_labs#Discoveries_and_devel... Or is it the fate of software innovation that it is to be decentralized and happen in our spare time now?

The Viewpoints Research Institute fits the bill: http://www.vpri.org/

They want to replace the entire software industry, since it's all a huge hack (especially the 100m+ SLOC codebases that are way too common). Goal: a full GUI system (from kernel to applications) in 20k SLOC. Take a look at the progress reports they've made. They claim a 200 line TCP, 800 line graphics system (apparently comparable to Cairo), and lots of other neat stuff.

Re: Google Labs no more

#46
I think they are entirely right in shutting down this outward facing display of unfinished ideas/projects.

I also think they could have done much better than just redirecting it to google.com. Instead of trying to emulate Apple, they should acknowledge that their culture is different and very nerdy. So I think what they should have done instead is to highlight that and use "labs" to instead show off their technical prowess, much in they same vein as what Festo has done : http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/9617.htm

A flapping wings robot, how cool is that?!

Google could really do something similar, and the world would love them for it. Instead they look more and more like a big corporation with all the boring "common sense" and mediocrity that comes with it.

Re: Google Labs no more

#47

Does anything remotely like Bell Labs exist today? Is it simply not possible with everyone tightening their belts? If you're unfamiliar with what came out of Bell Labs, check out this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_labs#Discoveries_and_devel... Or is it the fate of software innovation that it is to be decentralized and happen in our spare time now?

I've always felt BBN [1] was pretty close, not the size of Bell labs, but tons of really awesome research. They've been purchased and sold many times (now with Raytheon) but they are the company behind the original arpanet and, despite many transitions, they've always seemed to preserve their culture (Leo Beranek, nearly 100 now, still stops by from time to time) and passion for research .

[1] http://www.bbn.com/

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