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You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

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Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#91
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to brag, but the midtown Manhattan food selection is outstanding. http://midtownlunch.com/lunch-by-food-type/

I miss that about New York. If you avoid the tourist traps, you can get great food for reasonable prices. In Berlin pretty much all the food is cheap, but very little of it is good. The standard of sushi is generally passable, though it's not my favorite thing.

The sushi is awful compared to Tokyo, San Francisco, New York or Helsinki. But there are lots of great options in Mitte (where all the tech companies are). Lebanese, Syrian, Turkish, Vietnamese and even some Italian restaurants are just great and very cheap.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#93
post #5

You know what the first thing I pick up on is? Everyone is dressed nice. I don't know if that's just for the camera, but I see suits and vests all around. They look classy in a classy office. I wonder how the office would look if notch was wearing cut off shorts and a wife beater.

I don't know if that's just for the camera, That picture is about as posed as posed gets but in my (limited) experience, people in the tech industry do tend to dress 'up' somewhat more than in the US. But, you know, if notch were in a smoking jacket or a Hefner-style robe, I think it would still work ;-)

Counterpoint. A few weeks ago one of my coworkers showed up in the kind of shoes that some people use on the beach (http://www.billig-sport.dk/public/produkt/stor/2699.jpg) with one of them only held together with duct tape.

During the summer several people showed up with no shoes at all.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#94

As a (steel & glass) architect I'm certain this is not an expensive office when compared to other tech companies. I think most people are being fooled by the "high-class americana" style, but really this does not cost more than a high-end minimalist office. Question the style choices, sure, but the assumption that is in anyway more expensive than average is completely false.

If the price is about the same, why does anyone go for glass & steel? This is so much better.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#95
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have a couple of female employees, their finance manager is female and has worked there for about a year, their "director of fun" (manages events, media relations) is also female and has worked there for about 8 months. They both talk highly of the office so I guess it's more than just a "man cave".

I'm sure they could love it, but honestly - what else would anyone say when asked publicly about their famous bosses' big money decorator binge?

To clarify, I don't mean when asked. Here is an example tweet from Lydia (directory of fun) after returning from a trip:

http://twitter.com/LydiaWinters/status/248842453178781696

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#96

Nice is clearly a matter of opinion. The space is great, the facilities and the culture they're obviously trying to create through them but let's just say it's not to my taste. Which is a polite way of saying that to me at least the place looks foul.

I would not say 'foul', but I wouldn't like to work in that space. It feels to heavy and I personally like techie things like devices splattered around and at least one 'hardware table' with a scope + soldering iron and such. Books are nice, but leather bound? Pretentious; I rather have books which are actually read and look shit.

Of course it's a matter of taste and I think this part is nice to receive customers / partners. But for me (and at least a few of my colleagues) it would have to be a lot looser than this. And lighter.

And about the suits; I have a bit of an issue with that because it was mandatory for programmers to wear a suit here not 15-20 years ago. And I did and hated it. I do it now when there are formal events or client contact, but outside that, I really feel forced if I wear such a thing. Again; matter of taste. I do agree you should try and that you DO feel more powerful doing it. It just doesn't mix that well with coding :) IMHO.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#97
post #94

As a (steel & glass) architect I'm certain this is not an expensive office when compared to other tech companies. I think most people are being fooled by the "high-class americana" style, but really this does not cost more than a high-end minimalist office. Question the style choices, sure, but the assumption that is in anyway more expensive than average is completely false.

If the price is about the same, why does anyone go for glass & steel? This is so much better.

wood and leather are less durable and harder to clean probably

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#98
post #94

As a (steel & glass) architect I'm certain this is not an expensive office when compared to other tech companies. I think most people are being fooled by the "high-class americana" style, but really this does not cost more than a high-end minimalist office. Question the style choices, sure, but the assumption that is in anyway more expensive than average is completely false.

If the price is about the same, why does anyone go for glass & steel? This is so much better.

Personal preferences, design philosophies, lots of reasons. I find that office to be pretty unappealing, personally.
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