Why is there nobody explaining the reason to send some nearly random people blankets?
Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
41–50 of 61 posts
Re: Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
#42I got an email like this a couple of years ago -- apparently someone liked my work on bsdiff. 175 USD of stuff from the Google Store plus a gift; in my case, the gift turned out to be a modular pocket knife ( http://www.quirky.com/products/35 ). (Oh, and it had "Google I think it's great that Google has a program for recognizing open source developers; that said, they seem to be going a bit far afield with their "giv…
(Some parts of) Amazon used to do a similar thing for new hires - use the recommendations system to make up a personalised "book bomb". Of course recs is pretty good at "give people something cool they might not have yet" but sometimes it did err on the side of quirk (I would never have bought silicone oven mitts but they actually turned out to be a big hit)
And there's some great ideas on Quirky - I wish I'd thought of Digits (http://www.quirky.com/products/37) amongst others.
Re: Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
#43I got an email like this a couple of years ago -- apparently someone liked my work on bsdiff. 175 USD of stuff from the Google Store plus a gift; in my case, the gift turned out to be a modular pocket knife ( http://www.quirky.com/products/35 ). (Oh, and it had "Google I think it's great that Google has a program for recognizing open source developers; that said, they seem to be going a bit far afield with their "giv…
To be fair: Not everyone lives in silicon valley. Some of us have winters to contend with. I have blankets everywhere, because I'm not about to pay the required energy bill to keep my house balmy.
I suspect that nearly everybody already has a blanket or two unless they live in Borneo or the like. It's a little like Google giving out food. A blanket is a basic necessity and aside from destitute street bums, people generally already have enough. I'm wondering if Google is subtly suggesting that open source devs can't pay their own bills?
Then again, it's also a little like Google giving out t-shirts. Maybe they're assuming that everybody could have one more?
Re: Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
#44I was baffled by the title, after some consideration I decided it was probably a metaphor relating to the diseased blankets given to native indians and that google was offering to help open source efforts while covertly killing them.
After reading and discovering that it was literally just blankets I am as baffled as before.
Re: Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
The [sic] is in the original title on the /. submission, it was the author to use it. I think he meant "you read right, blankets".
The problem with quoting text that has a [sic] is a fun one.
I researched this last time the topic came up on HN. Based on some investigation in Google Books, what books actually do when quoting text containing [sic] is use a footnote: "blah blah [sic] blah"¹
¹[sic] in original.
(And keep in mind that [sic] is not shorthand for "ha ha you're stupid" even though that's how it usually gets used on the Internet.)
Re: Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be fair: Not everyone lives in silicon valley. Some of us have winters to contend with. I have blankets everywhere, because I'm not about to pay the required energy bill to keep my house balmy.
I suspect that nearly everybody already has a blanket or two unless they live in Borneo or the like. It's a little like Google giving out food. A blanket is a basic necessity and aside from destitute street bums, people generally already have enough. I'm wondering if Google is subtly suggesting that open source devs can't pay their own bills? Then again, it's also a little like Google giving out t-shirts. Maybe they'…
Well, when you have blankets sitting out on couches and the like all the time, at some point they become part of the decore. So even tho I have many blankets, I really would be OK with another. Additionally the ones that get used get worn out, dirty, or even boring (like tshirts) so a rotation is nice.
Re: Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
#47I've gotten this reward from Google devs twice now. First time it was tricky to find some things on the Google store: But I managed to get myself a nice medium-weight Google jacket and a Google cutting board (!). The second time was even trickier, I already had everything I wanted. I ended up getting my girlfriend a Google jacket as well - thankfully she liked it! Amusingly we get asked all the time if we work at Google, because of the jackets, which is not true. I considered lying to the strangers that asked but reconsidered and went with "I have a friend that works there and he got me the jacket." I've even had one lady on the subway start asking me questions about the Google search engine, unprompted. Tech-branded outerwear definitely results in some weird conversations.
I should mention, weird Google loot not withstanding, that I think this program is awesome. Giving Google devs an outlet for giving something back to the Open Source devs that they like is really appreciated. Obviously financial contributions are even better but that can be logistically tricky and this seems like an easy middle-ground.
Re: Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
#48How could Google e so callous as to reward people for their contributions. I realize polyester is a fabric of the devil, but I don't think a google is trying to convert anybody to the church of satan. Is it so hard to say "thanks" for an unexpected gift? (And to the mods, please remove the [sic]. Yes, it's in the original, but it's wrong and will certainly lead to clicks from people trying to figure out what was real…
Well, Actually I don't think that's the intention here.
Though I DID immediately think of this when I read the story title: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_disease_and_epi...
Giving out blankets has a nasty connotation.
Re: Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
#49Re: Google is sending out blankets to open-source developers
#50I was baffled by the title, after some consideration I decided it was probably a metaphor relating to the diseased blankets given to native indians and that google was offering to help open source efforts while covertly killing them. After reading and discovering that it was literally just blankets I am as baffled as before.
Doesn't seem like a very "Google" thing to do, though.