the WHHAAAmbulance needs to be called on these recent HackerNews anti-Google rants
Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
221–230 of 290 posts
Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
All companies do when they reach a certain market size. I still remember the days when almost all geeks I knew would dream for a job at Microsoft.
Turning into Microsoft means saddling your users with shitty experiences and shitty products because you're focusing more on monopolizing them than on building something great for your users. Google has done this, but Apple and Amazon never did, despite whatever other evils they might have committed.
Users of Maps, iWork and Final Cut Pro might disagree.
Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
#223If you ask me, one of Google's biggest strategic successes was their ability to convince an entire generation of engineers that they were something other than a company. The way many (otherwise intelligent) people talk about it, you'd think it was a religion. What you're seeing here is not the shattering of a dream, but of an illusion -- Google hasn't been a scrappy, idealistic startup for many years. It's a fine com…
> one of Google's biggest strategic successes was their ability to convince an entire generation of engineers that they were something other than a company Interesting. Would you statement hold if I replace Google with Apple, and engineers with consumers?
I don't think it was ever really that pronounced with Apple. People really did buy into the "don't be evil" thing, and they really did think Google could do no wrong.
I'm still convinced that the major disaffected group are people who used Reader :)
Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
#224Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this sarcasm? Do you really consider being in the Army a noble profession? And do you think that the software industry serves humanity in general less than military industry?
It's sad that the Armed Forces are now looked upon with disdain by hackers mere decades after the West wrested the world from Germany's grasp. Say what you want about the military industrial complex, but lets not forget that should any of our countries be invaded, we will be very grateful that those guns pointing at the invaders.
World War II veterans are treated as heroes by damned near everyone in the U.S.A. -- including those who are anti-war/anti-military.
Incidentally, in Russia it's largely the same outcome: WWII survivors adored, post-WWII veterans scorned.
It's interesting how forced conscription and a global threat causes a civilian population to revere its then-military.
Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
Google fascinates me. I think it is possibly the first organization in history that embodies concepts from dystopic fiction. Putting a real face to those dystopic ideas can give us a sense of what a true dystopia looks like (short answer: it looks deceptively nice; the horror reveals itself only on close inspection). You mention work. As you say, Google does not just want their employees' time. They want their comple…
I'm not a massive fan of Google, but in their defense they dropped the moto in 2009[0]. [0] http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2009/04/goog...
They've now replaced it with "You can make money without doing evil".
https://www.google.com/about/company/philosophy/ (point 6)
Presumably the written bit is "but that's not to say we won't anyway".
Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this sarcasm? Do you really consider being in the Army a noble profession? And do you think that the software industry serves humanity in general less than military industry?
It's sad that the Armed Forces are now looked upon with disdain by hackers mere decades after the West wrested the world from Germany's grasp. Say what you want about the military industrial complex, but lets not forget that should any of our countries be invaded, we will be very grateful that those guns pointing at the invaders.
Disdain is inappropriate, but so is automatic praise. The media wants to paint this picture that members of the military choose to serve for altruistic reasons and that we need to celebrate them all. This may be true for some, but I think the majority are in the military more-so because they think it's their best option for starting a career.
Additionally, the justness of military conflicts these days is far more questionable than in the past. Doesn't this make it reasonable to be more critical of the military as a whole?
Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
People don't like change. People like what they had. People hate that Google is deciding to move forward. Now forcing the changes on their user base so that Google doesn't have an unlimited number of different things to maintain.
I don't think that's the case. Google is a relatively young company and its entire success grew out of smart people recognising good quality products and embracing change. It happens that Google is now changing in a way that ultimately will hurt (and is hurting) users. The smart connected early adopters that previously loved Google can see what is going on and they don't like it.
I'll respond.
I've been an early adopter of most of the products google has made available. They're consistently ahead of the curve with only a few exceptions. Youtube is technologically ahead of the curve, talking about the bandwidth and processing that goes on within that service is mind numbing. But other than what they've managed to accomplish on a technical scale with the service, everything else has been lacking. First and foremost I would say that unifying sign in with the rest of Google's products is a no brainer. But people have even been fighting that on Youtube.
Google+ is their identity service, first and foremost so all accounts are being moved there. If you don't want to use the social aspects of it you don't have to. I'd suggest you do because it's really convenient.
They are investing a lot of money into context awareness. They already know who you are. What you search for, what you like, what you want to know. They know your name phone number and birth date. Putting this identity service into play just brings all of that up to the surface and gives you some control.
If Google wanted to be evil at this point they wouldn't need to give you Google+ to do it.
Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
#228Earlier quoted context omitted.
While eating my second dinner plate of something delicious on the campus I looked around and saw how many children and families were around. The company provides, so much, for you, for your family. You wouldn't to ever lose what you have now gotten used to, for yourself, for your family. So now you become a company man. What's good for the company must be good for you. What's good about knowing more people, how they…
Google fascinates me. I think it is possibly the first organization in history that embodies concepts from dystopic fiction. Putting a real face to those dystopic ideas can give us a sense of what a true dystopia looks like (short answer: it looks deceptively nice; the horror reveals itself only on close inspection). You mention work. As you say, Google does not just want their employees' time. They want their comple…
I've wondered for awhile about this. Having lived through the first wave of tech companies, where the idea of perks was bagel wednesday and free coffee, I find myself a bit amused at the naked desire to own employees' entire lives.
As I worked with more milennials I think I've stumbled across something, and Google (consciously?) tapped into it, brilliantly. The children of the baby boomers, so eager to use social networking, or live in communes in the city (see yesterday's SF Gate) are so willing to believe in this shell of an idea passed down from their parents. They are much more social and communal than us in generation X. They're often morally adrift (religious worship is declining), financially adrift (the economy), and grew up with tales of free love. They're delicately raised to have great self esteem, but often crumble in the face of adversity or criticism. They're a brittle group, it seems. So the social nature (if my friends do it, it's ok) makes them so eager to buy into this.
I can't say it's a new concept. I remember showing up to work at big mega tech corp at 8 am (after a 1 hour commute) and being told "nice of you to show up today." I routinely worked 12 hours a day and we were never allowed to work from home. There it was forced on us, but how ever so much nicer to just gently slide into being a company man with free food, etc. Sort of like the Matrix.
That said, daycare is an important perk, I cannot deny Google the kudos it deserves for caring for parents who work for them. More companies should do this.
Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
#229Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's sad that the Armed Forces are now looked upon with disdain by hackers mere decades after the West wrested the world from Germany's grasp. Say what you want about the military industrial complex, but lets not forget that should any of our countries be invaded, we will be very grateful that those guns pointing at the invaders.
On the other hand, there's good reason to believe that terrorism is directed against us because we're continually pointing guns in their direction. Can it be that the military is both the problem and its own solution?
> On the other hand, there's good reason to believe that terrorism is directed against us because we're continually pointing guns in their direction.
There's a better reason to believe that terrorism is directed at us more because of our history and continuing practice of direct support for both repressive regimes that are unpopular with large segments of their own* population in the Middle East and Central Asia than because of our military specifically (though, particulary post-9/11, our use of the military has played directly into the same animosity.)
(* or, in the case of Israel specifically, a population that they simultaneously claim is not their own and disclaim interest in governing, but nevertheless seek to control every aspect of.)
> Can it be that the military is both the problem and its own solution?
Its a secondary aspect (as discussed above) of the problem, as well as a treatment for the symptoms that doesn't actually solve anything.
Sure, we need to have a military for defensive purposes. But the US doesn't maintain military spending at a level that rivals the rest of the world combined for anything resembling "defensive" purposes, it does so to maintain global hegemony and the ability to dictate policy in a wide range of domains to countries all over the world.
That's not to say it didn't come out of a legitimate, even defensive, place -- much of it was necessary, though one may certainly debate particular aspects, during the Cold War to counterbalance the attempts led by the Soviet Union to export Stalinism. But with that enemy defeated, the military-industrial complex is now more about serving domestic commercial interests -- both those that have are part of the military industrial complex and dependent on military spending directly, and those that through more traditional lobbying seek to have preferred policies imposed both domestically and globally.
Re: Google's Decline Really Bugs Me
#230Earlier quoted context omitted.
Been at Apple and at Google. Googlers annoy me endlessly because everyone knows the mission and everyone thinks they're on the same mission. Even if their job is indirectly related or even if what they're doing is potentially evil. They all believe they are changing the world. It's what they tell their aging hippie parents when they visit, it's what they brainwash the legions of school children that visit, it's what…
It is to be expected, to some extent, for people in the tech industry to be pompous. After all many of us have been great universities and were taught (or perhaps suggested) that we are the smartest of all. I see this general pomposity among my fellow techies all the time. Some think that business people are stupid, some think humanities are unnecessary, some argue that users are all noobs etc... Perhaps it's pride i…
Perhaps we overvalue ourselves
That is one side of the problem. The other side is, many many people (especially engineers) undervalue themselves, think that they aren't worth much etc. It is super hard to precisely know what our value is, and act/live in such a way that it is neither arrogant/proud/pompous nor doormat/depressed.
May be we should stop measuring value/worth through sheer abilities, achievements and things owned?