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Nest is acquiring Dropcam

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Re: Nest is acquiring Dropcam

#41

Post by hueving »

enneff wrote: post #27
npizzolato wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny how quickly things change when someone offers to hand you a lot of money. Granted, someone's opinions can change, but I feel like the first quote especially describes a personal philosophical value that wouldn't change on a whim.

The latter quote about the free food is just an ignorant comment. I'm sure once the guy talked to some actual Googlers and saw how it really plays out, his fears were assuaged. (It's true that my free Google lunch keeps me at work around lunch time, but I don't feel pressure for me to work beyond the 38 hours a week they pay me for. In fact, Google has a lot of programs to help its employees maintain a good work/life…

38 hours? Are you not salaried?

Re: Nest is acquiring Dropcam

#42

Post by Swizec »

samstave wrote: post #35
Swizec wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "He thinks the lavish perks at many technology companies, especially the free on-campus meals, are a disguised form of mind control, designed to get employees to work 12- or 14-hour days." Is there actually honestly anyone out there who doesn't think so? I mean, is it really disguised even? We give you stuff, you make your life revolve around the company. It's a very straightforward exchange in my opinion. Hell, pe…

I've often thought about this problem: On the one hand, you want to provide perks that offset personal cost to your employees AND reduce the amount of time it takes for them to do something like lunch with the result in increased productivity (ostensibly simply due to removing factors such as travel-time-to-lunch-place). The company store comes to mid, as well. There are many great benefits that companies do provide:…

> On the one hand, you want to provide perks that offset personal cost to your employees AND reduce the amount of time it takes for them to do something like lunch with the result in increased productivity (ostensibly simply due to removing factors such as travel-time-to-lunch-place).

Yes, it does make things incredibly convenient. No doubt about that.

But what about just doing it the way it's done in Europe? Where employers are required by law to be paid X amount per month for lunch, X amount of transit, and so on. Company gives you the money, you spend the money whichever way you feel.

I'm not against perks, I'm against hiding them behind some feel-good crap about how much free stuff you get. It's not free, it's part of your paycheck. And it's cheaper for companies than just paying you more, to boot.

I also like the idea of just having a conveniently located lunch place (internal or external business entity, doesn't really matter) that employees go to and pay for stuff with money. It can even be cheaper than going outside because said business has a guaranteed customer base.

Guess that's along the lines of your "allowance" idea. But even less wishy-washy.

PS: when you think about it, it's really kind of funny how all these perks and stuff that magnificent Silicon Valley companies offer their employees, are taken for granted in Europe because they've been there since workers' rights movements

Re: Nest is acquiring Dropcam

#43

Post by _delirium »

hueving wrote: post #41
enneff wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The latter quote about the free food is just an ignorant comment. I'm sure once the guy talked to some actual Googlers and saw how it really plays out, his fears were assuaged. (It's true that my free Google lunch keeps me at work around lunch time, but I don't feel pressure for me to work beyond the 38 hours a week they pay me for. In fact, Google has a lot of programs to help its employees maintain a good work/life…

38 hours? Are you not salaried?

Salaried Google employees, officially at least, work a full-time schedule according to the local standard workweek, which varies by jurisdiction. That's 40 hours in the US/UK offices, 37 hours in the Denmark offices, 38 hours in the Australian offices, etc. And enneff's profile indicates he's in Australia.

Re: Nest is acquiring Dropcam

#45

Post by gress »

lotu wrote: post #34
dbarlett wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dropcam runs on AWS [1], "ingest[ing] more video per minute than YouTube" [2] into S3. Presumably the cost savings from switching to Google infrastructure will be compelling enough to change that. They'll probably torture the semantics and say "the data is there but Google can't access it". [1] http://aws.amazon.com/solutions/case-studies/dropcam/ [2] http://gigaom.com/2013/07/31/dropcam-gets-30m-for-expansion-...

Naturally what what they mean is not, this data will never exist on a computer/network owned by Google. What they mean is we aren't going use video from your security camera for general Google projects, like street view, collecting large amounts of speech databases for voice recognition, figuring out what products you and enjoy using and tailoring advertising to fit that, or tracking epidemics in real time by monitor…

Or providing video to law enforcement on demand.

Re: Nest is acquiring Dropcam

#47

Post by navjot »

npizzolato wrote: post #22
jmduke wrote: post #18

Some interesting quotes from Dropcam's CEO last year: “Our business model is very straightforward. I think if your business model is not straightforward, it veers into potentially being unethical, if you look at things that are quote-unquote ‘free.’ None of the people who work here want to work on something that works like that. They look at it as tricking the user, when [a company is] turning around and using some p…

Funny how quickly things change when someone offers to hand you a lot of money. Granted, someone's opinions can change, but I feel like the first quote especially describes a personal philosophical value that wouldn't change on a whim.

Not really that funny. Most humans aren't brands. They change opinions and views based on new information.

Re: Nest is acquiring Dropcam

#48

Post by RockyMcNuts »

minimaxir wrote: post #2

Are high-profile announcements typically announced at 5pm on a Friday?

Search 'Friday news dump'

From the West Wing - http://politicaldictionary.com/words/friday-news-dump/

  Donna: What’s take out the trash day?
  Josh: Friday.
  Donna: I mean, what is it?
  Josh: Any stories we have to give the press that we’re not     
  wild about, we give all in a lump on Friday.
  Donna: Why do you do it in a lump?
  Josh: Instead of one at a time?
  Donna: I’d think you’d want to spread them out.
  Josh: They’ve got X column inches to fill, right? They’re
  going to fill them no matter what.
  Donna: Yes.
  Josh: So if we give them one story, that story’s X column
  inches.
  Donna: And if we give them five stories …
  Josh: They’re a fifth the size.
  Donna: Why do you do it on Friday?
  Josh: Because no one reads the paper on Saturday.
  Donna: You guys are real populists, aren’t you?
There are also other reasons, maybe they were rushing to complete the deal by EOD, if you try to keep it quiet over the weekend, might leak out in a haphazard way, want to release outside market hours, etc.

Not too coincidentally, a lot of the SEC filings with really bad news seem to happen in the last minute of filing activity on Friday. (Not that this particular announcement is very material or bad news)

Re: Nest is acquiring Dropcam

#49

Post by gedrap »

enneff wrote: post #27
npizzolato wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny how quickly things change when someone offers to hand you a lot of money. Granted, someone's opinions can change, but I feel like the first quote especially describes a personal philosophical value that wouldn't change on a whim.

The latter quote about the free food is just an ignorant comment. I'm sure once the guy talked to some actual Googlers and saw how it really plays out, his fears were assuaged. (It's true that my free Google lunch keeps me at work around lunch time, but I don't feel pressure for me to work beyond the 38 hours a week they pay me for. In fact, Google has a lot of programs to help its employees maintain a good work/life…

Totally agree with you. So called perks like gaming consoles are a bit silly indeed, and would fit his point better. But food is different, as we all need to eat.

Re: Nest is acquiring Dropcam

#50

Post by spacehome »

sergiotapia wrote: post #36
Swizec wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "He thinks the lavish perks at many technology companies, especially the free on-campus meals, are a disguised form of mind control, designed to get employees to work 12- or 14-hour days." Is there actually honestly anyone out there who doesn't think so? I mean, is it really disguised even? We give you stuff, you make your life revolve around the company. It's a very straightforward exchange in my opinion. Hell, pe…

Sounds like the mine owner opening up a mine shop for the miners where they can spend their mining earnings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coal_miners#Company_... Creepy.

Except for the fact it's nothing like that at all. The perks are free, and employees are generally paid well - when compared to other professions, if, perhaps not their value add.
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