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NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

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Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#111

Post by jee_accnt »

svendisnigh wrote: post #13

Palantir has an outdated software stack (Java/Swing). Their genius lied in creating "mythical image" and cleverly overselling it to the less proficient government agencies (apparently NSA was smart enough to see through the ruse). And then in turn sell the "spooky/mysterious" image to bunch of naive Stanford/Berkeley undergrads and convince them to work for peanuts. Sadly in 2017, their tech stack is falling apart, t…

You make it sound like they are not providing any real value, but Palantir has lead to multiple arrests, and some claim, even helped in finding Osama. The complain seems to be that they are overpriced, not useless.

Also, there is nothing wrong with a Java/Swing backend. Its not cool, but any company handling that amount of sensitive data will not use a 'cool' stack.

Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#112

Post by nulldev »

svendisnigh wrote: post #13

Palantir has an outdated software stack (Java/Swing). Their genius lied in creating "mythical image" and cleverly overselling it to the less proficient government agencies (apparently NSA was smart enough to see through the ruse). And then in turn sell the "spooky/mysterious" image to bunch of naive Stanford/Berkeley undergrads and convince them to work for peanuts. Sadly in 2017, their tech stack is falling apart, t…

> I can assure you it probably has the worst overconfident brogrammer culture

Everyone I know at Palantir has at one point or another mentioned to me (boasted about?) how difficult it is to get a job at Palantir. Sample size < 5, but I'm starting to think this isn't a coincidence.

Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#113

Post by sgift »

linkregister wrote: post #66
obmelvin wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not silly to want to use tech stacks that are commonly used instead of learning a stack that won't transfer elsewhere, I.e epic

It's absurd to compare MUMPS with Java. Java is very much used by modern companies on the backend and for desktop applications. You can still make your SV rockstar programmer salary writing code in Java. Don't they still use it at Google?

Yes, they use it at Google and basically everywhere else. The JS circle jerk is extreme here. JS has its uses - mostly because it is the default language of the web and the web has many uses. That is all.

Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#114

Post by halflings »

bm1362 wrote: post #97
obmelvin wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol. Sure, a good UI is important, but what's even more important is the backend data analytics and that's were palantir is the lacking

How is Java/Spring an issue here? Guess what powers Amazon, Google, Apple etc.

Not Java/Spring?

Google at least is known to use C/C++ for its backend. Python is (or was?) used in YouTube.

Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#115

Post by joelthelion »

svendisnigh wrote: post #13

Palantir has an outdated software stack (Java/Swing). Their genius lied in creating "mythical image" and cleverly overselling it to the less proficient government agencies (apparently NSA was smart enough to see through the ruse). And then in turn sell the "spooky/mysterious" image to bunch of naive Stanford/Berkeley undergrads and convince them to work for peanuts. Sadly in 2017, their tech stack is falling apart, t…

> Palantir has an outdated software stack (Java/Swing).

How is that supposed to be even vaguely relevant?

Palantir sells intelligence, not hip-compliant software.

Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#116

Post by jimjimjim »

i have no love for palantir and java makes me slightly sick but a lot of comments here are of the type "they use java, that's ancient, blah blah".

although they are in sv they are NOT a "start-up". They are an old-school government/3-letter-acronym IT supply/service company, think IBM and SAP.

In this environment, there is a good chance their customers may be using ie6. java is what their market expects not what-has-the-cat-dragged-in-now-js framework.

Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#117

Post by kodfodrasz »

Zigurd wrote: post #24
nitrogen wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Swing isn't actually bad if you have a good look-and-feel. Easier to design a Swing UI than a webapp with similar functionality.

The problem with Swing is that everything in Swing looks like a dog's breakfast and nobody under 40 knows how to use it.

> nobody under 40 knows how to use it.

Wow, you must be a grumpy old man, hating those youngsters. They can't even tie their shoelaces alone...

Actually I have seen some people under 40, who could use a microwave oven, use a smart phone, and some could even use desktop applications. I believe many of them can find their way around stuff outside the web browser.

Regarding developing swing apps as "use swing": I have managed to do it after reading the docs, and I'm under 40. It was actually more pleasant than using HTML+JS.

Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#118

Post by sgift »

warent wrote: post #83
tritium wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

outdated software stack ... no meaningful ML/AI strategy Yeah, because not being buzzwordy enough is just SO much more important than having meaningful products and services that fulfill a vital role.

What exactly is "buzzwordy" about "software stack" or "ML"? This is legitimate jargon that means specific things. We use these terms routinely at Google internally.

In context with 'strategy' it implies you need a "ML strategy" to somehow deliver value to customers. That's buzzwordy.

Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#119

Post by watwut »

halflings wrote: post #114
bm1362 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is Java/Spring an issue here? Guess what powers Amazon, Google, Apple etc.

Not Java/Spring? Google at least is known to use C/C++ for its backend. Python is (or was?) used in YouTube.

What is wrong with spring other then "not hipster compliant"?

Google has quite a lot of java.

Re: NYPD is canceling its Palantir contract

#120

Post by nulldev »

quickthrower wrote: post #68
nebabyte wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A ton of their “products” are modern TypeScript + React UIs That's... not exactly better, tbh

Not getting this obsession with the tech stack ITT? You can run a profitable business even when using Java, Typescript and React. Infact choice of language probably makes less difference than us geeks would hooe. Outside of really bad language choices.

Yeah, frankly I agree. There are reasons to criticize Palantir, but including Java in their stack isn't one of them.
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