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Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

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Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#131
post #109
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case, AMP doesn't help much...it's still downloading a ton of crap. 464 requests and 12MB of garbage for an AMP hosted article. https://imgur.com/tPHaHIO

That's because you are running in a simulator and not doing ad-blocking. Here is the real deal, 1.9MB and took 12 seconds to load completely: https://imgur.com/a/XcsNEsp The actual Bloomberg page was 5.3Mbytes and took 30 seconds to load completely: https://imgur.com/a/zBaOzeD If 3X improvement in loading time and data transfer is not much of a help, I don't know what it is. USERS like AMP because it is an actual imp…

Running a content blocker makes the original page load quickly and doesn’t require any amp.

If you need an ad blocker to make amp load quickly that defeats the purpose of amp, because the ad blocker makes the original site load quickly without the inherent google bullshittery.

Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#132

The fact that you linked to an amp version of the page, instead of the real link, is deeply disturbing to me. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-12-04/alphab...

Google makes it a pain in the ass to get to the non-AMP version. You have to click the little (i) and then the link.

On Safari at least, hitting the share sheet button and then “copy” will always return the canonical URL (which I believe the amp standard requires sites to define)

Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#133
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because you are running in a simulator and not doing ad-blocking. Here is the real deal, 1.9MB and took 12 seconds to load completely: https://imgur.com/a/XcsNEsp The actual Bloomberg page was 5.3Mbytes and took 30 seconds to load completely: https://imgur.com/a/zBaOzeD If 3X improvement in loading time and data transfer is not much of a help, I don't know what it is. USERS like AMP because it is an actual imp…

Running a content blocker makes the original page load quickly and doesn’t require any amp. If you need an ad blocker to make amp load quickly that defeats the purpose of amp, because the ad blocker makes the original site load quickly without the inherent google bullshittery.

I have my ad-blocker on all the time. The 3X improvement is with ad-blocker on both. AMP loads multiple times faster, therefore it does have a purpose. On the original site, things jump around until it's usable, on AMP it's right there when you tap on.

The crazy loading times are actually not that important as long as the site is usable quickly.

Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#134
post #6

Google’s attempt to be a modern day Bell Labs was the one thing that set them apart. Make a lot of money in advertising and spend some of it to invent the future. Without the second part, the entire company changes. We need another company to take the mantle: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/opinion/sunday/innovation...

It's possible that the idea of a Bell Labs is outdated, because individuals now have more access to information and cheap resources than they did in the 50s and 60s. Instead of needing a big company to bring the best minds together and give them money, random people in garages can have good ideas and build proof of concepts relatively easily. Maybe.

Ehh, I'm less optimistic about this ever since the changes to US patent law. The guy in a garage has far fewer protections than they used to.

Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#135
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> innovation has slowed to a crawl This is so typical of Apple criticism. They did do well with the iPhone and Mac that now any new innovations seem boring in comparison. It’s wrong. The Apple Watch came out under Cook. That is more than an “accessory.” It’s a new platform, new OS variant, etc. It’s dominating smart watches. The AirPods are pretty innovative in terms of the fine grained details that have made them su…

All these products were previously imaginedand started by SJ. Cook is a marketer not a visionary or inventor of any sort.

That's not an accurate depiction of Tim Cook - a man who is a very capable supply chain guy and general businessman. My personal opinion? Steve Jobs was the marketer -- his skill was getting other people with hard skills to buy into his general vision. (Recall the "reality distortion field" he possessed.)

Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#136
post #22
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And I was very appreciative of the AMP version being posted. It made for a much better mobile viewing experience than the typical non-AMP experience from Bloomberg.

A forced redesign, in this case motivated by AMP, is what gave you that better mobile experience. It is not something inherent to AMP, and in other ways AMP is incredibly harmful. Most mobile browsers now have "reading mode" anyway.

And many websites decide to implement basics like scrolling with js, breaking reading mode.

Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#137
post #20
post #7

Any investor in Alphabet for the long term would hope this isn't the case. It also doesn't make sense at a time when some of their moonshots are looking as though they could pay off. (Eg. Waymo) That said, it makes sense from the Page/Brin perspective, perhaps. It's a lot more difficult to 10x a company that's already worth $Y billion. Perhaps better to start the ventures separately in a way that is more exciting to…

The problem is funding: let's say funding a self-driving project takes $5B-$10B and 15 years, until it starts to become a real, scalable business. And that's probably optimistic. Who will fund that ? I wonder if Google was too ambitious. Maybe if they focused all the effort on making trucks that could only ride the highway safely, in limited conditions, they would have had a working business by now.

Softbank has dumped $10B in WeWork, a glorified office rental company. If you think there are no investors willing to put $10B in self driving cars, you might still be living in 2005.

Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#138
post #15

The fact that you linked to an amp version of the page, instead of the real link, is deeply disturbing to me. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-12-04/alphab...

And I was very appreciative of the AMP version being posted. It made for a much better mobile viewing experience than the typical non-AMP experience from Bloomberg.

> And I was very appreciative of the AMP version being posted. It made for a much better mobile viewing experience...

You should try outline: https://outline.com/XT5ULM

Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The selling point of AMP is that it's a mobile-friendly web component framework. If someone uses AMP for their website, and as a result you get a better mobile experience, it's hard to see how that's not inherent to AMP.

I turn on the faucet and fill a glass of water. Taking a drink from the glass, I feel less thirsty. If someone turns on a faucet, and as a result feels less thirsty, then that that thirst-removal must be inherent to turning on a faucet, right? This is obviously silly, but follows the same reasoning that you have stated. Drinking water reduces thirst, not running water from a faucet. Redesigning a website to be less b…

Thank you for this perfect analogy: access to running water isn't relevant to quenching thirst in the same way that amp isn't relevant to having a usable mobile website.

in theory, yes, you're correct. but the reality is that turning on the tap is usually an important step to having a drink of water.

Re: Google management shuffle points to retreat from Alphabet experiment

#140
post #56
post #6

Google’s attempt to be a modern day Bell Labs was the one thing that set them apart. Make a lot of money in advertising and spend some of it to invent the future. Without the second part, the entire company changes. We need another company to take the mantle: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/opinion/sunday/innovation...

Not every science project results in a commercially viable product. Remember Bell Labs bubble memories and round lead acid batteries? So it is probably time to sort through the Alphabet ventures, pick the one or two that have a good chance, invest in those, kill the rest, and start some new ones.

The discovery of cosmic background radiation wasn't commercially viable either.

https://www.bell-labs.com/about/history-bell-labs/stories-ch...

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