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Google stopping coding competitions

developers.googleblog.com

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Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#291

Post by ansgri »

reptation wrote: post #27
pancrufty wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which Google are you referring to exactly? With its many successful products, I don’t see Google being overtaken anytime soon. Ads are doing better than ever, Android is holding steady worldwide, Maps has a huge moat that Apple has yet to overcome (in over a decade), nobody really complains about Google Search except us nerds. I see them just coasting, but an overtake is unlikely in this decade. “The New Bing” sounds…

n=1 but the built-in Maps on iphone seems to be fine these days. Doesn't steer me wrong, integrates with a car. Not sure what the moat here is other than name recognition or current popularity. Perhaps app integration or API consumption?

Depends on the location. Driving directions are not available at all for Georgia and Armenia, for example, though as simple maps they work ok.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#292

Post by MonkeyClub »

altair222 wrote: post #233
gkoberger wrote: post #9

We could lament them shutting it down, but why not thank them for doing this for 20 years? That's a LONG time to do anything, and despite what Google has become, it absolutely defined tech culture. Now it's obvious and commonplace, but an employee-centric company was revolutionary at the time. Things like this changed the lives of every single person here, either directly or indirectly. And best yet, it's a chance fo…

I dont know of any good reason to have gratitude for a corporation for anything. Having gratitude of the workers and academics that made it happen on the other hand? Sure, that's fair. But gratitude for a corporation, especially one that is dystopian and anti-consumer in everything they do? No can do.

You’re getting grayed out, probably for not jumping on the praise the corp bandwagon, but yeah you have a solid point.

We mustn’t confuse the people who make a corp great for the corp itself. The people are (or can be) awesome, while the corp which is a profit-driven institution that won’t hesitate turning against the people that make it great if it has to increase profitability a couple of quarters down the line.

Wake up, folks, they’re in it for themselves, they don’t (want to) care about you either as employees or as consumers if they don’t have to.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#293

Post by musicale »

bitwize wrote: post #197
apetresc wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a weird premise. You really think anyone is buying iPhones because of the personal goodwill they feel about Apple or Tim or whatever?

Yes. Apple is built different. No other major tech company has the intense user focus that Apple does, and Apple users repay Apple's regard for them with good will -- buying and evangelizing their products, etc. Many of us know at least one "Apple person" who stays within the Apple ecosystem to the extent possible -- and loves it. I know several. People don't really have the same good will for Google though. It's an…

> No other major tech company has the intense user focus that Apple does

That sounds like something that might actually improve the products.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#294

Post by rpigab »

I really liked Hashcode, even if I've only participated in 3-4 different events, this was my favourite. One of my favourite Google things actually.

Sad to see it go, but hey, it's their thing, they can do whatever they want with it.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#295

Post by diceduckmonk »

cat_plus_plus wrote: post #261
steve_adams_86 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tip outs are better in bougie joints frequented by tech workers. This sounds a little trickle-downy. Why not strive for an economy where people doing important work like feeding their communities just... Don't need to be tipped? I know it sounds crazy in today-terms, but if it makes any sense, it makes tipping culture look like more of a problem than a boon to anyone receiving the tips.

Tips create both performance incentives and price flexibility. In Europe, where tips are not customary, attitude from service workers is much worse than US. On the other hand, it's nice for someone of modest means to treat themselves to a restaurant or hotel at a lower price. Those are pro-consumer considerations, but service workers are also consumers of many other things.

> Tips create both performance incentives and price flexibility. In Europe, where tips are not customary, attitude from service workers is much worse than US.

In Japan, where tips are prohibited, attitude from service workers is much better than US.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#296

Post by kuboble »

agolio wrote: post #161
kuboble wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because people like competing. Because people like solving problems. There is often beauty in good competition problems. And you can even learn something along the way.

Sure but regular kaggle competitions have all those qualities, usually with a $50K+ prize to boot. Google seems to have skipped out on the prize and substituted branding

I think there is a difference between the pro-like competitions with high emphasis on the top competitors where high prizes make sense to attract and reward the best.

At the same time at least Google Code Jam which I participated in, is an event for the masses where while there are winners in the end the focus is on great experience of thousands students and recreationals who participate.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#297

Post by moira11 »

apetresc wrote: post #202
andrepd wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The program who can't answer anything that is not the stackoverflow answer you get when you Google your prompt? I don't follow.

ChatGPT solved many of the AoC 2022 problems with no assistance, and those are written in an even more obfuscated style than GCJ. I imagine the LLMs of this summer and next summer would blow through most of the early rounds of GCJ with ease.

AoC tasks are much easier than usual Competitive Programming tasks. AoC is pretty much undergraduate class level (whereas some Competitive Programming problems ended up being turned into actual papers) and the main difficulty in tasks is in implementing the solution rather than coming up with a tricky idea. Also, in AoC time complexity doesn't matter at all - all you need is any solution. Classic Competitive Programming problems have both a memory and a time limit. Most of them have a simple brute force solution but the trick is finding an efficient algorithm.

However, I can see Google execs thinking the same and using this explanation as the reason to close the competition.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#298

Post by Master_Odin »

bla3 wrote: post #251

Looks like Cat Allman was let go in the big layoffs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Allman I'm guessing that's the reason for this. I wonder what this means for Summer of Code.

From my perspective as a maintainer in a project that's been in GSoC last 5 years, I'd be way more concerned if Stephanie Taylor was laid off (and she hasn't yet) as she's been the absolute face of it on the mailing lists and point of contact into Google.

Re: Google stopping coding competitions

#299

Post by savingsPossible »

red-iron-pine wrote: post #154
mikrl wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Servers love tip out. They can make hundreds a night and possibly even what a junior SWE can (pro rata) if they’re good. If you want fierce resistance from servers - ask them to split tips more equitably with the kitchen - offer to abolish the tip system altogether and just pay them $15/h flat, hell even $25/h

> Servers love tip out. They can make hundreds a night and possibly even what a junior SWE can (pro rata) if they’re good. Bollocks. Maybe at the fanciest, high-end locations, and only on busy days, i.e. Fridays or Saturdays. Maybe a Jr SWE in, like Mississippi, but there is no way even the top 10% of servers are pushing tech hub SWE salaries. And even if the pure-cash gets kind-of close, there is often no healthcare…

> Many states only pay $2.18 per hour for tipped jobs;

WOW

In the US salaries are smaller for tipped jobs???

That is the problem right there. I bet everywhere else, like literally every other country, the minimum wage also applies to waiters

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