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We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

blog.chromium.org

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Re: We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

#41

Post by retpirato »

LanceH wrote: post #39
tedunangst wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except when they move the launch bar from here to there or hide scrollbars or make any of a million other changes that cause your screen to no longer resemble the screenshot you're trying to learn from.

I updated a couple weeks ago and every tab was discarded when I tabbed away, reloaded when I tabbed back. It's better now. I can only imagine the problems that would cause for a school with a couple hundred of these checked out.

install session buddy from the chrome web store. it saves your tabs automatically, & even restores sessions containing a mix of tabs & web "apps" accordingly.

Re: We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

#42

Post by throwGuardian »

eyelidlessness wrote: post #36
throwGuardian wrote: post #22

Remote work now is likely lower in productivity than normal-times WFH. If a software company cannot adjust to remote delivery, albeit at lower than normal productivity, the rest of the economy has no hope. I don't understand Google's decision here - I wish they simply predicted a longer than normal release cadence, versus none at all

They're also considering the impact on developers targeting Chrome and Chrome OS platforms[1], which is a welcome consideration. Edit to add: this also has a follow-on effect of reducing the possibility that end users experience problems due to breaking changes or bugs, which is also important considering nearly everyone is depending on the internet at this time. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22620254

I don't understand. Regardless of COVID, they always need to consider the impact on developers.

Like I said in my previous comment, the newly remote Chrome team may be facing many unseen roadblocks, but I expect that to be a temporal window of delay, after which the team should resume shipping, albeit at a slower cadence due to reduced productivity compared to normal-times WFH.

Re: We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

#43

Post by retpirato »

yingw787 wrote: post #20
enitihas wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this is similar to normal remote work though. Schools are closed, so people can't work on home in isolation. On top of that people must be anxious. When people are worried about lots of other stuff their output may not be the same. Even basecamp, which is highly remote, postponed their email service launch.

I've seen forecasts that this may last a few months, or until a vaccine is created. We need to expand our options beyond death or economic collapse. Not only that, but this almost certainly isn't the last pandemic we'll see, I think we should expect another one of similar magnitude within 10 years (like we expected another major terrorist attack within 10 years of 9/11) and plan accordingly. We techies are some of th…

it usually takes a year for a vaccine to come out between the time it takes to create a working vaccine & starting to distribute it.

Re: We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

#44

Post by hanse00 »

rcfw wrote: post #11
nkozyra wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure that's part of it but going remote also introduces a ton a workflow impediments as the team adjusts.

There are a lot of obstacles for temps/contractors to gain remote access at google. I'd imagine a lot of testing is done by people who aren't FTEs. disclaimer: I am a Googler, but know nothing about how the Chrome team operates

One man’s obstacle is another man’s security measure :)

I used to work in Techstop, I wonder how crazy of a time that team is having right now. But I wouldn’t call them an obstacle.

Re: We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

#45

Post by kube-system »

londons_explore wrote: post #24
throwGuardian wrote: post #22

Remote work now is likely lower in productivity than normal-times WFH. If a software company cannot adjust to remote delivery, albeit at lower than normal productivity, the rest of the economy has no hope. I don't understand Google's decision here - I wish they simply predicted a longer than normal release cadence, versus none at all

Perhaps because some testing needs to be done on physical devices in a real lab? "Please test this build of Chrome on these 1000 various models of android phones" sounds kinda hard to automate. Even if you had automated it, you'd probably still need someone in the office to poke hardware that locked up, etc.

They already have that problem solved:

https://firebase.google.com/docs/test-lab/

As do many others:

https://aws.amazon.com/device-farm/

https://appcenter.ms/

https://kobiton.com/

https://www.perfecto.io/

https://saucelabs.com/solutions/live-testing

Re: We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

#46

Post by organsnyder »

enitihas wrote: post #13
yingw787 wrote: post #8

I hope that Google and other companies will encourage remote teams and divisions after this event. Having the ability for some teams to primarily work from home might provide some hermetic guarantee of continued development and liveness during a time of crisis.

I don't think this is similar to normal remote work though. Schools are closed, so people can't work on home in isolation. On top of that people must be anxious. When people are worried about lots of other stuff their output may not be the same. Even basecamp, which is highly remote, postponed their email service launch.

I work fulltime remote normally. With kids home and added stress of social distancing, I'm at 50% productivity at best.

Re: We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

#48

Post by _jal »

dickeytk wrote: post #25
enitihas wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering that it was an email service, focused on making async communication better, one would think right now might be a pretty good time when a large number of people are working from home.

strategically perhaps, but the optics on that are so awful. I'd argue it's the wrong thing to do if you thought you'd be more profitable in a crisis.

There are plenty of firms not terribly worried about the optics right now.

I don't mind naming one particularly gross one - Knightscope is busy spamming about how "Security robots are immune from disease and work 24/7". I'm sure they practiced defensive patter about resilience until they could say it without smirking.

Re: We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

#49

Post by tmpz22 »

dickeytk wrote: post #15

Without knowing much about the team I really doubt this has much to do with remote work. It seems like a smart move to take pressure off team deliverables in general right now for a host of reasons.

Stress can impact the human immune system and reduce our ability to fight off an infection, on that note alone it's worth adding some more slack to these important but not truly essential releases.

Re: We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases

#50

Post by darkwater »

retpirato wrote: post #43
yingw787 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen forecasts that this may last a few months, or until a vaccine is created. We need to expand our options beyond death or economic collapse. Not only that, but this almost certainly isn't the last pandemic we'll see, I think we should expect another one of similar magnitude within 10 years (like we expected another major terrorist attack within 10 years of 9/11) and plan accordingly. We techies are some of th…

it usually takes a year for a vaccine to come out between the time it takes to create a working vaccine & starting to distribute it.

But I really wonder if this time some kind of shortcut may be granted due to the unique, exceptional situation?
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