Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How did Google get so big?

cbsnews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

411–417 of 417 posts

Re: How did Google get so big?

#411

Post by ur-whale »

stuckinarut wrote: post #378
ur-whale wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because wealth inequality is massively harmful for society. Nope. Hunger, poverty, lack of education, lack of access to medical care, etc.. is harmful to society and leads to revolutions and whatever root cause leads to those is to be fought against. Except that wealth inequality isn't such a root cause. Wealth inequality isn't and has never been a problem except in the minds of utopian ideologues, collectivists or…

> Wealth inequality isn't and has never been a problem except in the minds of utopian ideologues, collectivists or people with a basic jealousy problem "Let them eat cake"

Cheap shot, unworthy of HN.

> Hunger, poverty, lack of education, lack of access to medical care, etc...

All of these woes were in play at that time.

Unlike the poster above who showed a source that tries (and fails imo) to show causation between wealth inequality and said woes, you provided exactly zero value to the conversation.

Good job.

Re: How did Google get so big?

#412

Post by euyyn »

dredmorbius wrote: post #404
euyyn wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's kind of a poor reply. "Sometimes things have unintended consequences". And a link to a book that says that technology alone won't save the environment, more things will be needed.

They may not be the answer you're looking for, but they're the answer. At least read the pagers linked. I strongly recommend the book in its entirety.

They aren't answers to the question I asked. "Why wouldn't technological progress be a good thing?"

Re: How did Google get so big?

#413

Post by ionised »

ebikelaw wrote: post #88
adrianN wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their competitors?

This is irrelevant to American anti-trust law. Europe will move to protect competitors, but America will only act to protect the consumer.

When does the US act in the interest of the consumer?

Re: How did Google get so big?

#414

Post by ionised »

TomMarius wrote: post #351
xg15 wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, e.g. by stiffling sale of alternative Android-based operating systems, as the EU just concluded. Google uses their market power and control over Android to give competing OSes a disadvantage, whether or not they would be better than Android/Google Play.

Using the EU as an argument is like bringing a friend that agrees with you to confirm your statement. Use actual arguments, please.

So you're not interested in hearing arguments you don't like?

Re: How did Google get so big?

#415

Post by giobox »

adventured wrote: post #293
philg_jr wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about...Nokia? Seimens? SAP?

The US has approximately 100 tech companies worth $10 billion or more. Europe, with over 2x the population of the US, has about two dozen. Seimens is a very old - 170 years old - industrial conglomerate. That's like using GE, Berkshire Hathaway or 3M as an example. Nokia is barely a good example. They're a $30b market cap company, Google can sneeze and lose or gain that in a day. Texas Instruments and Broadcom are wo…

> I think Europe's big opportunity, broadly speaking, is in artificial intelligence over the next decade plus. That's a solid inflection point where some new big companies will emerge. Europe has tons of AI talent to make something happen there (if they don't all sell out to big US or Chinese tech).

I can only see this happening if the the US doesn't continue sucking up the best talent in the field, which is unfortunately very often the case over the last 20 years. Europe is pretty un-competitive in terms of remuneration, especially for those at the leading edge of AI work. Many European markets need to wake up and start treating their software engineering grads better, today it too often feels like they get lumped with 'the IT guys' rather than seen as a creative instrument for new business ideas. How you fix this culture I have no idea though.

I actually think a more difficult immigration environment in the USA could be a potential factor in improving Europe's fortunes, if it stems the leak of smart people leaving. The recent change in posture over things like the H1-B visa, the likely rescinding of the right to work on an H4 dependent visa especially (this would prevent a huge number of immigrant spouses from being able to work if their partner moves to the US - this makes a job in the USA a much harder sell for married couples), could have a pretty big chilling effect.

Re: How did Google get so big?

#417

Post by candiodari »

joshAg wrote: post #38
css wrote: post #7

> Steve Kroft: Were any of those acquisitions questioned by the antitrust division of the Justice Department? > Gary Reback: Some were investigated, but only superficially, the government just really isn't enforcing our antitrust laws. And that's what's happened. None of these acquisitions have been challenged Granted, most of Google's 200+ acquisitions would not trigger any scrutiny, but this line is mind boggling.

This has been the case since at least the 1980s. https://www.thenation.com/article/transcript-breakdown-are-a...

There's the massive problem that none of Google's acquisitions were big when they were acquired. Google can at the very least be said to have very significantly contributed to the success of their acquisitions.
Post reply on HN