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points by stingraycharles 1 day ago | 0 comments

That seems like an overly negative caricature of Google’s corporate culture, and unlikely to be the case here, given the stakes and enormous investments in AI.

It’s more likely what the grandparent was saying, I’m reminded of Steve Yegge’s rant from 15 years ago and it seems like not a lot has changed.

https://gist.github.com/chitchcock/1281611

[–] ethbr1 18 hours ago

Bill Gates' Movie Maker flame (self-described!) would seem a more appropriate analogy.

https://www.techemails.com/p/bill-gates-tries-to-install-mov...

Except I'm not sure Google has a Gates.

Nobody from the Google C-suite seems like they're ever trying to install their most important products, as a customer.

[–] WarmWash 15 hours ago

What gets me about that email chain is that Gates complains, but doesn't provide any guidance, instead leaving it up to the people who make the mess to try and fix the mess.

Compare to leadership likes Jobs, where he would spell out how it needs to function.

[–] ethbr1 13 hours ago

BLUF

>> I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don't drive usability issues.

[–] whatisthiseven 1 day ago

The results are indistinguishable. Massive organisations tend towards self aggrandivizing work.

At some point, the metrics for delivering to customers runs counter to what the bureaucracy was building itself to actually deliver: jobs.

[–] etruong42 18 hours ago

Yeah - I'm not too sure what the discrepancy is either. "crumble under the weight of their own bureaucracy" and "How you find or not find it, it doesn't matter [because the bureaucracy incentivizes self-promotion and not user impact]" seem to be more in agreement with each other than disagreement.

[–] aand16 1 day ago

"The purpose of a system is what it does"

  - Some Guy

[–] pavlov 14 hours ago

Quote is from Stafford Beer, actually.

Interesting guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stafford_Beer

[–] shwetanshu21 21 hours ago

I think it was more of this one applicable? https://steve-yegge.medium.com/dear-google-cloud-your-deprec...

They don't give a shit. You can use Argon on Pro but not that pro and no not on that app which we depreciated but on this new app which will be depreciate before you can install it.

It honestly is really hard to figure out what to use and where. It shouldn't be. A pro plan is a pro plan. It doesn't matter if you get it via x,y or z. If there is difference based on where you get it, then call it something else and not a pro plan.

They make something are feel like its the best thing in the world and leave users behind to experience it hiding it behind obscure docs and hiddens T&C with no support. And users have no clue what and how to do it.

[–] keeganpoppen 1 day ago

"overly"? surely not... maybe in the sense that it isn't "underly", but there are much more uncharitable caricatures of Google's corporate culture that I would freely admit than that.