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I personally think this is just another step in a series of many reminding us that Google has become just another US corporation. And a way those grow is by fin

I personally think this is just another step in a series of many reminding us that Google has become just another US corporation. And a way those grow is by finding 'efficiencies','doing more with less' and leveraging their size. It is an end of an era. Then again, Jimmy Johns was always pretty bad for the workers and attempted to have kids working there signing non-competes. Maybe we should be happy it took google so long. edit: 2 more paragraphs

microcolonel 7y ago
> Google has become just another US corporation There are many other U.S. corporations who manage to do business without betraying their employees like this.
jsolson 7y ago
> Maybe we should be happy it took google so long. If you read the thread you'll note that this policy has been around for a long time (at least the ~7 years I've been with Google). The author also notes that, in terms of open source, things have become dramatically _more_ permissive over time.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
  Longer than me too and I've been there since the mid aughts.
  - bhelkey 7y ago
    > "Mid-aughts" refers to the first decade of a century. > https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/1300361 https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/1300361 In case anyone else is unfamiliar with this term.
- deogeo 7y ago
  That's exactly it, isn't it? Thanks to such restrictive contracts, you need Google's permission.
  - jsolson 7y ago
    I do, yes, and that Google grants that permission relatively (to some others companies) freely is a small part of why I work there. I could quit and work on whatever I want, but eventually I'd need to worry about how to pay my mortgage. I could also go work for a smaller company without such a clause in their contract, but part of what I like about my job is the resources available to tackle problems, and I'd likely lose some of that. Employment often imposes lots of restrictions on the actions we can take. I'm fortunate enough to have some choice in the set of restrictions I have to live with, so for me this particular restriction is just part of the deal.
  - kllrnohj 7y ago
    > Thanks to such restrictive contracts, you need Google's permission. No you don't. You could roll the dice on a legal battle, relying on your employment contract's exact terms in combination with federal & state laws. Like you have to do most everywhere else. The reason to go through things like IARC is so that you can avoid all of that. It's Google up-front waiving a legal pursuit on the topic, saying "yes all parties agree this is fine."
btmorex 7y ago
When was Google ever anything but "just another US corporation"?
- Sean1708 7y ago
  When it was still two guys in a garage?
  - lioeters 7y ago
    True - that's when they were an all-American startup, a small group of smart people chasing the American dream. What's remarkable is that the transition to "just another US corporation" (implying that they value profit over their employees or customers) took so long, that they were able to maintain that startup "communal" culture and innovative mentality. It's also what makes their current predicament more tragic, the collective disillusionment of their core ideals which is what made them exceptional and respected in the first place.
jsjohnst 7y ago
> Google has become just another US corporation They’ve always been that to me. We should all try to look past hype and focus on the reality, not just the perception of the moment. Does Google handle scale better than the vast majority of other companies? Yes. Did Google build an industry leading search engine? Yes. Did Google steal the patented idea[0] that ended up giving them essentially f!?k you money that has enabled a lot of both good and bad behavior since? Yes. Has Google acquired[1] most of the successful products they’ve had since? Yes. — [0] here’s one quick source: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-aug-10-fi-google10-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-aug-10-fi-googl... but definitely dig into the Overture vs Google lawsuit for a very eye opening story if interested. There’s a ton of shocking details in that case which had long lasting impacts for all companies involved. [1] Android, YouTube, DoubleClick, Google Docs (Upstartle), Google Maps (Where2/Keyhole/Waze/others), Google Voice (GrandCentral), Groups (Dejavue), Photos (Picasa), WebP/WebM encoder formats (On2), the list goes on and on
- A4ET8a8uTh0 7y ago
  I am never sure why people dismiss hype. Hype is a perception and perception, for better or worse, is reality. My boss thinks I am a bum. Do you think it will be easier to change his mind or change jobs? As to why? Google had a good story. People like good stories.
  - ok_coo 7y ago
    If hype wasn't effective, we wouldn't have marketing. Let's be honest, good marketing works. For example, there's plenty of cargo culting on HN which is all about hype and following the pack. We're humans. Hype, marketing and propaganda works.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
Balgair 7y ago
Exactly as Steve Blank mentioned 10 years ago (and 3 days shy to boot). The Elves are Leaving Middle Earth - The sodas are no longer free : https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-earth-%E2%80%93-soda%E2%80%99s-are-no-longer-free/ https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear...

microcolonel 7y ago

> Google has become just another US corporation There are many other U.S. corporations who manage to do business without betraying their employees like this.

jsolson 7y ago

> Maybe we should be happy it took google so long. If you read the thread you'll note that this policy has been around for a long time (at least the ~7 years I've been with Google). The author also notes that, in terms of open source, things have become dramatically _more_ permissive over time.

asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
Longer than me too and I've been there since the mid aughts.
- bhelkey 7y ago
  > "Mid-aughts" refers to the first decade of a century. > https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/1300361 https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/1300361 In case anyone else is unfamiliar with this term.
deogeo 7y ago
That's exactly it, isn't it? Thanks to such restrictive contracts, you need Google's permission.
- jsolson 7y ago
  I do, yes, and that Google grants that permission relatively (to some others companies) freely is a small part of why I work there. I could quit and work on whatever I want, but eventually I'd need to worry about how to pay my mortgage. I could also go work for a smaller company without such a clause in their contract, but part of what I like about my job is the resources available to tackle problems, and I'd likely lose some of that. Employment often imposes lots of restrictions on the actions we can take. I'm fortunate enough to have some choice in the set of restrictions I have to live with, so for me this particular restriction is just part of the deal.
- kllrnohj 7y ago
  > Thanks to such restrictive contracts, you need Google's permission. No you don't. You could roll the dice on a legal battle, relying on your employment contract's exact terms in combination with federal & state laws. Like you have to do most everywhere else. The reason to go through things like IARC is so that you can avoid all of that. It's Google up-front waiving a legal pursuit on the topic, saying "yes all parties agree this is fine."

btmorex 7y ago

When was Google ever anything but "just another US corporation"?

Sean1708 7y ago
When it was still two guys in a garage?
- lioeters 7y ago
  True - that's when they were an all-American startup, a small group of smart people chasing the American dream. What's remarkable is that the transition to "just another US corporation" (implying that they value profit over their employees or customers) took so long, that they were able to maintain that startup "communal" culture and innovative mentality. It's also what makes their current predicament more tragic, the collective disillusionment of their core ideals which is what made them exceptional and respected in the first place.

jsjohnst 7y ago

> Google has become just another US corporation They’ve always been that to me. We should all try to look past hype and focus on the reality, not just the perception of the moment. Does Google handle scale better than the vast majority of other companies? Yes. Did Google build an industry leading search engine? Yes. Did Google steal the patented idea[0] that ended up giving them essentially f!?k you money that has enabled a lot of both good and bad behavior since? Yes. Has Google acquired[1] most of the successful products they’ve had since? Yes. — [0] here’s one quick source: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-aug-10-fi-google10-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-aug-10-fi-googl... but definitely dig into the Overture vs Google lawsuit for a very eye opening story if interested. There’s a ton of shocking details in that case which had long lasting impacts for all companies involved. [1] Android, YouTube, DoubleClick, Google Docs (Upstartle), Google Maps (Where2/Keyhole/Waze/others), Google Voice (GrandCentral), Groups (Dejavue), Photos (Picasa), WebP/WebM encoder formats (On2), the list goes on and on

A4ET8a8uTh0 7y ago
I am never sure why people dismiss hype. Hype is a perception and perception, for better or worse, is reality. My boss thinks I am a bum. Do you think it will be easier to change his mind or change jobs? As to why? Google had a good story. People like good stories.
- ok_coo 7y ago
  If hype wasn't effective, we wouldn't have marketing. Let's be honest, good marketing works. For example, there's plenty of cargo culting on HN which is all about hype and following the pack. We're humans. Hype, marketing and propaganda works.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

Balgair 7y ago

Exactly as Steve Blank mentioned 10 years ago (and 3 days shy to boot). The Elves are Leaving Middle Earth - The sodas are no longer free : https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-earth-%E2%80%93-soda%E2%80%99s-are-no-longer-free/ https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear...