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2024/12/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
12/24   

2013/1/22-2/19 [Computer/Companies/Google, Industry/SiliconValley] UID:54584 Activity:nil
1/22    Google, again:
        http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/01/google_people_operations_the_secrets_of_the_world_s_most_scientific_human.single.html
2024/12/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
12/24   

2012/12/10-18 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:54553 Activity:nil
12/10   Biggest Google outage ever?
        http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/12/why-gmail-chrome-and-drive-went-down-today/59822
2012/1/18-2/14 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:54292 Activity:nil
1/18    Shit Murdock Says:
        1/14 So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters
        who threaten allsoftware creators with piracy, plain thievery. -
        1/14 Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts
        around them.No wonder pouring millions into lobbying.
        1/15 Just been to google search for mission impossible. Wow, several
        sites offering free links.I rest my case.
        1/15 Sure misunderstand many things, but not plain stealing.
        Incidentally google blocks many other undesirable things.
        1/16 More pirates.Whole entertainment ind employs 2.2 million ave
        salary 65 g. Good jobs and expanding foreign earnings. Made in
        America, too!
        \_ Hey don't knock the Smartest Conservative on The Planet.
2012/1/14-2/14 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:54288 Activity:nil
1/14    Google steals from Kenyans:
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/7z2p8v9 [ars]
2011/8/19-27 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:54169 Activity:nil
8/19    Is there such a thing as a IMAP->POP proxy? I want to use Gmail on
        a server that only supports IMAP, and Gmail only connects to POP.
2010/8/10-9/7 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53919 Activity:nil
8/10    http://www.businessinsider.com/google-puts-wave-out-of-its-misery-2010-8
        Google Wave No More. The people who worked on it were pretty smart.
        They wrote up a super awesome OKR with extremely low bar as a measure
        of success, exceeded everyone's expectations by going above those
        bars, and got big fat bonuses and promotions as a result of their
        planning. Brilliant.
        \_ How big a bonus are we talking about here? Did they get a founder's
           award?
        \_ GOOG has a lot of smart people. Wake me when they do anything of
           note outside of their search engine service/Ad Sense.
           \_ I assume you are not including buying up notable services like
              grand central -> google voice.
              \_ Buying a product shows some business acumen, but not much
                 engineering acumen.
                 \_ Buying a product, improving it and integrating it into
                    your suite requires possibly more engineering acumen than
                    building it yourself.  Google does this all the time,
                    with Google Docs being the best example.  -tom
                    \_ No, because if it was harder to integrate than
                       build they wouldn't have spent money buying it. The
                       idea is that it saved money to buy it rather than
                       build it (if they even had the idea to begin with).
                       This is a good business strategy that companies like
                       Cisco use, but it's kind of sad that Google can't
                       originate and develop ideas on their own given the
                       engineering talent they seem to have. There is something
                       dysfunctional there. Maybe it's management. Maybe it's
                       culture. Maybe they are already too big, fat, and lazy.
                       I leave speculation as an exercise to the reader.
                       \_ Companies routinely underestimate the difficulty in
                          integrating software components from different
                          development trees; anyone who's used an "integrated
                          suite" like LANDesk or Oracle Communications Suite
                          can attest.  Cisco has a lot of engineering talent,
                          too.  Maybe the dysfunctional thing is you.  -tom
                       \_ It is harder by far to maintain someone elses code
                          base than to write it yourself.*  And harder to
                          frankenstien together systems that are working,
                          reliable and secure from seperate components,  To
                          put it like this, companies pay top dollars to
                          coders and sysadmins for integration, not for
                          DIY cowboy setups.
                          * imagine also if all you have is an existing
                          binary and some sparse docs on how it works, or
                          an existing company system setup where all the
                          admins who have set it up have long gone
                          \_ Does this mean I should cover my short now?
                             - short GOOG at $100 guy
2010/8/2-25 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53906 Activity:nil
8/2     Ex-CSUA-er piaw gives advice to Nooglers:
        http://piaw.blogspot.com/2010/08/tips-for-noogler-engineers.html
2010/4/30-5/10 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53811 Activity:nil
4/28    Since when did gmail turn into "googlemail" (mod .com)?
        \_ Since you started accessing it from the UK or Germany?
2010/3/3-12 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53740 Activity:nil
3/3     Bad joke from Google:
        http://www.google.com/tisp/install.html
        \_ This is several years old.
2010/2/3-8 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53686 Activity:nil
2/3     http://finance.yahoo.com/news/PreIPO-Googler-Says-The-siliconalley-273374665.html?x=0&.v=3
        DoubleClick and Google, a sad marriage.
2010/2/1-3/4 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53682 Activity:low
2/1     http://bentilly.blogspot.com/2010/01/things-ive-learned-at-google.html
        At Google, a bright young man can feel... pathetically average.
        \_ dumbshit is blogging in a google property, he's not long for this world
        \_ At Caltech, I felt pretty average. This was a big shock for a small
           town boy who had always been the brightest in the class. -ausman
           \_ small town boy + bright = oxymoron. You're never bright if
              all you interacted were hicks like you.
              \_ What this really shows is that you're prejudiced.  were you
                 beaten and sodomized by rural folk while on a country
                 holiday?
              \_ I know this might surprise you, but there are libraries
                 even in small towns. And the public school teachers are
                 in general even better.
                 \_ of course it surprises him, he doesn't even know how to
                    use a preposition.
              \_ History contradicts you.  Newton was a small town boy.
           \_ if you were truely average you would have graduated from
              Caltech like the rest of the average Caltech graduates.
              Sorry you were begging to be made fun of :)
              \_ True enough, though the graduation rate during my era
                 was something like 65%. I was definitely below average
                 in my work ethic.
                 \_ Simply put, you're bottom 35%, hence well below average.
                    Yes, blame it on your work ethic. I could have gone to
                    MIT too had it not been for my work ethic in high school,
                    and that hot chick in my class really distracted me.
                    It's all her fault.
                    \_ you're an idiot.
                    \_ You should have gone to Caltech instead, there would
                       have been no hot chick to distract you.
                       \_ naw, I'd either turn gay or be too depressed -pp
           \_ you get that at cal too
              \_ No, not for me, but I had already gotten the Caltech shock,
                 so it wasn't anything new. There are plenty of smart people at
                 Cal, but the top 25% at UCB is about as smart as the whole
                 class at Caltech.
                 \_ Does Caltech have no Affirmitive Action?
                    \_ it's a private school
                 \_ cal didn't bother me, but Naval Post Graduate school gave
                    me that shock.  Those guys are really on the ball and
                    hella disciplined.
                    \_ What, we have a military officer who uses the motd?
2010/1/12-29 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53629 Activity:nil
1/12    "E-mail leak has Google threatening to leave China"
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100112/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_google_china
        Hail Google!
        \_ No you fuck tard. Let's see a more accurate timeline:
           2005 Google decides to deal with China. Public response: "Oh no
             they're doing evil! But it's ok, Google is such a good company
             they'll do a good job dealing with evil. Besides, if they don't
             do it, other companies will do it too, and we should just be
             thankful that Google is doing it. Hail Google!"
           2010 Google decides to quit doing evil deeds for China. Public
             response: "See, everything Google does is good. Hail Google!"
           \_ Are you "short GOOG at 100" guy?
              \_ When do you think I should cover my short?
           \_ Did you forget that people usually forget about the past?
              \_ e.g. Mel Gibson handing out awards in Hollywood this year
                 and just 3 years ago he was ranting about the Jews.
                 I think 3 years is when people forget things happening.
        \_ I bet .cn just sniffed GOOG's GFS while in Beijing
2010/1/11-25 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53624 Activity:nil
12/9    I just tried Google Voice/Grand Central. International call.
        I love the Google zippy UIs, but quality-wise, it sounds like
        1940s phone. You know, you're talking through a tin-can
        and you can barely hear the other person pronunciate. Is this
        a well known problem of Google Voice?
        \_ Depends on the country. Places like Japan don't have the best
           connection, but I haven't had issues with domestic calls.
2009/12/9-26 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53584 Activity:nil
12/8    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh05evKjD4g
2009/12/7-26 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53575 Activity:nil
12/7    Once again, GOOG>AAPL.
        \_ why?
        \_ Are you referring to the stocks or the companies?
           \_ Blue horseshoe says buy silver.
              \_ Srsly lets have a real futures discussion again.
        \_ nice advert. succinct.  Altho derivative of Coke>Pepsi tho.
2009/12/3-26 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53563 Activity:nil
12/2    Google launches its own DNS. Google Public DNS:
        http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns
        8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
        Kick ass!
        \_ http://radoff.com/blog/2009/12/07/google-dns-benchmarking-and-rationale
        \_ I get 1.7ms pings to 4.2.2.2 and 23ms pings to 8.8.8.8.
           BBN Planet/GTE Internetworking/Verizon is 10x faster.
        \_ Um, my ping to 4.2.2.4 and OpenDNS are 1/2 of what I
           get from ping to GoogleDNS. I'm not impressed so far.
           \_ what PP said.  also I get much better ping to http://www.google.com
              than this. "From your browser, type in a fixed IP address. You
              can use <DEAD>18.62.1.6<DEAD> (which points to the website
              <DEAD>eecs.mit.edu<DEAD> as the URL*." -- what, google couldn't
              come up with its own non-http-virtualhosted IP anywhere for
              testing?
           \_ It's a day later and the ping rate to Google
              is about 1/2 of what it was before. Not bad Google,
              you're learning. Keep it up.
        \_ not an enormous deal, dns should cache a little locally
        \_ I just tried "host -v <host> (4.2.2.4|8.8.8.8)" on
           various hosts. It is clear that Google is a lot slower.
           Sorry, no deal. Bad Google, bad boy.
            \_ give Google a little time to cache the world
                    /
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/07/google-ceo-on-privacy-if_n_383105.html
        \_ here:
           http://www.wipmania.com/ping/cache/8.8.8.8/?c=f4335d8443172
2009/11/24-12/6 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53543 Activity:nil
11/23   Google Wave reality: http://www.frkncngz.com/post/243811028
2009/11/13-30 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53525 Activity:nil
11/13   "The World's Most Powerful People 2009"
        http://csua.org/u/pir
        Sergey Brin and Larry Page ranked 5th???  Yeah, Google is all powerful
        in spreading information and mis-information.  But Google, Inc. itself
        doesn't sway opinions or anything.  It's not like Google selectively
        publishes stories or has an editorial like a news media company.
        Whereas, for example, one speech from the Pope, ranked 11th, can
        change the minds of 1/6th of the world's population.
        \_ Yeah, if the Pope says everyone should start fighting the Muslims,
           there will be nutcase that actually follow his advice. On the
           other hand people usually just laugh and shrug off whatever
           Larry and Sergey have to say.
           Larry and Sergey have to say. Googlers don't even take these
           2 founders seriously. The only real power they have are:
           1) getting people to go to TGIF at Building 42 Googleplex
           2) making acquisitions
        \_ yes Sergey Brin and Larry Page are actually the world's LEAST
           powerful people.
2009/10/1-22 [Computer/Companies/Google, Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Motd] UID:53424 Activity:kinda low
10/1    google wave is a really fancy version of wall.  i can pipe
        giant ascii text files through it.  my dream has come true.
        does anyone remember when jwang made it so if you walled
        embedded html tags, it would appear in the csua lwall www page?
        google wave is a little better than that. - danh
        \_ http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/09/google-wave-is-easier-to-understand-than
           Google wave is as easy to understand as Sarah Palin
        \_ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/01/google-wave-early-impressions
        \_ http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/02/video-3-5-of-google-wave-explained
           Awesome video what a GWave is.
        \_ So is there a crusty csuaer wave?
        \_ lets make one when Wave is totally public.  Politburo has
           successfully driven just about everyone off of soda now through
           the VM and security holes.  I'm not mad at the VP, I realize school
           is time intensive.  I like the motd though.
           \_ how are you going to ensure that the Google account holder
              is also a member of CSUA who signed up before?
              \_ No.
                 \_ My point is there are a bunch of forums out there for
                    which you don't need to be a member of anything to join.
                    Most of us are already using some type of forum, whether
                    it is Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, or some niche
                    specific groups. What makes motd unique is the
                    membership where we can participate in some type of
                    UCB+sysadm+comp sci+social forum. Once you let in
                    a bunch of random spammers in, then motd will be no
                    different than a random forum on the internet.
                    \_ True.  I really doubt anyone besides people who
                       have edited the motd && walled will care.  I am not
                       concerned.
                       \_ Then you can leave motd and join random forums
                          already. Good bye.
2009/9/28-10/8 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53406 Activity:nil
9/29    Net Nuetrality For Thee, Not For Me Says Google:
        http://tinyurl.com/yaeapjh
2009/9/28-10/8 [Recreation/Dating, Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53405 Activity:nil
9/27    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG9vYZmoqmg
        Date an Asian (if you hated Coder Girl, don't waste your time)
        \_ no comment usually means "blah"
        \_ Perhaps not safe for work (uses the f-bomb)
2009/9/23-10/5 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53391 Activity:nil
9/23    Anyone from ThirdVoice Third Voice? Read and weep:
        http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/23/google-steps-where-many-have-stumbled-sidewiki
        \_ Thirdvoice is a good example of a cool technology idea ruined by
           bad business management.  Looks like google may wind up working
           around most of what was wrong with ThirdVoice.  Time will tell
           how it all comes out... -ERic (was there, still have the T-shirts)
2009/9/21-29 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53386 Activity:nil
9/21    http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/21/google-is-searching-for-beautiful-minds-but-so-far-no-m-i-t-students-have-broken-its-code
        If you can figure this out, you may have a future with Google.
        8MLDQ6 T UI
        6TFML RH AA
        NRA6Q 8EFL
        DMQ86II2 O3
        2S5J 13JXOJ
        \_ keywords: MIT Google interview job
        \_ Assume wrap-around, then if you just count the characters before each
           space, then you get 617 ...  617 is a Boston number. Hmmm...
           \_ That's not it. JOBS is your answer. Have fun.
           \_ What? 62, not 617.
        \_ It amazes me how much computer job hiring depends on doing
           puzzles and how little that correlates to actually being
           a good engineer.  -good at puzzles
        \_ It amazes me how tough some of the algorithmic questions are really
           tough yet you don't need a lot of brain to do most of the tasks at
           Google.  P.S. having fun with your fucking perf yet? You enjoying
           bragging^H^H^Hself-assessment to standout to get that EXCEED
           EXPECTATIONS and to get promoted?                      -Googler
           \_ A good company takes a few brilliant minds and leverages
              their ideas. Too many cooks spoil the soup. You get a lot of
              second-guessing, overengineering, difficult personalities,
              and large egos to handle. If you are too successful you also
              have a lot of brain drain as people leave for things more
              interesting or to retirement if they have piles of cash.
              It's much better to have a few brilliant minds and a lot of
              worker bees. I'm not sure what Google is thinking. It's
              working so far, but my opinion is that it's in spite of
              their culture and not because of it.
              \_ obviously, you never worked at Google          -Googler
                 \_ So you think that hiring a lot of brilliant people to do
                    brainless tasks is a winning strategy?
                    \_ Yes, because they all get paid the same anyways, so
                       smart people make less dumb mistakes than dumb ass.
                       P.S. Not everyone at Google is smart. Most of the
                       new hires after 2007 are hired out of desperation
                       as they relaxed the standard substantially. The
                       quality of new hires has gone down by quantum leaps.
                       \_ Ever hear the phrase "too many chiefs, not enough Indians?"
                          Do you think it makes sense to hire a PhD to be the
                          janitor?
                          \_ yes I actually do. No one forced the PhD to
                             eat shit. He/she asked for it, and the company
                             gets a pretty good deal. And BTW, learn to read.
                             I already said most of the new hires post 2007
                             are (*@&($*#@ Indians. The company nearly
                             doubled between 2007-2009. So yes they're hiring
                             cheaper and dumber. Apparently, you can't read and
                             maybe you should join the Indians.
                       P.S. Not everyone at Google is smart. Most of the
                       new hires after 2007 are hired out of desperation
                       as they relaxed the standard substantially. The
                       quality of new hires has gone down by quantum leaps.
                             \_ They are all just going to get disillusioned
                                and quit, so it is bad for the company to have
                                to be constantly retraining people like that.
                                I bet you are wrong about the salaries, too.
                                \_ I bet everyone is wrong. Google 600!!!
2009/9/20-29 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53382 Activity:nil
9/20    Unemployment Google Map:
        http://www.sacbee.com/1098/story/1418076.html
        \_ This data is eight months old.
2009/9/9-15 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53347 Activity:low
9/9     I need to set up gruop email for parents of my kid's kindergarten
        class.  Should I go with Yahoo Groups or Google Groups?  Thanks.
        \_ Google has a lot of great properties EXCEPT Groups. Google
           Groups suck thanks to bureacracy and the inability of the
           people who tried to make it better. The management is too
           narrowminded and only want OKRs that will make money the
           next quarter. Google prefers to buy innovation instead
           of doing something inhouse. Don't go for Google Groups.
           \_ Thanks.  I'll go with Yahoo Groups then.  -- OP
2009/9/6-12 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53338 Activity:low
9/5     Step 1: Use Google trends and correlate it with Google finance.
        Step 3: Make money!!!
        http://www.google.com/finance?q=GOOGLEINDEX_US:RENTAL
        \_ Step 2?
            \_ Step 2 is "Watch SouthPark"
2009/8/11-14 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53264 Activity:nil
8/10    Google Foreclosure Map:
        http://tinyurl.com/nd3vmh
2009/8/3-13 [Computer/Companies/Google, Computer/SW/Security] UID:53230 Activity:high
8/1     Yahoo to get 88% of the ad revenue in team up with m$.  Y!m$,
        discuss?
        \_ I thought Jerry Yang would never sell!
           \_ He's gone, replaced by some broad.
        \_ 88% of pittance is still pittance, I don't know how people
          think there is money in click through ads.  Who clicks on them?
          \_ do some math please and come back
          \_ so my question is, are you one of these "know everything about
             everything without researching it"  guys?  Because FYI, Google
             / AOL partnership made $678M in ad revenue last year.  GOOG
             reported $5.54B 2008 Q4 alone.  Most of that is click ads!
             Are you saying 88% x 678M = 596M is a "pittance" ?  And that is
             using the AOL numbers, not Yahoo/Microsoft numbers.
          \_ It doesn't matter who clicks on them it's like the stock
             market, people think other people click on them so they
             value the ad space.
             \_ So one good paper, story, journal can end all this?
          \_ Who watches television or radio ads? One of the things advertisers
             \_ My Parents.  Your Parents.  Your Grand Parents, your neighbors
                who didn't go to Cal.  Your waiter, the guy delivering your mail
                the guy you buy your groceries from, the guy your parents and
                grandparents buy your groceries from.  As for radio, do any
                of your parents drive?  I know it is gauche to admit to drive in
                Blue Belt Bay Area but in the next county over like vacaville
                there are alot of car radios.
                \_ You totally missed the point. The fact is that advertisers
                   only have a very limited way of telling who is listening
                   to their ads and what the effect is on buying behavior.
                   They can get much better real statistics online, which
                   they love.
                   \_ Is click fraud a problem?  Can infact advertising spots
                      inflate their 'standings' by bots?
                      \_ Are these all rhetorical questions?
                         \_ no; how is the problem being addressed?  It looks
                            to me that the same people paying out and taking in
                            revenue can work the system for fraud.  And since
                            they hold all the logs who would know?
                            \_ All the big advertisers use third party
                               verification services, they don't rely on what
                               the website says is their ads delivered. There
                               is an ongoing war about click fraud, this
                               doesn't mean online advertising is dead, there
                               is bank fraud and perhaps more to the point,
                               things like Nielsen rating gaming as well.
                                 /
  "According to critics, this complex relationship may create a conflict of
   interest. For instance, Google loses money to undetected click fraud when
   it pays out to the publisher, but it makes more money when it collects fees
   from the advertiser. Because of the spread between what Google collects and
   what Google pays out, click fraud directly and invisibly profits Google."
   \_ Right, so that's why all the newspapers are dying and Google is the
      fastest growing big company in the world and advertisings are starting
      to throw big bucks to online media. Because it all doesn't work. And
      all they really need to do is listen to you to wisen up.
      \_ "Property values only keep going up, they'll NEVER come DOWN."
         \_ Post your real name so I can taunt you in two years.
            Are you GOOG short @ $100/share guy?
            \_ I tihnk he's trying to say that if you buy into a bubble you're
               just as guilty of the Pass-The-Buck mentality as the countrywide
               guys and the mkt mgr funds who invented Toxic Asset Technology.
               \_ What bubble? The Internet Bubble? In 2009???
      really like about online ads is the fact that they get real metrics.
2009/7/24-8/6 [Computer/Companies/Google, Reference/Religion] UID:53199 Activity:nil
7/24    Misha Dynin is a Google Reader God.                     -k
        \_ the other XCF guy is with God.
      \_ petm, spencer, josh all happily slave away at GOOG still, though
         they are long past the stage of actually needing money. tracs
         bailed.
2009/7/16-24 [Computer/Companies/Google, Industry/Startup] UID:53147 Activity:nil
7/16    Twitter plans on 1B users by 2014:
        http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/16/twitters-internal-strategy-laid-bare-to-be-the-pulse-of-the-planet
        \_ Not going to make it. Facebook will, though.
2009/7/13-24 [Recreation/Dating, Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53137 Activity:nil
7/15   I used Google to find out the city the girl I first had sex with lives
       in.  Should I move there?
       \_ Stalker alert.
        \_ what's a city girl? are they a different breed than a suburban girl?
           \_ City girls are wilder in bed than suburban girls.
       \_ Yes, please.  Do it for MOTD!
2009/5/30-6/5 [Computer/Companies/Google, Computer/SW/OS/Windows, Computer/SW] UID:53058 Activity:nil
5/29    Is there any good software to generate timeline / milestone similar
        to the Google timeline?
        \_ MS Project? Fastrack?
2009/5/19-26 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:53016 Activity:nil
5/18    Google to identify criminals before they commit a crime^H^H^H^^H
        employees before they leave:
        http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124269038041932531.html
        \_ http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/05/google_algorithm_lusts_to_read_its_employees_minds.php
        \_ Why would any Googler want to leave? It's the BEST place to
           work at. Everyone is happy. NO ONE ever says anything bad about
           Google. Those who do, usually don't last long anyways. Here,
           drink some coolaide and join the party!
           \_ Koolaid
              \_ Cuilaid
                 \_ Googlaid
                    \_ Go g't laid.
2009/5/4-6 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:52940 Activity:nil
5/4     http://torrentfreak.com/google-custom-search-cuts-utorrent-off-090430
        "[Google+uTorrent] seems like a win-win situation for everyone, but for
        reasons unknown, Google no longer allows uTorrent to use the custom
        search program."
        Shyeah right, it's win-win for pirates, and "reasons unknown?" Give
        me a *(#@$ break.
        \_ pirates? Somali pirates?
2009/4/10-15 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:52839 Activity:moderate
4/10    Dang, why did I listen to the "sell GS at $100" guy on the motd?
        \_ Because you're an idiot?
           Did you also listen to "short GOOG at $100" guy?
        \_ It was a trade. I made a ton on it. So did you. Buy and hold
           would have you in at 200. I bought GS at below the IPO price,
           almost 10 years later. Don't lament good trades. BTW, did you
           buy GOOG under 300?
           \_ True, I did make money on it, and it might be the only thing
              that I made money on last year.
              that I made money on last year. I kept buying GOOG all the way
              down, my average is about 350.
2009/4/6-13 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:52810 Activity:low
4/6     im considering making my Gmail account my default email for
        all my online banking stuff and domain registration and bill pay.
        Is there any anecdotal evidence of people getting their google
        account hacked?  After I do this change, Google will basically
        own me completely.
        \_ http://blogs.computerworld.com/privacy_group_ban_google_services_like_gmail_from_the_cloud
2009/2/16-19 [Computer/Companies/Google, Computer/SW/Security] UID:52582 Activity:kinda low
2/16    Lea, what does Google security know by now? Should I talk to you
        under a different channel? I can either spill my beans on Valleywag
        or ask you to just vent for me. Either way, I really need to vent.
        If you don't want to help me vent, it's cool. I'll just cross
        reference Soda names with Moma.         -unhappy borg mon
        \_ No one's tracking anyone, no need to get paranoid. I just
           meant that there are ways of telling whether someone's a
           Googler. Anyway, if you are, then email me at chialea@gmail
           or give me a call on my cell. Of course I'll try to help.
           - Lea
        \_ make sure kchang isn't on the security team
           \_ why not? did http://csua.com have a big leak? or is it bc he's crazy?
           \_ agreed that kchang is crazy but nickkral is the one on the
              security team.
        \_ despite what you hear on the wags there are still a lot of
           Google loyalists out there. The Google has eyes and ears,
           and I'd keep it low unless you want to get fired.
        \_ Um, what? can someone fill me in? -t
2009/2/13-16 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:52574 Activity:high
2/13    Can someone get Lea Kissner of Google back on motd?
        \_ Why don't you try and do this, since you care?
        \_ She's married.  She's just not that into you.
           \_ I just want to thank her for exposing remote office pains
              where no one from remote offices dares to say it. You know,
              you just can't say anything bad when you're in the system,
              so to speak. Conformity means survival and all. I bet
              Jeff Dean and Urs would be proud of her observation,
              honesty, and transparency.                -borg mon
              \_ did she echo "SUCK IT!!!!!" | mail -s "YES YOU" staff@google.com
              \_ did she echo "SUCK IT!!!!!" | mail -s "YES YOU" \
                 staff@google.com
                 \_ No, she said "Ive been told that you guys suck" | mail -s
                    "management sucks" oc_emg@google.com everyone@google.com
                    It takes a lot of guts to do that.
                    \_ I asked for more details but he said "I think she
                       just bit off a little more than she can chew."
        \_ This is the hottest photo ever
           http://research.google.com/pubs/people_images/20709.jpg
           \_ removed stupid comment. -!Lea
           \_ Dude, it was early on my first day of work. Deal. -Lea
        \_ OK, I've been invoked. :)  I'd like to talk; I didn't think
           I said anything particularly revolutionary. Try
           chialea@gmail.com. If you're really paranoid, call my cell.
           The number's on my work contact page. - Lea of Google
           \_ I'd recommend against talking privately with strangers. Anything
              you write over email will probably end up on ValleyWag. Either
              don't talk about it or might as well talk publicly.
              \_ I can verify that someone's a Googler and thus covered
                 under the same NDA as I am. Security-team knows...
                 well, not all, but a lot. - Lea
2009/1/22-26 [Computer/Companies/Google, Finance/Investment] UID:52443 Activity:kinda low
1/22    And that's why you should own GOOG.
        \_ Google reported fourth-quarter net income of $382 million, down 68%
           from $1.2 billion a year ago.
        \_ I don't get it. How can you have 68% down but sales going up
           18%? Are they getting more sales but with less money per
           transaction?
           \_ Profit = (Price - Cost)xQuantity - Fixed Costs
              Costs went up?
              \_ They wrote down the value of a few investments.
                 \_ $1.09B
                    \_ Leaving aside the asset write-down, GOOG had $1.48B
                       in operational profit for the quarter, up 23% from
                       last year.  In this economy that's amazing.  GOOG
                       is still a frieght train.  -tom
        \_ I do own GOOG and I am underwater on it even though I bought at
           a comparatively low price. Brilliant.
        \_ AAPL profits are still growing at an increasing rate.
           $2.3B in adjusted net income ($1.61B GAAP profit)
           \_ AAPL is another good company to own.
2009/1/18-23 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:52412 Activity:nil
1/18    Is it illegal to write on my website for people to click on
        the google adsense ads on the sidebar?
        \_ Read the ToS before you sign up on AdSense. It is illegal
           if you're an employee of Google making over $30/month UNLESS
           there is management approval. It is illegal for your web site
           to ask people to click on them, and they have an incredible
           there is management approval. If you ask people to click on
           Ads, your account will be suspended (there's an amazing
           filter detecting it). If you're wondering about hosting AdSense
           on a school site, you'll need to abide the school's ToS--
           Google doesn't care as it is more beneficial for them.
           Google doesn't care in this case.
2009/1/18-23 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:52411 Activity:nil
1/18    Why I left Google. Real letters from Google HR's collection on
        why people left, now leaked on the internet. Learn all that you
        want to learn about what it means to be Googly and to fit into
        the Googly borg culture. Learn what TGIF and OKR are all about.
        ALL the employees seem happy on the surface. But are they really?
        Is it a cult? Or it is simply part of the Googly utopia where
        nothing is bad, and thou shall not speak ill of anything? Drink
        some Goolaid and find out everything you want to know in the
        latest addition on TechCrunch. Quick, save it on your
        desktop before Google threatens TechCrunch to take it down.
        http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/18/why-google-employees-quit
        http://www.itmilk.com/2009/01/18/a-google-recruiter-that-hates-google-does-this-make-any-sense
        \_ I haven't worked for Google or MS, but it seems to me that
           most of the letters are complaining about the company not
           being perfect; that seems somewhat unreasonable. Am I
           missing something here?
           \_ People of Silicon Valley migrated to the Promise Land of
           \_ People of Silicon Valley flocked to the Promise Land of
              Googsreal thinking it's the Land of Milk and Honey...
           \_ There are serious issues with Google if you read into it.
              It went from an engineering bottom-up product oriented
              utopia for engineers to a top-down managed nightmare.
              Management is terrible, and the company grew way too fast.
              These people joined with great expectations of a good
              company only to find that it's becoming yet another big
              faceless corporation within a very short time-span.
              \_ Ah, that makes more sense. Thank you.
2008/12/11-16 [Computer/Companies/Google, Computer/SW/SpamAssassin] UID:52228 Activity:moderate
12/11   outgoing email hasnt worked in a few days..
        \_ I just sent out some email and it arrived in my gmail account
           just fine (in a few minutes even). -ausman
           \_ same test but nothing has arrive for days
              \_ Try again.
                 \_ doesnt work.. perhaps only a few users get updated at a
                    time grouped updates?
                   \_ Maybe you're blacklisted somewhere.  I just tried to a
                      non-gmail account and it worked fine. -emakrp
                        \_ gmail thought it was spam. but worked before :/
        \- You get your mail on soda? "lulz"
2008/12/3-9 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:52154 Activity:low
12/3    How many shares of GOOG do you still hold tom?
        http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122826503489174369.html
        \_ Not as many as I'd like to.  -tom
           \_ Good luck. I'm shorting. It's going to drop to 240 before
              the end of the year. Good luck tom.
              \_ My time horizon is 5+ years.  -tom
              \_ Cover that short yet?  -tom
           \_ Tom, are you a physical coward?
                \_ He rides a unicycle and also I think he mountain bikes some.
                   In my opinion I think that disqualifies him from physical
                   cowardice.
                   \_ I don't mountain bike, but I mountain unicycle.
                      But why does it matter?  -tom
        \_ http://tinyurl.com/5vbo4c
           GOOG was three hours from being charged with being a monopoly.
           \_ good post. Earth to tom, you still thinking of 5 years?
              You seriously think the economy will improve in 5 years
              given the fact that we're deep in recession?
              \_ I seriously believe that GOOG will do better than the rest
                 of the economy in the next five years.  -tom
2008/11/20-24 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:52053 Activity:nil
11/20   Dear Mr. Awsome Day Trader Dude. GOOG is only $270. Should I
        buy now? Useful advice needed here. Thank you.
        \_ What is your goal? Long-term or quick buck?
           \_ how about the answer for both -!op
              \_ Much better plays for short-term, but long-term this is a
                 fair price for GOOG. It should perform as well as the
                 broad market, if not better. Not a good stock if you want
                 to make a quick buck, though.
2008/11/14-26 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:51988 Activity:nil
11/14   lulz motd google guys involved with google video chat, I am interested
        in knowing why you went with a browser plugin, instead of going with
        Flash... like every other vid conf guy on the internet.
2008/11/12-26 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:51951 Activity:nil
11/13   lulz does google gmail video chat work in linux?
        \_ does google video chat work on iphone / g1 ?
2008/11/12-26 [Computer/Companies/Google, Finance/Investment] UID:51948 Activity:low
11/12   Intel warns.  Q4 revenue forecast down 10%.  At 1996 levels.
        GOOG afterhours at 285.  Time to buy?
        \_ I think GOOG is a buy under $300 and I bought. --GOOG h8ter
           \_ how long are you holding for?  will you buy more if it gets
              cheaper?
              \_ I'll hold until I need the money, however long that
                 is. I'll buy more if it continues to fall as long as nothing
                 significant changes with GOOG's business (like a strong new
                 competitor developing). I'd reconsider buying more shares if
                 it falls below $200, but I wouldn't sell what I own.
                 \_ tnx.  i am also trying to figure out when to buy in.
                    \_ Yesterday was a good time. I made 25% today by
                       buying a favorite daytrading stock near the low and
                       selling just before close. I wonder who the morons
                       are who are selling low and buying high?
                       \_ Please post on the motd when you make your trades,
                          not the next day. TIA.
                          \_ GOOG is still low even after today. Buy tomorrow
                             if it opens the same or down. The philosophy
                             is simple: Buy low, sell high. I have made a
                             lot of money the last ~6 weeks using this
                             simple idea. When strong stocks break 52 week
                             lows then by all means BUY. A lot of the pain
                             of the market is behind us. Many stocks are down
                             50% on the year. They aren't going to fall
                             another 50% IMO. Only the kooky DOW 5000
                             people think that and you know what, even if
                             they are right, I will be there on that DOW
                             5000 day buying. I am holding very few
                             positions long and overnight, although GOOG
                             is one of them.
2008/10/20-22 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:51593 Activity:kinda low
10/20   I just got a job at the GOOG, I moved in with a hot 23 year old
        who I have witnessed cause traffic accidents from the view of
        her butt just walking down the street, and Obama is about to be
                \_ YT?
        elected El Presidente.  Life is good.
        \_ shut up Paolo.
        \_ ali is that you?
           \_ No, definitely paolo.
              \_ WHY would anyone want to join GOOG at this time? I mean,
                 it's a well established company and you're only going to be
                 a little cog in the big machine, trying to maintain and
                 fix broken things left by the retired Googlers.
                 \_ Job security among other things.
                 \_ Free gourmet lunches.
2008/10/16-20 [Computer/Companies/Google, Industry/SiliconValley] UID:51543 Activity:moderate
10/16   Google demolishes analyst estimates.  Still holds $14B in cash.
        Is almost certainly in better shape than the broad market going
        forward.  -tom
        \_ not bad.  considering advancers vs. decliners on NYSE was something
           like 600 up vs. 2,900 down on a +400 DJIA up day.
           like 600 up vs. 2,900 down on a +400 DJIA day.
           \_ Are you sure about that? Because everything I own, except for
              a few financials, is in the green.
              \_ ob great job?
              \_ sorry, that site was probably not updating fast enough.
                 final:  55% advancers to 44% decliners.
        \_ So, when is it going back to 700? When is a good time to buy/sell?
           \_ if you are looking at a 15+-year timespan, GOOG is probably okay
              to buy now as a "growth" part of your portfolio. -!tom
           \_ My goal is to buy stocks which are likely to double in the next
              5 years.  I am confident that GOOG will do that from current
              levels, barring a major economic meltdown in the US.  -tom
              \_ If it doubles it won't even be at its high for the year
                 so that's not saying much.
                 \_ if you hadn't noticed, the entire market is down.
                    \_ And? Point being that doubling from here isn't
                       exactly hard to do. Almost everything has a good
                       chance of doubling from here as valuations are
                       so low right now.
                       \_ You think so?  I think the market is pretty unlikely
                          to go up for at least the next year and probably
                          longer than that.  Do you think the Dow will be at
                          18K five years from now?  Nasdaq 3500?  -tom
                          \_ Not improbable given that it was at 14K just
                             within the year.
        \_ This puts GOOG P/E at about the right level then.
           \_ The right level for what?
              \_ For me to buy. I prefer to buy stocks that have a PEG of
                 1 or less. Since GOOG's growth rate is 26%, and it's P/E
                 is 23, it is valued about "right".
                 \_ Growth rate is about 15% going forward from what I've
                    read. 15% is the company's own internal target. They
                    may exceed that, but that's gravy. Don't count on 26%
                    every year going forward.
                    \_ Where did you read that? I would be amazed if GOOG
                       published their own internal growth rate targets.
                       \_ It's a "whisper" number. It's not published.
                          I read it in an article, but I don't recall
                          where. Here's one (not the one I read):
                          http://tinyurl.com/4vidbp
        \_ This was make or break for GOOG. If they missed the stock was
           going under $300. I was going to buy if that was the case, but
           not sure now. So what are they doing with all this money that
           they make, anyway? They don't pay a dividend and their margins
           are high. Having $14B in the bank isn't necessarily a good
           thing. No business ideas at all?!
           \_ I guess you should short MSFT, too, they have $43B in the bank.
              Google has a ton of business ideas, what rock are you living
              under?  -tom
              \_ I didn't say I would short GOOG, just that having a lot
                 of cash could mean they are out of ideas. MSFT found
                 itself in the same situation if you recall and ended up
                 paying the money out to shareholders, which was a sure sign
                 they were out of blammo ideas. In case you haven't
                 noticed, MSFT has traded flat for 7 years now.
              \_ They have search. Gmail isn't making money. Neither is
                 YouTube. What other products do they have?     -op
                 \_ As I have said on the motd many, many times, the fastest
                    growing part of their company, which is very profitable,
                    is an ad delivery network called AdSense. This is not
                    "search". Did you miss this the other three or four times
                    we had this dicussion? -!Tom
                 \_ Google Docs and the Android are two obvious examples of
                    major new products.  Not all products have to make
                    money on their own, if they bring people into the core
                    business.  -tom
                    \_ Badly MS immitation Google Docs bring people to
                       search? Really? I didn't know that. Amazing!
                       \_ Have you even used Google Docs?  It's not an
                          imitation of MS Office, it's a completely
                          different paradigm for collaborating.  The
                          applications still need some work, but the
                          paradigm is much, much better than the document-
                          centric paradigm. That's why all kinds of people
                          are using it.  But anyway, you believe what you
                          want to believe; there's no incentive for me
                          to convince you to be less of an idiot.  -tom
                          \_ you still didn't answer me how their superior
                             product will pull in more revenues when they're
                             free for starters. And a superior product rarely
                             means superior revenue. Look at Winblows and
                             the revenue M$ generates.
2008/10/11-15 [Computer/Companies/Google, Politics] UID:51476 Activity:nil
10/11   What will GOOG report for earnings next week? Good news?
        \_ They will report revenue growth and massive earnings.  GOOG is
           notoriously and intentionally tight-lipped about guidance, which
           means the analyst estimates are all over the place, so it's hard
           to say what people would take as good news.  A lot more may hinge
           on the content of the conference call than on the actual numbers;
           everyone knows they're going to report huge earnings.  Current
           analyst estimates are between 3.7B and 4.16B quarterly revs,
           between 4.46 and 5.39/share earnings.  Personally I think they'll
           have higher revs with in-line earnings: call it $4.5B revs, $5/share
           earnings as a guess.  I hazard no guess as to what the stock will
           do with that information.  -tom
2008/10/7-9 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:51409 Activity:nil
10/7    Ever Drink and Blog and feel stupid the next morning?
        GOOG has the answer:
        http://tinyurl.com/3ovvzq
        \_ I once txt-ed msgs while I was really really wasted.  They were
           hilarious -- the English was slightly more coherent than the
           average psb wall.
           \- you missed the entire era of "drink and su" and "drink and
              rwall" --psb
2008/9/29-10/4 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:51326 Activity:moderate
9/29    Just six more days like today! -GOOG short $100 guy
        \_ It's already half of where it used to be in spite of fanbois
           like Tom talking it up like it would be the next GE. BTW, BRK-B
           was up today. Very interesting that it's up on a day like today.
           \_ GE 52-week high: 42.15.  Current: 23.10.  -tom
              \_ GE market cap = $228.80B. GOOG market cap = $119.80B.
                 \_ yeah, so?  -tom
                    \_ GOOG's not there yet and probably never will be.
                       It would not have made sense for GOOG to stay flat
                       while GE fell in half. GOOG's already
                       overcapitalized as-is.
                       \_ By what measure is GOOG overcapitalized?  What do
                          you think a reasonable PE ratio would be for GOOG?
                            -tom
                          \_ The same measure that allowed AOL to purchase
                             Time-Warner only for the company to later
                             pretend AOL never existed.
                             \_ That's not an answer.  It's not even Eng  Time-W\
arner only for the company to later
                             pretend AOL never existed.
                             \_ That's not an answer.  It's not even English.
                                What do you think a reasonable PE ratio would
                                be for GOOG?   -tom
                                \_ What do you think a reasonable market cap
                                   would be for GOOG?
                                   \_ I think GOOG can support a trailing PE
                                      in the neighborhood of 30 and a forward
                                      PE in the neighborhood of 20 for at
                                      least the next two years.  How that
                                      translates into market cap will depend
                                      on macroeconomic issues.  Google will
                                      still be the dominant internet search
                                      and advertising firm two years from now,
                                      but it will depend on the advertising
                                      market.  -tom
                                      market.
                                      Now will you answer the question? -tom
                                      \_ PEG should equal about 1 and it looks
                                         like GOOG growth is down to about 10%,
                                         so P/E should be 10. It is about 3X
                                         overcapitalized then.
                                         \_ Well, if GOOG's growth is really
                                            down to 10%, you might be right.
                                            But in 2007 GOOG made $9.9B,
                                            and it has already made $6.3B in
                                            But in 2007 GOOG made $4.2B,
                                            and it has already made $2.6B in
                                            the first two quarters this year,
                                            so you're off by at least a
                                            factor of two, barring
                                            macroeconomic conditions which
                                            impact Google's growth (and
                                            everyone else's).  -tom
                                            \_ What is GOOG's forward growth
                                               rate? I would be surprised if
                                               they grow at even 10% in Q4.
                                               \_ I think it's safe to say
                                                  that GOOG's forward growth
                                                  rate is higher than the
                                                  broad market's.  From
                                                  06 to 07 earnings grew
                                                  by 40%.  From 07 to 08
                                                  they look likely to grow
                                                  by at least 25%.  So
                                                  by your own measure,
                                                  Google is fairly valued.
                                                   -tom
        \_ (9/30) Damn, it's now up 7.66% so far today.
2008/9/22-24 [Science/Electric, Computer/Companies/Google, Computer/SW/Editors/Vi] UID:51263 Activity:kinda low
9/22    Gmail's "conversation feature" drives me nuts! Is there a way to
        disable that and make Gmail act like every other e-mail client on the
        planet? WTF thought this was a nice thing to have on by default?
        \_ Umm, why don't you just use another email service then...
           \_ Umm, I do, which is how I have something to compare to. I get
              mail in at least 4 places only one of which is Gmail. I
              rarely use my Gmail account, but I decided to try it again
              today just to see how it was running and what features it
              has added. I like to stay current with this stuff for the
              same reason that people have accounts on flickr, snapfish,
              photobucket, and shutterfly. This "feature" of Gmail annoys
              the crap out of me.
              \_ Well, it is kind of central to their design of the product.
                 So if you don't like it and can't deal with it, use something
                 else. This need to "stay current" with different email
                 services is also somewhat mystifying. Do you like to
                 "stay current" with different word processors too? I mean,
                 there is some benefit to being familiar with whatever, but
                 it seems like there are many more worthwhile things to spend
                 your time learning.
                 \_ That's nice. I run Windows, Mac, and Linux but I guess
                    some people just learn Windows, are happy with it, and
                    that's that. So, yes, I do use different Word
                    Processors (OpenOffice and Word), mail clients (Mail.app,
                    Thunderbird, kmail, and Outlook), etc. You might find
                    you like to watch TV, golf, or whatever your hobby is
                    that I find a waste of time. If you learn C++ does
                    that mean you shouldn't spend time learning Java or ruby
                    or python or whatever even if it turns out you think the
                    language sucks once you invested time in it?
                    \_ So a mail program is like a language?  "Keeping
                       current" with gmail means figuring out all the cool
                       things they do with javascript.  It doesn't mean knowing
                       how to read your email.
                       \_ I think you are wrong here. There are features
                          that can make you more productive if you know
                          about them. If you know "vi" then why learn
                          "emacs"? You already know a text editor, right?
                          \_ If you need to "stay current" with mail readers
                             you aren't smart enough to stay current.  It's
                             a flipping mail reader.  It reads mail.  A
                             moron can figure it out within 10 minutes.
                             \_ Spoken like someone who doesn't know very much.
                                "It's a friggin text editor. It edits text. A
                                moron can figure it out within 10 minutes."
                                Point here is that you don't know what
                                features are available until you spend
                                that 10 (or whatever) minutes trying it out!
                                \_ You keep that "gmail power user" on your
                                   resume.  Let us know how it works for you.
                                   \_ Keep reading your e-mail using PINE and
                                      let me know how it works out for you.
                          \- what is weird are the people under say 30
                             who learned vi rather than emacs.
        \_ Options -> sign out of chat.
        \_ There doesn't seem to be any way to turn it off.  It drove
           me crazy at first, but now I love it.
           \_ Same here.  At first I hated it, now using my yahoo account
              feels like going back to elm.
2008/9/1-3 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:51015 Activity:moderate
9/1     THE GOOG had Scott McCloud do a comic explaining why THE GOOG Chrome
        (their open-source webbrowser) is cool.  I don't really think it worked
        http://blogoscoped.com/google-chrome
        \_ Oh boy, it comes with porn mode!
        \_ Oh boy, it comes with a porn hider feature!
           http://blogoscoped.com/google-chrome/22
        \_ Is it 1993? GOOG's killer app is a *browser*?
           \_ No. Google's killer app is called "g docs" (writely acquisition)
           \_ No. THE GOOG's killer app is called "g docs"
              (writely acquisition)
           \_ No. THE GOOG's killer app is called "g docs" (writely acquisition)
              which is increasing used as a cheap collaborative alternative
              to MS Excel/Word/PowerPoint. Chrome is just a vehicle (v8)
              for a more pleasant link:docs.google.com experience. Again,
              it is not a replacement for MS products, but rather, a superior
              *collaborative* alternative. If you need explanation what
              that means, you're behind.
              \_ So why didn't they work within firefox to do that?
                 Trying to fragment the browser market even further makes
                 no sense and puts Google in the wrong market.
                 no sense and puts THE GOOG in the wrong market.
                 \_ I'm not sure about that, maybe it's just a beta test idea.
                    The low level design is pretty different than what Mozilla
                    is currently doing, maybe they just want to see if it works
                    better.
              \_ who in their right mind would put anything in google docs
                that is important?
                 \_ Every single one of internal Google document is stored
                 \_ Every single one of internal THE GOOG document is stored
                    on the same homogenous redundant storage system as the
                    one everyone else externally is using. So if the storage
                    system is down, so are all the internal employee
                    documents. Yeah, Google's done by a bunch of idiots,
                    documents. Yeah, THE GOOG's done by a bunch of idiots,
                    they should've just used NFS or something ehhhh???
                    \_ I cannot understand what you are trying to say, ehhhh?
        \_ I've downloaded it and tried it out.  It seems fairly nice and
           responsive.  I wish the tabs were in the usual place though. -op
2008/8/20-26 [Computer/Companies/Google, Recreation/Stripclub] UID:50912 Activity:nil
8/20    Is it my imagination or it seems like Gmail is getting slower
        and slower by the day? Takes friggin' seconds to retrieve any mail.
        \_ ObGoogleSucks - GOOG short $100 guy
        \_ works fine for me, but my Inbox usually has < 20 e-mails
        \_ 30,000 iPhones checking for mail every 15-30 minutes
         \_ For some place like google that's not even noticable load.
            \_ Except that, apparently, it is.
             \_ No, really, if gmail is getting slower it isn't because
                of 30k new users.
        \_ It's getting faster.  and We've Always Been At War With Eastasia.  --oj
        \_ It's getting faster.  and We've Always Been At War With
           Eastasia.  --oj
           \_ Tell us about STRIP CLUBS oj
              \_ go to ONE strip club and you're marked for life! though
                 once a grim hollow looking oj walked right by me on Market
                 coming out of a strip club.  I said hi but he was too lost in
                 deep contemplation of the human condition (either that or
                 totally high on horse) to respond.
        \_ الله أَكْ!
2008/8/15-18 [Computer/Companies/Google, Industry/Startup] UID:50874 Activity:nil
8/15    Startups that get bought by Google die.
        http://valleywag.com/5037519/6-startups-that-fell-into-googles-black-hole
        \_ It looks like most of those were aquired for technology not the
           services themselves.  The sites died, but the tech lives on.
2008/7/28 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:50707 Activity:nil 80%like:50703
7/28    Time to short Google:
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/5d5oyq [info week]
        \_ Try comparing search results before you lose your shirt again.
           Also, the site is ugly and has serious usability problems (notably
           the content frame).  -tom
        \_ I don't think it's volume that makes Google better.
2008/7/28 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:50703 Activity:nil 80%like:50707
7/28    Time to short Google:
        http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/search/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209602251
        \_ Try comparing search results before you lose your shirt again.
           Also, the site is ugly and has serious usability problems (notably
           the content frame).  -tom
2008/7/17-23 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:50610 Activity:low
7/17    GOOG misses. Net income of $3.92/share vs. expectations of $4.00/share.
        Earnings up 35% compared to same quarter last year.  No guidance on
        future earnings as usual.  I also heard last week that they are
        currently only hiring for essential positions.
        \_ Oh fuck, I need to dump GOOG now
        \_ They over-hired a bunch of dumb shits. "Essential positions"
           means they need to replace super elite programmers who have
           been there a while, vested, and are now beginning to jump
           off the ship. Read Glassdoor, my negative review is there.  -G
           \_ There are a 120 reviews there, can you be a little more specific?
              \_ Not really, I don't want to give myself away. Hint:
                 I'm one of the very top reviewers and you won't miss
                 my entry. Ok bye I think my coworker is watching my
                 screen. It's like Brady Bunch here, no privacy whatsoever. -G
                 \_ You gave it 2 bars?  Higher than I expected from you...
        \_ Great news indeed. Do you think my short is going to be in
           the money soon? -GOOG short 100 guy
           \_ I shoulda shorted it at 700. But I never short anything, I'm
              too scared.
2008/7/1-14 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:50435 Activity:nil 68%like:50431
6/30    Blog: Why I left Google. Politics, underperformance, inefficiencies,
        ineffectiveness, and things that are plain stupid.
        http://1-800-magic.blogspot.com/2008/06/back-to-microsoft.html
        \_ what blog are you getting these links from
        \_ I think you've seriously misread this blog post. This guy has no
           really valid criticisms of Google, other than things that affect
           every workplace (which he admits, after listing a bunch of Google's
           virtues).  The main thing this douche seems to hate is open source
           software.
        \_ I wish him well having a great time managing inflicting the next
           version of Windows Home Media Time Suck Fest Screw You Consumer
           2010.  Seriously, he should just shoot himself.
           \_ He's got a pretty good point about bugs in Google apps...
        \_ The whole article can be summed up with this line: "For me, this
           really does make the project less interesting if people are not
           willing to pay for it."  I don't think this reflects badly on him
           or google, they're just a poor match.
2008/7/1 [Computer/SW/OS/Windows, Computer/Companies/Google] UID:50431 Activity:high 68%like:50435
6/30    Blog: Why I left Google. Politics, underperformance, infefficiencies,
        ineffectiveness, and things that are plain stupid.
        http://1-800-magic.blogspot.com/2008/06/back-to-microsoft.html
        http://dannythorpe.com/about2
        This is the auther of Delphi, Google Gears API, etc etc etc.
        \_ he wrote the google gears API and delphi?  really?  i don't see
           that in there.
        \_ I think you've seriously misread this blog post. This guy has no
           really valid criticisms of Google, other than things that affect
           every workplace (which he admits, after listing a bunch of Google's
           virtues).  The main thing this douche seems to hate is open source
           software.
        \_ I wish him well having a great time managing inflicting the next
           version of Windows Home Media Time Suck Fest Screw You Consumer
           2010.  Seriously, he should just shoot himself.
2008/6/24-27 [Computer/Companies/Google, Computer/Companies/Yahoo] UID:50360 Activity:nil Cat_by:auto
6/24    Yahoo vs. Google vs. Bear Sterns employee attrition. Yahoo may be
        dying but it's nothing compared to Bear. Google still rocks, so
        hold on to their stocks! And if you're leaving Yahoo, there's
        a resignation-letter template to use.
        http://seekingalpha.com/article/82514-yahoo-google-bear-sterns-the-employee-turnover-perspective?source=yahoo
2008/6/19-23 [Computer/Companies/Google, Industry/Jobs] UID:50310 Activity:nil
6/19    http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/10/at-glassdoor-find-out-how-much-people-really-make-at-google-microsoft-yahoo-and-everywhere-else
        Google salary sucks. It's nowhere near the $150-$200k/year
        someone claims on motd.
        \_ Google has a really nice bonus package.
        \_ I think this is a Google recruiter
           http://s3.tinypic.com/23r4bdc.jpg
        \_ yeah gotta agree there. I know google guys who's yearly bonus
           is almost my total salary.
           \_ how typical are your friends @ google?  or are you very poorly
              paid?
2008/6/18-24 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:50286 Activity:nil
6/18     "Google pushes a highly "googley" atmosphere, which is something
        akin to what the Brady Bunch would be like if they lived in communist
        Russia. Everything from the carpet to the bathroom tiles incorporate
        the Google colors into its design. People are encouraged to have
        googley attitudes, wear plastic smiles, and not to question the
        infallible nature of the executive management group. "
        Oh so very true. It hurts so much to read this site.
        http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Google-Reviews-E9079.htm?reviewId=2382&reviewText=Featured+Review#pageHead
2008/5/12-16 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49935 Activity:kinda low
5/12    Where does Google go next? Yes, it's making gobs of money. Yes, it's
        full of smart people. Yes, it's a wonderful place to work. So why
        are so many people leaving?  By Adam Lashinsky, senior writer
        http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/09/technology/where_does_google_go.fortune
        \_ Maybe they don't have enough new business plan to require so many
           smart people?
           \_ It takes an army of PhDs to sell online ads!
        \_ Without turnover and recruitment stats, this article doesn't really
           say anything.  People will always leave companies, no matter how
           successful, and "I'm a pre-IPO employee at Google" is a ticket to
           anywhere.  How does Google's turnover compare with Yahoo's?  -tom
           \_ Why would you compare Google's turnover to Yahoo's? Even if
              it's lower, that doesn't support your implicit thesis that
              Google isn't having more turnover than would be "expected",
              considering Google is supposed to be more attractive than Yahoo.
              \_ Google will ALWAYS out-hire Yahoo, at least those who
                 are in their 20s, for several reasons. First of all,
                 it's atmosphere is not too different than Stanford
                 life. AMAZING FOOD (5 stars), laundry, amazing gym,
                 car wash, dentist, massage, GAMES GAMES GAMES, and
                 lots of restless and smart young people who like to
                 stay late and work on... stuff.
                 \_ The food is good but it sure as hell isn't 5 stars.
                    \_ True. They have over 50 cafes in the US (not just
                       mountain view) but only one of them is 5 star, and
                       it's not on campus for obvious reasons. Just like
                       all marketing bullshit like "Hey some of our
                       merchandize is 50% off!"
                 \_ ALWAYS is a really long time.
              \_ What is the "expected" rate of turnover?  Is Google's higher
                 than that?  Is Google's higher than its competitors' (assuming
                 there are any left?)  The article doesn't attempt to get at
                 meaningful questions; it lists half a dozen context-free
                 anecdotes.  -tom
                 \_ That's why "expected" is in quotes. No one can give an
                    absolute "expected" turnover rate for any company, only
                    some rate relative to its peer group. In particular,
                    Google's turnover rate compared to Yahoo doesn't support
                    your argument regardless of which way it goes.
                    \_ my argument is that the article is crap, and I think
                       that's pretty obvious.  -tom
                       \_ Okay, so no one need ever write any articles about
                          Google's hiring practices because they will all
                          necessarily be unsubstantiated crap.
                          \_ Nice straw man.  *This* article is crap.  -tom
                 \_ Google has always been secretive about things. Did you
                    expect this guy to give hard numbers on Google's actual
                    turnover rate compared to previous years? I'm sure he
                    would if he could. That doesn't mean you can't draw
                    conclusions based on those things that you can see
                    (e.g., perhaps a higher rate of turnover among the
                    executive ranks, which is far more obvious).
        \_ Some quotes I picked out:
           "They have a fantastic cash cow. They need a goat and a chicken."
           "I was surprised by the number of things that were being done
           [outside Google by former Google employees] that could have been
           done at Google."
           \_ What, you think noone outside of Google should write software?
              \_ I think it odd that so many people found Google to not
                 be the environment they wanted to write software in. Why
                 are the employees with good ideas not sharing them with
                 Google or, more ominously, why isn't Google recognizing
                 good ideas?
                 \_ You find it odd that people who worked for a cool startup
                    and made a whole bunch of money didn't want to keep
                    working there once it became large and therefore
                    different?  I would think that would be the expected
                    behavior.  -tom
                    \_ It's a brain drain, don't you think? That doesn't
                       concern you as GOOG shareholder? That the people
                       who helped build GOOG don't want to work there
                       anymore and took their ideas with them?
                       \_ Their ideas aren't very important. Goog is
                          still a 1-idea company and they can buy whatever
                          other startups these guys start. Those initial
                          employees were also just random lottery winners
                          according to the motd and are easily replaced.
                 \_ The only good ideas in Google are those that make
                    money. AdWord. AdSense. If it doesn't make money,
                    it's not a good idea.                       -X-G
                    \_ How is that different from every other company
                       in the United States?
                       \_ Lots of companies have "good" ideas that don't make
                          money.  http://pets.com, webvan, etc.  Yahoo will be there
                          before long.   -tom
2008/5/9 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49903 Activity:nil
5/8     Larry and Sergey have grown up:
        http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN0841778920080509
2008/4/26-30 [Computer/Companies/Google, Computer/SW/Security] UID:49838 Activity:low
4/26    is Google Chat through the web browser encrypted?  My sweetie
        spends all day chatting with me via Google Chat in gmail
        "oh baby i want to **** your **** and then *** *** **** **
        ** *** ***" and "* **** **** *** **** in ** *** *****".
        Could some nosy sysadmin packet sniff her?
        \_ Like this really happened with a live woman.
           \_ Actually I'm not joking!  It's great.
        \_ Get her a soda account, then you can both log in via ssh and
           chat away to your heart's content.
           \_ most likely she's not a UCB student
2008/4/20-30 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49785 Activity:nil
4/19    I want to know all the secrets about Google infrastructures like
        GFS, chubby, bigtable, megastore, stubby, protocol buffer, gaia,
        harmony, borg, borgmon, loas, focus, protocol buffer, moma,
        rephil, cat2?
        Where can I learn about these things?
        \- google quite frequently presents stuff at the usenix technical
           conference, FAST, OSDI etc. older proceedings are avail from
           usenix "sans" membership. --psb
2008/4/15-23 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49755 Activity:high
4/15    Anyone got any random investment tips? I am kinda at a loss of what to do.
        Agriculture and energy are at record highs...
        \_ stockhouse.ca .. NOT - via NOSOF ... assay results coming in soon
        \_ I'm liking HRP, currently paying 12.2% dividend; there's some
           risk, but they shouldn't be as exposed to some of the macro
           issues as a lot of stocks.  Ex-div is coming up next week.
           LNUX is a nice speculative play, low risk, sell on spikes.
           If your time horizon is long, I very much like GOOG at these
           levels.  -tom
           \_ GOOG is as safe as Bear Sterns.
              \_ No way man! GOOG will double every 3 years. There is no
                 way anyone else can enter the search engine and online
                 advertising space and wait until you see what sooper
                 dooper projects GOOG's army of PhDs, after slaving away
                 for years in secrecy,  are about to bring to market.
              \_ Revenues up 42%, earnings up 31%, $1.31 billion in profit
                 for the quarter.  $12 billion in cash and equivalents, zero
                 debt.  Nice analysis, chump.  -tom
                 \_ You forgot religious fanaticism among a devoted group
                    of tools.
                    \_ To put that another way, Google has a strong brand.
                       That's part of why I bought Apple when I did (now a
                       16-bagger).  GOOG up 85 points today, 12%.  Glad I
                       doubled my position a couple weeks ago.  -tom
                       \_ that's nice. go drink some coolaid.
                          \_ I'll be able to afford some, with all the money
                             I've made on GOOG and AAPL.  How's that GOOG
                             short at 100 going?  -tom
                             \_ I shorted at 680, and kind of panic'ed when
                                it was in the mid 700 range but dumped it
                                at around 490. So actually, I did well. I'm
                                waiting for it to go back up over and
                                over again. Love GOOG.          -short guy
                                \_ Should I still wait for it to drop
                                   back under $100? -short GOOG $100 guy
                             \_ I think you're a fool for owning GOOG and
                                AAPL right now, personally. Are you
                                cherry-picking your returns to show us
                                your best picks and ignoring your poor
                                picks? I mean, with a 16-bagger you should
                                probably be retired by now. I think most
                                of us (CS geeks) owned AAPL at some point,
                                but not many bought and stayed in over the
                                last 12 years. I first bought AAPL in 1996
                                when I got my first real job, but so what?
                                AAPL had some really crappy times in there
                                where it almost went under completely. What's
                                most important is valuation, and I see GOOG
                                and AAPL as really overvalued right now.
                                \_ http://finance.yahoo.com/q/op?s=GOOG&m=2010-01-15
                                   If tom's a fool for owning GOOG, then tons
                                   of people out there are fools for wanting
                                   to buy 1 GOOG option for over $100
                                   (look at $550).
                                   \_ Sure, there are tons of people who
                                      are fools for buying into the brand
                                      that is GOOG.
                                \_ You can go look at the wall logs from
                                   the past 10 years if you really want to
                                   see all my positions; I generally
                                   announce when I buy or sell something.
                                   I have taken profits on much of my original
                                   AAPL holding, but it has split several
                                   times and I still hold shares.  My point
                                   in bringing up AAPL was not to tout my
                                   portfolio, my point was that even when
                                   Apple was having difficult times, I believed
                                   that its strong brand would allow it to
                                   survive.  Apple and Google are two of
                                   the strongest brands in technology today.
                                   I probably wouldn't buy Apple at its
                                   current valuation, but I don't sell good
                                   companies just because the stock went up.
                                   \_ If you wouldn't buy it then why hold it?
                                      \_ Because I have a long time horizon,
                                         and selling a winner is both costly
                                         and generally ill-advised.  -tom
                                         \_ Selling something you think is
                                            overvalued is ill-advised only
                                            on Planet Holub. That $10
                                            commission to trade out of it
                                            gonna screw your returns?
                                            \_ You might want to Google
                                               "capital gains tax."  -tom
                                               \_ You're going to pay
                                                  it when you sell anyway.
                                                  \_ There are lots of
                                                     scenarios where you don't
                                                     wind up paying capital
                                                     gains tax.  And money
                                                     spent now is more
                                                     expensive than money
                                                     spent later.  -tom
                                                     \_ Losing your principle
                                                        on an overvalued stock
                                                        seems like a silly
                                                        way to avoid tax.
                                                        Effective, though.
                                                        Maybe you'll even
                                                        have a cap loss to
                                                        deduct.
                                                        \_ What is your point?
                                                           That I should always
                                                           move all my money
                                                           into the one stock
                                                           that I consider
                                                           the best value at
                                                           a given moment?  I
                                                           think Apple is a
                                                           fine company to own
                                                           and I am relatively
                                                           confident that I
                                                           will meet my
                                                           standard investment
                                                           goal (a double
                                                           within 5 years)
                                                           from its current
                                                           level.  Furthermore,
                                                           trying to time
                                                           the market is not
                                                           my investment
                                                           strategy.  -tom
                                                           \_ It's not about
                                                              timing the
                                                              market. It's
                                                              about holding a
                                                              stock you feel is
                                                              overvalued. Why
                                                              would you do
                                                              that if there are
                                                              better values?
                                                              Diversification
                                                              isn't an excuse
                                                              for fanatical
                                                              AAPL worship.
                                   I strenuously disagree that Google is
                                   overvalued right now.  Its trailing PE
                                   is just 40 (YHOO is 60) and its forward
                                   PE is well below 30, even if you take
                                   conservative earnings assumptions.  What
                                   makes you think GOOG is overvalued?  Recall
                                   that short-GOOG-at-100-guy thought it was
                                   overvalued at 100 because its PE was higher
                                   than YHOO.  Clearly, GOOG's buisness and
                                   \_ Not PE. Market cap. Right now GOOG's
                                      is $170B. YHOO's is $38B. You think
                                      that's justified? No one is saying
                                      GOOG or AAPL are bad companies. They
                                      just aren't good buys.
                                      \_ What do you think GOOG's market cap
                                         should be, and why?  What do you
                                         think should determine a company's
                                         market cap?  -tom
                                         \_ Earnings is the obvious answer, but
                                            it's not so simple. BofA made
                                            5X what GOOG did in earnings
                                            1Q of 2007 and wasn't valued 5X
                                            as much. I don't know what either
                                            YHOO or GOOG *should* be
                                            priced at, but I know they
                                            should be comparable and it
                                            was reasonable to assume so
                                            especially when GOOG went IPO.
                                            Since then GOOG has had more
                                            success than YHOO and so
                                            should probably be worth more,
                                            but 4.5X more? You can make the
                                            argument that YHOO is undervalued
                                            if you wish, but these two
                                            companies should trend close
                                            to each other.
                                            \_ Why should GOOG and YHOO have
                                               comparable market cap?  GOOG
                                               had $5 billion in profits in
                                               2007, up 70% over 2006.  YHOO
                                               had $700 million in profits,
                                               down 35% over 2006.  GOOG
                                               is actually priced at a
                                               discount to YHOO based on
                                               earnings, and GOOG's earnings
                                               are increasing while YHOO's
                                               are falling.  There is no
                                               earthly way those two companies
                                               should be comparable in market
                                               cap.  BofA made lots of money
                                               but their earnings are also
                                               declining and they are at
                                               serious risk due to the
                                               subprime crisis.  If BofA
                                               were growing earnings by 30%
                                               and revenues by 40% year over
                                               year the stock would be
                                               much higher.  -tom
                                               \_ Do you really believe GOOG
                                                  is going to grow earnings
                                                  30% per year? Try looking at
                                                  absolute numbers instead of
                                                  percentages. GOOG's profit
                                                  was nil until recently
                                                  so I guess it increased
                                                  infinity since then.
                                                  GOOG and YHOO need to be
                                                  compared because they
                                                  are in the same space
                                                  just like Exxon needs to
                                                  be compared to BP. When
                                                  GOOG went IPO there was
                                                  no fundamental reason to
                                                  value it over $200. People
                                                  bought based on hype.
                                                  Now that GOOG has
                                                  actually turned a profit
                                                  it deserves more attention
                                                  but how much more do you
                                                  really think it can
                                                  grow? It's already
                                                  valued at 12th largest in
                                                  the USA with no real assets
                                                  and no real barrier to entry.
                                                  No one with any sense
                                                  would value the company
                                                  at these levels. MSFT
                                                  makes 4x as much money
                                                  as GOOG and is valued at
                                                  only 1.67X as much.
                                                  There's a lot of success
                                                  already priced into
                                                  GOOG's share price.
                                                  \_ Google was already
                                                     extremely profitable
                                                     when it went public.
                                                     People bought based
                                                     on the numbers, and
                                                     the numbers have made
                                                     Google one of the most
                                                     successful and profitable
                                                     companies in the world.
                                                     If you really think
                                                     Google should be valued
                                                     similarly to Yahoo
                                                     just because they're
                                                     both Internet companies,
                                                     you're not worth wasting
                                                     any more time on.  -tom
                                                     \_ What about comparing
                                                        GOOG to MSFT in
                                                        terms of market
                                                        share and profit?
                                                        Do you think the
                                                        MSFT:GOOG ratio
                                                        undervalues MSFT
                                                        or overvalues
                                                        GOOG? BTW, it's
                                                        not that YHOO and GOOG
                                                        are both "Internet
                                                        companies". It's that
                                                        they compete in the
                                                        same space. I agree
                                                        GOOG is executing
                                                        better and should be
                                                        valued higher, but
                                                        do you think think GOOG
                                                        is worth 4.5X YHOO?
                                                        \_ Google is earning
                                                           six times more than
                                                           Yahoo; why shouldn't
                                                           it be worth six
                                                           times more?  GOOG
                                                           clearly must be
                                                           compared to MSFT
                                                           but the comparison
                                                           is complex; MSFT
                                                           has a dominant
                                                           position, but in
                                                           technologies which
                                                           are losing value.
                                                           They have a huge
                                                           amount of money but
                                                           will be seriously
                                                           challenged to move
                                                           their business to
                                                           something that's
                                                           relevant in the
                                                           long term.
                                                           Here's a graph that
                                                           has some analogy to
                                                           the GOOG/MSFT
                                                           situation today:
                http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=my&s=IBM&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=MSFT
                                                            -tom
                                                        \_ Update: Yahoo just
                                                           reported $150m in
                                                           earnings; so Google
                                                           is actually earning
                                                           almost 9 times as
                                                           much as Yahoo.
                                                           And GOOG's earnings
                                                           are rising while
                                                           YHOO's are flat.
                                                             -tom
                                                           \_ Flash back
                                                              to 2005. YHOO
                                                              earned $1.9B.
                                                              GOOG earned
                                                              $1.47B. YHOO had
                                                              a market cap of
                                                              $47B. GOOG had a
                                                              market cap of
                                                              $51B. Did that
                                                              make much sense?
                                                              So that is why
                                                              GOOG shouldn't be
                                                              worth 6 times
                                                              more: It's
                                                              not how the
                                                              market works.
                                                              Otherwise MSFT
                                                              would be worth a
                                                              lot more relative
                                                              to GOOG. GOOG
                                                              makes 99% of
                                                              its revenue
                                                              from advertising.
                                                              Think about that.
                                                              \_ Yes, it did
                                                                 make sense
                                                                 for GOOG to
                                                                 be worth more
                                                                 than YHOO,
                                                                 because GOOG
                                                                 was growing
                                                                 faster in
                                                                 2005.  The
                                                                 market will
                                                                 anticipate
                                                                 value; and
                                                                 the market
                                                                 in this case
                                                                 was clearly
                                                                 correct.  I'm
                                                                 done here,
                                                                 you're just
                                                                 trolling. -tom
                                                                 \_ I knew
                                                                    you would
                                                                    mention
                                                                    20/20
                                                                    hindsight.
                                                                    The market
                                                                    is
                                                                    anticipating
                                                                    GOOG to be
                                                                    the biggest
                                                                    company in
                                                                    the nation
                                                                    other than
                                                                    Exxon.
                                                                    Do you
                                                                    think that's
                                                                    realistic
                                                                    for a
                                                                    for an
                                                                    company
                                                                    that derives
                                                                    all revenue
                                                                    from ads?
                                   growth justified that higher PE; I see no
                                   reason to expect serious problems for
                                   their business in the next couple of years.
                                   Without serious problems, GOOG is still
                                   cheap today (though not as cheap as it was
                                   when I suggested it as a buy in this
                                   thread.)   -tom
                                   \_ follow-up: Millward Brown Optimor rates
                                      Google's brand as the most powerful
                                      in the world, estimates its value at
                                      $86 billion:
                              http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9924273-7.html
                                        -tom
        \_ GAGEX if it dips below 30, DO, NE, RIG, PE are all good
        \_ Crop futures.
        \_ Diversify. Especially overseas, if you have not done so already
           as the dollar is very likely to fall further. I like EFA, EWG
           and EWD. Some overseas income producing property would be nice,
           if you can pull that off.
        \_ God damnit. I was looking at POT yesterday and now it's up 7+%. -op
2008/4/7-12 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49677 Activity:nil
4/7     Google searches spread spyware and hijack your PC to spread spam.
        http://www.csua.org/u/l8b
        \_ very poor understanding and description of the technical issues.
           Google isn't involved.  -tom
           \_ 'Google issued a statement saying it is helping affected
              websites fix the problem and is also developing new tools "to
              detect and block" malicious Web pages.'
              'The search engine trick - which has been focused on Google, ...'
              \_ Of course it's focused on Google, it's the search engine that
                 everyone uses.  All Google is doing is returning search
                 results.  -tom
                 \_ "All Windows is doing is supporting EXEs to run ......".
                    \_ ridiculous analogy.  -tom
                       \_ Actually very apt.
                          \_ only if a Windows EXE runs on other operating
                             systems.
        \_ That has to be the worst article I've ever read.
2008/4/3-9 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49659 Activity:low
4/3     So, hates google guy, which search engine do you use?
        \_ Google for search, Yahoo for news/maps/weather/subject-lookup/mail/
           etc.  -- one of the hate-google guys
        \_ Google for non-news search, Yahoo for news, news search, maps,
           weather, subject lookup, mail, etc.  -- sour grape guy
           \_ I am similar, although I usually try Yahoo! first before
              using Google for all of my searches since I have it up
              for all the rest anyway. I use Google most for the dejanews
              archive, which they can't even take credit for.
        \_ I'm not GHG, but I don't use GOOG for search. I find that for
           the things I search for Yahoo is better. The only GOOG app I
           use is gmail, but that is only b/c I need a spam collector
           email address.
        \_ I'm the original x-Goog guy. I still use Google. Don't get me
           wrong, some of the products they have is top notch. I don't
           have any problem with their early products. I do however hate
           the work environment, and how the management is turning out.
           Every new product is now a product of acquisition, and every
           existing job today is about maintaining existing products
           and integrating with new acquisitions. Management is full of
           college kids who barely graduated 3-4 years ago but hopefully
           they'll leave soon after they vest. A sad large percentage of
           them are either technically incompetent, lack management skills,
           full of "I'm so cool" attitude, or all of the above. It's
           like Netscape, but getting worse by the day, and with really
           amazing free lunch and dinner and video games and a nice gym.
           By the way I posted the following:
           http://csua.com/2008/03/26/#49572
           \_ ... and some nice pianos.  (I was a lunch guest once.)
              \_ piano or pianos? The last time I was there they only
                 had 1 baby grand in building 40. At any rate, all the
                 good stuff you see as a guest is a facade.   -x-Goog
                 \_ google engineers make average 150k . what are you
                    whining about?
                    \_ Average YES, median, hell no. Average is 150k
                       because employee 0-4000 all make ridiculous amount
                       of money that bring up the salary. Almost everyone
                       post 2005 make regular HP/IBM +$20K salary, which
                       is very unimpressive.
                       \_ I've been out of the job market awhile, but
                          isn't HP/IBM salary +$20K something approaching
                          $150K? Certainly it can't be far off.
                          \_ Umm, I understand that HP average is about $80K
                             \_ In the Bay Area or average across all of HP?
                                I don't know a single person that makes
                                less than $100K, although I don't know any
                                HP employees. A person with less than 10
                                years experience might get $80-90K. That's
                                about what we hire people at with an MS
                                and a couple of years job experience. I talk
                                to a lot of people who say they make
                                $120-150K easy and you'd think they have
                                to given what the cost of living in CA is.
                             \_ I work at a regular medium sized company
                                and my friend at HP makes consistently
                                $15-20K lower than me. So in short new
                                Google employees get... regular Silicon
                                Valley salary... after you add in stock
                                options, and less if you don't add options.
                 \_ I went last May or June, I forgot.  I saw the baby grand
                    near a big dining area, but I also saw a digital one next
                    to a staircase in another building.
2008/4/3-9 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49657 Activity:low
4/3     Google to lay off 1/4 of its DoubleClick employees. Still
        holding on Google from $600-700? Bahahahaha     -short G guy
        \_ Why are you still happy?  GOOG has stopped dropping in the past
           couple of weeks and I'm not happy.
        \_ How's that short at 100/200/300/400 working out?
           \- stock prices usually go up in the short term after
              shedding employees, no?
        \_ Google keeps fat and you aren't happy.  Google cuts fat and
           you aren't happy.  What would make you happy?
           \_ GOOG goes out of business and the sumg little brats with
              an overactive sense of entitlement are forced to hold "will
              code for food" signs on the San Antonio overpass. :-)
              \_ Ah, so you are just jealous.
                 \_ Ah, no. Google is a perfect example of anti-
                    meritocracy. Those fucking AdWords kids are one of
                    the worst engineers to work with and they think they're
                    all that, when in fact, they simply got lucky and
                    were at the right place at the right time. Those
                    fucking brats are fucking unpleasant to work with.
                    Fuck Google.
                    Fuck Google.                        -x G
                    \_ Sure sounds like jealousy to me.
                       \_ Then you're dumb. Jealosy is wanting something
                          somebody else has. pp is just mad that some
                          people ended up with something they didn't earn
                          or deserve.
                          \_ and why didn't they earn or deserve it?  pp
                             provides no evidence.
                             \_ Pissed off thinks lottery is lame.
                                Unpissed thinks lottery is perfectly
                                good meritocracy (you invested, you win).
                                Both have points.
                                \_ It's not a lottery.
                                   \_ For employee 1000-4000, it's a lottery.
                                      They could have joined hundreds of
                                      startups that would have been just
                                      as successful, but they happened to
                                      have chosen Google. Most of the
                                      lucky ones would tell you that it's
                                      "fate" or that they had foresight or
                                      something. It's bullshit.
                                   \_ In many (most?) ways it is.
                                      \_ Google just randomly happened to
                                         come up with the best search engine
                                         and the best advertising model?  -tom
                                         \_ You are confusing luck with
                                            randomness.  Almost all success has
                                            an element of luck, even if you
                                            purposefully try to succeed, rather
                                            than sort of stumble around.  It
                                            is only obvious in hindsight that
                                            the Google eigenvalue thing works
                                            well for search (this is the case
                                            for a lot of successful research).
                                            In this sense, Google got lucky.
                                            This is aside from early Google
                                            employees who without a doubt won
                                            the employee lottery. -- ilyas
                                            the employee lottery (in a sense
                                            that if you can do better than
                                            random picking a startup that will
                                            succeed, why aren't you rich yet?)
                                                 -- ilyas
                                         \_
                                         1. Not sure it's the best.
                                         2. Not sure GOOG was the only one
                                            to come up with this model.
                                         3. We are not talking about the
                                            founders here. We are talking
                                            about the rank and file. The people
                                            who ended up at GOOG over SUN out
                                            of college weren't any better,
                                            smarter, or prescient. They
                                            made an educated guess about
                                            where it seemed nice to work
                                            and where they could pay their
                                            bills. I've told the story of
                                            the guy I knew who was one of
                                            the first employees at SUN. He
                                            didn't even *want* the job
                                            because it looked like such a
                                            rinky-dink outfit compared to
                                            his former (large) company but
                                            his first choice turned him down.
                                            He would be the first to tell
                                            you that getting that job at
                                            SUN was like winning the lotto.
                                         4. Even considering founders do
                                            you really think Gates or Jobs
                                            really made all of that money
                                            through skill? Are they
                                            skilled? Sure. Has Windows
                                            been the best product on the
                                            market for much of its
                                            existence? No. Did Bill steal
                                            a lot? Yes. Was it Steve Jobs or
                                            was it Wozniak that built that
                                            computer? There are lots of (more)
                                            talented people who don't make
                                            1/100 what those guys do. Be real.
                                            \_ you want some cheese with that
                                               whine?  -tom
                                               \_ This is what you say when
                                                  confronted with facts?
                                                  \_ no, it's what I say when
                                                     confronted with content-
                                                     free drivel.  -tom
                                                     \_ In other words,
                                                        you have no rebuttal.
                                                        Typical.
                                                        \_  Funny how it's
                                                            always easier to
                                                            nitpick at other
                                                            people's data than
                                                            to come up with
                                                            some of your own.
                                                            Huh? -!pp
                                                            \_ There's no data
                                                               there.  -tom
                                \_ Unpissed just thinks it's stupid to care
                                   someone getting something you think
                                   they didn't deserve.  Who cares what
                                   they deserve?  It doesn't hurt you.
                                   \_ Well I for one was managed by one of
                                      the Google kids who happened to get
                                      lucky and he was one of the WORST
                                      managers I've ever had to work with
                                      and I swear to not work with people
                                      like that again. Unfortunately,
                                      Google seems to breed a lot of bad
                                      or mediocre employees who are loud
                                      mouths who think they're all that and
                                      somehow management seems to like
                                      hiring incompetent loud mouths in
                                      Silicon Valley. So, to answer your
                                      question, a company that breeds
                                      30% really bad managers/engineers
                                      with bad attitudes hurts everyone
                                      in the industry.          -x-Goog
                          \_ Why didn't you go get a job there when they
                             were hiring?
                             \_ I can't speak for GHG, but the whole
                                GOOG culture weirded me out so I didn't
                                get a job there.
                                \_ GHG? Isn't it HGG?
                                   \_ GHG -> Google Hater Guy
                             \_ I declined to even interview there after
                                taking the tour.  The whole thing just
                                seemed to be designed to keep the workers
                                at work as long as possible.  Of course,
                                I have a job I love, so I didn't need it.
                                 -jrleek
                          \_ How does being mad at someone for getting
                             something you think they don't deserve not
                             consititute jealousy.  It's not like it hurts
                             you that google employees have good benefits.
                             Hell, the rising Google tide has lifted all
                             CS job boats around here.  Be glad!
                             \_ I think it's the attitude they have that
                                pisses people off, which they develop when
                                people like Tom laud them for their
                                amazing intellect and ability to pick red
                                or black on the roulette wheel.
                                \_ ding ding ding! some of the original
                                   employees have REALLY bad attitudes
                                   and they're almost as bad as Netscape
                                   employees who used to think they're on
                                   the top of the world and treat everyone
                                   else like inferior shit. You're right
                                   many people today ARE pissed at these
                                   fucking old timers (who are barely 4
                                   years fresh out of college) who are
                                   incompetent but are high up there. -x G
2008/4/1-6 [Health, Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49639 Activity:nil
4/1     drug deal on google maps:
        http://tinyurl.com/32bmoy
        \_ How do you know that? RACIST.
2008/3/13-17 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49449 Activity:nil
3/13    How does Google Image's SafeSearch Filtering filter images?  Does
        Google hire people to visually determine whether each image is
        explicit or not?
        \_ http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~fleck/naked.html
2008/3/7-11 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49385 Activity:nil
3/7     The google adds on http://straightdope.com today are almost all for asian
        mail-order brides.  What is the keyword for these ads?  Of course,
        actually that's pretty good matching...
        \_ I get "High Achieving Women" "Careers for Women" and
           "Adventure Tours for Women" (and I am a guy!). Google must know
           something about the both of us that we don't know about ourselves.
           Oh duh, you mean the banner ad at the top. Yeah, I see that, too.
           Quite amusing when compared to the ad at the bottom.
           \_ For me the 4 at the bottom were mail order brides as well. -op
        \_ 500 error.  Too many motders trying to find a bride.
2008/3/6-7 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49356 Activity:nil
3/5     i give up.  im using google chat, in the browser.  it works
        great.  google chat on my cell phone works great too.
        it all works.  google owns me.
        \_ I use Adium so I don't care which chat client the other person
           is using...
2008/3/5-7 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49346 Activity:kinda low
3/5     How does Google Map widget work? Is it a flash program or a
        pure Javascript program? When you include a Google Map on your
        home page, how does it talk to the <DEAD>maps.google.com<DEAD> server?
        I thought cross domain is not possible.
        \_ Pure JavaScript.  It uses an <iframe> to avoid cross-domain issues.
           \_ You mean the thing that scrolls/moves around is an
              iframe? Holy cow...
              \_ Why does that amaze you?
2008/3/3-6 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49322 Activity:nil
3/3     http://valleywag.com/362868/googlers-vent-working-here-sucks-too
        Last quarter, Google hired 889 people, bringing the total headcount
        to 16,805. What do all these new employees do? Stab each other in
        the back, apparently.
        \_ $45k/yr? Wow, those googlers sure are underpaid.
           \_ These are customer service reps (phone), not engineers.
        \_ Valleywag makes Drudge look like a font of accuracy.
2008/2/7-11 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49093 Activity:kinda low 92%like:49091
2/8     If you can't innovate then buy. FIFTY acquisitions later
        and NOTHING to show for it.
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/2hw3d8 (fixunix.com)
        \_ Most of these seem to have been implemented or integrated into
           Google offerings; why do you say there's nothing to show for it?
           Among the acquisitions:
           Dejanews (became Google Groups)
           Blogger
           Picasa
           Various mapping software used in Maps/Earth
           Various advertising firms (including Doubleclick)
           Various search firms
           YouTube
           Apps (Writely, SketchUp)

           Which of those is "nothing"?
             -tom
           \_ yawn. They are all nothing. In fact, other than patent search
              and gmail imap I am hard pressed to think of single thing
              googhell does that is actually any good. And the whole text
              ads thing is TOTALLY annoying. If only adblock plus could block
              them.
              \_ Google maps.
              \_ so which search engine do you use? what mapping service?
                 \_ I use yahoo or ask for search and yahoo or mapquest
                    for maps. I esp. like the !amazon [search term] feature
                    that yahoo has.
                    \_ OK, you're a troll, thanks for clarifying that.  -tom
                       \_ I am not a troll. I really think googhell is leem
                          and I haven't used googhell search for years (except
                          for patent search). I still use my gmail account,
                          but only as a throwaway email for forums signins.
                          I wouldn't trust googhell with my personal email.
                          And what the heck is up with all the cookies they
                          try to set. Nothing works on their sites if you
                          block cookies. Also extra leem. I have to use a
                          separate browser just to go to googhell and then
                          make sure to delete all the cookies after.
                          \_ are you 12 years old?  -tom
                             \_ no
           \_ Here's a better question. What value-added has Google brought
              to the table?
              \_ Groups: Clearly added value.  Usenet is dead.
                 Blogger: Eh, probably about the same.  Adds value by
                 integrating, single sign-on.
                 Picasa: See Blogger.
                 Mapping/Earth: Huge, huge value add.
                 Ad firms/search: Hard to tell, it's all proprietary on the
                 back end. But clearly they're doing something right.
                 YouTube: Haven't changed it much yet.
                 Apps: Have gained much more acceptance than they ever
                 would have as independent entities.  Technology still
                 has a way to go.
                 Overall, I'd say Google has done a better than average job
                 of integrating acquisitions.  -tom
                 \_ Groups - leem, use gnus if you need news
                    Blogger - even leemer than groups
                    Picasa - also leem (flickr is better if you like that
                             sort of thing)
                    Mapping/Earth - who cares? you can get directions that
                                    are same/better from mapquest, yahoo, &c.
                    Ads - did I mention I HATE ADS
                    YouTube - Okay this is cool, but only b/c it is the
                              easiest way to watch Top Gear episodes. If
                              there were no pirated Top Gear episodes on
                              YouTube, it would be leem as well.
                    Apps - yawn, if you need word processing use word (or
                           if you hate M$ use Pages, if you can't use Pages
                           stop being a dork and get a mac)
                           if you hate M$ use Pages, if you don't have
                           Pages, stop being a dork and get a mac)
                    Patent Search - Reasonably k3wl but only b/c the PTO
                                    can't get its act together and put up
                                    a decent website. Of course, to make
                                    this really useful they should put the
                                    file history online and any case history
                                    re validity/invalidity
                    \_ you're an idiot.
                    \_ You're "leem". I'm not a huge google fan either,
                       but at least I'll admit a few of their properties
                       are the best around.
                       \_ But most of them, like YouTube, are pretty much
                          the work of other companies. How did YouTube
                          change post-Google acquisition?
                          \_ Even if they do minimal integration like
                             accepting Google Account credentials, the net
                             effect is to lock people into the Google
                             ecosystem, if you will. They can also stick
                             ads on everything as usual, and there's a certain
                             cross-advertising synergy. Yes, that doesn't
                             necessarily improve the actual service, but two
                             obvious ways of improving Youtube are better
                             quality video (which requires huge storage and
                             bandwidth, with G presumably has), and better
                             searchability (which is supposedly G's forte).
                             I think they are working on both of these, but
                             I'm not really monitoring their progress.
2008/2/7 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:49091 Activity:nil 92%like:49093
2/8     If you can't innovate then buy. FIFTY acquisitions later
        and NOTHING to show for it.
        http://fixunix.com/linux/326769-google-if-you-can-t-innovate-then-buy-fifty-acquisitions-later-nothing-show.html
2008/2/1-7 [Computer/Companies/Google, Computer/SW/OS/Windows] UID:49047 Activity:kinda low
2/1     MS tries to buy Yahoo
        \_ GOOG 514.60  -49.70
           :-)
           I'm not the "short GOOG" guy, just someone who envies Google
           employees.
        \_ Official buyout letter from MSFT http://tinyurl.com/3ysrzu
        \_ Another reason to hate The Borg.
           \_ If the Borg can put GOOG in its place, more power to it.
              \_ Put it this way: I increased my M$FT holdings after this move,
                 and don't hold any GOOG, but I am still rooting for Google.
                 What do you have against them?
                 \_ Why would you 'root for' one gigantic corporation over
                    another gigantic corporation.  You're just eyeballs and
                    dollars for both.  Neither 'roots for' you or people like
                    you.
                    \_ M$ software has been a disaster for the Internet and
                       with a few exceptions, is practically unusable. GOOG
                       is exactly the opposite. Why would I care that the
                       software I use be bug free and not cause major
                       world-wide security problems? Is that a serious
                       question? I guess you could say M$ has help keep
                       me in a job, cleaning up their messes...
                 \_ The smugness of GOOG gets me. I mean, what is so great
                    about GOOG? Everyone does search. I find Yahoo's search
                    generally better than google. Lots of people do webmail.
                    About the only positive things I've seen from google is
                    gmail imap and patent search, and both are really pretty
                    mediocre. And I totally hate the stupid text ads. One
                    reason I don't use google for search anymore is b/c
                    adblock plus doesn't block google's stupid text ads.
                    Yahoo and most other sites are smart enough to use ads
                    that adblock blocks.
              \_ MSFT buying YHOO is a major boon for GOOG.  MSFT has no
                 track record of being able to assimilate other companies
                 effectively, and all the talent will bolt from YHOO if it
                 happens (and guess where they'll go?)  MSFT will be saddled
                 with multiple redundant services and internal conflicts over
                 how to resolve the redundancies.  It'll damage two of GOOG's
                 competitors in one shot.  -tom
                 \_ Are you kidding?  Most of MS's good tech comes from
                    buyouts.  With few exceptions MS has done extremely
                    well with their purchases.  Are you trying to troll the
                    entire motd with statements like that?
                 \_ I don't think that is true: M$ has piles of cash and now
                    they have something to spend it on. -ausman
                    \_ Non sequiteur.  Microsoft already has products in
                       every area Yahoo does; they're trying to buy eyeballs,
                       but when Yahoo Mail gets subsumed into Hotmail and
                       Flickr becomes Windows Live Photos, they'll lose the
                       eyeballs anyway, after taking numerous write-downs
                       on discontinued lines of business.  MS is still
                       dominated by the OS and Office apps; MS's dilemma is
                       that they won't make any decisions which will hurt the
                       OS or Office, which seriously cripples their ability
                       to execute in the web app space, where the OS and Office
                       are irrelevant.
                       The odds of MS being able to successfully execute a
                       takeover of Yahoo and a shift to an ad-based web
                       services revenue model are miniscule; I'd guess less
                       than 10%.  -tom
                       \_ I agree with most of what you said, but there is
                          no need for M$ to shift to an ad-based web services
                          revenue model across the company.
                          \_ The history of companies who have two competing
                             lines of business is not good.  -tom
                             \_ In what why do they compete? I see apps
                                and web portal as complementary.
                                \_ The web service is better for users the more
                                   platform-neutral it is; MS has a long
                                   history of trying to tie everything into
                                   their own OS and applications.  What do
                                   you think will happen when someone from the
                                   IE team says "hey, we have this new
                                   standards-violating feature in IE, we
                                   need to use it in the next version of the
                                   portal/Flickr/Mail application", and someone
                                   from the Yahoo side says "we can't do that,
                                   it won't work for a whole bunch of our
                                   customers"?  Right.  -tom
                                   \_ This is an interesting perception,
                                      but you are straying from the topic of
                                      MS moving to an ad-based web services
                                      revenue model. Please explain why
                                      MS would want/need to do so.
                                      \_ Because web services are eroding
                                         the relevance of the OS and desktop
                                         apps.  -tom
                                         \_ Let's say this is true. Won't
                                            M$ have to go in that direction
                                            whether or not they acquire
                                            Yahoo!? What's changed? Also,
                                            one can go to web-based apps
                                            without an ad-based model. In
                                            fact, business customers (much of
                                            M$'s customer base) are
                                            probably willing to pay more
                                            to avoid ads or external
                                            connectivity at all.
                                            \_ I do think MS has to go in
                                               that direction--I just think
                                               they're unlikely to be able
                                               to execute.  They're in a
                                               very similar situation to
                                               IBM in the early 80s.  Would
                                               IBM buying the #2 clone maker
                                               (Osborne or whoever) have
                                               saved IBM's dominance?   -tom
                                               \_ So what does the
                                                  purchase of Yahoo! have
                                                  to do with a shift to an
                                                  ad-based revenue model
                                                  if you feel M$ is going
                                                  to shift anyway? If you
                                                  feel that such a shift
                                                  is inevitable then it
                                                  makes the purchase even
                                                  more attractive, no? I
                                                  disagree that M$ will shift
                                                  to any ad-based model for
                                                  their apps, but who knows.
                                                  BTW, IBM is not exactly dead
                                                  at this time. I wish I owned
                                                  a company that needing
                                                  saving like IBM.
                                                  \_ IBM stock lost 75% of
                                                     its value starting in
                                                     1984.  It took 13 years
                                                     and a complete
                                                     transformation of the
                                                     business to recover to
                                                     1984 levels.  The company
                                                     is now successful but
                                                     completely different and
                                                     not particularly relevant
                                                     to the industry; certainly
                                                     not dominant the way it
                                                     was.  MSFT purchasing
                                                     YHOO combines *two* of
                                                     Google's competitors into
                                                     one less efficient
                                                     entity with even less
                                                     ability to execute.  -tom
                                                     \_ This is another tangent.
                             \_ You mean like GE?
                       \_ MS makes money by the bank-full.  They don't need to
                          switch from their current model to anything.  This
                          is a direct attack on GOOG's online ad model which
                          is 99% of GOOG's income.  *IF* MS completely and
                          utterly fails, it is still going to scare the crap
                          out of GOOG execs, and rightly so because if it
                          is even partially successful GOOG is going to get
                          hurt badly potentially crippling the company.  Just
                          the distraction of the possibility of losing ad-share
                          to MS might be enough to cause GOOG to stumble.  Bad
                          bad bad news for GOOG and the markets reflect that.
2008/1/31-2/2 [Computer/Companies/Google, Industry/Startup] UID:49041 Activity:nil
1/31    http://www.cnbc.com/id/22937665/site/14081545
        GOOG accelerating 4Q06 to 4Q07, but decelerating 2007 Q3 to Q4
        compared to 2006 Q3 to Q4
2008/1/23-31 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48994 Activity:nil
1/23    Google at $537. Where's the Google800 guy? Bahahahaha:
        http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GOOG
        \_ hey, it only needs to go down 80% more for you to be in the black,
           short-GOOG-at-100 guy!
           \_ I did a 680->630 short a while ago. I was a bit anxious as
              it went to the mid 700 range but was relieved when it started
              tanking. I should have waited longer. Damn.
2008/1/22-31 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48982 Activity:kinda low
1/22    Google Exodus Beginning?
        http://google.blognewschannel.com/archives/2008/01/08/google-exodus-beginning
        Google is getting too big: Time to do something about it
        http://www.geekzone.co.nz/foobar/4341
        Is There Life after Google?
        http://news.softpedia.com/news/Is-There-Life-after-Google-75274.shtml
        Kevin Fox Leaves Google
        http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-01-04-n30.html
        \_ Beginning?  It started six months ago. -dans
           \_ urlP?
              \_ Anecdotal.  Many rank-and-file googlers I know left in the
                 last six months.  May be subject to sampling errors. YMMV -dans
                 \_ Can you give me names? I'd like to contact them.
        \_ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/07/MNGA7NEDQ01.DTL
           \- FYI: David desJardins, mentioned in teh article, is/was a well
           \- FYI: David desJardins, mentioned in the article, is/was a well
              known berkeley/harvard/usenet personality. he touched me. --lewis
              \_ Show us on the doll where he touched you.
2008/1/21-31 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48979 Activity:nil
1/21    http://adsense.blogspot.com/2006/02/ecpm-what-exactly-is-that.html
        I'm hearing rumblings of Google ePCM declines indicating a significant
        hit to outlook on GOOG revenue.  Is there any truth to this?
        \_ Hearing from what sources?
           \_ someone who hosts AdSense banners I think
2007/12/5-12 [Computer/Companies/Google, Computer/Companies/Yahoo] UID:48749 Activity:nil
12/4    I'm looking for the following yahoo or google map app:  I want to
        click on a particular spot and enter a radius distance like 10 km
        or 5 miles, etc.  It should then draw a circle of that radius around
        where I clicked.  I should be able to change the radius and move it
        around of course.  And expand/shrink accordingly when I zoom in/out
        of the map.  Anybody aware of such an app?  I did look at sample
        apps on yahoo and google.  I can't find anything similar.  Thanks.
        \_ In the ballpark maybe:
           http://maps.forum.nu/gm_clickable_circle.html
           http://www3.telus.net/DougHenderson/MapCircle_v2.html
2007/11/26-30 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48690 Activity:kinda low
11/26   GOOG closes at exactly 666 points.
        http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=GOOG
        \_ The stock of the beast?
           \_ The Metal Apocalypse has begun!
        \_ I thought the motd was full of atheists and computer scientists not
           bible codists and numerologists.
           \_ You missed the Kabbalists and Mormons.
              \_ We have Kabbalists here?  That's kinda cool.
        \_ Where's Short GOOG at 666 Guy?
        \_ The stars are aligned and oil price is peaking. ALL the
           signs are here. The oil-based economy is coming to a
           halt and GLOBAL RECESSION IS COMING.         -recession swami
           \_ Let's assume oil peaked 2 years ago.  There's still a shit load
              of oil left in the ground.  A lot of the current over-pricing is
              just gouging and lack of refinery capacity.  To say the global
              recession is coming is true but only because of business cycles,
              not because of anything your http://swami.net has 'revealed' to you.
              Motd nutters, I love you guys but really, the world is not ending
              on the Mayan calendar date.
              \_ Nostradamus, Mayans, and Edgard predicted the end of the
                 world at year 2012
                 \_ Nostradamus predicts 3797.
                 \_ Actually the Mayans only said it was the end of that age
                    and the start of the next.  Like December 31st is not
                    the end of time on our calendar, just $year++.
                    \_ I DID NOT KNOW THAT from watching History Channel
                       special END OF DAYS.  damn liberal media.  oh hey
                       still haven't gotten laid.
           \_ i thought it was going to be a consumer-led recession with
              foreclosure, no-home-equity effects, ARM adjustment, capital
              ratios, and deleveraging dominating
2007/11/14 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48635 Activity:nil
11/14   http://mediabiz.blogs.cnnmoney.cnn.com/2007/11/14/google-half-trillion-dollar-company-by-2010/?source=yahoo_quote
        GOOG >>> MSFT
2007/11/8-14 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48575 Activity:nil
11/8    Congratulations, GOOG is/was below 700.  Did you make any $ finally?
        \_ You don't make money until you sell.  Why would you ever sell
           GOOG?  It can only go up.
        \_ Google down, bahahahahahahahahahahahaha I WIN I WIN
        \_ I will never understand the market.  Google announces a neato mobile
           alliance and it drops 60 points?
           \_ technicals have showed parabolic growth along with RIMM AAPL
              GOOG showed some wavering yesterday
              GOOG wavered yesterday
              Bernanke's testimony closed the deal
              gold is about to get fucked right now
              \_ Why gold? It seems that as long as the dollar falls, gold
                 can't help but go up. Are you predicting a dollar rally?
                 \_ let's say dollar index is down -x% for the year.
                    gold futures go up +x% right?  what if it's 5 * x?
                    that may be called "speculation", prob with borrowed $
           \_ irrationality drives the price. If you rationalize that it goes
              one way, it will surely go another way.
        \_ To make money on GOOG you must sell your shares.  You should never
           sell GOOG as it can only go up.
           \_ Bahahahahhaahahahaha good luck            -already sold at 735
              \_ If you sold your GOOG you already lost.  You'll never get back
                 in.
2007/11/6-9 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48562 Activity:low
11/6    GOOG's P/E ratio is approaching 60. Hmmmmm...
        \_ Short Google At 100^w200^w300^w400^w500^w635 Guy returns!
           \_ Your replacement syntax doesn't actually work.
              \_ neither does shorting GOOG
                 \_ because shorting anything is risky and stupid.  you might
                    as well invest in pork bellies.
                    \_ Yes, no one ever made any money in commodities
                       because they are a poor investment.
                       \_ No one on the motd cheering on google has.
                          Professionals who deal in commodities on a daily
                          basis do.  Plenty of them get their clocks cleaned,
                          too.  They're a very risky investment unsuitable for
                          the average at-home investor.  Just like shorting
                          stocks.
                          \_ I dunno, I made a ton of money buying puts on
                             homebuilders in the Summer of '05. I might not
                             be "average" though.
2007/10/29-11/1 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48478 Activity:low
10/29   Google can only go up!
        link:tinyurl.com/24rmsm
        \_ Are you short GOOG $100 guy?
           \_ No, of course not.  Shorting is stupid.  Especially a company
              like GOOG that can only go up!  Sky is the limit, baby!
              \_ troll tactic: when confronted with a factual question,
                 dodge it and increase mockery.
                 \_ What dodge?  I said, "No, of course not".  Which part of
                    that was unclear?  The point is how can you even consider
                    that GOOG can go anywhere but up?  I directly answered
                    your factual question.  Only then did I mock you.  Mock!
                    Mock!  Mock!  I mocketh thee, oh ye of the public
                    education system reading skills!
                    \_ Are you GOOG short $635 guy?
                       \_ Geeze, no.  I'm not "never short anything ever bc
                          it is stupid and you'll get your wallet cleaned out"
                          guy.  I don't have to be 'short GOOG guy' to mock
                          you, though.  MOCK!
                          \_ So you are mocking someone who neither owns nor
                             shorts GOOG? Whatever trips your trigger, dude..
2007/10/29 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48474 Activity:nil
10/29   Google can only go up!
        http://www.newsweek.com/id/62254
        \_ Are you short GOOG $100 guy?
2007/10/23-25 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48423 Activity:nil
10/22   How do I take an address out of my gmail address book? A friend of
        mine changed email providers and now I have two whenever I try to
        email her. It is hard for me to remember which one is valid.
           them with my precious mail. Trust big companies, like Yahoo!
           \_ shut the fuck dumbass.  hey original poster,
        \_ Switch back to the new Yahoo! account, it is so much better.
           Also Google is like NSCP, it's not sustainable. I don't trust
           them with my precious mail. Trust big companies, like Yahoo!
           \_ shut the fuck dumbass.  hey original poster, jus tfind
              your friend's entry in your Contacts and delete the old
        \_ just find your friend's entry in your Contacts and delete the old
           one.
              \_ Thanks, don't know why I didn't think of that.
           \_ Thanks for stomping on my reply to Penthouse Forum guy.
              Please respect other people's edit locks.
2007/10/8-9 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48261 Activity:kinda low
10/8    Wow, GOOG short guy is down $500/share. How many shares did
        you short? Not too many, I hope.
        http://www.csua.org/u/joh
        \_ You're late.  This was last week's trollfest.  Try again next month
           when it resets.
2007/10/3-5 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48235 Activity:insanely high
10/3    Alright you idiots. I challenge you to list other Google products
        that actually make money besides search and ads. Gmail? No. Maps?
        No. Earth? No. WHAT ELSE?
        \_ Something near 99% of google's revenue comes from search+ads.  There
           is nothing else.  They've been throwing money at random stuff since
           they IPO'd but still have nothing.  Maybe they can buy Skype....
           \_ Their best bet is to take their name and some of their cash
              and do just that: start merging with "real" companies. Cisco
              used that strategy to much success. In that case, though,
              you are betting on GOOG's management team. Not sure how good
              they are but I worry when the BoD still has the founders on it.
              \_ Did you seriously just call Google a fake company?  Are you
                 stupid or just delusional? -dans
                 \_ Please show me where I called GOOG a "fake company". Also,
                    there's a reason "real" is in quotes.
           \_ Actually, as of six months ago this was incorrect.  The split
              was closer to 90/10.  I'll leave it as an exercise for you to go
              read the prospectus to see what the other 10 is. -dans
              \_ So if they lost their search income, they'd *only* take a
                 90% loss in revenue?  Whatever.  At that rate, another 40
                 years and they'll be able to afford to lose the search market.
                 \_ Your numbers are junk. They make the majority of their
                    money by delivering ads to other web sites (AdSense).
                    They have a corner on the huge and growing market for
                    Internet ad delivery. That is why they are worth bundles,
                    not the search part.
                    \_ Ok so they make 90% of their money putting ads on other
                       sites.  Just like a few dozen other companies doing
                       the same thing.  Google has a corner on that why?
                       Because they have more hype.  Ever talked to anyone
                       who actually tried to attract customers via adsense ads?
                       What special magic do you believe google's adsense has
                       that their dozens of competitors don't (besides hype)?
        \_ Well, they can technically make money from things like GMail
           and Maps (e.g. by charging for them) but the barriers to entry are
           low and I would hardly value them 13th in the USA based on those
           sorts of products.
        \_ By removing Ads you are removing the revenue that Gmail and many
           of Googles other products use to be profitable.  The fact that
           Google can target their ads by using the content of your email
           is quite significant.
        \_ Why are you calling us idiots? -dans
           \_ Because you guys haven't learned from the dot-BOMB days.
              \_ 'You guys?'.  Both sides of this argument haven't learned the
                 lesson, which comes in two parts:
                 a) Don't miss out on opportunities.
                 b) Don't be overly greedy.
                 You need to learn part a.  And if you are short google at
                 100 guy, then, seriously, you're an idiot.  Perception
                 counts in the market, sometimes moreso than objective
                 reality. -dans
        \_ "Besides ads." That is how all media companies make money.
           What is The New York Times source of money other than ads?
                \_ NYT is losing money so this isn't a good example of how
                   to build a great and growing company.
                   \_ hint: the world has been around longer than 5 years.
                   \_ No it is not. Learn how to read a 10-K.
           How about News Corp? CBS? CNN? Are they all fake companies, too?
           What percentage of Google's revenue comes from AdSense? That has
           nothing to do with search.
           \_ Are you saying the NYTimes has no subscribers?
              \_ Subscription revenue is dwarfed by ad revenue (though
                 not as dwarfed as I thought, when I actually bothered
                 to look up the numbers).
           \_ What are these other media companies valued at relative to
              GOOG? What competition have they faced? Why should GOOG be
              valued more than any of them?
              \_ What is the market share of Google compared to CNN?
                 \_ I have no idea, but I imagine it's some piece of the
                    same pie all of those companies are sharing. Do you?
                    \_ you think that the amount of money spent on advertising
                       is a constant?  -tom
                       \_ I know it isn't.  It rises and falls with the
                          health of the economy.  What about it?
                          \_ You don't think it's possible that the creation
                             of a new advertising medium could increase the
                             total amount being spent on advertising?
              \_ GOOG is valued much, much higher, as a percentage of
                 revenue and profit, but it is growing much faster and
                 is dominant in the fastest growing area of the economy.
                 -Guy who used to own GOOG, but sold it so that wife
                  could do a kitchen remodel.
                 \_ It can't grow to be any larger than existing media and
                    I didn't realize "advertising" was the fastest growing
                    area of the economy.
                    \_ This is where someone has to "quote Gartner" and make
                       up something about how $business will be an $X billion
                       industry by $now_year+6.
                    \_ Internet advertising is. Overall media advertising
                       spending is $200B+/yr, so yeah that is probably an
                       upper limit for GOOG total revenue, in that one
                       product. That doesn't count possible revenue from
                       other sources. I don't really have time to educate
                       you on how businesses on the Internet make money,
                       can't you research some of this yourself? Here,
                       I will throw you a bone:
                       http://www.csua.org/u/jnm (Business Week)
                 http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_15/b4029001.htm
2007/10/2-5 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:48219 Activity:very high
10/1    Where's the short Google at 100 guy?
        \_ Me thinks it's a great time to short now.
           \_ Yeah, definitely short it now!  Funny thing about stock
              valuation:  it can sometimes be rational and sometimes
              be irrational.  If everyone hates a stock, and everyone
              shorts it except for a few, and no one who actually owns
              the stock sells it, it'll go up, not down.
              \_ Over time, companies which succeed will go up and
                 companies which fail will go down.  The question for
                 Short Google Guy was always, what reason was there to
                 short Google, other than his own interpretation of
                 the current stock value, which was not based on any
                 sort of analysis?
                 Google was a freight train back then, and it still is.
                 As long as the company keeps executing, don't get in the
                 way of a freight train.
                  -tom  (Finally bought GOOG at 450)
                  \_ 450? You're an idiot.              !short G guy
                 \_ Why? Because GOOG's market cap is 5x that of YHOO
                    and there is no reason for it. I still think that most
                    investors do not understand what they are investing
                    in. They are buying a name/brand. Brands do have
                    value, but so what? I would say that GOOG should be
                    valued about 2x YHOO based on performance, but 5x is
                    not justified. I still think that GOOG is using money
                    to buy talent and hoping that that talent figures out
                    some great product(s). That might work. It's not what I
                    want to invest in. The stock is overvalued. BTW, it
                    was Motley Fool's "Worst Stock for 2007" so I am
                    hardly the only person who doesn't understand why so
                    many people want to suck the c*ck of this dog.
                    \_ Hey, welcome back, Short Google At 100 Guy!  Good to
                       see that being brutalized in the market for three
                       years hasn't taken away your sense of certitude.
                       Perhaps the fact that GOOG is making *more than 5
                       times as much money as YHOO* might have something to
                       do with the fact that the stock is valued 5 times
                       higher.
                       YHOO 6/07: $1.7B rev, $185M earn
                       GOOG 6/07: $3.8B rev, $1.1B earn
                       But go ahead, keep shorting!  I'm sure Yahoo will
                       be destroying Google any day now!  -tom
                       \_ Yahoo is VERY diversified. Google has ONE product.
                          You know what they say, easy come, easy go.
                       \_ Oh, humor of tom mocking someone for certitude in
                          the face of stunning evidence to the contrary.
                          In our next episode, tom will declare that any who
                          mock or disagree with him are idiots.
                          -dans
                          \_ Are you Short Google At 100 Guy, or is there
                             someone else as stupid as you are?  -tom
                             \_ Dear god you're fun to bait.  And no, I'm not
                                Short Google Guy, I pretty much always sign my
                                posts. -dans
                        \_ The P/E for both is about the same. Why do you
                           think GOOG deserves a 5x market cap?
                           \_ Uh, because it's earning 5 times as much.
                              Do you understand what P/E means?  -tom
                           \_ Uh, how about because it's earning 5 times
                              as much money?  Do you have any idea what
                              P/E means?  -tom
                              \_ Yes. Do you? Two companies with one share
                                 of stock outstanding. One company's stock
                                 is $20/share. The other is $10/share. The
                                 first company earns $10. The second
                                 company earns $5. What is their P/E? What
                                 is their market cap? How was that $20
                                 determined in the first place and what
                                 does it mean to an investor? BTW, as of
                                 today GOOG has the 13th largest market
                                 cap in the US. If GOOG tripled in value
                                 it would become the largest company in
                                 the US. Do you think it will triple again
                                 (let alone a 600% increase)? Some day it
                                 might, but as compared to previous growth
                                 in stock price over the last N years?
                                 Any reasonable expectation of growth in
                                 earnings is already built-in to the current
                                 stock price so where does that leave
                                 someone who buys at $650?
                                 \_ Price/Market Cap: $20, $10. P/E: $2 for
                                 \_ Price/Market Cap: $20, $10. P/E: 2.0 for
                                    both.  All else being equal, the companies
                                    are valued comparable relative to
                                    are valued comparably relative to
                                    earnings, just like GOOG and YHOO when
                                    GOOG's market cap and earnings are both
                                    5* YHOO's.  Do you have a point?
                                    \_ Now answer the question about how
                                       the $20 was determined in the first
                                       place and what it means to an investor.
                                       \_ To me, being an investor means
                                          finding good companies which I
                                          can purchase at a reasonable
                                          price given their performance and
                                          prospects.  As long as Google
                                          continues to execute on its web
                                          services, it fits that mold.  I
                                          don't see any serious threats to
                                          Google in the areas it dominates.
                                            -tom
                                            \_ Google only has 1 web service.
                                               Without ads from search they
                                               cease to exist.  What are these
                                               other 'web services' you speak
                                               of?  How much research have you
                                               done into search competitors?
                                               Not Yahoo or MS crap who are
                                               just playing follow the leader
                                               but people working on real
                                               changes in search?
                                               \_ Wrong.
                                    "Google would be the largest company
                                    in the US" assumes that none of the
                                    other companies are getting larger.
                                    My investment goal is generally to look
                                    for a double within 5 years; I think
                                    GOOG is reasonably likely to hit that
                                    mark for me; at a forward PE of 25 (less
                                    than today), it would require hitting
                                    earnings of about $7 billion before 2013.
                                    Considering that GOOG is likely to hit
                                    $5 billion this year, that does not seem
                                    unreasonable.  -tom
                                    \_ Why should GOOG have a larger
                                       market cap than BRK-A making $7B
                                       when BRK-A makes $12B+? Also, if
                                       share price doubles, but earnings
                                       only increase 50% ($5B to $7B) then
                                       GOOG P/E would skyrocket. I don't
                                       think it's gonna happen.
                                       \_ If you don't think earnings
                                          increases are going to happen,
                                          you're correct in not buying
                                          GOOG.  Do you have a reason to
                                          believe earnings increases will
                                          not continue to happen?  Earnings
                                          for the last 3 years for GOOG:
                                          $400M, $1.5B, $3.1B.  Projected
                                          for this year: $5B.  Do you think
                                          it will stop there?  Why?  Do you
                                          think BRKA is growing at that rate?
                                          Do you think a company that is
                                          growing quickly should be valued
                                          the same as a company that's growing
                                          slowly?  -tom
                                          \_ How long do you think a company can
                                             grow quickly?
                                             \_ Depends on the industry and
                                                the economy, eh?  Google
                                                won't continue to double
                                                profits and revenues every
                                                year, but it is likely to
                                                grow faster than BRKA for
                                                at least the next 5 years,
                                                absent a serious technological
                                                challenge (which I don't see
                                                on the horizion).  -tom
                \_ Market Cap != Company Value.  Some companies capitalize
                   their operations largely through debt.  How much equity
                   vs. how much debt is a highly idiosyncratic decision.  So
                   who has the most equity value is an irrelevant question.
                        \_Google is something like 40th biggest company
                          in America / 160th in the world.  Almost all of
                          its value goes to equity holders.  Citibank goes
                          almost all to debt, but it is worth 12.5 Googles.
                   \_ What happens if you buy all outstanding GOOG stock?
                        \_ You would own all the equity, which will receive
                           whatever value the company has AFTER the debt
                           is satisfied.  The first portion of company's value
                           goes to the debtholders.  Berkshire, since it is
                           in this example has about the same $180B market
                           cap as Google, true, but also has $140B of debt
                           and is worth $320B.  If you wanted to have the
                           right to every cashflow Berkshire were to ever
                           take in in the future, you would have to pay
                           $320B.  For Google, $180B. (~0 debt)
                           \_ You could buy BRK for ~$180B and assume the
                              debt. The net income is income *after*
                              interest on debt has been paid and it is 2x
                              that of GOOG and it can be had for ~$180B.
        \_ The problems investing in google: 1) they have a single product,
           2) that single product can be displaced by a superior product at
           any time (google wasn't always the #1 search engine), 3) they are
           super secretive about everything (which bugs me as a potential
           investor), 4) they're flying on a lot of hype, if/when that balloon
           bursts, they'll come crashing down fast.  I am not short-google guy.
           I know better than to bet against the crazed massses.  I also won't
           put my money into a single product company built on net hype.
           \_ I agree with this guy.  Psychologically propped up stocks can
              suffer a bubble bust any time, based on news you cannot
              predict.  You can win, but it's more about luck than anything.
           \_ Was it Warren Buffett who once remarked that he doesn't invest
              in high tech companies because he does not understand valuation
              for such companies? -- ilyas
           \_ Google's product is not search.
<<<<<<< Other Changes Below
              \_ Google's product is ads slapped on search results pages.  If
                 someone makes a better search, then google's ad value drops
                 to near zero.
                 \_ Wrong.
              \_ Of course it is. They say it is not, because they don't
                 want to be painted with that brush and they are trying
                 like mad to diversify. However, if the Google search
                 engine disappeared tomorrow (along with YouTube) then what
                 would they have left?
=======
                 \_ no, their product is advertising.  Search is just
                    'advertising' to bring in the eyeballs and make their
                    real product worth something.  Do you think TV shows are
                    the 'product' of broadcast TV companies?  Think about
                    where they get their revenue. -ERic
                    \_ Without search they would have no viewers and hence
                       no advertisers. Their product is their search
                       engine. Likewise, TV shows are the product of
                       broadcast TV networks. You are confusing the
                       product with where the revenues come from. GOOG's
                       problem going forward is finding ways to expand
                       their market share and that will be difficult
                       because they already have such a popular search
                       engine.
                       \_ Google has been desperately trying to diversify for
                          about 5 years.  They have come up with all sorts of
                          very cool and free products but they're not making
                          any real money on any of them.  They also got a bit
                          Microsoft-y, buying up all sorts of little companies
                          who could do things that Google with all their PhD
                          geniuses on board could not.
                       \_ Wrong.
           \_ Google is not "psychologically propped up."  It is a company
              that is making money hand over fist, growing at an astounding
              rate, and showing no signs at all of giving up its dominating
              market position.
              \_ Like so many others before it, especially in high technology,
                 they too shall fall.
                 \_ yeah, I'm sure those idiots who bought Microsoft and Cisco
                    are kicking themselves now.  -tom
                    \_ The idiots who bought in 2000 sure are.
                       \_ Google in 2007 is not comparable to Microsoft/Cisco
                          in 2000; it's comparable to Microsoft in, say, 1990,
                          or Cisco in 1995.  People who bought those stocks
                          then made a lot of money.  I think Google is more
                          like Cisco than it is like http://pets.com.   -tom
                          \_ Delusional. Like I said, good luck.
              Much of the dotcom bubble was based on companies with no real
              earnings and no prospects.  Google is not one of those companies.
              It will have over $15 billion in revenues this year and probably
              $5 billion in earnings.
              $5 billion in earnings with growth rates remaining near 50%
              year-over-year.  That's not hype, that's a company with
              ridiculously strong, probably unmatched financials.  Bet
              against it if you like, but you're likely to get your head
              handed to you, just like short-GOOG-at-100-guy did.  -tom
>>>>>>> Your Changes Above
              \_ There are 34 other companies with sales over $10B and 5 year
                 growth in line with GOOG. GOOG has a larger market cap
                 than all of them except for BHP.
                 \_ Are you shorting them?  Give some examples; I'd be
                    interested to investigate them.  -tom
                    \_ No one has to short something to correctly note it is
                       overvalued and highly risky.  Your obsession with the
                       one short guy is a red herring which has nothing to do
                       with the overhyped valuation the crazies in the market
                       have placed on this secretive single-product company.
                       \_ If you're not putting your money where your mouth is
                          why should we possibly be interested in your risk
                          assessments? -dans
                          \_ Because as I said earlier, I'm not going to
                             put money down against crazy people who have a
                             whole lot more they can afford to lose than I can.
                             I don't have to play russian roulette to know
                             that it is stupid to do so.
                             \_ But by your very statement you indicate that
                               the people putting money down on google are
                               neither crazy nor playing russian roulette.
                               Ergo, why is your risk assessment of interest
                               to anyone, but, well, you? -dans
                               \_ No, you're confused.  By my very statement
                                  they are playing russian roulette and simply
                                  haven't found the chamber with the bullet
                                  yet.  I'm not tom.  Why are you trolling me
                                  like I'm tom?  As far as why would anyone be
                                  interested?  It's the motd.  The very
                                  question has no meaning here.  If people
                                  find my risk assessment interesting, they'll
                                  reply.  Some have.  You have.  If not, they
                                  will skip it.  Doesn't matter either way.
                       \_ No one has provided any real analysis to suggest
                          that Google is overvalued.  They've provided
                          irrelevant comparisons to other companies,
                          and thrown numbers around in ways that suggest
                          that they really don't know how to analyze a
                          company's stock valuation.  For that matter, I'll
                          take a company with a good single product over a
                          company with a confused product strategy (such as
                          Yahoo) any day.  -tom
                          Yahoo) any day.
                          Edit to add: You also haven't provide examples of
                          companies with market cap over $10B and growth
                          profiles similar to Google.  -tom
                          \_ Look them up yourself. It's easy enough. A
                             lot of them are energy companies. I think
                             that Apple is one of them, too, as is
                             Halliburton.
                             \_ I also own Apple, and Berkshire Hathaway for
                                that matter.  Oil companies are not
                                comparable; they are growing due to the
                                commodity they control, which at some
                                point is going to fall off a cliff.  -tom
                                \_ That's only better for them in terms of
                                   profit. Or if you mean that some day
                                   there will be zero need for oil then
                                   your horizon is far too long and who
                                   knows what will happen with GOOG in 100
                                   years?
                                   \_ Oil companies are basically commodities
                                      plays, and commodities plays are not
                                      directly comparable with pure stock
                                      plays.  It may be that oil companies
                                      are good investments due to the
                                      commodity scarcity, but that doesn't
                                      really relate to much other than the
                                      price of the commodity.  It also
                                      leaves aside the moral issues.  -tom
                                      \_ What moral issues?  You invested in
                                         google who has some serious moral
                                         issues but that didn't seem to
                                         bother you; I don't get how you can
                                         seem to believe oil companies have
                                         moral issues which appears to be a
                                         minus for you yet google who has
                                         moral issues is a plus for you.
        \_ I just wanted to make a meta comment.  I don't actually know how
           I would value google's stock.  However, to people who thought that
           google was overvalued before, and got schooled by the market, you
           can't just reply that 'the market is full of idiots, the stock got
           hyped' and so on.  If the market schools you, your model is bad, end
           of story.  Maybe your model needs to accomodate psychology. -- ilyas
2007/8/28 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:47773 Activity:nil
8/27    what was wrong with my google automation post?  asshole.
        emarkp.
        \_ Hi troll!  I have no idea what post the op is referring to.  Can you
           repost it?  Google automation sounds interesting. -emarkp
        \_ What that the one with java and buttsex in the description?
2007/8/26-27 [Computer/SW/Languages/Java, Computer/Companies/Google] UID:47757 Activity:nil
8/26    Java and assfucking
        http://www.bileblog.org/?p=334
        ok not ass fucking.  im too lazy to describe it properly.
        funny though
2007/8/23-27 [Science/GlobalWarming, Computer/Companies/Google] UID:47724 Activity:nil
8/23    how do i view a private livejournal RSS feed in Google Reader?
        \_ I've tried this, and I don't think you can.  Livejournal provides
           a couple of (pretty poor) mechanisms for feeds, but Google
           Reader does not (last I checked) support any form of authentication.
           I had a script set up to screen-scrape LJ, log in as me and spit
           out an rss feed, but it broke and I haven't had the energy to
           look into it.  -niloc
2007/7/19-20 [Computer/Companies/Google, Politics/Domestic/California] UID:47349 Activity:moderate
7/19    GOOG has almost 14,000 employees. For a search engine. What do
        they do?! I read one whitepaper from them about analyzing MTBF
        for disk drives, which is kind of cool, but low on the profit
        generation side of things.
        \_ You're right, google doesn't make any money.  Kill yourself.
           \_ I am not saying that. I am asking how many of those
              14,000 employees are relevant. We can build a rocket and a
              spacecraft to send on it and send it to Mars with fewer people
              than that - and that's with government bureaucracy.
              Obviously, there are a lot of people doing good work, but
              is there a lot of dead wood already? I checked and Edison
              has 12,000. Stanford has 10,000. Amgen has 7,000.  Walt
              Disney has 6,000 in California. Oracle has 8,000 in
              California. 14,000 would make GOOG the 6th largest employer
              in all of CA if all the employees worked in CA. The first 5 are
              PacBell/AT&T, the Naval Base in San Diego, UCLA, UC Davis, and
              Edwards AFB. Most of the top of the list is comprised of
              government entities. GOOG isn't in a really manpower
              intensive field like, say, McDonald's.
              \_ it is interesting you worry about the number of
                 non optimal people at one of the most successful startups
                 of all recorded history.  please get a life, or
                 optimally, write out a check for your net work to your
                 favorite charity, THEN KILL YOURSELF.  ok thanks.
                 \_ I'm not worried. I just wonder if there's really a
                    need for that many people or if GOOG just hired people
                    because it could. Even the CEO said that they would
                    really think hard about hiring much less.
                \_ Microsoft has about 30k employees, + 30k contractors,
                   I think they fired all of the non programmers / managers
                   and hired all support staff back on as low paid contractor
                   scum.
                \_ What is wrong with you?  The pp raises a good question, what
                   is GOOG doing with all those employees?  He didn't say
                   "GOOG WILL FAIL! DOOM!" Stop putting words in his mouth.
                   It might also be pointed out, Atari could have also been
                   called "one of the most successful startups of all recorded
                   history" at a similar point in it's lifetime, and Atari had
                   a similar business strategy...
        \_ dimwit, is that you?
        \_ Wow, you're an idiot. Gmail. Maps. Earth. ADVERTISEMENT
           (AdWords, AdSense). Video/YouTube. Huge infrastructure to
           store and deliver contents. Where have you been since 2004?
        \_ you're right in a sense - most of their money is off ads displayed
           with their uber-fast/-relevant search results
        \_ Not when you have as many hard drives as google has.
2007/6/2-5 [Computer/Companies/Google, Recreation/Stripclub] UID:46837 Activity:nil 60%like:46833
6/1     I'm boycotting Orowheat (Google Maps):
        http://www.csua.org/u/itn
        \_ Or worst time to be walking out of a strip club:
           http://tinyurl.com/3yf9t9
2007/6/1-2 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:46833 Activity:moderate 60%like:46837
6/1     Google Maps - I'm boycotting Orowheat:
        http://www.csua.org/u/itn
        \_ http://www.csua.org/u/itn
2007/6/1 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:46825 Activity:kinda low 92%like:46821
6/1     Google Maps catches Frank Chu
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/2yx62n (maps.google.com)
        \_ That's not Frank Chu.
2007/6/1 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:46821 Activity:nil 92%like:46825
6/1     Google Maps catches Frank Chu
        http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=San+Francisco,+CA&ie=UTF8&om=1&layer=c&cbll=37.795144,-122.406595&cbp=1,372.585845652884,0.572275589278183,3&ll=37.795962,-122.407088&spn=0.002878,0.005021&z=18
2007/5/9-12 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:46567 Activity:moderate 85%like:46558
5/8     Why I hate Google:
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/2xls8y (wsj.com)
        \_ I like that she is naming her son Kohler and when
           people do searches they are going to get faucets.
           Genius!
           \_ Weird, in the future she might count her not being
              findable in google as a blessing.
        \_ I am kind of annoyed that all my usenet posts from 20 years
           ago are still searchable. I knew the medium could be preserved,
           but I had no idea that it would become such a permanent and
           easily available record. -ausman (with a unique name)
           \_ You can get google to remove them from their databases.  It
              takes a bit of work and involves some paperwork asserting
              that you are you, but they will remove posts that you want
              gone gone gone.
           \_ You could do what Tawei Liao does-- create a completely fake
              character on his website to distract people from the real
              site.
              \_ snuggy?
                 \_ No just look at his current CSUA homepage. It is fake.
                    Compare that to the first search result you you on
                    Google. It is real and pretty embarrasing to look at.
                    \_ You think this is more embarassing than his csua page?
              \_ Yeah, you can generate a bunch of new content that kind of
                 buries the old stuff. That is what I ended up doing, though
                 not really on purpose. -ausman
2007/5/8 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:46558 Activity:nil 85%like:46567
5/8     Why I hate Google:
        http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117856222924394753-qdWU6gT1sr_DvqeUqW2Agj2QiZM_20080507.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
2007/5/7-9 [Computer/Companies/Google] UID:46536 Activity:nil
5/6     hi what is easiest way for me to grab the email address every person
        who has ever emailed a mailing list that I have stored in my gmail?
        it exists as a 'label' in my gmail.  i'd like to stick this all in a
        text file. thanks.
2024/12/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
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