Life at Googleplex REVEALED in hot pics Ever wondered what it would be like to work in the bosom of a warm, cuddly company for which making money is incidental to saving/taking over the world? A place so magical and mysterious that it has been nicknamed The Chocolate Factory after Roald Dahl's immortal creation? Well, wonder no more, as Mountain View has chosen to …
I'm still sad, having read that Google's CEO hid the pudding in a different room to the rest of the dinner. I have this mental image of Page, sitting in a huge room, with a mountain of yummy puddings, all to himself...
I don't get this open plan, 'relaxing', working environment though. Surely the most productive way to work, is to have a dedicated desk, with room for all the pens, phones, pads, files/manuals and other crap you want. Plus 2 or 3 screens and a proper keyboard and mouse. And no hot-desking, so you have to clean everything up every day.
I'm not advocating drowning in reams of paper. But my technical file is 3" thick. Sure I've got all the various datasheets on the computer, but when it comes to selecting the right product, while on the phone with the customer, my fat file o' stuff comes out top every time. I still prefer a paper manual as well, but that may be different for coders.
It would be, but you’d still have to clear a lot of it away to comply with the security clear desk policy. Back in the Dark Ages when my dad still worked his desk was like a bureau. At the end of each day he would pull the cover over his work, pens, (days long before computers) and whatever, locked it and left. Now I have to file everything (read – dump in a drawer), unplug all the electrics, clear the desk down, even if I am to return to the same spot the next day. So half an hour wasted every morning and evening. Ho-hum, you can’t stop progress.
It’s a bit like open-plan and hot-desking. Seems it makes me more productive to be in a noisy area with a half chance of getting a desk (whether booked or not), but my superiors work better with a permanent desk. In an office.
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"Just to look cool"? Seriousley?
I use a Mac at work, and at home, and the reasons for doing so couldnt be further from trying to look cool. Its purely functional. OS X is a very unixey OS under the hood (having its roots in BSD, afterall), but without needing to look after it like a regular *nix box. It also looks nicer than Windows IMO, its refeshing. :-)
For me, that is what counts. I work in a technical environment (telecommunications, specifically networking and IP), and the in-the-box utilities that come with OS X and many other *nixes are simply better than those on Windows - but thats entirely from the point of view of my particular job. For others they may be perfectly fine.
Sure I could just use Ubuntu or one of the many other more so user friendly *nix distros, but Ive also grown to like OS X and have a good selection of software that I am familiar with, and TBH Im just happy right where I am - thats the preference bit coming into play.
you think that now, but bear in mind that the double choc-chips of this world don't really need any more taste testing. everyone knows they're good. you'd probably have been working on the edgy, experimental zucchini-and-jalapeno side of the cookie development business.
Zucchini and jalapeno cookies...
You have a sick mind! You must have, to even have though of that. You've trampled on my dreams.
[runs off sobbing]
You may have a good point though. I've seen some pretty icky snacks recently. I had some garlic flavoured lemonade when I was in Austria a couple of years ago. If you're interested it doesn't taste quite as bad as it sounds...
However I saw an advert on TV for a biscuit where they've put the layer of chocolate on the inside, so you can dunk it without ruining your tea. Also you can avoid getting chocolatey fingers. Now that's innovation of the highest quality, and the sort of thing that's going to get our economy back on track. And I would have been honoured, no humbled, to help with the testing of such a groundbreaking invention.
I distrust companies that put toys and games into their offices. It makes the place look employee-friendly when you're being interviewed, but I always suspected that the real reason they were there to provide easy grounds for dismissal ("... and here you are again on CCTV, playing pool while the project slips").
Personally, I favour the Germanic model: A workplace is for work, not recreation. Social activities happen outside work.
On open-plan offices, there's a lot of research to back up "I ain't Spartacus" above: it would appear that while creative people think they need to talk to each other and brainstorm, the creative *work* they do actually improves if they're given isolation, peace and quiet. Creativity requires concentration, and interruptions can destroy this so easily.
(I read about one worker who had to resorted to using the broom cupboard when they had to produce anything important, because it was the only secluded space free in the company's brand-new open-plan "creative space").
The cafeteria looked better when it was part of MIPS/SGI campus and was called Cafe Ozone.
It cost almost nothing to eat and the quality of the food was exceptionally.
SGI sold the buildings to a joint venture firm for around $800mill and leased it back. It financed the company deficit for years.
OOOH... AAAAH... Colors and games.
Whats new here? Anyone seen inside Microsoft campus? Microsoft India has basketball courts, tennis courts, a GIANT pond, games rooms etc.
I can only guess what is in Redmond HQ.
Even the small Subs like in Ireland have nice gardens, games rooms good canteens, relaxation areas etc.
All giant Multinational IT companies have the same set up.
This does nothing but prove Google are another giant evil corporation pretending to be "cool" and "hip" and able to "dig it" with the youths. Yeah man (said the way your mum would say "yeah Man"!)
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