Riptide360 t1_j5ew9s4 wrote
Google needs to build a better incubator so many dead products that could have worked. https://killedbygoogle.com
crash41301 t1_j5f8z5d wrote
I'm convinced it's their culture. It never grew to match the size of their company and it seems to be what holds them back
yaosio t1_j5g2lhg wrote
It's interesting how different Google and Microsoft do things. Google kills off popular software and hardware for no apparent reason very fast. Microsoft keeps unpopular software and hardware running until the last person to use it turns into fossil fuel for the next intelligent species. I bet somewhere deep in the underdark there's a greybeard updating DOS, just hoping to get the call that they need it.
crash41301 t1_j5g35am wrote
Too funny, and not wrong!
One is hyper focused on business software and the enterprise, which likely drives that keep it forever mentality. Businesses like stability and like not having to redo things for no benefit.
Google.. I'm not sure. Makes tons of money on a few wildly successful products and seems to let the organization decide on its own otherwise with incentives for new products far outstripping incentives to be a maintainer.
Loovian t1_j5iftwj wrote
Google is an advertising company first and foremost
Lumiafan t1_j5h7xe6 wrote
Let's see...
Windows Phone, Zune, Groove Music (formerly Zune), Kinect, Silverlight, Microsoft Band
These are just some of the big things Microsoft nixed in the last decade.
The old enterprise software they keep alive for years and years is generally only alive because enterprises are paying Microsoft hefty fees to do so. There's a reason why support Windows 3.1 for embedded systems ended in 2008.
Meta_My_Data t1_j5hma60 wrote
To be fair, that stuff was totally rejected by the market and essentially dead. Even Microsoft has some shame.
Lumiafan t1_j5hryxa wrote
Absolutely, but the point I'm trying to make is that both Google and Microsoft cut product lines that have no viable path to profitability.
Meta_My_Data t1_j5jbqio wrote
Yes, that’s true. I think the difference is that Google tried a lot more things and really made experimentation a part of their overall culture. MS is generally more traditional in making bigger bets on a smaller product portfolio that is more “top down” driven.
ericneo3 t1_j5jpqla wrote
> Microsoft keeps unpopular software and hardware running
It's too bad Microsoft cannot get the basics of what people want in a cellphone or a portable x86 laptop/tablet.
I cannot count the number of times they bungled the surface line by continually refusing to put a 5G modem in the thing. Now Lenovo and Dell have their business and consumer customers locked down.
londons_explorer t1_j5fsznh wrote
It is their culture, yes. But they are a huge behemoth with lots of revenue and money in the bank, so I think it'll be at least 20 years till they collapse.
crash41301 t1_j5fvw9s wrote
I think it largely depends what happens with the unquestable cash cow, search. If something occurs to topple that it may send them into a spiral given their Inability to focus
Switchy_Goofball t1_j5hu4nf wrote
Well google search has been getting worse and worse recently, so unless they can right the ship it’s only a matter of time
coporate t1_j5fkbd2 wrote
I’ve heard stories that a lot people get promoted or move off products based on their launch, but that often leads to products stagnating or being mismanaged without key members.
atx_californian t1_j5ht6av wrote
This website doesn't have the most accurate take. Google also has a history of rolling tech they deprecate into existing products. They might "kill" a lot of products, but the tech behind them is often alive and well many years after the product is dead.
Inquisitive_idiot t1_j5hzstu wrote
That doesn’t make the repeated sunsetting of so many consumer-facing services any less painful.
That they sunset popular beta services isn’t unique to them but at this point it’s very hard to commit to their consumer facing services for fam/friend comms.
I’m coming off as an old man here 😅 but there needs to be a modicum of predictably to comms and they keep turning over the table. 😓
ALargeRubberDuck t1_j5g9t12 wrote
They killed google surveys? That was pretty popular when I was in school. I figure they don’t make money on it though.
RoboNyaa t1_j5ij2jp wrote
Tell that to Valve.
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