http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002092813_googleweb17.html Google, the search-engine technology company, has opened an engineering office in Kirkland and is having an invitation-only party to celebrate tomorrow night. The office will be Google's sixth remote engineering center; the company has others in New York; Santa Monica, Calif.; Zurich; Bangalore; and Tokyo. So far, the Kirkland office has only 10 employees, but Google, which has become one of Microsoft's most serious rivals, is planning to hire more from the area and allow engineers from its main campus in Mountain View, Calif., to transfer here.
a bit off topic, maybe, but I thought I just put it here rather then starting a new similar thread. Is Google really Micrsoft's rival?? at this point in time I would say no ... not technically ... but they are definately a potential threat. Microsft are going out of their way to compete with google, Just like Yahoo did with Webrank . I feel that MS are shooting themselves in the foot by competing directly with google and making it public. MS is now working on a desktop search tool to be released soon, why not be patient and release it as part of Longhorn, it will still compete with G's search tool. If they release the tool now and it sucks, you problably won't even use it when it comes out with Longhorn (I wont use IE) just because their initial tool was a failure. With the new MSN Search, why not target Yahoo rather then G. Yahoo is already similar to MSN and probably is a softer and easier target. Make it publicly know that you are competing with Yahoo, not G. Of course competing with Yahoo is competing with G as well . I feel its always best to fight battles which you can win, and in the corporate enviroment, its gives investor and public confidence which boosts the company's overall reputation.
I doubt they are trying to hire away Microsoft employees. Microsoft engineers aren't all that good. Microsoft takes the approach that they throw a million mediocre engineers at a project rather than less great engineers.
its not that microsoft engineers arnt good, they just have no motivation. ps any chance google reads this forum?
Microsoft engineers (or management, or whoever makes the decisions) don't have the ability to innovate. They are all about doing what other people do, then use their massive marketing engine to push the products. Microsoft is a marketing company first and a software company second IMO.
Microsoft and Amazon threw a party at Google's new Kirkland offices tonight. The Google staffers were vastly outnumbered (there were about 20 of them hosting a party of hundreds). Robert Scoble "spied tons of Microsoft employees checking out the Google offices and eating the food."
I agree with you Shawn .. MS is more marketing then innovation, their strategy to go all out against Google is a big risk.
Mediocre or highly talented, makes almost no difference. If Google can grab MS engineers they rob MS of valuable resources *and* potentially gain competitive intelligence.