
Area 120 – A workshop for Google's experimental products - sidcool
https://area120.google.com
======
dang
This is just a sign-up page? That's not a substantive submission for HN. Here
it's better to wait until a thing is actually available.

(It also unleashes the hounds of snark, as seen below.)

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jboggan
Do you want more messaging apps? This is how you get more messaging apps.

The main appeal for Googlers is that participating in Area 120 gets you out of
doing Perf for an entire cycle. That's actually pretty huge.

When this was first unveiled internally I don't recall anyone saying this was
more attractive than just leaving and creating your own startup. It never even
crossed my mind when I decided to leave and start a new project, I can't
understand what the upside would be.

~~~
WWKong
"...What the upside would be"

A very low risk great shot at potentially leading a Google product and all the
associated upsides?

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theWatcher37
I love that those guys working on the machine-learning haircut robot are so
willing to eat their own dogfood. It's still got a ways to go before it's
believable but I can see the potential.

~~~
harrumph
>I love that those guys working on the machine-learning haircut robot are so
willing to eat their own dogfood.

I sure wish I hadn't been drinking water when I read this.

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_wmd
2011: "more wood behind fewer arrows! Let's kill Labs"

2017: "argh! the wood is running away!! Let's resurrect Labs"

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influx
Is this a parody?

    
    
      ("Google") which is focused on launching experimental products which are iterated quickly, and which may be discontinued at any time.
    

No, really?

~~~
tempodox
I would think it's an accurate description.

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johnpowell
I tried twice scrolling down that page and couldn't manage to read more than
ten actual words. I think my eyes tried to escape my body in revolt.

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p0rkbelly
seems cool. But, in true Google style, has that whole "Let's stroke our
profound selves off first" element to it.

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rattray
There's something about this that makes me never want to work at Google. I
can't quite put my finger on what it is.

~~~
edoceo
You can play on your own cool ideas while working here, but we own all the
ideas and upside.

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maxwin
That is still much better than a code monkey who is managed and told exactly
what to do.

~~~
taneq
Would you rather sell hours of your life, or sell your dreams?

~~~
WalterSear
If the alternative hinges on the odds of realizing those dreams successfully
via the current startup ecosphere (and not getting fleeced by financial
backers), I'd sell them. I'll always have plenty more where they came from.

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rdl
Why would a Googler do A120 vs. leaving and doing a startup and potentially
quick-sale back to Google?

(I guess access to Google infrastructure could be worth it for some projects,
and for people who have large stock grants who want to vest them out for
another 6-12mo before leaving)

~~~
jsolson
Risk.

Area 120 has bounded reward, but the downside risk is measured entirely in
opportunity cost. If your goal is a quick sale, the upsides may be comparable
as well.

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tdicola
Can someone at Area 120 make bringing back Google Reader a thing?

I'm serious.

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daxfohl
Is the guy on the rhs of the 2nd photo of the slideshow working on an
invisible computer? One would think that'd be the highlight.

~~~
H4CK3RM4N
He also has his right hand in his lap, and nobody opposite him. No idea what
he's supposed to be doing.

[https://area120.google.com/static/images/home/hi/Home_3_imag...](https://area120.google.com/static/images/home/hi/Home_3_image_2.jpg)

~~~
JonRB
It looks to me like he's waiting for something or someone.

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xbmcuser
The assumption many have here is that all people build startups to get rich
well truthfully thats what American start up scene has become. Reality is that
most successful startups are not about making billions but solving a problem
or multiple problems some people make a lot money solving those problems but
most don't. Having a chance at solving a problem without bankrupting yourself
and your family would be a good opportunity for many.

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daxfohl
Sure, make an area120 account github and we'll follow it.

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DrNuke
Ads optimization as the reason for life.

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grizzles
I'll throw out a lament. I wish Google had released that Robot Arm they built
that could lift >10kg payloads. When I heard about it I was throwing money at
the screen and wondering why nothing happened.

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daxfohl
If you put floating/moving photo filters on a page, at least let users drag
them at will. The lack of control on this page is driving me nuts.

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slackingoff2017
Translation: Too many Googlers leave and go on to start their own companies.
We're creating a playground where they can explore their ideas and we can keep
the profits, as it should be.

~~~
mmastrac
Google pays well. Why not take the opportunity to swing for the fences without
taking personal financial risk?

~~~
mythz
Because you'll forfeit your reward or upside for working hard on executing
your idea, worse if it's successful where Google owns your IP and starts
productizing it you've killed your opportunity to go start your own company
around it.

~~~
tempestn
But if you're not interested in starting a company, and instead want to work
on interesting things while being paid very well, it sounds pretty good.

~~~
mythz
Your pay remains the same regardless. If you're not interested in any
financial gain, sure it can be more enjoyable to spend your work hours on your
own idea inside Google's cushy offices.

~~~
themacguffinman
That's a strange assumption. I would think that any employee who pioneers a
successful idea will land a leading role in the subsequent product development
team and a bonus at least. Sure, the reward isn't as high as if you spun off
your own startup but it won't be nothing.

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ianai
Does this mean open access outside of google or something?

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oh_sigh
Can't believe this wasn't leaked...years ago?

~~~
kyrra
It was a year ago. [https://www.recode.net/2016/5/20/11718792/google-120-area-
in...](https://www.recode.net/2016/5/20/11718792/google-120-area-incubator)

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dmamills
google releases a dumb marketing site, fun!

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Lazare
So this gives people the opportunity to try Google products...

...that are even _more_ likely to to be cancelled without warning than normal
Google products?

I'm positively quivering with anticipation.

~~~
bitmapbrother
Just curious, do you post the same response when Microsoft announces products
or services?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Discontinued_Microsof...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Discontinued_Microsoft_software)

You can also add these to the list:

    
    
      Wunderlist
      Sunset
      Games for Windows
      Silverlight
      Zune
      Kin
      XNA
      PlaysForSure
      Flight Sim
      Expression Suite
      SteadyState
      Windows RT
      Windows Phone 7
      Forefront
      Front Page
      Money
    

Or Apple?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_products_discontinued_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_products_discontinued_by_Apple_Inc).

~~~
sverhagen
Some of the Microsoft products you listed have been around and successful for
a really long time. I can only imagine some people being disappointed about
Flight Simulator being dropped after about 24 years, but that's a very
respectable product lifespan. When you look at Silverlight, that was very
strategic to Microsoft, they put a lot of weight behind it, and them
abandoning it after nine years isn't for a lack of trying. With Google it's
more like floating an idea, that then people might get hooked on, for them to
seemingly say: _nah, never mind_. Google probably has the numbers to back up
these decisions, but for people that were buying into it, that's pretty sour,
and it either has happened quite a few times with them, or they have a major
perception problem around the matter.

~~~
bitmapbrother
Yes, some of those products and services that Microsoft has shut down do go
back some way, but others such as Sunset and, the soon to be shut down,
Wunderlist are very recent.

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adamnemecek
How delightfully vague.

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guiscreenshots
I couldn't spend more than 10 seconds attempting to read that website, what
with all of the colorful shapes rushing this way and that.

How did we get back here in web design? It truly boggles the mind.

~~~
onion2k
What's really annoying is that most browsers actually support an accessibility
feature called "prefers-reduced-motion"[1] in CSS media queries to tell a site
not to do this sort of thing, but Google don't appear to use it.

[1] [https://css-tricks.com/introduction-reduced-motion-media-
que...](https://css-tricks.com/introduction-reduced-motion-media-query/)

~~~
JoshMnem
Thanks for that link. For years, I've been arguing that animation is an
accessibility issue, but the situation keeps getting worse. I hope that there
is a way to enable that on Linux and Android.

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masor
This is the most Hooli thing ever.

~~~
skraelingjar
Shut up Dinesh.

