Microsoft or Google?

Undecided asks: "I will be graduating next April, and I have been fortunate enough to receive job offers from both Microsoft and Google. This has left me with a bit of a conundrum, however — I'm having real difficulty deciding which offer to accept. Putting aside compensation and other personal circumstances that will factor into my decision, what is the Slashdot community's take on this? Am I crazy not to go with Google? I am especially interested in the insight of others working in the computer science industry, in particular those who may have experienced what it's like to work at both companies."

Comments

Re:Newer company might have more room for advancem

[wpanderson]

Innovative? Intelligence? Pah. Microsoft were a box-shifter in the early 1980s, punting BASIC and Multiplan to any and all who would license it. "Hey, Radio Shack are about to release another crappy 8-bit computer without a programming language, we can sell BASIC for it! Hurrah! Next stop, the Commodore C128!" Windows was far from innovative at release, and Microsoft's dedicated R&D department wasn't created until 1991.

Google have constantly innovated, while Microsoft have consistently stood in the shadow of greater technology giants, pen and paper ready to take notes. MS may have financial muscle and market presence, but that surely shouldn't be the end-point of a career decision?

Re:Rudeness aside

[db32]

I wouldn't call it innovative or better than the competition. Their products pretty much suck, the few things they DO get right they copied from someone else who did it right first, or bought it from someone who did it right first, or crushed the ones who did it first and then took it as their own. Microsoft has an amazing marketing and legal team to keep their garbage selling when they simply aren't the best option in most situations.

Just make sure you look past their inability to think their product naming through very well. Windows CE for example...wince...as in it makes people wince. Or Microsoft itself...kinda sounds like they are in desparate need of a penis enlargement and some viagra...which I'm not ruling out since their craptastic OS has enabled the spam zombies and the floods of penis enlargement and viagra ads...so maybe that WAS the ultimate goal...to get themselves hooked up with the people they need.