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GE's Move To Boston Could Revive Local Tech Business Ambitions (networkworld.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Networkworld: Two-hundred people will run General Electric from the company's new headquarters in the Fort Point part of the city and another 600 will work in its labs. According to Immelt's vision, the headquarters will be open for interacting with startups and academia in which GE is both convener and catalyst. In an interview with Boston's business and political elite yesterday, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of GE Jeff Immelt said GE moved to Boston for two reasons: to win the Internet of Things and rethink how companies work in this winner-take-all technology and innovation economy. If GE's top management can add the missing ingredient by transferring the know-how for growing businesses to billions of dollars in quarterly revenue, Boston could regain its preeminent position for technology business leadership equal to its reputation for leading-edge research and development.
I can't think of one good thing to have come out of Silicon Valley within the past decade.
Most of the "innovation" that happened there has revolved around advertising and making it more invasive.
Anything that might actually have some value (virtual reality, Internet of Things) ends up being hijacked to, you guessed it, subject people to advertising while invasively collecting data about them.
And then there are things like Android, which are basically just 1990s-era technology like Linux and Java.
We've also seen them destroy a lot of formerly-good technology. Look at how Firefox has been ruined, for example. Silicon Valley has also been the hub of shitty modern web design, where what should be simple web pages end up requiring extensive JavaScript frameworks and many MB of unnecessary images, videos, and other resources.
JavaScript, Go and Rust are good examples of how Silicon Valley hasn't improved programming languages at all. JavaScript is still awful, decades after it was first created. Go is, despite all of the hype, rather mediocre and primitive. Rust is a joke.
For all of the hype that Silicon Valley gets, and all of the funding that has poured into it, we've seen pretty much nothing of real value created by these folks!
I did some contracting work for them in the '90's but thought they'd all been devoured by rabid weasels after GE Finance went away. The fact that many of my old appliances has their logo on them is a complete coincidence. So, what's ol' Generous Electric been up to, lately?
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Like taxes. Maybe they'll start paying them!
It's hard to beat Silicon Valley when it comes to cutting edge consumer-facing stuff. That's why Zuckerberg moved FB out there first chance he got. Although Manhattan and LA will probably give SV a run for their money eventually.
But Boston is good for more staid engineering stuff, where advanced STEM degrees are highly relevant if not required. Think robots and stuff like that. GE might be a good fit.
Hey - while you were out, Downtown Boston, as well as Routes 128 and 495 called. They all said you're full of shit.
The only way I can think of that Boston's tech sector isn't healthy is if you define "tech sector" as exclusively "marketing and advertising technology."
Seriously.
Boston won't be a tech leader again. They're not culturally diverse enough to attract top talent and top companies. Silicon Valley is very welcoming to Asians, Hispanics, homosexuals
You mean Boston, in the first state that legalized gay marriage isn't welcoming to homosexuals? Massachusetts is in the top quintile of states for proportion of Asians too.
The main reason the Boston area is a better incubator of tech is the same reason it lost the pre-eminence it enjoyed among American cities in the colonial era: it's too cramped and expensive for industry to grow. So it usually makes sense once your company is a going concern to move it elsewhere.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
This. They won't be able to make hiring quotas so they won't be able to hire the good engineers even if they can find them. At my company, we have to hire two female engineers for every male and two nonwhite engineers for every white engineer so even when we do find a good candidate, we almost always lose them since it usually takes more than six months before we can make them an offer.
So, is there a good programming language aside Haskell?
Ever since Welch left GE the thing becomes sort of rudderless
If they think a move to Boston can get them their rudder back, welcome to the real world
As per what the AC said .. you do know why his nickname was "Neutron Jack" don't you?
He was famous for getting rid of people while leaving the buildings standing in the same vein as a neutron bomb.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
As someone with relatives 2 streets away from their old headquarters in Fairfield, CT, the move to Boston is predicated on two things:
1) the college labor pool in MA is more plentiful, the cost of living is lower, and thus it's a cheaper labor cost to GE for entry level college intern and recent grad talent
2) CT state government significantly raised corporate taxes last year, and GE said they would move if they did. This is just following through on that promise.
And surprisingly, Taxachusttes is actually 25/50 in income taxes, while CT is top 5/50 for income and top 2/50 for estate taxes.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-28/why-ge-spurned-connecticut-for-massachusetts
AT&T in Bothell, WA
I recently quit AT&T and worked in Bothell. For the single guys, it was "Seattle hundreds" (16 hours a day Mon-Thu and 12 hours a day Fri-Sun). For the married guys and the women, it was corporate thirties. For the over three years I worked there, I didn't turn on my TV a single time. Also, other than work, I didn't ride my motorcycle a single time other than commuting. It consumed my life. The women and the guys with a family got vacation time, but I don't know any single guys that got time off other than around Christmas. The pay was good and the bonuses great, but I realized I'd never become one of the guys with a family if I stayed.
Hey - while you were out, Downtown Boston, as well as Routes 128 and 495 called. They all said you're full of shit.
You must of heard the ghosts of DEC, Wang, Thinking Machines, Data General and Apollo computer. It gets lonely in the graveyard of computer companies.
Must HAVE, god damn it, must HAVE. Seriously, I thought /. is the one place I wouldn't see this crap!
Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
Boston's Underwater District
OMG, like Rapture?!
(They're planning on building on reclaimed ground that conservative estimates give maybe 50 years to remain above water.)
Oh. :(
Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
I work a few blocks from the proposed HQ site and there are construction cranes in all directions, & there is plenty of demand for office space in Fort Point and excellent freeway access due to Big Dig exit at convention center. We already have enough Internet of Things meetups believe it or not.
Muckrock and the Boston Institute of Nonprofit Journalism tried to raise $1700 demanded by the mayor's office for reproducing the GE emails. But who needs emails when the charm offensive has begun? BINJ did a five-part series on the scheme.
These crony style one-off deals are always terrible economics. The "free market" certainly will fill that space very soon. There is no lack of demand, instead tons of local money already develops this area. In Jan 2015 a parking ramp in Fort Point sold for $56 million or $106,500 per spot!
As noted above many in the population are furious #MakeGEpay protesting in the freeze of last weekend's clipper. (Mayor Walsh was elected with 52% on 38% turnout). The schools are facing a $50 million shortfall, students walked out just a few days ago partially protesting this.
In this deal they don't have to pay regular taxes, instead they get to muck around in the local school system with all the purse strings attached as the press release makes clear. Instead of letting the city get normal tax revenue and the School Board allocate money for programs GE gets to basically do what it likes, as the press release clearly specifies.
Sen. Sanders said they are "destroying the moral fabric" of the USA. Boston Magazine reported in January:
Do you really think that some of these Beacon Hill luminaries haven't been looking forward to a taste of that offshore $119,000,000,000?? The centralization of decisionmaking in the schools, by withholding program revenue, is unfolding in parallel to this incredible offshore tax scam. Maybe they want Ft Point Channel access to float in barges of cash, why not? I am disappointed none of this important info is in the story summary.
--hongpong.com
I personally stay away from companies who practice the GE way. Jack Welch left a terrible legacy as an enemy of innovation...
I wonder what source or experience you're citing when you say that. Here's mine, take it for what you will.
My dad worked at the GE Global Research headquarters in Niskayuna for most of my childhood. He was in a couple of different research departments, and eventually became a Program Manager. He met Jack Welch on a few occasions, and has a lot of admiration for him. I have never heard him say anything that indicates he was an "enemy of innovation". Apparently I even met him once, my dad says I "cost him a ride on Jack's helicopter, because I was too afraid".
Jack removed a lot of bureaucracy, fostered an informal environment, and stripped out tons of middle-management. My dad often speaks highly of the "rank and yank" policy, where the bottom 10% of employees were let go on a yearly basis and new hires took their place. There was constant turnover, influxes of new people, new ideas, etc. Even if you were performing well, you would never stay in the same position for more than 6 years. If you weren't promoted within that time (often to other projects or departments), you received what was called a "sideways promotion"; you were shifted somewhere else, maybe at the same level, maybe at a lower level. The idea was to constantly have fresh eyes on everything, to prevent people from stagnating in one position. Jack also broadened stock option availability to a lot of employees based on their performance. He was cutthroat, for sure, but if you were damn good at your job, you thrived at GE.
Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
c
Boston's pretty welcoming. You've just got to understand that "Fuck you, ya fuckin' faggot!" is how they greet everyone, it's even what they say to the priest as they're leaving Sunday mass. It's a term of endearment in Boston. "You fuckin' fag townie. Fuck you and your fuckin' mother you fucking cheap ass whore. That was an excellent service Father and yes, I'll be here next Sunday and I'll tell my mother you said hello." To which, the kindly priest responds, "Well fuck you too, ya fucking cock-sucka."
I'm telling you, it just means they like you.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
I wonder what they're going to do with all the IoTs crap no one really wants...
A whole economic sector based upon corporate spying, in your home, with government spying sneaking in on top....
Every word you say.. every private moment recorded... well, just more of cell phones I guess.
Studio apartments in San Francisco are going for what... $4,000 a month now? I think that I'd be willing to put up with a little snow to avoid writing a rent check that big.
As someone who worked at GRC for 13 years, I definelty had a different perception of the 10% policy - usually about 3 months before performance reviews the knives would come out, everybody would be searching for someone to throw under the bus, the only people who were safe were people who sucked up to their manager - if fact, perversely, the policy had the opposite effect as was intendend, the system preserved incompetent sociopaths who were execellent in sucking up and blaming others for thier own failures and GE often would kick out technically capable people who were not into the survivor game GE turned into every year. I sleep much better after leaving that place.I am now management at another company and from my GE expericence I make it a point to sniff out and fire - suck ups, narcissists and sociopaths who blame others for their own incompetence who ruin the organization like they did at GRC..
Looks likely to stay that way.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Welch was a pathological dick. He did nothing for GE of worth, and certainly wasn't looking for the future. His main claim to fame was cutting his employee roster and cutting back on basic research. That left GE getting into the mortgage markets which is only now recovering from by unwinding it. His had no foresight, no imagination, an android could have replaced him with no discernible difference in performance.
Seriously? Have you ever been to the Boston area? It's incredibly diverse and welcoming. And unlike Silicon Valley, it's even welcoming to people who aren't rich.
Boston Dynamics and iRobot are dead? Where are you getting this information?
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
Boston won't be a tech leader again. They're not culturally diverse enough to attract top talent and top companies. Silicon Valley is very welcoming to Asians, Hispanics, homosexuals, and any other diverse group you can think of. Boston simply doesn't have that diversity, which is necessary to attract good innovators and the top talent. The culture of east coast firms is also far more on productivity and working hard during the workday than on the playful workdays in places like Silicon Valley. I just don't see how Boston can have a thriving tech sector. They're just not able to compete with Silicon Valley, and GE's move there probably won't be a good decision.
Boston never stopped being a tech leader. There are a lot of smart people in Boston. There is a huge concentration of colleges, including a couple of small schools you may have heard of like Harvard and MIT. I think they do a bit of tech stuff at MIT, but I'm not sure.
It may not be a leader on par with Silicon Valley (thank goodness, the cost of living is high enough already), but Boston and the surrounding area does have a strong tech sector.
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
Hey - while you were out, Downtown Boston, as well as Routes 128 and 495 called. They all said you're full of shit.
You must of heard the ghosts of DEC, Wang, Thinking Machines, Data General and Apollo computer. It gets lonely in the graveyard of computer companies.
What, because a bunch of companies went out of business there isn't a strong tech sector in Boston? How does that follow?
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
You need to remember that Massachusetts was founded by Puritans and Boston is predominantly Catholic. Neither of those groups are particularly friendly to those who live outside the norm. (And, yes, Massachusetts is still littered with churches that trace their roots directly to the Puritans. They're slowly dying out but they still exist!) There's a reason people refer to people from the state as "Massholes" and it isn't because they have a friendly, welcoming personality.
But you also need to remember that Massachusetts has a shitload of colleges. That means people come to the state from all over the country. So while there is a strong Catholic base in Massachusetts, it is also very cosmopolitan.
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
IoT, is going to foster disruptive startups. GE hasn't got what it takes to play in that sandbox.
Not exactly. Those 8,000 jobs will be in Boston, but they'll be H1B jobs. It actually makes sense because there isn't really a skilled tech workforce in Boston.
Is that why Microsoft, Google, EMC, Care and Amazon have offices there?
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
Actually those Highways called and wanted the DPW to fix the fucking potholes.
He was famous for getting rid of people while leaving the buildings standing in the same vein as a neutron bomb.
He was famous of people slavishly following his business philosophy (or lack thereof).
"I want you to bring me solutions," my boss told me one day. "Not problems."
"So you want me to do your job?" I replied back. "I'll add that to my to-do list."
Several months after that conversation, my boss gave me the "his way or the highway" speech. So I put in my resignation, went back to school, and got a better paying job.
As for my old boss, he rode the company all the way into bankruptcy.
Obligatory Dilbert Strip: http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-03-30
They're not culturally diverse enough to attract top talent and top companies.
Hey, come on, they've got Mass Fusion, Cambridge Polymer labs, Hallucigen Inc, Med-Tek Research, ArcJet Systems...
Pretty cutting edge stuff.
Watch this Heartland Institute video
"Must of" is a mistake usually made by native speakers.
Watch this Heartland Institute video
It also has an extremely corrupt state government which is great at curtailing individual rights. Software engineers will love it.
Newsflash, it's already doing about half of those things.
Just another day in Paradise
Reminds me of "a whole nother"...may as well scratch your nails on a chalkboard when you say that near me.
Just another day in Paradise
/. needs a Like button.
Just another day in Paradise
I take it that you've been to Boston, then? Ramming you with their car is just an excuse so that they can stop you and have a neighborly chat. Remember, in Mass, if it happens behind the 'B-Pillar' (front doors of the car) then it didn't happen. Dents are just character, the more dents - the more character.
God, I love Boston. I could never live in the area again but I do have a place there that currently has a relative in it. It's up near Highland and Fort Ave - Beech Glen St. I've got family all over the place. I went to school up in Cambridge. I then started my company there before moving to N.C., actually.
So, assuming you're from the area, "How's a heahty fuck you for ya, ya fuckin' tally-whackin' queer?" ;-)
The accent still comes out once in a while, "What ah ya, fuckin' retahded or what, bub?"
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Indeed I have been there several times but only to visit relatives (aunt taught at Mass General, and uncle worked at BBN, and MIT Lincon Labs) who've since retired to Oregon. Love the town, and attitude, but my conservative side wouldn't fit well there. We're also likely moving to NC to retire in the next few years...visited several times to check out Asheville, Hickory and Lake Norman.
Just another day in Paradise
The outskirts of Winston-Salem are my favorite areas w/regards to NC. Lovely place, good people. I spent quite a while there, it's where our home office was. Well, I guess the office is still there - I just no longer own it. It does get a bit chilly there (for some people) but I retired to Maine so it's not like cold bothers me - but, I did spend the winter in Florida this year. I'm getting ready to go home again. Florida's getting too warm.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
In French when one says something like "The elephants" it is normal to attach the "S" sound of "Les" to the vowel of "elephants" -- "Les elephants is pronounced like "lay Zelephants".
Which leads to the childish joke -- when asked to name an animal with a name starting with a Z instead of replying "Zebra" as expected you reply "oh, there are lots -- les Zelephants, les Zautruches (ostriches), les Zhiboux (Hiboux, owls, the H is silent)..."
Watch this Heartland Institute video
Nawlun. Nawlun.
I like saying "Nawlun" too.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."