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Google, Tesla, and Facebook Attract 'Hordes of Tech Tourists' To Their Headquarters (siliconvalley.com)
An anonymous Slashdot reader writes:
"We just came from Oracle, then we go to HP, Google; we're going to do Tesla, Intel, eBay and Yahoo. And Apple, I forgot Apple..." says one San Francisco resident, describing a tour he's providing for his friend from Tokyo. In fact, Silicon Valley's iconic tech companies have discovered tourists are now dropping in on their headquarters. "It was nice to walk between the buildings, take some pictures and see the employees enjoy their lunch break," wrote one visitor to Google's campus, before complaining that Google hadn't also provided them with bathroom access. "We got told not to use the Google bikes as they are for employees only, which was a bit of a shame," another visitor complained.
"Hundreds of people a day visit the Facebook sign and Google's Android sculpture garden in Mountain View," reports the Bay Area Newsgroup, "with many stopping at other tech giants as well, snapping photos and shooting video..." In fact, Tesla, Apple, Facebook, and Google have all now installed stores where tourists can purchase branded merchandise. (Google sells figurines of their Android mascot for $15). "What you're seeing are people on a pilgrimage..." said Stanford communications professor Fred Turner. "Folks are looking for a physical place behind the kind of dematerialized experience that they have online."
Intel has its own museum, and the Los Altos garage where Steve Jobs started Apple has even been designated a historic site. Are there any other historic tech sites that should be preserved to inspire future generations of tourists?
"Hundreds of people a day visit the Facebook sign and Google's Android sculpture garden in Mountain View," reports the Bay Area Newsgroup, "with many stopping at other tech giants as well, snapping photos and shooting video..." In fact, Tesla, Apple, Facebook, and Google have all now installed stores where tourists can purchase branded merchandise. (Google sells figurines of their Android mascot for $15). "What you're seeing are people on a pilgrimage..." said Stanford communications professor Fred Turner. "Folks are looking for a physical place behind the kind of dematerialized experience that they have online."
Intel has its own museum, and the Los Altos garage where Steve Jobs started Apple has even been designated a historic site. Are there any other historic tech sites that should be preserved to inspire future generations of tourists?
By anonymous cowards
You mean where Steve Wozniak started Apple while Steve Jobs stood over him watching and plotting?
Erm... those are Pokemon Go players.
Summation 2
They're all hoping to get a last sighting of the American Dream.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Really? Who the fuck complains about a company not letting some random outsiders touch their property? Need a bathroom - use a fucking public restroom. Surely there are restaurants or shops near-by that are meant for public use. And the most pretentious has to be that bicycle comment. I mean, if GoogleEmp came wanting to use your bike, would you let them? Fuck no. That's just weird. Get your own damn bike, or go rent one from a public facility that offers bike rentals.
These complaints are completely invalid, and the people that wrote them need to be slapped.
In fact, Tesla, Apple, Facebook, and Google have all now installed stores where tourists can purchase branded merchandise.
It wouldn't surprise me if they all opened a Kool-aid stands as well.
It's got historical value, one of the first major computer installations. TPF (Transaction Processing Facility) was developed by IBM and this location at 4000 N Mingo was one of the first deployed installations of it. It's two stories underground, behind a huge blast door. Unfortunately, it's off-limits to the public (and most employees that work there too). There might be a couple of dozen people who have access to it. I had to beg for two years just to go down; even then I didn't get to see all of it. Conspiracy theory says it's connected to the "underground UFO transport system" lol. Some claim that there has been UFO sightings / storage there, but it IS on Tulsa International Airport grounds and there are many drunk Okies around hahaha.
It would make a great place to hole up in case of some apocalypse. If you shut down all the computers, you could have enough on-site generated electricity to last a few years. Plus your behind several tall fences with barbed-wire, and isn't located inside Tulsa proper. Even better, Lake Yahola and it's water processing systems is less than two miles away, and just north is Mohawk Park that has wild game running around.
They have museums, exhibits, etc. The Space Flight Simulator and Space Flight Operations Facility are historical monuments. SFOF is the hub of all incoming data from the Deep Space Network ... and essentially every bit of information passed from remote probes to humankind.
Plotting? I didn't know Steve Jobs was that much into mathematics.
Ezekiel 23:20
...but given the rest of the exhibits, I think the ass that SCO pulled out its patent claims would qualify.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
and see the employees enjoy their lunch break
They'll dance if you throw them a peanut.
"What you're seeing are people on a pilgrimage..." said Stanford communications professor Fred Turner. "Folks are looking for a physical place behind the kind of dematerialized experience that they have online."
What a load of hoo-ha. I've seen these hordes of tourists - they're just trying to round out their busy day, checking more or less random places off a long list.
It's like the Japanese tourists I saw at Pearl Harbor. It was just a place the tour bus took them. I saw a lot of smiling tourists posing with the wreath that's in front of the wall listing the dead. It wasn't a pilgrimage, and I don't think it was even meant to be disrespectful - it was just a place on a long list, and they went there without thinking much about it at all.
#DeleteChrome
The Computer History Museum is on Shoreline Drive, a couple of blocks from the Googleplex. It has public bathrooms. Check the website for hours. The building was built for Silicon Graphics' Marketing department. The Googleplex was the Silicon Graphics' Engineering building. Also in the neighborhood is Microsoft and LinkedIn.
For years, tourists coming to LA have wanted to "see Hollywood" as one of the widely-publicized attractions of the area. Inevitably they were disappointed because there was nothing for tourists to see. All the activity of film making takes place in offices and studios away from the public view. The Universal Studios theme park conversion helped a little, but now there's Hollywood & Highland Center, a place where tourists can go to experience a sort of summary of Hollywood culture and history. It is built around a replica of the sets from the silent classicIntolerancefamous venues like Grauman's Chinese and the home of the Oscars, Loew's Hollywood, Madame Tussaud's, and a subway station. Yes, a real working subway station.
I think he was scheming...
Scheming? I didn't know he was that much into LISP dialects....
You can visit the HP garage, which is still there. It is considered to be the "Birthplace of Silicon Valley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
I have personal experience as a Google employee regarding tourists, and I can share some of it.
As a rule, we don't mind tourists at all. We're used to it. Everybody wants to "visit Google" and take pictures next to Google logos. For most part, tourists don't cause big problems, but there are some exceptions.
The first problem is the bikes. Yes, it may seem obvious to many, but the bikes are the property of Google for exclusive use by employees. Unfortunately, some tourists don't get the idea. I used to work in a somewhat remote building and used bikes to come to main campus for lunch and meetings. Many times, I couldn't find a bike to go back, while 10-20 tourists are riding around in them. I once saw a huge number of tourists get off a bus straight into bikes and ride in every direction, across the streets, across the parking lots, etc. Bad idea and lack of consideration.
Speaking of buses, that's another problem. Tour bus driver will park anywhere. There's a lot of people in the Google Campus, and some places get VERY crowded during rush hour, because that's where the Google commuter buses stop to pick passengers. It's not uncommon to have tour buses *park* at those stops, throwing the whole thing into chaos. I once (nicely) asked one driver if he could move a bit forward, since it was raining and he was parked right in the middle of a 3-bus loading spot. He just plain ignored me as if I was not there.
Oh, and for some reason, tourists just don't seem to realize that a green colored lane with bike signs painted all over it are bike lanes and walk all over it, forcing you to bike around people on the sidewalks.
There's also the issue of "employee sponsored tourism". We all have friends and acquaintances who want to know Google, and we all bring people in once in a while. The problem happens when people don't control their guests. At Charlie's (the biggest and most popular cafe), it's common to have people bring their entire families for lunch (including in-laws), especially those coming from cultures where family ties are strong. Many of these visitors don't realize that they are entering a work environment. It's terrible when I'm looking to wolf down a lunch in a hurry because I'm oncall and I have to wait in line at the coke machine for 10 minutes because a bunch of people can't decide what they want, or waste time looking for a seat because tourists "pre-selected" seats in the restaurant by dropping their purses and belongings (which is discouraged internally).
All in all, it's not much of a burden to employees, and more of a positive than negative experience, but speaking from the inside, it has the potential to suck at times.
Has much more history than the big Tech Firms, some historical buildings, it's a nice place to walk around, and you probably will be able to use a restroom.