Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Loses Top Hardware Executive (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the big-departure dept.

randomErr writes: David Foster, who joined Alphabet Inc.'s Google in October as part of its aggressive hardware effort, has left the company. As the vice president of hardware product development he worked on the launch of the Pixel smartphone and Home speaker. Both of which are competitors to the Amazon Echo, Foster's previous employer. Google will not comment on why he is leaving.

26 comments

  1. Perhaps it's utter failure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You can't just go in a store and buy a Pixel XL 6 months after launch. That's quite a failure to manage manufacturing. Perhaps that is why he's on the way out.

    1. Re: Perhaps it's utter failure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what I was going to ask, too. I didn't even try to buy a Pixel phone, though. Just looking at the specs, the size, and especially the pricing turned me off from getting one of thosr devices. I thought it would be a viable Nexus replacement, but nope! It cost way to the hell too much for what it offered.

    2. Re:Perhaps it's utter failure by loufoque · · Score: 0

      A store? Are you from the past?

    3. Re:Perhaps it's utter failure by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Perhaps that is why he's on the way out.

      You could even say that he was launched...

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  2. Google will not comment on why he is leaving by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe we could ask Alexa.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
    1. Re:Google will not comment on why he is leaving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe we could ask Alexa.

      JohnQPublic: Why is David Foster leaving google?
      Alexa: You can always go back home.

    2. Re:Google will not comment on why he is leaving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe we could ask Alexa.

      Considering he is going back to Amazon, Alexa might know, but can't tell you.

  3. It asn't Google's ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...turn to watch him!

    Thank you, I'll be here all week.

    1. Re:It asn't Google's ... by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      I was just going to ask: Did they look under the seat cushions on the couch? Or check under the seat in the car?

  4. competitor to Echo? by netsavior · · Score: 1

    how is the pixel smartphone a competitor to Amazon Echo?

    1. Re:competitor to Echo? by darkpixel2k · · Score: 1

      It's smaller, but more expensive and seems to have approximately the same vocabulary.

      --
      There's no place like ::1 (I've completed my transition to IPv6)
  5. maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe he has realised that Google are rubbish at hardware,only produce the odd device when they think they can get a really good deal from makers,like htc, who seem weak/daft/desperate enough to make a device with no hope of any profit and he thinks things are not going to get any better.
    OR,he is a rare one and when they tried to pick his brains for alexa knowledge he told them to go swivel,there must be a few left in the valley with some kind of ethical code and decent morals..
    We will probably never know the truth,I've not believed a word from Google for over ten years,and didn't trust them much before that...

    1. Re:maybe by laffer1 · · Score: 1

      I still find it amazing that amazon did a better job integrating with google calendar than google did with their own product. I still can't find out what is on my calendar for the day because it can only see the primary calendar with google home, but alexa will happily read it to me.

      Google can't even integrate with google. In many ways, I find the google home superior but they can't even get the assistant part right.

      --
      MidnightBSD: The BSD for Everyone
  6. He was in beta for a while, by sconeu · · Score: 1

    But now Google's dropped him as a produc.t

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  7. I for one applaud Foster's decision by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not many people would leave a high paying job at Google to undergo gender reassignment surgery.

  8. Re:Google loses to me (APK) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hahaha disregard that, I suck cocks.

    APK

    P.S. - I'm an annoying spammer.

  9. Aw, is THAT the "best ya got"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: Reduced to impersonating me = weak (especially when you can't validly technically prove me wrong).

    APK

    P.S.=> So LMAO @ U, fool... apk

  10. Zune HD manager, so not that succesful by bongey · · Score: 2

    Seems he is bit over-rated manager type. His entire career his list his roles as manager or director. Never was a 'engineer' in the trenches. Only 3 of the companies are still in business(most of the rest were bought out). Not the first time he has jump ship after a short time. https://www.linkedin.com/in/da...

  11. Google loses ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well gee, Google, can you remember the last place you had it?

  12. Perhaps a good thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google hardware has lost their way. They want to be the next Apple, and clearly that is not what their customers want. They sold the most devices when they were decent hardware at fair prices. Look at the Nexus line, it was very popular. Many people still use Nexus 7 tablets, and Nexus 5 phones today even. Go over to XDA, there are virtually no ROMs (like two, and no CM or Lineage) for the Pixel. Between this and the fact that all the carriers don't offer the Pixel, or didn't make it available somehow leads me to believe the adoption rate wasn't that high. How many Pixel devices do you see in the wild? I have 6 Nexus devices still in use in my house. My latest acquisition as a replacement cell phone was a Honor 5x, because it was well supported by the development community, decent hardware, fair price, everything the Nexus line used to be (unlike the Pixel).

    As for Google home, again, another product that doesn't seem to be going any where. Sadly anymore I don't touch anything Google that seems like an experiment, they have too much of a history of just dropping support for things without warning when they feel like it's not going well.

    1. Re:Perhaps a good thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The lack of ROMs imho could be related to the tighter security in the hardware being designed for 6.0 and 7.0 devices.

    2. Re:Perhaps a good thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The lack of ROMs imho could be related to the tighter security in the hardware being designed for 6.0 and 7.0 devices.

      I don't claim to know all the details, but this didn't apply to the Nexus 5x, which has all sorts of ROM choices. It didn't stop many of the other main stream devices such as any of the Samsung devices? I'm running the 7.1.2 on my Nexus 5x, the Honor 5X I bought for my wife is running 7.1.2 as well.

      So I don't think that it's a matter of it can't be done, just again, users have flocked to other devices.

  13. Google loses to me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: vs. facts I list here they can't prove wrong APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-7 32/64-bit https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=%22APK+Hosts+File+Engine%22+and+%22start64%22&btnG=Google+Search&gbv=1/

    Ads/script & malware rob speed/security/privacy

    Hosts add speed (via hardcodes/adblocks), security (vs. bad sites/malware/poisoned dns), reliability (vs. dns down), & anonymity (vs. dns requestlogs/trackers).

    Less power/cpu/ram + IO use vs. DNS/routers/addons/antivirus + less security bugs/complexity & faster vs. addons/routers/remote dns!

    Avoids DNSChangers in routers/IP settings & dns redirects (99.999% of ISP DNS != patched vs. it) + lightens DNS load & resolves faster from local system RAM!

    * Via what u NATIVELY have in the IP stack in FASTER kernelmode!

    APK

    P.S. - Safe https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/e01211ca36aa02e923f20adee0a3c4f5d5187dc65bdf1c997b3da3c2b0745425/analysis/1433430542/

  14. Google Loses Top Hardware Executive by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

    Google Loses Top Hardware Executive

    If only they had a search engine, they could find this executive again!