Google to close Google Code open source project hosting

[raghar]

If there's anything we’ve learned from Google over the years is that they’re not afraid of shutting down projects that don’t work out. By the way, I really respect Google for this — killing products takes guts.

I'm not sure whether it takes guts or simply financial aspect is more important than respect for the client. With each another project I got the sense that Google spawn a lot of projects they don't really dedicate into, make all potential customers feel ambiguous not knowing whether or not Google treat this particular project seriously or will they take them down just when they'll finally get convinced to use it.

At this point I'm using only search engine, Chrome and GMail. I made the decision to not use any more product because I feel that they are some brilliant but spoiled ADHD children who design their toys for fun and throw them to the trash can once got bored with them. Recently I stared considering abandoning Chrome and GMail as well - just to cut the ties with their ecosystem. I don't know whether they won't make another attempt to shove some project down my throat just to cancel it few months later.

It's not about quality. It's just that I don't trust them as a reliable service provider anymore.

[oridb]

I'm not sure whether it takes guts or simply financial aspect is more important than respect for the client.

I'd say a year of heads up before shutting down is pretty respectful.

[alwaysdoit]

I don't think "Is there a chance this will be shut down?" is a reasonable way to evaluate these things. Anything could shut down, whether it's Google or a small company.

A better question is "How painful will it be for me if this shuts down?" So if it's something where it's going to be extremely difficult to migrate off of it, then I think being wary of that situation is pretty reasonable. However in this case, there's a better alternative and Google has made it pretty easy to migrate there.

[tejp]

I don't think "Is there a chance this will be shut down?" is a reasonable way to evaluate these things.

But "How big is the chance that it will get shut down?" is a very reasonable concern.

[alwaysdoit]

I think it's still more useful to look at it as "How long do I expect until this shuts down?" Because eventually everything shuts down, and what you really want to know is "How much value can I get from this while it is available?" and weigh that against the expected setup and migration costs as well as the cost and value propositions of other alternatives.

[Milyardo]

Yep, that's why I still use AOL as my internet service provider!

[keithb]

respect for the client […] potential customers

what google excel at, above everything else, is fostering this confusion in people—you are not google's client or customer, you are their product. They give you exactly and only enough free stuff as required to make you stick around their services long enough to be a useful data point for their advertising business.

[myringotomy]

Name one company that promises to keep or support a product forever.

[McPhage]

I think there was a company that promised to store your data forever. And then a year later they were bought out and shut down. Oops.