8 ms·

I have walked those halls and let me tell you it feels spooky in a good way to know a lot of groundbreaking work was done there. During the time I was on campu

by lgkk 3y ago

I have walked those halls and let me tell you it feels spooky in a good way to know a lot of groundbreaking work was done there. During the time I was on campus it was mostly empty. There were old computers still inside some rooms. I felt like I had been transported to the 80s or 90s in one hall and some halls even more decades in the past. Really grand. I can’t imagine what it was like in its heyday.

tomcam 3y ago
I’m not a nostalgic person, but for some reason I wish irrationally that that Murray Hill building could be preserved as is. I read so much about of it in the history of computing, and just like (from the pictures) the building interior itself so much I just feel like I missed out on some thing not to have been there myself. I was lucky enough to work at Microsoft in building 2, one of 8 matching buildings from the mid-80s, and it absolutely felt special at the time. In my imagination, it had some of the same vibe as Bell Labs did in its heyday. I was on the Visual Studio team, and great things were happening. I knew it. I also knew that team was special. No one else in Visual Studio seemed that interested – they were just too busy and I think maybe too young to get it. Buildings 1-8 were demolished few years ago, but I had been gone from the company for decades by that time. I did grieve a bit.
- polishdude20 3y ago
  I wonder where can you find those types of places currently? Places developing the next mRNA vaccines for cancer? Places developing AI? Electric cars?
  - tomcam 3y ago
    I think that if you have a PhD in the right field and enough hip publications that many of the FAANG companies still have research teams like that operating in a diminished capacity. It appears to me that many of these positions have been replaced by administrators who are more interested in hiring to a specific set of demographics.
    - coliveira 3y ago
      Have you ever seen something fundamental coming from FAANG? No, and you won't, because what they're doing (even when very technical) is purely for the improvement of their business. Things like AI are coming from smaller groups such as OpenAI, even when backed by big companies like Microsoft.
      - pm90 3y ago
        What are you talking about? All of the basic research around transformers originated at Google.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
  - lgkk 3y ago
    NASA. I know a few people who wanted to get away from the FANG hype grind and went to NASA. They tell me they’re doing actual engineering for engineerings sake. Which sounds great. Salary obviously not comparable to FANG 400k plus but the satisfaction and pride is well worth the sacrifice to them. Me and most of my friends are “super American” like I’m an immigrant who wears USA hats and t shirts. I would love to work at NASA once I have established a little place for myself here. I would be so proud to contribute to this country and its success in space and research.
  - nextos 3y ago
    Perhaps Altos Labs (aging). Perhaps also Isomorphic Labs (protein design) will also become such a place. Both are still quite new. Microsoft Research is also pivoting into this area. mRNA designs are still a bit primitive. Moderna and BioNTech resemble corporations, rather than skunkworks.
tomcam 3y ago
I’m not a nostalgic person, but for some reason I wish irrationally that that Murray Hill building could be preserved as is. I read so much about of it in the history of computing, and just like (from the pictures) the building interior itself so much I just feel like I missed out on some thing not to have been there myself. I was lucky enough to work at Microsoft in building 2, one of 8 matching buildings from the mid-80s, and it absolutely felt special at the time. In my imagination, it had some of the same vibe as Bell Labs did in its heyday. I was on the Visual Studio team, and great things were happening. I knew it. I also knew that team was special. No one else in Visual Studio seemed that interested – they were just too busy and I think maybe too young to get it. Buildings 1-8 were demolished few years ago, but I had been gone from the company for decades by that time. I did grieve a bit.
- dimator 3y ago
  It's interesting how much we associate a place with the fulfillment (career) we had there. I always smile fondly when I pass by the buildings I worked in years ago, in the valley. It's a strange thought that the building I spent so many hours, days, years in is now just a thing seen out of the passenger window as I drive by, for maybe 2 seconds.
  - tomcam 3y ago
    In my particular case, the best jobs I had also happened to be at places where I could think hard, then go take a walk outside and enjoy the fresh air. Building two at Microsoft was nestled in a sort of mini forest, and taking a jog around that area in the winter was a pleasure almost to good to put into words.
- dleink 3y ago
  Any recommendations for books on the history of computing from that period?
  - NegativeLatency 3y ago
    Not Microsoft but an enjoyable account from that time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine
foobarian 3y ago
I was there for a short time. A cool feature was they had a company hardware store on premises selling all sorts of weird stuff, that you could pay for with your badge and get it deducted from your pay if memory serves. I still have a screwdriver I got there.
fuzztester 3y ago
>I have walked those halls and let me tell you it feels spooky in a good way to know a lot of groundbreaking work was done there. >Really grand. I can’t imagine what it was like in its heyday. You may have seen this already, but sharing it for others: Here is one image from that time, which I had seen sometime earlier: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ken_Thompson_(sitting)_and_Dennis_Ritchie_at_PDP-11_(2876612463).jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ken_Thompson_(sitting)_...

by lgkk 3y ago

tomcam 3y ago

I’m not a nostalgic person, but for some reason I wish irrationally that that Murray Hill building could be preserved as is. I read so much about of it in the history of computing, and just like (from the pictures) the building interior itself so much I just feel like I missed out on some thing not to have been there myself. I was lucky enough to work at Microsoft in building 2, one of 8 matching buildings from the mid-80s, and it absolutely felt special at the time. In my imagination, it had some of the same vibe as Bell Labs did in its heyday. I was on the Visual Studio team, and great things were happening. I knew it. I also knew that team was special. No one else in Visual Studio seemed that interested – they were just too busy and I think maybe too young to get it. Buildings 1-8 were demolished few years ago, but I had been gone from the company for decades by that time. I did grieve a bit.

polishdude20 3y ago
I wonder where can you find those types of places currently? Places developing the next mRNA vaccines for cancer? Places developing AI? Electric cars?
- tomcam 3y ago
  I think that if you have a PhD in the right field and enough hip publications that many of the FAANG companies still have research teams like that operating in a diminished capacity. It appears to me that many of these positions have been replaced by administrators who are more interested in hiring to a specific set of demographics.
  - coliveira 3y ago
    Have you ever seen something fundamental coming from FAANG? No, and you won't, because what they're doing (even when very technical) is purely for the improvement of their business. Things like AI are coming from smaller groups such as OpenAI, even when backed by big companies like Microsoft.
    - pm90 3y ago
      What are you talking about? All of the basic research around transformers originated at Google.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- lgkk 3y ago
  NASA. I know a few people who wanted to get away from the FANG hype grind and went to NASA. They tell me they’re doing actual engineering for engineerings sake. Which sounds great. Salary obviously not comparable to FANG 400k plus but the satisfaction and pride is well worth the sacrifice to them. Me and most of my friends are “super American” like I’m an immigrant who wears USA hats and t shirts. I would love to work at NASA once I have established a little place for myself here. I would be so proud to contribute to this country and its success in space and research.
- nextos 3y ago
  Perhaps Altos Labs (aging). Perhaps also Isomorphic Labs (protein design) will also become such a place. Both are still quite new. Microsoft Research is also pivoting into this area. mRNA designs are still a bit primitive. Moderna and BioNTech resemble corporations, rather than skunkworks.

tomcam 3y ago

dimator 3y ago
It's interesting how much we associate a place with the fulfillment (career) we had there. I always smile fondly when I pass by the buildings I worked in years ago, in the valley. It's a strange thought that the building I spent so many hours, days, years in is now just a thing seen out of the passenger window as I drive by, for maybe 2 seconds.
- tomcam 3y ago
  In my particular case, the best jobs I had also happened to be at places where I could think hard, then go take a walk outside and enjoy the fresh air. Building two at Microsoft was nestled in a sort of mini forest, and taking a jog around that area in the winter was a pleasure almost to good to put into words.
dleink 3y ago
Any recommendations for books on the history of computing from that period?
- NegativeLatency 3y ago
  Not Microsoft but an enjoyable account from that time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine

foobarian 3y ago

I was there for a short time. A cool feature was they had a company hardware store on premises selling all sorts of weird stuff, that you could pay for with your badge and get it deducted from your pay if memory serves. I still have a screwdriver I got there.

fuzztester 3y ago

>I have walked those halls and let me tell you it feels spooky in a good way to know a lot of groundbreaking work was done there. >Really grand. I can’t imagine what it was like in its heyday. You may have seen this already, but sharing it for others: Here is one image from that time, which I had seen sometime earlier: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ken_Thompson_(sitting)_and_Dennis_Ritchie_at_PDP-11_(2876612463).jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ken_Thompson_(sitting)_...