zlacker

Companies don't usually make a habit of having their employees work on something they don't intend to pursue.

>>duerra+(OP)
I wish that were true in corporate America! Think of all of the waste that would eliminate.

>>nullin+E1
Yeah but then you also have to think about all the jobs that would be lost.

>>duerra+(OP)
Yes, they actually do. Or rather, there is no "company", there are thousands of different decision makers.

My point is that at some other company (e.g. Apple) it would be done in secret on a branch somewhere, then big-bang merged later.

Google's process doesn't tend to work that way.