A trip to the Silicon Valley (27 photos)

Early Friday evening, August 14. The courtyard of the main building of Apple Computer, Inc. Street Infinity Loop, Cupertino, California. At this point, the company's employees, divided into teams, competing to see who will fill the water glass flask. In another bullet from a catapult rubber balls with water and catch them, running across the lawn. In the third - to jump on the big plastic balls. In general, engaged in what is now called the buzzword "team building". A simply - relax after the work week.




Twenty years I am with Macintosh computers and the same number of years wanted to come here, look at this famous place, on the street called the Infinite Loop.
And here I am, and even in such an interesting moment.






The bartender opens a bottle of dry red. Here is poured and a beer.



Catapults quite as real.



Ball to catch the water so that it does not crash. Who will pick up, and he won.



The paradox - at Apple, one of the most secretive companies with the most severe, paranoid regime of secrecy, we can go and completely without any documents.
The main thing is to have a friend of the employee. He gets your name on the Mac screen installed at the entrance, will come out of the printer sticker, you prishlepnete it on a T-shirt and ready - go.



The most sincere joy over the victory - they are the first flask filled with water! Hooray!



And this is the main dining room at Apple. On that day, there were arranged tables with all meals and arranged buffet.





In the corner there are plastic barrels with ice and soda banks. All, of course, free of charge.



On Friday, come here with their families and children.



Inside, you can not shoot, but I could not resist, not to secretly take pictures of a large fragment of a smartphone stand, set in one of the rooms. In fifteen large epplovskih monitors application icons are shown for the iPhone. As soon as one of the programs someone downloads in iTunes, for an instant icon flashes increasing in size. From this the entire surface of the screen as a live - dozens, hundreds of icons are constantly alive and the whole mass of swaying, like a living. Very cool done.



We leave the building Apple. Leo and Jan call his friend to Google. It is very close, we sit in the car and drive there.



Google ranks a number of buildings that used to belong to Silicon Graphics.



Here is the courtyard of the main building Google. In contrast, Apple on Friday here deserted, sitting at the tables just a few people.



Employees are leaving their homes.
Some of the major companies in the Silicon Valley (including Apple) brought in and taken his people from San Francisco on comfortable buses equipped with internet access.
Thus a person starts his working day at the office, and in the bus.



Any Google employee can take one of these hybrid cars and ride in their personal affairs.
Battery charging and gasoline enough for forty miles. By six need to return the car to the place.
The canopy of the parking lot for cars equipped with solar panels. The same stand on the roofs of all the buildings of Google.



Russian-language Google employees cynically argue that this sick man.



Next to the reception desk with the expansion of a piano notes.



Right in the central courtyard of a small vegetable garden divided. Here grow herbs for one of the local eateries.



Skeleton of a dinosaur is eating what little pink flamingos.



Here, too, I can not shoot inside, but I made a few shots.
Under the roof hanging brensonovsky Virgin Galactic.
On the left the entrance to the dining room.



On this screen, you can see where it is currently using Google.



Here on the big screen, you can watch any fragment of the Earth's surface
As much as possible to permit Google Maps.



All yard seated persimmons, which ripen in late autumn here.

 - Source