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A comment on Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generative AI with 9 Courses.

Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by Timber-6539 on Monday June 05, 2023 @12:46AM (#36192387)
From the "toggle info panel" button on one of the courses.

> Can I take this course for free?

- When you enroll into most courses, you will be able to consume course materials like videos and documents for free. If a course consists of labs, you will need to purchase an individual subscription or credits to be able consume the labs. Labs can also be unlocked by any campaigns you participate in. All required activities in a course must be completed to be awarded the completion badge

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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by q7xvh97o2pDhNrh on Monday June 05, 2023 @01:09AM (#36192557)
<vent>

Ah, the classic "California Corporate" style of speaking:

    Q: Yes or no question about a specific case?

    A: Four sentences of condescending and convoluted explanation about how the
    rules work for the entire system, while simultaneously refusing to give a
    clear "yes" or "no" to the specific case being asked about.
It seems passive-aggressive to demand that every single reader piece together the logic of their "labs" and "campaigns" and "badges" to figure out if a given course is free or not. I'm all for shipping early and often, but it does feel like adding 2 if statements would have made the whole pricing answer about 100x more user-friendly.

</vent>

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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by resolutebat on Monday June 05, 2023 @01:25AM (#36192680)
It's not that complicated. "Courses" are canned, one-way training material (comparison: books, lectures) that usually cost nothing. "Labs" are interactive exercises that require spinning up resources for each user (comparison: science labs with chemicals and beakers) so they usually cost something.
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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by Cockbrand on Monday June 05, 2023 @01:43AM (#36192790)
Yes, as a Qwiklabs user, you know this. But it is quite hard to decipher if you haven’t used the platform before. I agree with the GP that the current wording poses an unnecessary cognitive burden and should be more clear. Nothing wrong with e.g. “Mainly yes, but you’ll have to spend a few bucks on the hands-on labs”
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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by baobabKoodaa on Monday June 05, 2023 @04:15AM (#36193788)
Even after reading these comments I still don't know if the course is free or not. Either they charge for the labs, or the labs are free but require access to GCP resources. I still don't know which.
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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by Cockbrand on Monday June 05, 2023 @07:11AM (#36194779)
Fair point. The non-interactive parts are free. There are very few labs which require the purchase of credits. The labs are plug & play with all required resources provided (and deleted afterwards), so you don’t need an own GCP account.
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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by zerop on Monday June 05, 2023 @02:54AM (#36193262)
I will ask chatGPT to respond in "California Corporate" style, to know it more.
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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by RonnieOwnsLexus on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:05AM (#36193335)
I think this is standard corporate speak. Even in office my colleagues give long prose for just yes or no.
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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by stonekyx on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:38AM (#36193586)
Because people too often jump to conclusions on hearing yes/no, imo. Not trying to defend the corporate speak though, obviously they should have put the yes/no up front and then try to explain later.
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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by resolutebat on Monday June 05, 2023 @12:58AM (#36192484)
The first 8 courses cover only theory and are completely free. The last two require spinning up GCP compute resources and cost 1 credit and 3 credits respectively, where the baseline price of a Qwiklabs credit is $1 each.
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Re:Google just released a 100% free learning path on Generat... by lagt_t on Monday June 05, 2023 @12:53AM (#36192441)
Yeah there are 4 labs in this learning path. Meh.
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