Slashdot Mirror
Infinity Ward Lead Developers Axed Unexpectedly
RogueyWon writes "Kotaku is reporting that Infinity Ward, the development studio behind Modern Warfare 2, has been at the center of strange events recently. Jason West and Vince Zampella, two lead developers, have been fired by parent company Activision for 'breaches of contract and insubordination.' Speculation is rife as to the reasons behind this; following Modern Warfare 2's spectacular sales figures, it seems unlikely that the studio's performance could be to blame."
In a nutshell, developers had better vision for products and keeping niche on right track than management, so managmeent fired them.
non compete clauses are not enforceable when the clause will cause you undue hardship.
I.E. you are a game programmer, and your clause says you cant program at a competitor. Well EVERYONE is their competitor, there fore the clause is 100% unenforceable.
Remember, just because it's in a contract or a lawyer says it does not make it real nor enforceable. I personally strike out any clause like that, initial next to my strike out and ten sign it. I have never signed a contract that I did not modify.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Oh, and also for the record, I LOVED working at McDonalds when I was younger. I was the only native English speaker in the store, so I got put on the "first" register for the drive through...that meant I got to sit in that little hole taking drive-through orders and taking money. It was AWESOME. Take money from the guy parked at the window while entering the next order. Didn't have to worry about putting food together, dealing with customers wanting extra stuff, dealing with a slippy floor or a hot kitchen...it really was a lot of fun. I only made $6 an hour, but all I needed the money for was putting gas in my truck and getting a little something building up for when I moved out.
I only worked there a little over a year, but it was a TON of fun. Having fun working there required nothing more than realizing that problem customers were bitching about cheese and french fries. CHEESE. AND. FRENCH. FRIES. How sad does your life have to be to complain about fast food? Obviously worse than working at McDonalds, ha!
Living With a Nerd
It's important to note that while Scandinavia has an awesome social safety net, it does so by maintaining pretty much the lowest corporate tax rates in the Western world (personal taxes pay those bills). Low corporate tax rates don't sit well with many American socialists, who I find see corporations as enemies rather than partners.
Also, I can state from experience that there is a definite nanny-state feel to life in northern Europe. People who like a lot of freedom in life, whether it's home schooling of children, lower taxes, personal privacy, or whatever, won't like it there much.
Canada has a good balance - a decent safety net but lower taxes than the OECD average and tremendous personal privacy protection and personal freedom. It's not really a socialist country other than healthcare though, and even then, there is a parallel for-pay system. Union memberships are at an all-time low too.