I think one thing you are overlooking is foreign markets. Yahoo has a larger market share for some of its services in some nations outside the US: for example, Yahoo Search in Japan. When you look at that market it almost seems like the consumer prefers some of these "inferior" services. The most popular sites there don't usually resemble the clean minimalist design that Google services tend to have. That is until you consider that they are usually viewing the mobile site on their cellphone, and services like web mail are often used quite differently. Even really closed services that run contrary to Google's philosophy continue to do quite well there: iMode.
"If you find yourself in this position, my suggestion is to move up the food chain towards applications of the software you've developed. "
"Make your staff the source for training required to manage a complex system. "
Apparently somebody in this company started out writing software to train customers to manage complex systems, then decided to move up the food chain. Considering that, this doesn't even refer to the business plan you are talking about.
And I'm going to have to call BS on you. There is a big difference between the hits in American football and rugby. Players would have to be stupid not to make the adjustment. If you used American football style hits in rugby all the time you would usually do more damage to yourself than the person you are tackling. Not only would that be dangerous but it would not be as effective. And yes too many people would die or get paralyzed. Rugby players have different limitations for head and spinal impacts because of their equipment. Also the rules for how you can tackle are different. If you don't notice much of a difference than that has more to do with the visual impact the lack of NFL style padding has on your perception.
I wouldn't call it wimpy. If they took the pads off in the NFL worse things would happen than with rugby. You hear this a lot but there is a big difference between being hit in football and being tackled in rugby. Even with the pads on, football often causes more damage. Whats tough about rugby is the stamina involved, not the brutality caused by a lack of padding. In a football game, an average linebacker in the NFL would take most ruby players out of the game in one hit and possibly kill them without padding and a helmet, maybe taking themselves out in the process.
It shouldn't surprise you because it is not strictly a US trend. It's really a small percentage of people in the US. The trend or trends resembling it are much stronger in many nations outside the US. Even Seattle can't compare to a place like Tokyo in this respect. But other than that, this is more of a case of stereotype vs reality. Most of the people in Japan jumping in front of trains and sniffing household detergent are not what you would consider emo kids even though you will see a lot more of them there than in the US.
professionals do the job, do it well, and move on, not write silly-ass amateur crap just to amuse themselves and stroke their egos
Well not at work at least. They could go home and just post silly stuff on Slashdot. Point being you might be taking some of the posts too seriously. Some people don't carry their work ethic with them outside of work, and this is one of those topics some people like to have fun with. Likewise some of them probably make very serious, mature posts on Slashdot, then go to work and make a mockery of the industry. What is important is that they are doing the right thing at the right place.
If you don't like the job, GTFO.
Main point aside, there are many reasons to keep a job you don't like. Some people just consider themselves lucky to have one even if they dislike what they are doing. I wouldn't call this good advice because in many situations leaving would be even less responsible. Don't leave easter eggs, but don't quit your job unless you are confident that you don't need it.
Are we talking about a specific subset of girls here because most girls I know watch movies. Granted they don't prefer the same ones as I do but many of them watch more movies than I do? Most girls I know go shopping and watch movies.
"girls play board games"
How old are we talking? Most girls I know don't own a board game.
"I tried my best to explain how men are so much more visually oriented than girls"
If this were a guy reading books, working too much, or playing sports the result would be the same. The girl would still feel ignored and butt hurt. It's not about being more visual. And I've seen this reversed as well where the girlfriend or wife spent time doing something she liked and guy wanted her to spend more time with him or the family, especially when I'm in Japan.
" Is there some way to use some visual medium to help boys crawl out of their shell?"
He may just want to escape from reality for a period of time. This may include getting some space from a nagging girlfriend. The more you push him the more he might feel relief playing the game. Again it's not about being visual. You would get better results by getting him drunk, but getting drunk could become another way to escape. In the end he's probably going to feel more at ease and open with somebody who doesn't seem critical of his habits. The first thing you do when you want to get somebody to come out of their shell is make them feel comfortable. This goes for guys and girls.
That's called a marketing product. Marketing companies generally sell them. Your the one using the twisted terminology by defining MS as a marketing company, and Google as a product company when both companies obviously fit both descriptions. Basically you were just using the terms to package your rhetoric.
It most certainly does not align with the 'culture' of any kind of functional workplace
That's not entirely accurate. It would align with the culture in a tech company who's products are related to digital entertainment or gaming. I have seen consoles in people's offices and in lounge areas. The idea was to create an environment at the work place that would keep the employees comfortable and give them less reasons to leave the office. The same can be said about some of the companies that provide Starbucks coffee machines in their break rooms. Most likely this guys workplace just isn't the right fit for this kind of perk, especially if he wants to hide it from customers.
I'm not sure what you consider funny about the idea of gaming laptops. You go home and you use it the same way you use a desktop, by hooking up an external keyboard, mouse and monitor. If you are in a mobile environment, then you sacrifice the monitor and keyboard, but in that situation you wouldn't play at all with a desktop. Most gaming laptops have a 17 inch high resolution monitor, better keyboards and are overkill for playing WoW. This model is not a common configuration.
I'm not sure what your point in comparing Seattle to Vancouver in this manner is. Despite government help, Vancouver has an even worse drug and prostitution problems than Seattle.
I think this depends on your needs and if you actually use support. I know a lot of people who have never called for support and probably wouldn't do it if they needed to. I'm not disputing the value, I just wouldn't assume that being aware of this would change most people's minds.
Basically the same thing you did on Mysapce, notes, groups, hook up. They were slow to upgrade but by the time Facebook came along they had already expanded. Friendster really couldn't handle increasing traffic well at a key time during their growth and they limited people to personal networks when myspace didn't. Once the masses hit all the real benefits of myspace were gone.
I liked facebook better because of the cleaner interface but all those stupid games are making up for the benefits. A page full of facebook games is an abomination.
"plastic is from the oil, which is disappearing quickly."
Don't worry, I have reserves on my face. Despite what everyone says, its a renewable resource.
Just did a search for Slashdot. It worked fine and I got the same results as Google; Some Slashdot links, the wiki entry etc. I'm not sure where the images are coming from though. One of the Slashdot links had a pic of some guy who looks like Sideshow Bob next to it.
Support the suppliers who are not trying to lock down the hardware.
If that's your priority then fine. That would mean inconveniencing myself and that would defeat the purpose of buying this type of product. I rather not give more of my money to Apple but the product is very convenient. Other suppliers don't always provide products that fit my tastes and requirements. For example, very few phones do a decent job of integrating multimedia functionality. When I'm shopping in the price range of an iPhone or Nokia N95 I tend to get a little picky and don't want to accept something just because it is an alternative.
Your point is not really accurate in that Apple pricing is not competitive and the business class PCs that have consistent components are still often significantly cheaper. For some reason Apple comparisons always put the MacBook Pro against some $500 piece of junk. The things you are overlooking.
1) Apple does not have a midrange notebook line. They start with overpriced low-end hardware with integrated graphics at the price of a Dell XPS M1530. The 1530 is no MacBook Pro but it has the specs of the smaller MacBook Pro for about $1000 less. Regardless of whether or not a regular MacBook uses consistent components, they are not high quality. The product line pretty much rides on the reputation of the MacBook Pro.
2) Once you go with a MacBook Pro you are now competing with PCs and boutiques that actually do use the same components in each machine. The problem is you start out with Alienware prices and as you upgrade the Alienware gets more competitive. Then when you do consider the PC business machines they still offer greater value in with their pricing.
3) The disparity with desktops is even worse because even boutiques are more competitive, even though the profit margins can be slimmer for them.
A lot of these things are unnecessary luxuries and conveniences. Yes I do consider OneNote more of a convenience than a need. Most people wouldn't have the time or luxury to help those in need if they had not profited from a product or service that many people in the world cannot afford. I appreciate open source and piracy for my own reasons but the preaching is self serving and just distracts people into patting themselves on the back when they are ignoring more important issues. Lets stick it to greedy software corporations when we can't even do basic things like stick it to oil companies, automobile companies, all the while we are bombing some of the people we serving our nice free software to. If you really care and are in a position to preach I doubt this would be your subject of choice.
I think one thing that may have flown over you head at MS is the size of the company and how experience can very from group to group. Everyone likes to think that their experience is the norm. In contrast to what you say I have met managers at MS that use iPhones and make running jokes about certain MS products in the open. I have never met anyone who was fired for any reason at any employer I have been with but I am not going to claim that no one gets fired. Telling the guy above you that he is lying because of the experience in your group is entirely stupid. If you think this stuff is all the same in every group then you don't have a clue as to what goes on.
It isn't strange if you consider the state of MS web services vs that of Google's. As a slashdot reader it is hard to forget that the DoJ exists for reasons other than dealing with MS. (No sarcasm, I do it too.)
The problem with the US companies is when you don't use text messaging at all you can still get charged for it. If you do use it then you can get a bulk or unlimited plan for another $10 or so per month. Its kind of like how your monthly voice minutes can be fairly cheap but if you go over the limit then the rate is really bad. In the US you usually pay to receive a call if its not during the evening or weekend, and it comes from another carrier but that comes out of your monthly minutes. You also don't get the long distance charges. In general cell phone service in the US tends to be cheaper than many places abroad but everyone tries to milk you one way or the other.
My service in Japan is much worse. They don't use text messaging, they use cell phone email and you are charged for bandwidth instead of the number of messages. This goes for web browsing as well. To make matters worse most people prefer email over voice conversations. Getting a woman's cell phone email is generally considered better than getting her phone number which works out pretty well for people who aren't fluent.
The thing that really sucks is your own cellphone company will send ads to your phone email with large graphics in them. I was shocked when my first month with Docomo came with $500 extra in data charges. On my T-mobile phone I wouldn't have had any extra charges at that level of usage. I didn't get that bill until a few months later because it was in a girlfriend's name so the following month I forwarded my gmail account to the same phone. Needless to say when I came back to Seattle I had very few complaints about the US service.
Slashdot Mirror
I think one thing you are overlooking is foreign markets. Yahoo has a larger market share for some of its services in some nations outside the US: for example, Yahoo Search in Japan. When you look at that market it almost seems like the consumer prefers some of these "inferior" services. The most popular sites there don't usually resemble the clean minimalist design that Google services tend to have. That is until you consider that they are usually viewing the mobile site on their cellphone, and services like web mail are often used quite differently. Even really closed services that run contrary to Google's philosophy continue to do quite well there: iMode.
"If you find yourself in this position, my suggestion is to move up the food chain towards applications of the software you've developed. "
"Make your staff the source for training required to manage a complex system. "
Apparently somebody in this company started out writing software to train customers to manage complex systems, then decided to move up the food chain. Considering that, this doesn't even refer to the business plan you are talking about.
And I'm going to have to call BS on you. There is a big difference between the hits in American football and rugby. Players would have to be stupid not to make the adjustment. If you used American football style hits in rugby all the time you would usually do more damage to yourself than the person you are tackling. Not only would that be dangerous but it would not be as effective. And yes too many people would die or get paralyzed. Rugby players have different limitations for head and spinal impacts because of their equipment. Also the rules for how you can tackle are different. If you don't notice much of a difference than that has more to do with the visual impact the lack of NFL style padding has on your perception.
I wouldn't call it wimpy. If they took the pads off in the NFL worse things would happen than with rugby. You hear this a lot but there is a big difference between being hit in football and being tackled in rugby. Even with the pads on, football often causes more damage. Whats tough about rugby is the stamina involved, not the brutality caused by a lack of padding. In a football game, an average linebacker in the NFL would take most ruby players out of the game in one hit and possibly kill them without padding and a helmet, maybe taking themselves out in the process.
It shouldn't surprise you because it is not strictly a US trend. It's really a small percentage of people in the US. The trend or trends resembling it are much stronger in many nations outside the US. Even Seattle can't compare to a place like Tokyo in this respect. But other than that, this is more of a case of stereotype vs reality. Most of the people in Japan jumping in front of trains and sniffing household detergent are not what you would consider emo kids even though you will see a lot more of them there than in the US.
professionals do the job, do it well, and move on, not write silly-ass amateur crap just to amuse themselves and stroke their egos
Well not at work at least. They could go home and just post silly stuff on Slashdot. Point being you might be taking some of the posts too seriously. Some people don't carry their work ethic with them outside of work, and this is one of those topics some people like to have fun with. Likewise some of them probably make very serious, mature posts on Slashdot, then go to work and make a mockery of the industry. What is important is that they are doing the right thing at the right place.
If you don't like the job, GTFO.
Main point aside, there are many reasons to keep a job you don't like. Some people just consider themselves lucky to have one even if they dislike what they are doing. I wouldn't call this good advice because in many situations leaving would be even less responsible. Don't leave easter eggs, but don't quit your job unless you are confident that you don't need it.
"Girls read books, boys watch movies"
Are we talking about a specific subset of girls here because most girls I know watch movies. Granted they don't prefer the same ones as I do but many of them watch more movies than I do? Most girls I know go shopping and watch movies.
"girls play board games"
How old are we talking? Most girls I know don't own a board game.
"I tried my best to explain how men are so much more visually oriented than girls"
If this were a guy reading books, working too much, or playing sports the result would be the same. The girl would still feel ignored and butt hurt. It's not about being more visual. And I've seen this reversed as well where the girlfriend or wife spent time doing something she liked and guy wanted her to spend more time with him or the family, especially when I'm in Japan.
" Is there some way to use some visual medium to help boys crawl out of their shell?"
He may just want to escape from reality for a period of time. This may include getting some space from a nagging girlfriend. The more you push him the more he might feel relief playing the game. Again it's not about being visual. You would get better results by getting him drunk, but getting drunk could become another way to escape. In the end he's probably going to feel more at ease and open with somebody who doesn't seem critical of his habits. The first thing you do when you want to get somebody to come out of their shell is make them feel comfortable. This goes for guys and girls.
That's called a marketing product. Marketing companies generally sell them. Your the one using the twisted terminology by defining MS as a marketing company, and Google as a product company when both companies obviously fit both descriptions. Basically you were just using the terms to package your rhetoric.
It most certainly does not align with the 'culture' of any kind of functional workplace
That's not entirely accurate. It would align with the culture in a tech company who's products are related to digital entertainment or gaming. I have seen consoles in people's offices and in lounge areas. The idea was to create an environment at the work place that would keep the employees comfortable and give them less reasons to leave the office. The same can be said about some of the companies that provide Starbucks coffee machines in their break rooms. Most likely this guys workplace just isn't the right fit for this kind of perk, especially if he wants to hide it from customers.
I'm not sure what you consider funny about the idea of gaming laptops. You go home and you use it the same way you use a desktop, by hooking up an external keyboard, mouse and monitor. If you are in a mobile environment, then you sacrifice the monitor and keyboard, but in that situation you wouldn't play at all with a desktop. Most gaming laptops have a 17 inch high resolution monitor, better keyboards and are overkill for playing WoW. This model is not a common configuration.
I'm not sure what your point in comparing Seattle to Vancouver in this manner is. Despite government help, Vancouver has an even worse drug and prostitution problems than Seattle.
I think this depends on your needs and if you actually use support. I know a lot of people who have never called for support and probably wouldn't do it if they needed to. I'm not disputing the value, I just wouldn't assume that being aware of this would change most people's minds.
Basically the same thing you did on Mysapce, notes, groups, hook up. They were slow to upgrade but by the time Facebook came along they had already expanded. Friendster really couldn't handle increasing traffic well at a key time during their growth and they limited people to personal networks when myspace didn't. Once the masses hit all the real benefits of myspace were gone. I liked facebook better because of the cleaner interface but all those stupid games are making up for the benefits. A page full of facebook games is an abomination.
I have to thank you for such a good afternoon laugh. I don't care if you are serious or playing dumb. I got misty eyed.
"plastic is from the oil, which is disappearing quickly." Don't worry, I have reserves on my face. Despite what everyone says, its a renewable resource.
A first world country tends to have a service and information oriented economy. Manufacturing is so last world war.
Just did a search for Slashdot. It worked fine and I got the same results as Google; Some Slashdot links, the wiki entry etc. I'm not sure where the images are coming from though. One of the Slashdot links had a pic of some guy who looks like Sideshow Bob next to it.
Support the suppliers who are not trying to lock down the hardware.
If that's your priority then fine. That would mean inconveniencing myself and that would defeat the purpose of buying this type of product. I rather not give more of my money to Apple but the product is very convenient. Other suppliers don't always provide products that fit my tastes and requirements. For example, very few phones do a decent job of integrating multimedia functionality. When I'm shopping in the price range of an iPhone or Nokia N95 I tend to get a little picky and don't want to accept something just because it is an alternative.
1) Apple does not have a midrange notebook line. They start with overpriced low-end hardware with integrated graphics at the price of a Dell XPS M1530. The 1530 is no MacBook Pro but it has the specs of the smaller MacBook Pro for about $1000 less. Regardless of whether or not a regular MacBook uses consistent components, they are not high quality. The product line pretty much rides on the reputation of the MacBook Pro.
2) Once you go with a MacBook Pro you are now competing with PCs and boutiques that actually do use the same components in each machine. The problem is you start out with Alienware prices and as you upgrade the Alienware gets more competitive. Then when you do consider the PC business machines they still offer greater value in with their pricing.
3) The disparity with desktops is even worse because even boutiques are more competitive, even though the profit margins can be slimmer for them.
A lot of these things are unnecessary luxuries and conveniences. Yes I do consider OneNote more of a convenience than a need. Most people wouldn't have the time or luxury to help those in need if they had not profited from a product or service that many people in the world cannot afford. I appreciate open source and piracy for my own reasons but the preaching is self serving and just distracts people into patting themselves on the back when they are ignoring more important issues. Lets stick it to greedy software corporations when we can't even do basic things like stick it to oil companies, automobile companies, all the while we are bombing some of the people we serving our nice free software to. If you really care and are in a position to preach I doubt this would be your subject of choice.
Yes. This might depend on whether you trust their expertise or their intentions. Either way I wouldn't be happy with them if I was a user.
I think one thing that may have flown over you head at MS is the size of the company and how experience can very from group to group. Everyone likes to think that their experience is the norm. In contrast to what you say I have met managers at MS that use iPhones and make running jokes about certain MS products in the open. I have never met anyone who was fired for any reason at any employer I have been with but I am not going to claim that no one gets fired. Telling the guy above you that he is lying because of the experience in your group is entirely stupid. If you think this stuff is all the same in every group then you don't have a clue as to what goes on.
"i still can't buy a PC without windows on it"
You might want to open an investigation into this. When is the last time you tried to buy a PC?
It isn't strange if you consider the state of MS web services vs that of Google's. As a slashdot reader it is hard to forget that the DoJ exists for reasons other than dealing with MS. (No sarcasm, I do it too.)
The problem with the US companies is when you don't use text messaging at all you can still get charged for it. If you do use it then you can get a bulk or unlimited plan for another $10 or so per month. Its kind of like how your monthly voice minutes can be fairly cheap but if you go over the limit then the rate is really bad. In the US you usually pay to receive a call if its not during the evening or weekend, and it comes from another carrier but that comes out of your monthly minutes. You also don't get the long distance charges. In general cell phone service in the US tends to be cheaper than many places abroad but everyone tries to milk you one way or the other.
My service in Japan is much worse. They don't use text messaging, they use cell phone email and you are charged for bandwidth instead of the number of messages. This goes for web browsing as well. To make matters worse most people prefer email over voice conversations. Getting a woman's cell phone email is generally considered better than getting her phone number which works out pretty well for people who aren't fluent.
The thing that really sucks is your own cellphone company will send ads to your phone email with large graphics in them. I was shocked when my first month with Docomo came with $500 extra in data charges. On my T-mobile phone I wouldn't have had any extra charges at that level of usage. I didn't get that bill until a few months later because it was in a girlfriend's name so the following month I forwarded my gmail account to the same phone. Needless to say when I came back to Seattle I had very few complaints about the US service.