Just for the record, it's not Sam who's writing this. It's a greater nemesis that will catch you in a twisted paradigm in the future. You think you've got it made with Linux, just wait.... Don't say things about Allison. She is a very nice woman and does not deserve any of this rant. Keep it to the hogs that you are!
VA is such a stock fraud. Larry is doing the IPO because he feels bad for not being at the Yahoo! IPO, so he feels he has to do it before time runs out. Frankly, the fact that they have taken so long to go IPO says volumes about them:
When a company takes too long to go IPO with the exposure that VA has received, it says that they have a hard time getting their shit together. IPOs are a means to raise cash, not get rich.
Why did it take them so long to do this? Because they lack the credibility as a professional organization! These people go around yelling at one another, they yell about their customers, and give their employees only cheap soda to drink. I bet when Sequoia Capital went to see them, Larry's wife was throwing the baby at him and calling him names. VA, for those who don't know better, has a high turnover rate. People just hear figures like 400% monthly revenue growth rate, Linux this and that, VA as "the next Dell", and then you have these English-major magazines calling them "the coolest place to work".
So, if an IPO is meant to raise cash, why didn't they do it last year, when Linux was already a big thing? Why ride a wave of hype and allow competitors to take root? Why did Penguin Computing take root and is now a big name? Why are the likes of IBM, Dell, HP, and SGI of all people announcing Linux servers while VA has its balls tied? Because VA does not have its shit together, that's why. They lost a CFO in one year, needed a second round of funding, and still are raising hype about an IPO?! Common people, it does not take a genius to take a company public! It takes determination, and Larry lacks that because he sorrounds himself with the likes of Chris DiBona, Doug Bone, Alice Kitsuta, and who knows who else.
VA may make it to the pros, but not for long. It is a great idea, business model, and great ambitions. However, with the kind of people working there, it will end up getting bought out or pushed aside by someone else because it can't execute for market domination. After all, it was founded and is run by Amazon Jr. geeks, not business-minded people.
Penguin Computing has a better chance of getting somewhere because it is run by an entrepreneur, and they eat better food in SF, not Taco Bell and coke in Silicon Valley.
He's right in that some people that are doing the hiring don't know crap. I was at a major HMO and they hired people to do helpdesk who knew only to click on the start button, didn't have any formal education, and of course, got paid little. The people doing the hiring only cared about keeping bodies so they could justify their own jobs!
I think it is good to evaluate somebody for the right reasons, skills, abilities, work methodology, people skills. Some people with college degrees are better than those without, but I have seen people in college who are no good at all. It is important for those who are looking for jobs to evaluate the employer, too. If they are going to be working for a crappy manager or company, might as well not accept a job offer.
There are some people in this world and in any society who no matter what will not jump into the opportunities available. Take for example the fact that public libraries are ubiquitous in this country, even in poor neighborhoods. Yet many blacks and Hispanics don't use them. Why is it that immigrant Asians and other groups that have come to this country with the same economic disadvantages as Hispanics and blacks, yet they have managed to succeed in much higher rates, even higher than whites? Because they value education, prosperity, and hard work.
Face the facts people. There are some people in this world who are not going to do anything no matter what, even if you beat them with a stick to do it.
When you see people buying expensive stereos and TVs, when they could easily put their money away to buy a computer to learn skills and gather useful information tells you what they value. Let people live by their values and suffer the consequences.
Red Hat is not going to sell its own stock!! When executives do this, it means that they do not value the shit they are holding on to, and are scared of losing. But even this is rare. I know Bob Young is going to hold on to his stock. Linux is taking off. Just you wait....
Going to college, and a good college at that, can give you skills that allow you to think, communicate, write. It gives you the ability to be effective.
Sure, you may be a 20-year old who can code away, drink coke all night, and make your comfortable salary. But you know that the only reason that you get paid what you do is because the person who hired you doesn't know any better about technology, and chances are that you were able to BS your way through the interview. I have known people who did this, and were lousy at the output of their work.
I have seen the difference between people with an education and those without one, and they are great. If you can get by in life without one, you are lucky, but later on you will be easily replaced by younger losers and will not be able to use any other skills that you might have gotten from a college education.
Slashdot Mirror
Look at SOHO Wireless. It's an ISP out of San Jose, and they set up wireless LANs for small businesses. I almost got a job there!! *gripe*
Just for the record, it's not Sam who's writing this. It's a greater nemesis that will catch you in a twisted paradigm in the future. You think you've got it made with Linux, just wait.... Don't say things about Allison. She is a very nice woman and does not deserve any of this rant. Keep it to the hogs that you are!
VA is such a stock fraud. Larry is doing the IPO because he feels bad for not being at the Yahoo! IPO, so he feels he has to do it before time
runs out. Frankly, the fact that they have taken so long to go IPO says volumes about them:
When a company takes too long to go IPO with the exposure that VA has received, it says that they have a hard time getting their shit together. IPOs are a means to raise cash, not get rich.
Why did it take them so long to do this? Because they lack the credibility as a professional organization! These people go around yelling at one another, they yell about their customers, and give their employees only cheap soda to drink. I bet when Sequoia Capital went to see them, Larry's wife was throwing the baby at him and calling him names. VA, for those who don't know better, has a high turnover rate. People just hear figures like 400% monthly revenue growth rate, Linux this and that, VA as "the next Dell", and then you have these English-major magazines calling them "the coolest place to work".
So, if an IPO is meant to raise cash, why didn't they do it last year, when Linux was already a big thing? Why ride a wave of hype and allow competitors to take root? Why did Penguin Computing take root and is now a big name? Why are the likes of IBM, Dell, HP, and SGI of all people announcing Linux servers while VA has its balls tied? Because VA does not have its shit together, that's why. They lost a CFO in one year, needed a second round of funding, and still are raising hype about an IPO?! Common people, it does not take a genius to take a company public! It takes determination, and Larry lacks that because he sorrounds himself with the likes of Chris DiBona, Doug Bone, Alice Kitsuta, and who knows who else.
VA may make it to the pros, but not for long. It is a great idea, business model, and great ambitions. However, with the kind of people working there, it will end up getting bought out or pushed aside by someone else because it can't execute for market domination. After all, it was founded and is run by Amazon Jr. geeks, not business-minded people.
Penguin Computing has a better chance of getting somewhere because it is run by an entrepreneur, and they eat better food in SF, not Taco Bell and coke in Silicon Valley.
He's right in that some people that are doing the hiring don't know crap. I was at a major HMO and they hired people to do helpdesk who knew only to click on the start button, didn't have any formal education, and of course, got paid little. The people doing the hiring only cared about keeping bodies so they could justify their own jobs!
I think it is good to evaluate somebody for the right reasons, skills, abilities, work methodology, people skills. Some people with college degrees are better than those without, but I have seen people in college who are no good at all. It is important for those who are looking for jobs to evaluate the employer, too. If they are going to be working for a crappy manager or company, might as well not accept a job offer.
There are some people in this world and in any society who no matter what will not jump into the opportunities available. Take for example the fact that public libraries are ubiquitous in this country, even in poor neighborhoods. Yet many blacks and Hispanics don't use them. Why is it that immigrant Asians and other groups that have come to this country with the same economic disadvantages as Hispanics and blacks, yet they have managed to succeed in much higher rates, even higher than whites? Because they value education, prosperity, and hard work.
Face the facts people. There are some people in this world who are not going to do anything no matter what, even if you beat them with a stick to do it.
When you see people buying expensive stereos and TVs, when they could easily put their money away to buy a computer to learn skills and gather useful information tells you what they value. Let people live by their values and suffer the consequences.
Red Hat is not going to sell its own stock!! When executives do this, it means that they do not value the shit they are holding on to, and are scared of losing. But even this is rare. I know Bob Young is going to hold on to his stock. Linux is taking off. Just you wait....
Going to college, and a good college at that, can give you skills that allow you to think, communicate, write. It gives you the ability to be effective.
Sure, you may be a 20-year old who can code away, drink coke all night, and make your comfortable salary. But you know that the only reason that you get paid what you do is because the person who hired you doesn't know any better about technology, and chances are that you were able to BS your way through the interview. I have known people who did this, and were lousy at the output of their work.
I have seen the difference between people with an education and those without one, and they are great. If you can get by in life without one, you are lucky, but later on you will be easily replaced by younger losers and will not be able to use any other skills that you might have gotten from a college education.