Flickr has an established user base and all, but this should still be funny for Yahoo execs. You buy flickr and tell you shareholders what a great value it is, how wonderful it is, blah, blah, blah. Then some 17 year old shows up and duplicates (actually does better than) your acquisition in his spare time:)
"Where are all the famous scientists? Where is the acclaim for intelligence? TV and the Papers are full of anti-intellectual stuff. Who do we learn about? Brad and Jennifer and other celebrities. They don't have to be smart, in fact it seems better if they AREN'T ("Walmart, do they... like... make walls there?", and "...[Canada] is like a whole other country"). These are who kids look up to. That and athletes. "
Simple really, some smart people figured out that by giving people what they want to hear, they can take their money and make themselves rich.
>... and tend to do secondary offerings when > they think their stock price is high...
But one can argue similarly any time a company sells stock -> "Surely if they could make real money they would have gotten a loan at x% interest, made y%, paid the loan, and kept the (y-x)% to themselves. They are selling stock because they cannot make more than x%."
I think there are other advantages to selling stock, you retain control, investors assume risk, and you don't even have to pay interest any time soon.
How does one pose the problem so that one gets the big picture, the way a company CEO/CFO will decide when/if to go public?
> I usually get 15 discs a month on the > standard 3-out plan. I get 9 discs
Wow... Be sure to take care of those eyes artifex.
I have a question about selection. I like to rent out some British comedies but I couldn't find them on NF. I also couldn't find a good foreign selection so far. Since you are the expert, which of these services have the best Brit com. + foreign mix?
Hmmm, so Linus' work can change whole industries, create billion dollar businesses, unite hundreds of thousands of people over ideals, but it will not pass Tanenbaum's class. Cry me a river.
Screw Tanenbaum's class. It is worthless in this world.
> As an engineer I'm told to stay away from > anything related to the patent office. If I > knowingly violate a patent its much much worse > so we aren't allowed to even look.
Irrespective of the story, this bothered me. You work at a place where they restrict your access to public information? None of my business but let me point out that there are places that have more lenient policies that you may like equally if not better.
> Hence, it becomes easy to understand why > people like her would dump entire and > profitable divisions. Actual work is a dirty > enterprise that has little do with business > chic.:)
> Hopefully she will fall back into historical > academia where she can't hurt as many people > ever again.
ROFL. Spot on! Both on Fiorina style management and academia. You are on a roll today...
Let's talk stock. Where do you see it heading? I like sun these days, I think commodity hardware was killing it but now that Intel and everybody else are hitting brick walls, they can no longer be gazillion times faster than sparc. That angle out the door, sun looks very attractive.
Hopefully stock will be over it's yearly highs off $6.00 . What is your price target?
If you really have the offer I think you should take it. It is easy for a technically competent person to be a hands-on manager. You will learn managerial skills and accumulate managerial experience points. You could also have a little side project where you can contribute technically. Maybe you will have to put a few extra hours but that should be fine for someone wanting to move ahead in life.
Managerial skills (including paper pushing) are not very hard and tedious. Like everything there is good and bad. You made a decision by extrapolating the bad. Perhaps your company baited you and told you it's all boring stuff you wouldn't like. If that is the case you were never a contender to begin with.
I would say, if possible take the job. Become the boss but make sure you retain your technical skills (i.e., make sure your resume will show that you haven't lost it technically).
Often times comfort does not lead to improvement. We grow by doing things we are not comfortable with.
Just my 2c. Wish you the best and success either way.
Hey right on:) I thought I was the only who thought these clowns can't get along for more than 50 years. It's only a matter of time now:) I am voting for France feeling Napoleonic (sp?):-D
Wouldn't you say for phone numbers, sex, and to a certain extent for blackmail, the main problem is not how legalized transactions will be used but how they will be abused?
Allow number transfers for cash then you will get domain/number squatters. Allow sex for money then you end up with people coerced into the sex trade. Allow blackmail and I am sure you will get all these nosy bastards trying to gain some information about you they can then disclose.
> there are not really any jobs outside of Health > Services (nurses, docters)
In Europe there are already services that will fly you to India, get your expensive operation done, and bring you back ship shape. They may even throw a week's vacation under the sun, rainforests, whatever, as a bonus.
Doctors, lawyers, and pretty much everybody will be undercut with services like these if outsourcing indeed becomes rampant. The remaining professions will be subject to intense competition from all the smart people who were outsourced. Doom, doom, doom!
Not going to happen. There will be top line growth. If not, outsourcing will be discouraged by the government. Probably a combination of both. Hang in there it will get better.
> When it comes to distributive justice, do you think it's > fair for an American with no high school degree to make > twice as much money as a Chinese citizen with a > Masters or PhD in electrical engineering?
It's also not fair to expect the US to make up for the Chinese government's incompetence to provide decent lives to its hard working citizens.
These PhDs you talk about ask for full US pay when they immigrate to this country. They demand the same lifestyle Americans have. If they have remained in China it is not because they like substandard pay. Their compensation is something that is forced on them by their economic system. Why should people here suffer because Chinese in China do not have the ability to improve their country and get better lives for themselves? Maybe most of them are not as hardworking as they should be?
> So I think the reason people are panicking now has > something to do with the realization that there is > nowhere to go from here-- that we've finally been pushed > into the ceiling of our own capabilities, and the magical > "retrain and retool" approach pro-globalization folks have > advocated is not going to carry us when foreign workers > can do the same and cost 1/50th as much to feed and > house.
Good post. It remains to be seen if this is the case though. One must remember that there is a reason why India is India with much of the population making less than $2. New businesses, products, techniques are still easiest to develop and market in the US. Capital is easier to obtain, and getting the necessary know-how and talent together for a new company is still easiest here. Risk/risk taking is better understood and engrained here. I think for for your conclusion to be true India needs to be a lot more developed than it is now.
I think it will get better. It hurts nevertheless.
> 1 way out of this is to get them to buy from us as well
Them buying from us is irrelevant if the companies decide to further invest the extra money over there. Investment must come to US, meaning companies must have reason to employ people here. Ways out must involve companies employing in the US while remaining worldwide competitive.
> A much fairer patent system would give the > examiner more options than just a yes/no response.
They already have more options. Examiners evaluate the claims in the patent document. They can accept portion of the claims and reject the remaining. Hence they can effectively say something like "%30 yes".
Slashdot Mirror
Flickr has an established user base and all, but this should still be funny for Yahoo execs. You buy flickr and tell you shareholders what a great value it is, how wonderful it is, blah, blah, blah. Then some 17 year old shows up and duplicates (actually does better than) your acquisition in his spare time :)
Mod it up.
Simple really, some smart people figured out that by giving people what they want to hear, they can take their money and make themselves rich.
> ... and tend to do secondary offerings when ...
> they think their stock price is high
But one can argue similarly any time a company sells stock -> "Surely if they could make real money they would have gotten a loan at x% interest, made y%, paid the loan, and kept the (y-x)% to themselves. They are selling stock because they cannot make more than x%."
I think there are other advantages to selling stock, you retain control, investors assume risk, and you don't even have to pay interest any time soon.
How does one pose the problem so that one gets the big picture, the way a company CEO/CFO will decide when/if to go public?
> I usually get 15 discs a month on the
> standard 3-out plan. I get 9 discs
Wow... Be sure to take care of those eyes artifex.
I have a question about selection. I like to rent out some British comedies but I couldn't find them on NF. I also couldn't find a good foreign selection so far. Since you are the expert, which of these services have the best Brit com. + foreign mix?
Pardonne
> An indexed fund gives, very roughly, about 10% annually.
What is an "indexed fund"?
Hmmm, so Linus' work can change whole industries, create billion dollar businesses, unite hundreds of thousands of people over ideals, but it will not pass Tanenbaum's class.
Cry me a river.
Screw Tanenbaum's class. It is worthless in this world.
Pardonne
> As an engineer I'm told to stay away from
> anything related to the patent office. If I
> knowingly violate a patent its much much worse
> so we aren't allowed to even look.
Irrespective of the story, this bothered me. You work at a place where they restrict your access to public information? None of my business but let me point out that there are places that have more lenient policies that you may like equally if not better.
Pardonne
> Hence, it becomes easy to understand why :)
> people like her would dump entire and
> profitable divisions. Actual work is a dirty
> enterprise that has little do with business
> chic.
> Hopefully she will fall back into historical
> academia where she can't hurt as many people
> ever again.
ROFL. Spot on! Both on Fiorina style management and academia. You are on a roll today...
Pick one randomly at startup.
For those who don't want splash screen enable
gimp --nosplash
Under what terms did you upgrade? Do any of the careers have a deal where they take your 600 and give you a 650 with you paying some extra?
Pardonne
Let's talk stock. Where do you see it heading? I like sun these days, I think commodity hardware was killing it but now that Intel and everybody else are hitting brick walls, they can no longer be gazillion times faster than sparc. That angle out the door, sun looks very attractive.
Hopefully stock will be over it's yearly highs off $6.00 . What is your price target?
Pardonne
If you really have the offer I think you should take it. It is easy for a technically competent person to be a hands-on manager. You will learn managerial skills and accumulate managerial experience points. You could also have a little side project where you can contribute technically. Maybe you will have to put a few extra hours but that should be fine for someone wanting to move ahead in life.
Managerial skills (including paper pushing) are not very hard and tedious. Like everything there is good and bad. You made a decision by extrapolating the bad. Perhaps your company baited you and told you it's all boring stuff you wouldn't like. If that is the case you were never a contender to begin with.
I would say, if possible take the job. Become the boss but make sure you retain your technical skills (i.e., make sure your resume will show that you haven't lost it technically).
Often times comfort does not lead to improvement. We grow by doing things we are not comfortable with.
Just my 2c. Wish you the best and success either way.
Pardonne
> so that they align within a nanometer
Why does it have to align within a nm? It's not like they are trying to squeeze a gzillion transistors.
Pardonne
> Key to financial independence: Spend
> less than you earn. Save and invest
> the difference. Do it for a long time.
I just had to ask. Invest in what and for how long? What type of returns for what type of horizon?
Pardonne
Hey right on :) :) :-D
I thought I was the only who thought these clowns can't get along for more than 50 years.
It's only a matter of time now
I am voting for France feeling Napoleonic (sp?)
Pardnooe
You make a fine point but the counter is also there. You don't want losers making your case.
Next big opportunity he gets, he better win or he has to leave the leadership to someone else.
Pardonne
Wouldn't you say for phone numbers, sex, and to a certain extent for blackmail, the main problem is not how legalized transactions will be used but how they will be abused?
Allow number transfers for cash then you will get domain/number squatters. Allow sex for money then you end up with people coerced into the sex trade. Allow blackmail and I am sure you will get all these nosy bastards trying to gain some information about you they can then disclose.
Anyway, just some random thoughts.
Pardonne
Fine post. Glad I was reading slashdot tonight.
Pardonne
> The gender wars will end when women accept
> men as a fact of life, and not something that
> needs to be changed.
Very nice comment.
Where did you get this?
Pardonne
> there are not really any jobs outside of Health
> Services (nurses, docters)
In Europe there are already services that will fly you
to India, get your expensive operation done, and bring you back ship shape. They may even throw a week's vacation under the sun, rainforests, whatever, as a bonus.
Doctors, lawyers, and pretty much everybody will be undercut with services like these if outsourcing indeed becomes rampant. The remaining professions will be subject to intense competition from all the smart people who were outsourced. Doom, doom, doom!
Not going to happen. There will be top line growth. If not, outsourcing will be discouraged by the government. Probably a combination of both. Hang in there it will get better.
Pardonne
> When it comes to distributive justice, do you think it's
> fair for an American with no high school degree to make
> twice as much money as a Chinese citizen with a
> Masters or PhD in electrical engineering?
It's also not fair to expect the US to make up for the Chinese government's incompetence to provide decent lives to its hard working citizens.
These PhDs you talk about ask for full US pay when they immigrate to this country. They demand the same lifestyle Americans have. If they have remained in China it is not because they like substandard pay. Their compensation is something that is forced on them by their economic system. Why should people here suffer because Chinese in China do not have the ability to improve their country and get better lives for themselves? Maybe most of them are not as hardworking as they should be?
Pardonne
> So I think the reason people are panicking now has
> something to do with the realization that there is
> nowhere to go from here-- that we've finally been pushed
> into the ceiling of our own capabilities, and the magical
> "retrain and retool" approach pro-globalization folks have
> advocated is not going to carry us when foreign workers
> can do the same and cost 1/50th as much to feed and
> house.
Good post. It remains to be seen if this is the case though. One must remember that there is a reason why India is India with much of the population making less than $2. New businesses, products, techniques are still easiest to develop and market in the US. Capital is easier to obtain, and getting the necessary know-how and talent together for a new company is still easiest here. Risk/risk taking is better understood and engrained here. I think for for your conclusion to be true India needs to be a lot more developed than it is now.
I think it will get better. It hurts nevertheless.
Pardonne
> 1 way out of this is to get them to buy from us as well
Them buying from us is irrelevant if the companies decide to further invest the extra money over there. Investment must come to US, meaning companies must have reason to employ people here. Ways out must involve companies employing in the US while remaining worldwide competitive.
Pardonne
> A much fairer patent system would give the
> examiner more options than just a yes/no response.
They already have more options. Examiners evaluate
the claims in the patent document. They can accept portion of the claims and reject the remaining. Hence they can effectively say something like "%30 yes".
Pardonne