Slashdot Mirror


User: aktw

aktw's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
25
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 25

  1. Re:Getting paid for being good at your job on Why Must You Pay Sales People Commissions? (a16z.com) · · Score: 2

    As a business owner, I've found that most people consider themselves good at what they do -- even if they're not. It's sort of like driving; everyone thinks they are a good driver, and complains about the other drivers around them not using blinkers or going too slow/fast or checking their cell at a light, etc.. Anyway, I don't think that commissions or metrics-based incentives are a great answer for most companies, but I do think we need to adjust this whole "pay me more" attitude that people have in regards to wanting extra incentives for just doing their job. If that's what someone wants, then they need to go start their own business.

  2. Re:Motivation on Why Must You Pay Sales People Commissions? (a16z.com) · · Score: 1

    It doesn't work that way in practice. All you end up doing is getting people to game the metrics needed for their commission, often at the expense of both the customer and their company itself through returns or bad experiences. A pretty interesting comparison is CompUSA vs Best Buy about 10-15 years ago. CompUSA did the sales commission route, including a heavy push on "TAP" (their cover-everything extended warranty). The best sales associates made bank by abusing the system, pushing products that customers didn't really need, and figuring out ways to process returns under another person's account (so it didn't count against their sales). Best Buy was across the street, didn't pay commission, didn't push warranties (offered, but not pushed), and there were no metrics for the employees to fuck around with in order to get their commissions. I worked for both, and it's absolutely no shock that CompUSA struggled for years before finally closing shop.

  3. Re:Think about it. on Google Fiber Cuts Kansas City Resident's Internet Access Over 12 Cent Dispute (kansascity.com) · · Score: 5, Informative

    Looks more like they sent emails and attempted phone contact before ultimately cutting her service. I know you're just looking to insult Google here, but at least don't be a complete fucking moron with your misleading post.

  4. What is dead on Is Apple Copying Palm's WebOS? (salon.com) · · Score: 1

    may never die.

  5. There is no "how-to" at this point, but I'm sure you can get started on CPU firmware modification since now you know the correct bit to flip.

  6. They are pretty bad with quality on Lawsuit Filed Against Logitech For Delaying Warranty Claims, Hiding EOL (bleepingcomputer.com) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They have a keyboard, the K750, that I basically have to replace every year. It's a great keyboard, but the battery life goes to shit after about 6 to 8 months. At first, I was impressed with Logitech's support when I RMA'd mine, because they were very quick to offer a replacement -- took a few days and I received a new one in the mail. Then that one failed, and they were quick to offer a replacement for it as well. I think they know they have a defective product, and are just trying to cycle through some massive inventory until they can EOL it.

  7. What a misleading post on Ancient Tablet Reveals Babylonians Discovered Trigonometry (sciencemag.org) · · Score: 1

    The tablet is missing the entire left section. It would be like finding part of a tablet that says "mc2" and decide that the person must have stumbled upon mass-energy equivalence long before Einstein. It's missing half the equation, and doesn't even define what "mc" is.

  8. Re:If he's very very smart on Developer Accidentally Deletes Three-Month of Work With Visual Studio Code (bingj.com) · · Score: 1

    Sort of... 1. Anyone could potentially delete the entire code branch on accident when dealing with unfamiliar software. That particular complain is legitimate and seems to be a UI failure. 2. His actual problem is not having *any* backups in place (not to mention deciding to use some unfamiliar software on his only code base). That's a powerful lesson to learn, and one he's probably better off learning now than later in his career. 3. He's not whining to /. about it. He posted his complaint somewhere else and another person linked it here. That said, his general attitude of not taking any responsibility over this is a definite warning sign for any potential employer (way more so than the freak accident).

  9. Re:Bitbucket and 3 copies minimum on Developer Accidentally Deletes Three-Month of Work With Visual Studio Code (bingj.com) · · Score: 1

    If your work is serious enough to warrant an SLA with your backup provider, it's probably not a great idea to store copies "at a friends house."

  10. Re:this assumes a clear vision of the road ahead on London is Using Optical Illusions To Make Cars Slow Down (fastcompany.com) · · Score: 1

    In crowded traffic or bad weather, you're probably slowing down anyway as not to plow into people.

  11. Re:Wrong conclusion on Millennials Only Have a 5 To 6 Second Attention Span For Ads (cnbc.com) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Obviously the advertising CEO would rather place blame on millennials than acknowledge a problem with his industry...

  12. Or the president insults you. Basically a lose-lose these days.

  13. Re:this cost me a weekend once on Why Does Microsoft Still Offer a 32-bit OS? (backblaze.com) · · Score: 1

    Office plugins are a huge reason, for businesses. There are a ton of programs that still use 32-bit plugins, either because the developer doesn't have an updated version or because they only ship the 64-bit plugins with their newest software versions. And as you might know, not every business is going to constantly update to the latest version every time it comes out.

  14. Re:Brought to you by Microsoft's incompetence on Wana Decryptor Ransomware Using NSA Exploit Leaked By Shadow Brokers To Spread Ransomware Worldwide (threatpost.com) · · Score: 0

    MS patched it pretty quickly. People getting infected are simply not doing updates on time. If you're saying MS should be making code that can't be exploited in the first place, then I think you're expectations for software security are a bit unrealistic.

  15. Yep. The best we can really hope for is to outlast the Gen-X and Baby Boomers that have been fucking up the political process for so long, and *then* hopefully we'll be able to reverse the damage enough that our children have a chance at success.

  16. Re:Cases, not electronics on Linux PC Maker System76 Plans To Design And Manufacture Its Own Hardware (liliputing.com) · · Score: 1

    Of course, which is why I said they are probably biting off way more than they can chew.

  17. Re:Cases, not electronics on Linux PC Maker System76 Plans To Design And Manufacture Its Own Hardware (liliputing.com) · · Score: 1

    Based on the actual blog post, this sounds more like the first step towards a much larger goal of Apple-like hardware design. They're starting with desktop cases, then moving to laptop cases "much later," so the real traction isn't going to pick up for a while (or whatever "much later" means). Still, it stands to reason that if they can get enough experience in case design -- and if they can generate enough interest in the products -- then they'll be able to work with other vendors to build components to their own specifications. I personally think they are biting off more than they can afford to chew, though. Taking such a slow approach indicates they lack the funds to get aggressive enough for R&D to make this thing work. So basically, this sounds like a press release that's about two years too early.

  18. Re:Everything is Subscription Model on Microsoft Will Block Desktop 'Office' Apps From 'Office 365' Services In 2020 (techradar.com) · · Score: 2

    Makes more sense than you might think. The problem is that people look at each "solution" and assume it's aimed at them. When it doesn't make sense, they criticize the fundamentals of that solution without realizing that it might very well be helping some group of people. Even take something silly sounding like juice packet subscriptions; there's probably a fairly healthy (no pun intended) market of people who would love to pay a little extra for the convenience of not having to purchase/prep/store fresh fruits to be used in their juice drink things. Obviously someone who doesn't have a lot of disposable income or is old and crotchety enough to instinctively hate change won't be that target audience, but it doesn't mean there is none. People generally do like flat subscriptions for things when the alternative is dealing with period billing minutiae. Maybe you remember when your internet was billed hourly? How about keeping track of your long distance minutes? Lastly, as an IT provider, I've been kind of happy to see things migrate to subscriptions if for no other reason than it forces companies to stop trying to squeeze 10 to 20 years out of software because they refuse to spent money on their business upfront (instead choosing to spend in the back-end via IT support for the out of date environment).

  19. Re:Libreoffice is a thing on Microsoft Will Block Desktop 'Office' Apps From 'Office 365' Services In 2020 (techradar.com) · · Score: 1

    If you're shopping around for alternatives to the corporate edition of Office 365, then you probably don't actually care about the integrated OneDrive or Skype functionality, which means these changes really won't affect you in the first place. I agree that LibreOffice is pretty crappy for people who expect Microsoft Office functionality and polish, but the point is irrelevant for this topic.

  20. I can't focus when the guy next to me is woofing down an onion-covered bratwurst and draining the last bit of soda from a straw. I can't focus when someone keeps bumping the back of my seat. I can't focus when the lady to my right is struggling to open a cellophane package, and spends the next 10 minutes crinkling it every time she reaches in for a new candy. I can't focus when onion bratwurst guy farts, or when candy lady goes fishing through her purse to check her phone in hopes that maybe her date didn't suddenly cancel after all. At home, no matter what kind of weird distractions come up, I can at least pause the movie.

  21. Re:Change the name to "Crash Supersonic"? on Aerospace Startup Will Build A Supersonic Mach 2.2 Aircraft (fortune.com) · · Score: 3, Informative

    Boom is also what you hear when it goes supersonic. Malwarebytes is a play on the phrase "Malware Bites." The fact that I had to spell that shit out for you is funny, though.

  22. Re:No LAN play? and will you have to rebuy this? on New Release Of StarCraft In 4K Ultra High Definition Announced (theverge.com) · · Score: 0

    You won't have to re-buy anything. Just play your existing version if you already own it. If you want to play the updated version, then I imagine they'll charge you for that -- but it's not like you can't just play the original. Oh wait, between this and your LAN comment, you're just giving a knee-jerk reaction on "hot button" for the sake of complaining. May as well thrown in a M$ comment somewhere while you're at it.

  23. MS has always "realized" the value of a terminal. PowerShell just happens to be the result of various attempts at making that happen. stuff like command.com, cmd.exe, (both with batch functions), cscript, and vba files were all meant to provide terminal access for admins. It's not like they just one day realized they should jump on the shell bandwagon like Johny Come Lately.

  24. Re:Holding Back Progress on ZeniMax Files Injunction To Stop Oculus From Selling VR Headsets (gamespot.com) · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is hardly what's holding consumer VR back. Lack of compelling user-experiences outside of some very niche examples are.

  25. slashdot standards? on Scientists Marvel At 'Increasingly Non-Natural' Arctic Warmth (msn.com) · · Score: 2

    You think slashdot news is somehow cutting edge?