Dell does a good job at getting supply chain, distribution and manufacturing costs down, period. Before the consumer products, nothing they manufactured had any bit of "zing" worth marketing. They deliver an (arguably) quality product at the lowest cost, that's what gets them sales.
This deviation from that strategy could help them grow their revenue, which would become increasingly difficult if they remained solely a PC maker, or it could jeopardize their bottom line as they spread themselves thinner. Time will tell.
I'm just about sick of this argument, regurgitated every time the offshoring issue comes up. First of all, it's complete bullshit; many Americans, did cry loudly against the move of manufacturing jobs overseas. Witness the "Buy American, and Americans Work" campaigns, and the individual efforts of Americans who do all they can to purchase products made in their own country. How many of us reading this right now wish we could find more goods on the shelf at Wal-Mart or Target that were made at home?
Second, read the article: Manufacturing workers were largely able to be reabsorbed into the workforce. In many cases, being laid off was the impetus they needed to go to college, and you can bet many of them ended up better off than they were before.
There's a difference between a worker who spent a matter of weeks or months learning how to assemble widgets, and a developer (or accountant, or engineer, or architect...) who spent several years in school, and several more years in the profession. If the former loses his job, he has options: There are probably service sector jobs paying a similar salary, and which he can learn in a short period of time. Or he can go to school and wind up with a better job than he had before. What is a laid off IT worker to do? He, too, can return to school. Laid off colleagues of mine are in school earning their JDs or MBAs; just what this country needs, more lawyers and MBA grads. Regardless, it will take years for them to return to their previous earning power.
And don't forget, that earning power is also the buying power that keeps the economy going. It's the power that buys everything from cars and homes to Happy Meals and haircuts that keeps employed the blue collar worker, the white collar worker, and, yes, even the greedy CEOs who want to send our jobs overseas.
I cry loudly because I see our economy risking ruin, not solely because my own profession and passion are at risk. Anybody who is not crying loudly should feel ashamed.
Place a CD in a microwave for just a few seconds. You probably won't get a biocomputer, but it puts on a good light show.
And to make sure this isn't off-topic...try it while drinking a beer!
Who cares if they get screwed, or spiked, or skewered for that matter. What they did was illegal, and is not germane to the racketeering lawsuit--that innocent (i.e., non criminals) were being sent extortion letters. I have no sympathy for idiots who commit crimes, who those who help the idiots.
By that argument, all softwareor at least, all software that is electronically distributedhas infinite supply and should be free. But not all software is free.
And that brings up the other point: most posters have ignored the economic aspect of it. That same factor that is driving jobs to India is the one that will make it so that Marshall Brain is completely correct. Companies need to save money wherever possible, and replacing labourers with robots will be a very big way to do that.
That's all well and good, but who is going to buy the hamburgers the robots are flipping? With what money? We'll all be unemployed because our jobs have been taken by Indian robots.
The jobs to program these robots will be outsourced to India.
Oh, Pakistan, where are you? We sure could use your help right about now!
Re:You'll just have to wait...
on
The Bug
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· Score: 1
Yeah, I've worked there, too. Any what usually ends up happening is people work so damn long that they can't see the code, let alone think about it. Somebody sticks a digital wad of bubble gum to plug the hole, just so he can get some sleep. But the gum can only stick so long...
Please, slave driving managers, let your people go home, get some sleep, say hello to the family. Let them step away from the code for a few hours so they can return with a clear mind and with a real fix, not a wad of bubble gum.
Re:Wise words from the rich ...
on
Working Hard?
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· Score: 1
So true. I often lament about how much money I could make (and what good I could do) if only I didn't have to work all day.
Any more or less? Hmm, I could argue either way. On the one hand, some commercial software doesn't have any copy protection or serial number scheme at all, making it easier to pirate, while most shareware does require entry of a serial number. On the other hand, shareware is designed to be downloaded (you don' t have to go to illicit sources), and is generally smaller in file size than commercial software, so that makes it easier to pirate. And many shareware products expiration periods can be easily worked around. And many don't have any (enforced) expiration period at all.
If I were to guess, I would guess that shareware is more often pirated, but that the users don't consider it "piracy". "I'm just trying before I buy...for a long, long, time!"
Get started on that kick ass idea. One of the nice things about software development is that the cost of entry is actually quite low in most circumstances. Since you're posting here, you've obviously already got the computer. You don't need tremendous capital equipment, so get started. My advice would be to spend equal amounts of time working on your kick ass idea, job hunting, and a part time job.
You can pitch a prototype of this kick-ass idea and try to get funding for it. Or, you can demo it to prospective employers as proof of your talents. Just make sure that if you do get a job offer, that you take actions to retain the rights to your idea. That's a slippery slope right there.
The only two things to do to fix this are to get so far ahead that people switch anyway and to reduce the pain of switching by creating easy methods of doing so that anybody can use.
Or, to get the content creators/web site operators on their site, so that they start creating sites that require Mozilla, etc. Of course, that'll only happen if the alternate browsers get so far ahead...
The "key feature" is likely, as mentioned by an earlier post, DRM, Ã la Palladium. Are "key customers" actually requesting this? Likely, no, but Microsoft will use powers of fear, and the already present paranoia that media customers are a bunch of reckless thieves, to convince them they need this.
Then, guess what? In order to view these web sites, you need DRM. And what browser includes DRM? Why, Microsoft Internet Explorer! And what is the only operating system that runs IE? Why, Microsoft Windows! How convenient!
You see, this isn't an effort to satisfy "key customers." It's an effort to extend Microsoft's monopoly. Aren't you glad we paid tax dollars to find Microsoft guilty of abuse?
Of course, from a purely capitalist point of view, this is a perfectly reasonable choice. Why bother improving stuff that you have a monopoly over, a monopoly that's likely to remain untouched for the next few years at least? Competition is capitalism's way of improving software, and with a monopoly, there's no incentive to improve.
Complaceny is a good way to lose that monopoly. You stated yourself that IE has "fallen way behind Opera and Mozilla." So Microsoft better not rest on its laurels?
It could be that Microsoft plans on killing VPC, and doesn't want there to be any way to run Windows on Mac. Or it could be that Microsoft wants to monopolize Windows emulation on the Mac.
But this is Microsoft...surely they wouldn't try to pull either one of those, would they?
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Dell does a good job at getting supply chain, distribution and manufacturing costs down, period. Before the consumer products, nothing they manufactured had any bit of "zing" worth marketing. They deliver an (arguably) quality product at the lowest cost, that's what gets them sales.
This deviation from that strategy could help them grow their revenue, which would become increasingly difficult if they remained solely a PC maker, or it could jeopardize their bottom line as they spread themselves thinner. Time will tell.
Remember that the iPod is the number one selling portable music player for all platforms, not just Mac. Dell does have to compete with that.
Second, read the article: Manufacturing workers were largely able to be reabsorbed into the workforce. In many cases, being laid off was the impetus they needed to go to college, and you can bet many of them ended up better off than they were before.
There's a difference between a worker who spent a matter of weeks or months learning how to assemble widgets, and a developer (or accountant, or engineer, or architect...) who spent several years in school, and several more years in the profession. If the former loses his job, he has options: There are probably service sector jobs paying a similar salary, and which he can learn in a short period of time. Or he can go to school and wind up with a better job than he had before. What is a laid off IT worker to do? He, too, can return to school. Laid off colleagues of mine are in school earning their JDs or MBAs; just what this country needs, more lawyers and MBA grads. Regardless, it will take years for them to return to their previous earning power.
And don't forget, that earning power is also the buying power that keeps the economy going. It's the power that buys everything from cars and homes to Happy Meals and haircuts that keeps employed the blue collar worker, the white collar worker, and, yes, even the greedy CEOs who want to send our jobs overseas.
I cry loudly because I see our economy risking ruin, not solely because my own profession and passion are at risk. Anybody who is not crying loudly should feel ashamed.
Place a CD in a microwave for just a few seconds. You probably won't get a biocomputer, but it puts on a good light show. And to make sure this isn't off-topic...try it while drinking a beer!
Who cares if they get screwed, or spiked, or skewered for that matter. What they did was illegal, and is not germane to the racketeering lawsuit--that innocent (i.e., non criminals) were being sent extortion letters. I have no sympathy for idiots who commit crimes, who those who help the idiots.
marry me!
I wish my fiancee shared that view. Looks like you found a real diamond in the rough, man.
May I have your aunt's e-mail address?
Ah, yes, that does not rule the Chinese government from using the pirated American software of which they are so fond.
By that argument, all softwareor at least, all software that is electronically distributedhas infinite supply and should be free. But not all software is free.
How is it a cheap FreeBSD ripoff? It's $129 and FreeBSD is, uh, free.
But has the pilot of that unidentified target, who might be foe, learned that he's not supposed to shoot the guy 'cause his system is rebooting?
And that brings up the other point: most posters have ignored the economic aspect of it. That same factor that is driving jobs to India is the one that will make it so that Marshall Brain is completely correct. Companies need to save money wherever possible, and replacing labourers with robots will be a very big way to do that. That's all well and good, but who is going to buy the hamburgers the robots are flipping? With what money? We'll all be unemployed because our jobs have been taken by Indian robots.
The jobs to program these robots will be outsourced to India. Oh, Pakistan, where are you? We sure could use your help right about now!
Please, slave driving managers, let your people go home, get some sleep, say hello to the family. Let them step away from the code for a few hours so they can return with a clear mind and with a real fix, not a wad of bubble gum.
So true. I often lament about how much money I could make (and what good I could do) if only I didn't have to work all day.
Any more or less? Hmm, I could argue either way. On the one hand, some commercial software doesn't have any copy protection or serial number scheme at all, making it easier to pirate, while most shareware does require entry of a serial number. On the other hand, shareware is designed to be downloaded (you don' t have to go to illicit sources), and is generally smaller in file size than commercial software, so that makes it easier to pirate. And many shareware products expiration periods can be easily worked around. And many don't have any (enforced) expiration period at all. If I were to guess, I would guess that shareware is more often pirated, but that the users don't consider it "piracy". "I'm just trying before I buy...for a long, long, time!"
You can pitch a prototype of this kick-ass idea and try to get funding for it. Or, you can demo it to prospective employers as proof of your talents. Just make sure that if you do get a job offer, that you take actions to retain the rights to your idea. That's a slippery slope right there.
The only two things to do to fix this are to get so far ahead that people switch anyway and to reduce the pain of switching by creating easy methods of doing so that anybody can use. Or, to get the content creators/web site operators on their site, so that they start creating sites that require Mozilla, etc. Of course, that'll only happen if the alternate browsers get so far ahead...
Then, guess what? In order to view these web sites, you need DRM. And what browser includes DRM? Why, Microsoft Internet Explorer! And what is the only operating system that runs IE? Why, Microsoft Windows! How convenient!
You see, this isn't an effort to satisfy "key customers." It's an effort to extend Microsoft's monopoly. Aren't you glad we paid tax dollars to find Microsoft guilty of abuse?
Complaceny is a good way to lose that monopoly. You stated yourself that IE has "fallen way behind Opera and Mozilla." So Microsoft better not rest on its laurels?
P.S. Just what is a laurel, anyway?
You do remember this plane was hijacked, right? And there was an apparent struggle on board?
It could be that Microsoft plans on killing VPC, and doesn't want there to be any way to run Windows on Mac. Or it could be that Microsoft wants to monopolize Windows emulation on the Mac. But this is Microsoft...surely they wouldn't try to pull either one of those, would they?
Yes, but I've got to imagine that felt even worse for Motorola!
The article must have been editted, because it no longer has the sentence about overclocking. Perhaps the notorious Apple Legal came a-knockin'.