Forgot your password?
typodupeerror

Comment Re:Is that because of the monopoly? (Score 5, Interesting) 36

I worked for a company that found its roots in the original RCA labs. The boss was a stubborn guy that navigated his own course. A lot of executives came to lecture him. He relied heavily on IP and royalties which turned down a lot of customers. Evil, according to his superiors.
He made it work. 2008 economic crisis hit. Contracts halved. We ran mostly on royalties for that year. Little to do, so he encouraged us to do research. Anything. A lot of BS came out of it, but also a small gem here and there that would later be useful and one thing became a product.
Moved to a company that did not have royalty income. Most projects were fixed cost, meaning sales people had to hunt for contracts to keep the pipeline filled. Once heard the boss say: "We never have exactly the right amount of projects. I prefer too much projects instead of one too few." My god, what did they drag in when things went slow. Overpromissing our capabilities, impossible projects, unrealistic deadlines, ... The worst part? They were actually the nice guys. Other companies did far worse. It was an eye opener. Lot of crap companies out there hunting for money, predator style, little care for the product.
Anyway, no time to optimize work flows, no time to research and criticize obviously flawed procedures, just get the job done in the specified amount of days or else... The fun part? We were pretty good compared to our competitors. Only mediocre compared to the best though.
The bad part? I noticed that companies that did their due diligence, usually were unable to finish or sell their product. It usually got cancelled. The sloppy ones? They sold their junk successfully. I observed too few projects to make it significant, but the pattern was there.
Successful business? It is not a straight line, I can tell you that.

Comment Re: Some might, I won't be. (Score 1) 39

Not sure why rsilvergun is targeted here. I probably am missing context, but... if you cannot afford it, you are still allowed to voice that.
I can afford these things, but I very much enjoy giving deprecated hardware a new life. There are a ton of cheap options out there. My man cave uses an old core duo, donated to me by people who wanted me to buy them a new machine. Programming, controlling my electronics lab equipment, ... It does a great job on only 4gb of RAM. There are decades worth of old games out there that you can play for free on terrible cheap hardware. Cannot afford a playstation 5? Go for a playstation 4, or 3. When the 3 came out, we were all in awe. Look for a used options, with games!
Want state of the art? Want to be cool? Want to be part of the newest hype? Pay up. No mercy. Stop complaining. You are spoiled brats throwing a tantrum because you are detoxing from getting what you want instantly.
I come from a time when space invaders and test drive were awesome. These games run on any raspberry pi. Kids these days...
Look... I got the same lecture in the 80s. My grandfather was talking to me about how he only had a ball as a toy. He was exaggerating, but not much. He could spinn it on his finger tip, he could throw it far and accurate. Took care of it, fixed it, ... It is all a matter of creativity. Now go fetch a few branches out of the wood and do something with them. Made a bird house with my son yesterday. Save the 900$ for petrol, or take one for the team. Buy one and enjoy it with friends. I could go on for ages... Really getting old. ;-)

Comment results after two year ban (Score 2) 65

Belgium here, high school teacher... Our school banned smartphones two years ago. 12 to 15 year olds have to hand them in. The older ones have to put them somewhere where it is out of hand's reach. Parents rejoiced, kids were disappointed. Now it is routine. Colleagues teaching the young ones say the focus is a lot better. In the higher grades, where I teach, I notice little difference. I have to add though that students in our school are generally... more well behaved than in average schools.
Government mandated a phone ban last year. A (reliable) newspaper reported that screentime remained the same. Meaning that kids use their phones more at home now.
Personally I have mixed feelings about this. I am pro the ban. Especially for young kids. I see smartphone zombies at every bus stop that I pass by car every morning. It is a sad view. Then again, us adults have little credibility there. We are not giving a good example. My son was at a music camp. I went to get him. Most parents were clinging to their smartphones while waiting for the kids to come out. If we make rules for the kids, we should also make rules for parents.
In short, smartphone ban has some advantages. It is not a miracle solution though. It is easy to bash kids. Lead by example...

Slashdot Top Deals

I don't do it for the money. -- Donald Trump, Art of the Deal

Working...