forca

Really? Then why do people line up like good little cult members every time Apple release a piece of hardware. I've never really understood the narcissistic behaviour of always wanting to have the latest and greatest. It all means nothing, to be honest. Really, it doesn't. I posted it because I'm tired of these companies spinning up huge marketing campaigns and nothing is really new. It's old.

Really, the iPhone is tired already. As is Android. Nothing new under the sun. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Apple has done nothing really innovative in some time. Neither has Google.

Bigger screens mean nothing in the end.

Wake me when the holodeck is a reality.

I feel for you, I really do. I've also had a string of "crap" jobs where I felt I was not doing anything of value.

Remember, you should always be looking. If you have time, do some small bit of pro-bono work for someone, perhaps a non-profit. Add them to your CV. Solve an interesing problem for them.

Look at companies you admire in your area, see what interests you, and come up with a way to solve a problem they are working on. Present this to a manager over lunch. Tell them you fancy working for them and you can bring some skills to the table.

Like Yoda said, there is no try, there is do or do not.

FYI, I switched over to working for non-profits, and while the money isn't as much, the jobs are more interesting to me and I have generally much more latitude to implement what I think will work (for me, always OSS/Libre). It's a good feeling to know you are making a difference.

It's just a matter of time before Google become just another tech company. It happens to everyone. It's taking longer for them since they have more money.

It will be a good day when a company comes along and dethrones Google from search. No one company needs or should have the power that Google wield. It's unsavory at best. I swore long ago that I would never use "free" services because they are not free. You are the product. There are too many good email services out there that cost less than a couple of cappuccinos a year to use crap like free email. I'm a customer, not a product. No for-profit ads, no making money from my information, just a great service for very little money. Who is this great email company? Fastmail.

This substance should be identified, used to create a vaccine, and given to all who are threatened or might be, by ebola, at no cost to them. Just the human thing to do.

I have always sort of disagreed with perks as a hiring lure. If your business is not interesting, you are not solving interesting problems, etc., then no amount of perks are going to attract me. The only perk I'd ever be interested in is for all health care costs to be paid in full by the employer until we realize the sanity of universal health care.

I work for non-profits as a rule now, having seen the futility in chasing the money. I'm happier making less, solving interesting problems for people who cannot afford to pay huge amounts of money. I'm not the most talented guy in the world, but I have solid skills most IT employers desire, and I get things done with little to no budget save new HW every now and then. Gotta love libre/free/OSS. Never, ever should a business pay for a software license again IMHO. I have not paid for software in since 1998, and will never do so again.

Perks should be real and tangible. Let's start with paying 100% of every employee's health insurance first. The donuts, dry cleaning , and other crap are worthless.

So, it's less about people and more about money, eh? For-profit everything sucks, it really does. People may not have the "right" to work at a place, but businesses owe employees certain rights. One of these should be serious compensation should they be sacked for "business" reasons. I can see one year's salary if you are let go for business reasons not related to your performance.

I have often said that if I ever started an IT company, I would never go public. Once you do, you lose control and are at the mercy of the shareholders. Same for many startups. IT is cheap. Implementation can be expensive, but software is free/libre, HW is cheap, Webhosting is dirt cheap for unlimited bandwidth. I don't know why so many IT people believe they have to have debt to start a company.

I've worked for a few startups before I decided to only work for non-profits, and every one of them suffered from a sick desire to make money first rather than develop good software, implement good ideas, you name it. The dollar signs are blinding to people.

One of my best jobs was for a small Web company that did it right. They built their business slowly, have a great product, and the money followed, albeit it also slowly. As a result, they retain talent, pay industry standard, and are a fun, moral, honest business to work for. They also pay for all employee's health care in full, which should be the standard until we can rid the system of for-profit medicine.

I have what some would consider strong opinions on health care.

- First, all medical and pharmaceutical companies should be non-profit. Health care is a basic human right, not a privilege reserved for those who can cough up the sick prices for treatment.

- The government should run all medical schools so doctors graduate without debt. You serve for 10 years as payment for the schooling. After this, you are free to pursue other goals.

- Pharmaceutical companies should hold no patents, no trademarks. Companies should be merged so their collective brain trust can solve the world's medical woes. Non-profit company results. R&D payed for by taxpayer money.

I severely dislike for-profit business in general, but more so when medicine is concerned. Human beings always should trump profits. Always. Doctors should become doctors to solve problems, not enrich themselves.

Sadly, I have several medical conditions which need repair, but even with insurance, I cannot afford the co-pays, upfront deductible costs, and other sick for-profit BS I would need to meet in order for my insurance to kick in at 100%. I have seriously toyed with moving overseas simply for tax-payed health care.

I'm in IT (non-profit), make OK money, but I refuse to enrich the for-profit system. I simply do without, because it's sick when your insurance costs equal 1/3 of your paycheck.