It has been a truly bizarre week. We’ve watched three banks die, and then a fourth bank almost died (Credit Suisse) before being scooped up by UBS for the rock-bottom price of $3.2bn. Credit Suisse’s fall from grace is especially remarkable given that it was
Incredible summary of the horrible feeling I’ve had watching this unfold in real time. It is truly galling to see these people pivot from free-market libertarians to victims in a fraction of a second, and perhaps more enraging to see governments around the world cater to the request without second thought.
And if the Valley wants to garner some goodwill with this enduser, ditching SaaS and letting people own their own applications again might help. (I’m looking at you, Adobe!)
“In fact, the loudest thing that tech had to offer in this seemingly prosperous era was cryptocurrency, which was marketed as a way for the average Joe to finally have a shot at generating wealth.”
The quietest thing that tech had to offer was covert censorship. So, hey, there’s that.
I think that if you're looking to human beings to provide you with the perfect product or service, that meets everyone of YOUR whims, it's a no win and your life is going to be a storybook of endless misery.
Let's take apple. Sure, they could open source components. But given the dog-eat-dog nature of the world, are they really evil for protecting their ecosystem from the onslaught of others to profit off of it?
You can't even put a 3rd party ink cartridge into an HP printer now without consequences. Is HP evil for charging what they do when a Chinese cartridge could do the job for 1/3rd the cost?
Hell, am I evil for charging my rate for services provided when I could, in theory, train up a minimum wage person to do the simple stuff?
Silicon valley culture sucks. Greed, power, more, more, more. But at the heart of the issue is the human heart. If the human being were different, so too would be the tech industry.
And for all of those who bitch and moan about amazon going down the drain, get a life. If you don't like Amazon, or anything else, go out and make a difference with your values versus making a living whining about it all.
The corporate profits causing inflation thing is interesting. It sorta pulls back the veil of US anti-trust enforcement that slowly gifted megacorps these market defining powers. "Ok, we'll let you consolidate, but you HAVE to lower prices and improve customer satisfaction!" It worked fine until the pandemic made society pivot on a dime.
Now those same megacorps don't know how they *should* behave with the power they were handed, so they're throwing that power around everywhere to ensure their own success and it's causing all sorts of chaos. They have credit lines, revenues, and cash reserves in the billions but are also laying off large portions of their workforce. Not because it's prudent or good business for them, but because they have to look like they're being responsible.
Megacorps are out there like a contestant in Price is Right, firing random sections of their workforce while listening to audience's reaction to whether it was the right or wrong amount.
I’d be cautious about engaging in any declinist “End of History” in software development. Some parts of AI and the real future if Quantum Computing are pretty cool but this is heavy lifting. However, the era of low value added BS moonshot apps claiming to reinvent the moon should end along with this decade’s “Masters of the Universe.” I’d rather invest my money in an auto-body shop than with these idiots. This is a phenomenon of “End Stage Capitalism” experiencing low growth with too much accumulated and concentrated wealth chasing diminishing returns.
The Uncanny Valley
Incredible summary of the horrible feeling I’ve had watching this unfold in real time. It is truly galling to see these people pivot from free-market libertarians to victims in a fraction of a second, and perhaps more enraging to see governments around the world cater to the request without second thought.
Yes! Yes! Yes! All of this!
And if the Valley wants to garner some goodwill with this enduser, ditching SaaS and letting people own their own applications again might help. (I’m looking at you, Adobe!)
Great read as always. Do you know anywhere I could follow first republic news specifically?
“In fact, the loudest thing that tech had to offer in this seemingly prosperous era was cryptocurrency, which was marketed as a way for the average Joe to finally have a shot at generating wealth.”
The quietest thing that tech had to offer was covert censorship. So, hey, there’s that.
Man I miss Steve Jobs. Tim Cook SUCKS
The last 4 or so OS upgrades SUCK. I do not want an iOS interface on my MacBook.
The whole soldering memory and SSD is such bullshit.
Windows is doing similar shit. Windows 11 sucks. It a so buggy. I recently went bsck to windows 10.
Steve Jobs really had it.
I think that if you're looking to human beings to provide you with the perfect product or service, that meets everyone of YOUR whims, it's a no win and your life is going to be a storybook of endless misery.
Let's take apple. Sure, they could open source components. But given the dog-eat-dog nature of the world, are they really evil for protecting their ecosystem from the onslaught of others to profit off of it?
You can't even put a 3rd party ink cartridge into an HP printer now without consequences. Is HP evil for charging what they do when a Chinese cartridge could do the job for 1/3rd the cost?
Hell, am I evil for charging my rate for services provided when I could, in theory, train up a minimum wage person to do the simple stuff?
Silicon valley culture sucks. Greed, power, more, more, more. But at the heart of the issue is the human heart. If the human being were different, so too would be the tech industry.
And for all of those who bitch and moan about amazon going down the drain, get a life. If you don't like Amazon, or anything else, go out and make a difference with your values versus making a living whining about it all.
The corporate profits causing inflation thing is interesting. It sorta pulls back the veil of US anti-trust enforcement that slowly gifted megacorps these market defining powers. "Ok, we'll let you consolidate, but you HAVE to lower prices and improve customer satisfaction!" It worked fine until the pandemic made society pivot on a dime.
Now those same megacorps don't know how they *should* behave with the power they were handed, so they're throwing that power around everywhere to ensure their own success and it's causing all sorts of chaos. They have credit lines, revenues, and cash reserves in the billions but are also laying off large portions of their workforce. Not because it's prudent or good business for them, but because they have to look like they're being responsible.
Megacorps are out there like a contestant in Price is Right, firing random sections of their workforce while listening to audience's reaction to whether it was the right or wrong amount.
Man, I want to read every link in this article.
I’d be cautious about engaging in any declinist “End of History” in software development. Some parts of AI and the real future if Quantum Computing are pretty cool but this is heavy lifting. However, the era of low value added BS moonshot apps claiming to reinvent the moon should end along with this decade’s “Masters of the Universe.” I’d rather invest my money in an auto-body shop than with these idiots. This is a phenomenon of “End Stage Capitalism” experiencing low growth with too much accumulated and concentrated wealth chasing diminishing returns.