When asked for birthday gift hints, my sister-in-law’s husband said he wanted an MP3 player to replace the outdated Walkman he runs with, and even suggested a specific model that we could all chip in on. That should have made things pretty easy. However, because this is an electronic item, with computers involved, there was […]
Engineers and a birthday gift… Read More »
Since last October, I have been gradually taking over the formal dining room, turning it into my “work space.” Using the wireless laptop in the dining room seemed innocuous: we don’t entertain much, and the clean horizontal service was beckoning me to put junk on it. After the laptop found a cozy place to park,
Purging Books and Tchotchkes Read More »
In June, a New York Times article said there were fewer complaints about cubicles from job seekers. It seems people are now less likely to worry about whether their workspace is equipped with walls, doors and Herman Miller chairs. Well, Duh. As the market pendulum has swung from seekers to employers, it’s not a stretch
Corporate Then versus Corporate Now Read More »
Who is John Galt?(And would he beokay if I resold this book?) I’ve been in the Amazon Associates program for several years. It’s a no-brainer: sign up, and if someone buys books you happen to mention, you get a small credit towards a future purchase. Linking books and other products has always been about showing
Associates and Adsense Read More »
What is the game of “Chicken?” In the movies, two hooligans with something to prove settle their differences by racing their cars towards each other. The first one to turn away, averting certain collision, is the “chicken” and loses face among his cohorts. The other player, referred to as the “winner,” gets bragging rights and
Product rebates are a curious application of drive-by marketing and probability theory. Companies offer them because they provide the perception of a lower price and allow the company to gather more information on its customers. You know, for future marketing purposes. The typical spiel looks like this Transdimensional warp generator (Intel-compatible)(USB cable not included) Our
How much is your product, really? (Rebates) Read More »
When buying a car, I’ve become accustomed to having to research pricing until smoke billows out of my ears because I hate finding out that the “special deal” I received wasn’t very special. Multi-level pricing has oozed into the retail software industry and is especially rife with companies selling direct. After a couple of (expletive)
How much is your product, really? Read More »
(for maximum humor value, mouse-over the dashed lines.)Long ago, before the mists of the dot com era wafted down upon the masses, I worked at a company that made bananas. I traveled to a customer site with Tim, the company’s top salesman to observe his crafitness. After we met with the Zookeeper and Primate Custodian,