5 ms·

I can also add some here. We worked for WD for a while. There was this weird thing going on. We requested MacBooks because we were working on Linux and cloud bu

I can also add some here. We worked for WD for a while. There was this weird thing going on. We requested MacBooks because we were working on Linux and cloud but the management had a policy that managers were entitled to have MacBooks while by default engineers had to use Windows laptops. As externals we were denied MacBooks. So managers were running Powerpoints on Apple while engineers were running Python, aws-cli on Windows. Perfectly reasonable according to them. I could only estimate the amount of productivity lost on this. Of course WSL was not allowed because corporate security classified it insecure.

spiritplumber 6y ago
How did you guys solve it?
- julienfr112 6y ago
  double boot and windows looking customized desktop ?
ChuckNorris89 6y ago
Management getting swaggy laptops and engineers having to work on the cheapest and shittiest windows laptops is a thing in every German company where the software isn't the core product(embedded, IoT, hardware, automotive, mechanical, chemical, finance etc.) because Macs are expensive and since beancounters are valued more than SW engineers they can make themselves look like heroes in front of management by showing them how much money they saved the company by leasing a fleet of cheap machines for everyone, regardless of their job, from the local HP/Dell/Lenovo dealer vs the productivity loss of their developers that they won't bother considering. I only saw good machines in companies where only software was their business(mostly web shops) so management there knew the value of providing good laptops and monitors.
- jacquesm 6y ago
  Not strictly true, but overall I'd say it is accurate. There are more and more companies in Germany that are becoming tech aware even though the tech is secondary and they realize there are productivity gains to be had from giving their tech employees proper tools. Still, that's yet another version of the beancounters perspective.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  The irony is that as I move into management, I less and less see the value of me personally having a powerful laptop. My job is Jira, Github, and Zoom; why should I carry around a 16” MBP for all the power I don’t need?
  - alexandrerond 6y ago
    Well, to run Slack...
    - ashtonkem 6y ago
      Zoom is the new culprit. Occasionally it’ll demand so much from my computer that the 100W charger won’t be able to keep up, causing my battery to begin to discharge.
      - Scoundreller 6y ago
        Are you running the from the browser and not the app? My biggest Zoom gripe is being unable to control how much bandwidth it uses. 360p is fine for the others and I on the call when we’re not sharing screens. If it weren’t for that, I could télé-work from the cabin a lot more... stupid Canadian mobile providers...
        ashtonkem 6y ago
        I’m running from the app in OSX. The browser version is somehow even worse.
  - Nextgrid 6y ago
    Wait until you need to run Microsoft Teams. You’ll need to carry an entire supercomputer to run that pile of shit and even then it won’t be smooth. Even Jira is not too far off these days unfortunately despite being a relatively simple tool (but they needed to justify hiring tons of JavaScript developers).
    - 6y ago
- _trampeltier 6y ago
  I work in a worlwide (german) industry / automotive company. The group leader can decide what Notebook, PC or Workstation his team gets. We can choose between a normal office HP Notebook/PC or a pretty good version of a HP Z-Book or a fast Workstation. Also I think most external tech guys who came to our company, they usually have real good hardware. At least in my company now, the managment has just normal office notebooks or convertibles.
- yitchelle 6y ago
  Definitely not my observation (working in Germany in automotive). All of us are using one of the generic PC. To be honest, our PCs have been pretty reliable, suitable for the purpose. The service quality is also surprisingly adequate. The only time I see MacBook are when we get the consultants visiting us. They are always decked out in the latest Apple gear.
xondono 6y ago
Try running Solidworks on a 300€ laptop. Switching everyone to laptops is the biggest productivity loss in engineering departments.
makison 6y ago
Engineer teams did switch to MacBooks in 2019. And managers slowly too, in 2020.

spiritplumber 6y ago

How did you guys solve it?

julienfr112 6y ago
double boot and windows looking customized desktop ?

ChuckNorris89 6y ago

Management getting swaggy laptops and engineers having to work on the cheapest and shittiest windows laptops is a thing in every German company where the software isn't the core product(embedded, IoT, hardware, automotive, mechanical, chemical, finance etc.) because Macs are expensive and since beancounters are valued more than SW engineers they can make themselves look like heroes in front of management by showing them how much money they saved the company by leasing a fleet of cheap machines for everyone, regardless of their job, from the local HP/Dell/Lenovo dealer vs the productivity loss of their developers that they won't bother considering. I only saw good machines in companies where only software was their business(mostly web shops) so management there knew the value of providing good laptops and monitors.

jacquesm 6y ago
Not strictly true, but overall I'd say it is accurate. There are more and more companies in Germany that are becoming tech aware even though the tech is secondary and they realize there are productivity gains to be had from giving their tech employees proper tools. Still, that's yet another version of the beancounters perspective.
ashtonkem 6y ago
The irony is that as I move into management, I less and less see the value of me personally having a powerful laptop. My job is Jira, Github, and Zoom; why should I carry around a 16” MBP for all the power I don’t need?
- alexandrerond 6y ago
  Well, to run Slack...
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    Zoom is the new culprit. Occasionally it’ll demand so much from my computer that the 100W charger won’t be able to keep up, causing my battery to begin to discharge.
    - Scoundreller 6y ago
      Are you running the from the browser and not the app? My biggest Zoom gripe is being unable to control how much bandwidth it uses. 360p is fine for the others and I on the call when we’re not sharing screens. If it weren’t for that, I could télé-work from the cabin a lot more... stupid Canadian mobile providers...
      - ashtonkem 6y ago
        I’m running from the app in OSX. The browser version is somehow even worse.
- Nextgrid 6y ago
  Wait until you need to run Microsoft Teams. You’ll need to carry an entire supercomputer to run that pile of shit and even then it won’t be smooth. Even Jira is not too far off these days unfortunately despite being a relatively simple tool (but they needed to justify hiring tons of JavaScript developers).
  - 6y ago
_trampeltier 6y ago
I work in a worlwide (german) industry / automotive company. The group leader can decide what Notebook, PC or Workstation his team gets. We can choose between a normal office HP Notebook/PC or a pretty good version of a HP Z-Book or a fast Workstation. Also I think most external tech guys who came to our company, they usually have real good hardware. At least in my company now, the managment has just normal office notebooks or convertibles.
yitchelle 6y ago
Definitely not my observation (working in Germany in automotive). All of us are using one of the generic PC. To be honest, our PCs have been pretty reliable, suitable for the purpose. The service quality is also surprisingly adequate. The only time I see MacBook are when we get the consultants visiting us. They are always decked out in the latest Apple gear.

xondono 6y ago

Try running Solidworks on a 300€ laptop. Switching everyone to laptops is the biggest productivity loss in engineering departments.

makison 6y ago

Engineer teams did switch to MacBooks in 2019. And managers slowly too, in 2020.