6 ms·

The cost of a new fullly-spec'd workstation + high performance laptop is tiny compared to the salary of good software developers. Managements have a warped sens

The cost of a new fullly-spec'd workstation + high performance laptop is tiny compared to the salary of good software developers. Managements have a warped sense of how to save money and as a result grossly hurt morale and productivity where it matters the most.

tpush 4y ago
> The cost of a new fullly-spec'd workstation + high performance laptop is tiny compared to the salary of good software developers. That depends highly on where you are in the world.
- marcosdumay 4y ago
  It almost doesn't. Computers are now cheap enough and developers mobile enough that it holds through all of the developing world, and most of the underdeveloped world.
- asdff 4y ago
  $3000 every 3 years is not alot of money to spend per head, unless you are considering somewhere with developer salaries in the $10,000 range or something like that.
ClumsyPilot 4y ago
Some companies in UK still provide 1080p monitors of the lowest quality
- yrgulation 4y ago
  In my whole career i only had one company that provided windows machines and as expected it was a horrible place to work at. Current client wants to do the same. Coincidentally the place is becoming less desirable to work with.
  - wongarsu 4y ago
    Outside of silicon valley, the business world runs on Windows, no matter how cheap or expensive the machines are. Being inflexible can certainly be a red flag though.
    - yrgulation 4y ago
      My clients are all based in the uk and nearly all run on macos, except those at the bottom.
      - aeyes 4y ago
        But the problem isn't Windows or MacOS. It's all the corporate spyware, antivirus, network interception and whatever else they come up with making the machines work like its 1995.
        yrgulation 4y ago
        That is spot on and indeed a red flag. Imagine hiring people and the spying on them.
    - qwezxcrty 4y ago
      Ironically, in the fabs making chips for the silicon valley, (almost) everything runs embedded Windows.
- theandrewbailey 4y ago
  At least they provide monitors. I imagine that many don't.
johannes1234321 4y ago
Hardware appears as expense on the balance sheet. Lost time not.
VyseofArcadia 4y ago
It's not one big pile of money. Business expenditures are treated differently depending on what you spend it on. My loose understanding is that capex (e.g. hardware) and opex (e.g. salary) are treated differently in a lot of ways. Some of it is taxes, there are deductions available for opex that don't apply to capex, at least in the US. Also, you can cut your expenses on opex to balance your budget (e.g. layoffs), but it's harder to recoup the sunk cost on capex. Cloud desktops turn some capex into opex. Depending on how many employees you have, it can be a sizeable chunk of change. I still think it's only worth it in specific edge cases, though.

tpush 4y ago

> The cost of a new fullly-spec'd workstation + high performance laptop is tiny compared to the salary of good software developers. That depends highly on where you are in the world.

marcosdumay 4y ago
It almost doesn't. Computers are now cheap enough and developers mobile enough that it holds through all of the developing world, and most of the underdeveloped world.
asdff 4y ago
$3000 every 3 years is not alot of money to spend per head, unless you are considering somewhere with developer salaries in the $10,000 range or something like that.

ClumsyPilot 4y ago

Some companies in UK still provide 1080p monitors of the lowest quality

yrgulation 4y ago
In my whole career i only had one company that provided windows machines and as expected it was a horrible place to work at. Current client wants to do the same. Coincidentally the place is becoming less desirable to work with.
- wongarsu 4y ago
  Outside of silicon valley, the business world runs on Windows, no matter how cheap or expensive the machines are. Being inflexible can certainly be a red flag though.
  - yrgulation 4y ago
    My clients are all based in the uk and nearly all run on macos, except those at the bottom.
    - aeyes 4y ago
      But the problem isn't Windows or MacOS. It's all the corporate spyware, antivirus, network interception and whatever else they come up with making the machines work like its 1995.
      - yrgulation 4y ago
        That is spot on and indeed a red flag. Imagine hiring people and the spying on them.
  - qwezxcrty 4y ago
    Ironically, in the fabs making chips for the silicon valley, (almost) everything runs embedded Windows.
theandrewbailey 4y ago
At least they provide monitors. I imagine that many don't.

johannes1234321 4y ago

Hardware appears as expense on the balance sheet. Lost time not.

VyseofArcadia 4y ago

It's not one big pile of money. Business expenditures are treated differently depending on what you spend it on. My loose understanding is that capex (e.g. hardware) and opex (e.g. salary) are treated differently in a lot of ways. Some of it is taxes, there are deductions available for opex that don't apply to capex, at least in the US. Also, you can cut your expenses on opex to balance your budget (e.g. layoffs), but it's harder to recoup the sunk cost on capex. Cloud desktops turn some capex into opex. Depending on how many employees you have, it can be a sizeable chunk of change. I still think it's only worth it in specific edge cases, though.