4 ms·

Autonomy is really an embarrassment for the entire British technology industry.

fidotron 13y ago
Yep. The Brits (I'm one, but have spent most of my career elsewhere) do a special line in cowboy technology types, and Autonomy just blagged their way into a monster deal. It's a shame because at the same time there are genuinely great companies, but the more pure sales culture led outfits have been so slimy it's frightening, and make life much harder for the people doing great work. And that's ignoring the defence industry, which takes it to a whole new level.
- deleted 13y ago
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  - fidotron 13y ago
    It's a mixed up metaphor - they actually have a better term for it being "wide boy". The tech industry there has (in my experience) a higher proportion of people that are essentially street market traders in suits trying to score enterprise deals than elsewhere. This isn't to say the US doesn't have them, but they're not quite as pervasive, or as misleading. Some people of this type get wildly successful, such as Alan Sugar, who thinks he's the sort of British Donald Trump.
    - arethuza 13y ago
      I've found that referring to someone as "wide" really doesn't translate well from the UK to the US. What are the US equivalents for UK "wide" or "blagging"? :-)
      - fidotron 13y ago
        Haha, yes, that's why I didn't use wide the first time! Not sure how they'd describe blagging.
      - pessimizer 13y ago
        Shit-talking hustler? http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hustler http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hustler Hustler: 1825, "thief" (especially one who roughs up his victims), from hustle (v.) + -er (1). Sense of "energetic worker" (especially, but not originally, a salesman) is from 1884; sense of "prostitute" dates from 1924.
      - kbutler 13y ago
        Got the british definitions from brief google searches, so take them for what they are worth. wide - living by wits/hustling ("wide awake"). Probably "hustler", maybe "shyster" or "con man"? blagging - obtaining/disclosing personal information without consent - maybe social engineering/"conning" in the sense of "con man"/"con artist".
      - ZeroGravitas 13y ago
        Bullshitter?

Yep. The Brits (I'm one, but have spent most of my career elsewhere) do a special line in cowboy technology types, and Autonomy just blagged their way into a monster deal. It's a shame because at the same time there are genuinely great companies, but the more pure sales culture led outfits have been so slimy it's frightening, and make life much harder for the people doing great work. And that's ignoring the defence industry, which takes it to a whole new level.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
- fidotron 13y ago
  It's a mixed up metaphor - they actually have a better term for it being "wide boy". The tech industry there has (in my experience) a higher proportion of people that are essentially street market traders in suits trying to score enterprise deals than elsewhere. This isn't to say the US doesn't have them, but they're not quite as pervasive, or as misleading. Some people of this type get wildly successful, such as Alan Sugar, who thinks he's the sort of British Donald Trump.
  - arethuza 13y ago
    I've found that referring to someone as "wide" really doesn't translate well from the UK to the US. What are the US equivalents for UK "wide" or "blagging"? :-)
    - fidotron 13y ago
      Haha, yes, that's why I didn't use wide the first time! Not sure how they'd describe blagging.
    - pessimizer 13y ago
      Shit-talking hustler? http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hustler http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hustler Hustler: 1825, "thief" (especially one who roughs up his victims), from hustle (v.) + -er (1). Sense of "energetic worker" (especially, but not originally, a salesman) is from 1884; sense of "prostitute" dates from 1924.
    - kbutler 13y ago
      Got the british definitions from brief google searches, so take them for what they are worth. wide - living by wits/hustling ("wide awake"). Probably "hustler", maybe "shyster" or "con man"? blagging - obtaining/disclosing personal information without consent - maybe social engineering/"conning" in the sense of "con man"/"con artist".
    - ZeroGravitas 13y ago
      Bullshitter?