[JohnBal]

"We keep it simple, because it benefits everyone who finds our products a solution for their needs. . . But by designing for the vast majority of use cases and keeping things simple, we stay sane...and all of our customers benefit."
 
AMEN. And Thank you!
 
A facinating read by the way.

 

[wink]

Stop, stop, Jason.....
 
You're making far too much sense.

 

[jacal01]

  [snip] ...and I2S to a specific format only used by one manufacturer in 2006

 
I take your point, but at least 6 manufacturers on 2014, to keep the record straight.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

With respect to I2S, I'll leave Mike to comment more if he'd like, but I believe it comes down to this:
 
1. We make (by and large) inexpensive products that are geared at the vast majority of applications, rather than specific, ultra-high-end implementations. 
 
2. The opportunity in lower cost products is much, much greater than any high-price-tag stuff.
 
3. Because of this, it's more likely you'll see us working on connectivity such as WiFi or Bluetooth (yeah, I know, barf) before I2S, because this is more congruent with where we are in the market, and the engineering resources are much better used in this space. Note that this isn't a promise of future products; this is merely an example of other mass-market connectivity which we currently do not support. 
 
4. Similarly, we won't be working on things like $2500 USB cables or reintroducing ST optical connections for our products, for the same reasons.
 
5. We don't ascribe any overarching advantage to I2S for connectivity, because every connector/format has its challenges in implementation--especially when working with a format that was never designed to run down a cable (I2S stands for Inter IC Sound). 
 
6. If we're talking I2S via HDMI, HDMI has its own set of headaches (licensing, special test equipment, DRM, ongoing revision levels) that we'd prefer not to deal with. The best way to deal with HDMI is with a separate upgradable board, to ensure future compatibility.
 
All that said, sure, if I2S becomes a significant part of the connectivity mix, sure, we can add it in. Of course, that requires a bigger upgrade than our current modular upgrades, because it will affect the mix of connectors on the back of the product--which means a different inner chassis.

 

[jacal01]

Thanks, Jason, for your cogent and even-handed response.  I've actually been already deliberating how to augment your standard Ygg product with most likely an external DIY conversion board, since your signal I/O connector ports back panel layout probably occupies most of the available real estate, just as you say.
 
Would you be willing to share your internal I2S input signal terminal assignments (e.g. LVTTL, LVDS, LVCMOS), if such an interboard wiring connector is available for accessing, along with hopefully a conditioned 3.3 Vdc power source and ground, if and when the time comes?   Perhaps by PM or email or other?

 

[BeyerMonster]

  **I have never seen such a rip-off as high-end office chairs. ...Just go to Office Depot, plop your butt in a bunch of chairs that are $150 or less, and pick the ones that are most tolerable and cheapest. Our creative director once tried to talk me into getting Aerons for the whole office. I swapped his chair for a steel folding chair the next day. We bought sensible chairs.

I agree that high-end office chairs are very expensive, but having searched far and wide for a decent office chair, I'm convinced that most of the marketplace (including pretty much everything they sell at Office Depot/Staples/Office Max) is utterly unsuitable for an average human being to sit in for 8 hours/day. There are some legitimately decent chairs at the high end (reasonably adjustable and don't seem like they would be super uncomfortable, but most chairs in the $100-$500 range just have varying amounts of more expensive materials like leather, but are just as ****ty as the ones under $100. Can definitely be mitigated by frequent breaks, stretching, good posture, etc. But the average office chair really does blow chunks. Costco or used office supply sellers are the only places I've ever had luck.
 
Random sidenote, I had an Aeron at my old job that our company bought on the cheap that people acquired at failed startup liquidation sales. It was hands down the most uncomfortable chair I've ever had.

 

[7ryder]

We shouldn't be sitting on our arses too much anyway, lots of data that it's bad for our health. Besides you can't dance to dat Schitt sitting down!

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24532996

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

We shouldn't be sitting on our arses too much anyway, lots of data that it's bad for our health. Besides you can't dance to dat Schitt sitting down!

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24532996

Well believe me when I say that standing all day will destroy your feet, ankles, and spine . 8-10 hours a day standing on a hard floor with only one 45 minute chance to sit will make you sore at the end of the day. Especially if you do it three or four days in a row.

 

[EraserXIV]

Well believe me when I say that standing all day will destroy your feet, ankles, and spine

. 8-10 hours a day standing on a hard floor with only one 45 minute chance to sit will make you sore at the end of the day. Especially if you do it three or four days in a row.

 
I've needed to stand for 13 hours at a time without any breaks and minimal movement. Let me tell you, sitting down after that is not something you can describe in the English language.

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

I've needed to stand for 13 hours at a time without any breaks and minimal movement. Let me tell you, sitting down after that is not something you can describe in the English language.

I totally understand. My dad was a sign worker with major back problems (a steel framework and pins) that he got from an injury. He would have to stand on a swing stage on top of buildings all day to repair/install them... work practically crippled him.

 

[ricksome]

The moment you build a palace is the moment you die.
 
How True !!!!
 
In 1979 I bought a brand new Jeep from a Jeep dealer. 2 years later I noticed a classified ad in a local newspaper that said dealer was liquidating everything and selling the real estate. When I inquired of the owner,  what was going on? >>> He told me this:
 
American Motors was aligned with Renault at the time. American Motors & Renault wanted him to build a Glass Palace and to start selling Renaults and cars from American Motors. This dealer was strictly Jeeps and had been that way since the end of World War 2. The building was a Schiithole. The owner refused to go along with American Motors & Renault. The Jeep franchise was taken away. The owner liquidated and went out of business. This was actually a smart move.
 
Where is American Motors today? >>>>>> The only thing that remains are Jeeps >>>> being owned and sold by Chrysler / Fiat
Where is Renault >>>>> In France where they belong.
 
Jason >>>>> Proof of your Palace statement !!!!

 

[Trogdor]

market connectivity which we currently do not support. 

4. Similarly, we won't be working on things like $2500 USB cables or reintroducing ST optical connections for our products, for the same reasons.

Oh gee golly Jason, I was so hoping for a Light Harmonic competitor. My hopes have been dashed!

How about a 4k power cord to clean things up? I could use that.

 

[Currawong]

 

  Another great chapter.  re: "infighting" about insignificant crap: the biggest fight ever at my last company was between two engineers over the proper setting for the A/C system.  It literally led to fist fights and me having to fire two otherwise great employees.  Over 72 VS 76 degrees F.  After that I locked the thermostats and made their setting "company policy."  Let them bitch about me, not each other.

 
Yeah, and that. Ask Alex (next chapter) about going through a Santa Clarita summer in the Schiithole without air conditioning. Temps 100+ are common.
 
We once had a fight like that at Centric. I did the same thing you did. I locked the thermostat. Then I sent a memo that read exactly like this:
 
Due to fighting over the thermostat setting, I have locked it at 75 degrees in summer and 70 degrees in winter. 
 
For those of you who wish to complain, please be aware that humanity has survived for over 100k years in climates much hotter and cooler than the thermostat range. If you wish to discuss this personally with me, I will be happy to reset the temperatures to the Federally-recommended 78 degrees in summer and 68 degrees in winter. Any inquiry will result in this temperature reset.
 
For those who are cold, there are these items called "sweaters."
 
For those who are warm, there are these devices called "fans."

 
Gold!
 
I did the 100+ in an un-conditioned warehouse lifting a few tonnes of stock per day. The worst part was not the heat, it was the adjacent shop that was fully air-conditioned. Going back and forth in and out of it screwed with your body and it was easier just to adapt. In the end I broke the rules and had lunch at my "desk", which was part of the racking where the phone, fax (still needed, despite us using SAP!) and paperwork was.
 
A funny aside though: The hours were between 5:45am and 9pm in 8-hour stretches. In the depths of winter, when it would get colder after 6am, after one painful shift of excessive clusterf... I went home at ~2pm or whenever it was, had a shower and slept. Woke up at 6PM in the dark, saw the clock and had a sudden panic attack thinking it was 6AM and I was late for work.

 

[catspaw]

I see how this ideology is plausible in a small company environment. However, the bigger the company (and more importantly, the more people working in it) the less probable it is that you can have such dedicated workers. One thing that I noticed is that the less people, the more interaction between them, thus higher levels of empathy are possible, leading to a better work environment.
As numbers grow, the interests of the parties start to head in different directions, and that lack of interaction only increases separate goals.
 
 
Also, I always found that good chairs (does not automatically mean expensive, but it often does) are one core element if you are sitting most of your work hours. 
If you spend 1 hour out of 8 standing or moving that is ok, but if you spend 8 hours sitting, it will take a toll on your health sooner or later (even with good chairs).
 
From another side, I agree that if you build a Palace you die, but... its kinda nice to die in a Palace . Im trying to say that usually you would build the Palace with the money you saved from revenue/profit, not from the money you are investing to make that profit in the first place.
 
As for Apple, they had a good trend going for them, but that is what it is: a Trend. people are already starting to look for alternatives, and Apple has yet to show what it has done with all that massive amount of money it has made. That Spaceship thingy: A marketing stunt, and it is unclear to me if finishing it is even worth it.

 

[gikigill]

  The moment you build a palace is the moment you die.
 
How True !!!!
 
In 1979 I bought a brand new Jeep from a Jeep dealer. 2 years later I noticed a classified ad in a local newspaper that said dealer was liquidating everything and selling the real estate. When I inquired of the owner,  what was going on? >>> He told me this:
 
American Motors was aligned with Renault at the time. American Motors & Renault wanted him to build a Glass Palace and to start selling Renaults and cars from American Motors. This dealer was strictly Jeeps and had been that way since the end of World War 2. The building was a Schiithole. The owner refused to go along with American Motors & Renault. The Jeep franchise was taken away. The owner liquidated and went out of business. This was actually a smart move.
 
Where is American Motors today? >>>>>> The only thing that remains are Jeeps >>>> being owned and sold by Chrysler / Fiat
Where is Renault >>>>> In France where they belong.
 
Jason >>>>> Proof of your Palace statement !!!!

OT but here goes:
 
That is as wrong as an example you can get. AMC was bought out by Chrysler WHILE it was firmly in the black in 1987 and made a profit in all quarters plus the MJ/YJ Jeep was
 
selling very strongly so it was standing firmly on its feet. They got bought out just like how Nash got bought out by Hudson to form AMC in the first place who in turn
 
bought Kaiser to make Jeeps.
 
 
Chrysler really wanted the Grand Cherokee ZJ design made by AMC so they bought AMC for 1.5 billion for a 46% stake and they bet on a winning horse as the
 
GC ended up very successful leading to the current models today. Additional profitable acquisitions were the AMC dealer network . Your dealer was probably stupid.
 
(the addition of which strengthened Chrysler's retail distribution – many AMC dealers switched to selling Chrysler products)
 
 
 
AMC also built a brand spanking new plant in Ontario to build them,(also bought out by Chrysler which was flush with money) not something a failing company would do.
 
Just because Romneys dad couldn't run it doesn't mean it was a failure. He was very butthurt about the auto industry in his campaign and I can see where it comes from.
 
 
I,m a Jeep fan/owner/historian.