Why has basic product management gone out of the window in this new era of AI enablement? Like on the most basic level: who ever asked for this, where is product-market fit for this kind of browser automation?
Readit Newshankman86 commented on Microsoft Introduces 'Copilot Mode' in Edge blogs.windows.com/msedged... · Posted by u/Bogdanp
hankman86 commented on AMD CEO sees chips from TSMC's US plant costing 5%-20% more bloomberg.com/news/articl... · Posted by u/mfiguiere
Seems like a low price to pay for eliminating the risk to have your production facilities overrun by Chinese invaders.
I have been wondering how culturally conservative societies would use future medical interventions that could shape people’s sexuality. Not necessarily the government requiring expecting mothers to subject the unborn child to some sort of “cure” for gayness. But parents doing this voluntarily and on their own. Even western couples might then be tempted to travel to countries permitting these treatments.
At the same time, it seems unlikely in the near future. It so happens that western societies will not fund this kind of research. And that culturally conservative countries do not have the scientific prowess to conduct research in this regard. Also, their scientists are busy developing nuclear bombs.
I don't know if it's the case for folks with Down Syndrome (I suppose it's likely not), but hearing-impaired folks have their own culture to the point that in the past it was seen as some as a betrayal to the community to seek out cochlear implants. I think having their own language does a lot to create unity among them.
All that above is to say that I wonder if some folks in Down Syndrome might actually prefer their status quo abnormal development?
Most do not have the cognitive abilities for these kinds of philosophical debates.
As soon as someone starts ascribing towards a "normal" and using the pronoun "them", warning bells should go berserk.
No. Down Syndrome leads to an objectively worse outcome for the affected individuals. And their parents, I might add.
We should not let compassion for these people obstruct some basic facts. My only consideration would be the potential risks and side effects that are to be expected for any medical intervention. But if we were expecting a child that was diagnosed with Down Syndrome, I would not hesitate for a second to give this child the chance for a normal life. And us parents the chance for normal parenthood.
hankman86 commented on Ex-SAP CTO walks away with €7.1M payout after scandal theregister.com/2025/03/0... · Posted by u/rntn
Reading the article my biggest take away is how low executive compensations are in Germany compared to the US. The top ranking ICs at US tech companies can hit low 7 figures!
To be fair, even outside of this sexual misconduct the CTO of SAP has not actually earned a high salary. Do you hear anyone talking about SAP when it comes to technological innovation? They are followers, not leaders. Not in AI, not in cloud computing, not in mobile or any other technical domain really. Their ERP software stack sits on a technological foundation of ABAP (a COBOL derivative) and a home-built database system that relies on large main memory caches to process complex queries at a halfway acceptable performance.
hankman86 commented on Ex-SAP CTO walks away with €7.1M payout after scandal theregister.com/2025/03/0... · Posted by u/rntn
They 'll be lucky if they get to keep their job.
You would not want to. After a high-profile scandal like that, there are too many people in the know. Not all of whom may be sympathetic to you for taking down a top executive. Your career is effectively finished.
Negotiate a decent severance payout in exchange for keeping quiet about the details. The bonus payout for the misbehaving former CTO may perversely help you here. Start with that figure in how much you want and let the company explain why the victim deserves less.
hankman86 commented on Ex-SAP CTO walks away with €7.1M payout after scandal theregister.com/2025/03/0... · Posted by u/rntn
The only reason US engineering salaries are high is because of broken housing policies in US coastal cities.
IMHO this will be the downfall of US engineering, the high salaries will make US engineers too uncompetitive.
No, it is supply and demand. And a good deal of culture sprinkled on top. Americans are much more prepared to accept obscenely high salaries for exceptional talent. In Germany by contrast, even the greatest software engineering genius will not make that much more than some middling developer.
hankman86 commented on Ex-SAP CTO walks away with €7.1M payout after scandal theregister.com/2025/03/0... · Posted by u/rntn
SAP has had its fair share of bad executives. Mostly incompetent people, but occasionally also flawed characters. Their problem is that Europe has no IT industry that is equally mature as the one in the US. Among other things, this leads to dysfunctional talent development where people end up in managerial roles (or outright make it to executive level) without the necessary character traits or personal development to support their responsibilities.
hankman86 commented on Ex-SAP CTO walks away with €7.1M payout after scandal theregister.com/2025/03/0... · Posted by u/rntn
Seems there's a case to be made for SAP to alter any future contracts of that nature to contain a clause that if you're leaving for a serious breach you get nothing. Willy Wonka style.
Bad leaver clauses are difficult to enforce. What this person has done may not be an undisputed breach of company policy. More like what observers would consider subjectively unethical conduct that is potentially damaging to the company’s reputation. But which a court may not see as something that voids early termination bonus payouts.
On the bottom line, the €7m cash payout is a rounding error on the company’s balance sheet. And now it is off the books and will not trouble them and create negative headlines for a protracted period of litigation in court.