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Joining Apple 40 years ago

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Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#21

Post by barry-cotter »

WalterBright wrote: post #9
supernova87a wrote: post #4

Can you imagine moving to the Bay Area in the 80s? To grow up when land was still cheap, before college competition was cutthroat and unaffordable, when relatively simple competence could get you a solid job and VC/PE firms weren't plundering and incentivizing the latest 30-second attention-span app to reach $1B? It would be me living in Los Altos now, instead of the old rich people who I curse for refusing to die or…

> To grow up when land was still cheap People didn't think it was cheap at the time. The 70's had seen a boom in real estate prices, especially in California, due to the boomers moving into their home buying years. (And that was before Prop 13, which was a response to high home prices.) > the old rich people who I curse for refusing to die or reform Prop 13 and free up some affordable place to raise a new family. Sup…

> Supply & demand economics won't deliver the result you want even if your wish for everyone over 60 to drop dead is fulfilled.

Depends. If building housing were legal it would. Tokyo’s population has increased 50% over the last twenty years and property prices have been flat. If supply is allowed to rise to reach demand property prices don’t go up on a never ending spiral.

Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#22

Post by jfk13 »

barry-cotter wrote: post #21
WalterBright wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To grow up when land was still cheap People didn't think it was cheap at the time. The 70's had seen a boom in real estate prices, especially in California, due to the boomers moving into their home buying years. (And that was before Prop 13, which was a response to high home prices.) > the old rich people who I curse for refusing to die or reform Prop 13 and free up some affordable place to raise a new family. Sup…

> Supply & demand economics won't deliver the result you want even if your wish for everyone over 60 to drop dead is fulfilled. Depends. If building housing were legal it would. Tokyo’s population has increased 50% over the last twenty years and property prices have been flat. If supply is allowed to rise to reach demand property prices don’t go up on a never ending spiral.

On the other hand, if building were entirely unregulated, I'm not sure how long it would remain a desirable place to live.

Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#23

Post by onethought »

mattlutze wrote: post #7
supernova87a wrote: post #4

Can you imagine moving to the Bay Area in the 80s? To grow up when land was still cheap, before college competition was cutthroat and unaffordable, when relatively simple competence could get you a solid job and VC/PE firms weren't plundering and incentivizing the latest 30-second attention-span app to reach $1B? It would be me living in Los Altos now, instead of the old rich people who I curse for refusing to die or…

Given the time that's passed since then, you'd be one of the old rich person. Austin sounds like an up-and-coming Valley, as do a few other really gorgeous locations around the US. The trick is to pick one and settle in early.

I think Shenzhen is the new valley of 1980. (Though to the GP you’re probably already priced out of the housing market there too )

Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#24

Post by bryanrasmussen »

jfk13 wrote: post #22
barry-cotter wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Supply & demand economics won't deliver the result you want even if your wish for everyone over 60 to drop dead is fulfilled. Depends. If building housing were legal it would. Tokyo’s population has increased 50% over the last twenty years and property prices have been flat. If supply is allowed to rise to reach demand property prices don’t go up on a never ending spiral.

On the other hand, if building were entirely unregulated, I'm not sure how long it would remain a desirable place to live.

I sometimes feel we're not living in the fully realized cyberpunk dystopia we were promised without a bunch of ramshackle buildings piled on top of each other and stolen data flowing through it all.

Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#25

Post by bsaul »

martin_balsam wrote: post #20
CyberRabbi wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting story but Jean-louis gassee is not the same person as Jean-marie hullot

Ops...my bad. I was wondering this morning why there seams to be a tradition at Apple to hire French engineers and executives.

The whole valley has been filled with top french engineers for 40 years. This brain drain is actually one of the reason france is in such a miserable state relative to IT economy. The only ones left are the ones prefering a cosy seat at a large established company. All the entrepreneurs have been leaving, and it’s a misery (another example under the spotlight now, although in a different field, is the head of moderna).

Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#26

Post by barry-cotter »

jfk13 wrote: post #22
barry-cotter wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Supply & demand economics won't deliver the result you want even if your wish for everyone over 60 to drop dead is fulfilled. Depends. If building housing were legal it would. Tokyo’s population has increased 50% over the last twenty years and property prices have been flat. If supply is allowed to rise to reach demand property prices don’t go up on a never ending spiral.

On the other hand, if building were entirely unregulated, I'm not sure how long it would remain a desirable place to live.

Building is very much regulated in Tokyo and throughout Japan. Just pointing out that unaffordable housing is a policy choice, not a law of nature.

Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#27

Post by Taniwha »

supernova87a wrote: post #4

Can you imagine moving to the Bay Area in the 80s? To grow up when land was still cheap, before college competition was cutthroat and unaffordable, when relatively simple competence could get you a solid job and VC/PE firms weren't plundering and incentivizing the latest 30-second attention-span app to reach $1B? It would be me living in Los Altos now, instead of the old rich people who I curse for refusing to die or…

I moved to the Bay Area in '84, bought a house in ~89 - house prices had just run up to what people considered then as high levels - Real Estate then leveled out and stopped rising for half a decade - it's done that on and off for 40 years - it was never 'cheap' at the time.

Prop 13 was already in place in '84 - the only way to get rid of it is to vote it out, it's long past time

Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#28

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

I don’t know if Chris Espinosa still works for Apple, but I think he might have been around a couple of years before Gassé. He started as a teenager.

I’ve been writing Apple software since 1986. Lots of changes, since then.

I remember it as being a fairly “scruffy” little company; especially if you went to MacHack. I worked for GE, at the time, and the corporate culture differences were quite stark. GE was a “shirt and tie” operation, and I was part of a team that had maybe 400 people.

I was constantly being sneered at (literally) for sticking with a “dead” company. It was pretty annoying, and a lot of people did give up on them.

Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#29

Post by antihero »

barry-cotter wrote: post #21
WalterBright wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To grow up when land was still cheap People didn't think it was cheap at the time. The 70's had seen a boom in real estate prices, especially in California, due to the boomers moving into their home buying years. (And that was before Prop 13, which was a response to high home prices.) > the old rich people who I curse for refusing to die or reform Prop 13 and free up some affordable place to raise a new family. Sup…

> Supply & demand economics won't deliver the result you want even if your wish for everyone over 60 to drop dead is fulfilled. Depends. If building housing were legal it would. Tokyo’s population has increased 50% over the last twenty years and property prices have been flat. If supply is allowed to rise to reach demand property prices don’t go up on a never ending spiral.

The housing market seems like one that is fucked up, especially here in the UK, because the government consists of and is run for homeowners, who have come to expect a continuous growth in their investment or freak the hell out, regardless of the actual value of housing on the market. So it's an artificially inflated market because they are incentivised to keep houses continuously more expensive or their base loses out.

Re: Joining Apple 40 years ago

#30

Post by coldtea »

supernova87a wrote: post #4

Can you imagine moving to the Bay Area in the 80s? To grow up when land was still cheap, before college competition was cutthroat and unaffordable, when relatively simple competence could get you a solid job and VC/PE firms weren't plundering and incentivizing the latest 30-second attention-span app to reach $1B? It would be me living in Los Altos now, instead of the old rich people who I curse for refusing to die or…

>It would be me living in Los Altos now, instead of the old rich people who I curse for refusing to die or reform Prop 13 and free up some affordable place to raise a new family.

Yeah, you would then be the "rich [person] who others curse for refusing to die or reform Prop 13 and free up some affordable place to raise a new family"

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