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The Cloud Computer

oxide.computer

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Re: The Cloud Computer

#531

Post by ahl »

yencabulator wrote: post #505
steveklabnik wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to be clear, Illumos (it hasn't been Solaris in a very long time) is an implementation detail. It's not customer facing.

It'll become customer facing the moment something doesn't work right.

It won't. In the same way that AWS customers aren't debugging hypervisor, or Dell customers aren't debugging the BIOS, or Samsung SSD customers aren't debugging the firmware. Products choose where to draw the line between customer-serviceable parts and those that require a support call. In this case, expect Oxide to fix it when something doesn't work right.

Re: The Cloud Computer

#532

Post by [deleted] »

repelsteeltje wrote: post #123
quickthrower2 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have they basically done for the data centre what iMac did for computers in about year 1999 (or whenever!)

> what iMac did for computers in about year 1999 Ehrm. What is that exactly? Are you alluding to cute design, different user interface? Or ditching then common PC component modularity? "Thinking differently"? One difference is that Oxide development was done in the open and they don't seem hell bent on creating a closed ecosystem. (Yet, at least)

[deleted]

Re: The Cloud Computer

#533

Post by newsclues »

jpdb wrote: post #22

I really wish oxide had a Homelab/consumer centric offering! Spec wise, some low power systems like an Intel NUC, LattePanda Sigma, or Zimaboard. You could fit 3/4 of them in a single 1u with a shared power supply. They could even offer a full 1u with desktop grade chips on the same sleds. I have thought about building one myself, but it's a large investment of time that I can't seem to find lately.

Not 1U but perhaps a box design that isn’t noisy like a pizza box server.

Don’t know if oxide would want or be able to compete in the low cost market but a bigger a more expensive desktop/workstation as a mini homelab cloud could be a great option to get people trained on the oxide platform.

Re: The Cloud Computer

#534

Post by Aurornis »

wild_egg wrote: post #128
dewey wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This really is one of these things where every employee in a cheap cost of living area will say "Exactly, man!" and people in an expensive area will see it differently because it might cap them lower than what they could get. I always find that a very naive point of view, of course I would want to earn a US tech salary while living somewhere in the country side, who wouldn't. But I'm also aware that this is not how t…

> of course I would want to earn a US tech salary while living somewhere in the country side It's not about what you want, it's about knowing your value. If your work is worth a SF salary then that's what you should be getting. Moving from Idaho to SF doesn't magically make you more productive. The company knows it's still getting more value from you than what you're being paid. They just want to keep more of that va…

> Moving from Idaho to SF doesn't magically make you more productive.

If your entire world consists of staying home and interacting remotely with a company, then you are correct: Location doesn't change anything.

However, moving to a high-energy city with a high density of experienced engineers and tech companies can increase your rate of learning, career advancement, and experience much more rapidly than living in a smaller city. You have to actually branch out and interact with local companies and people, but it does happen.

But this is all beside the point. Hiring is a labor market. Developers who live in SF have more high-paid job options to choose from than someone living in Idaho. As a result, you need to bid more to get them into your company. Hence, the higher salary.

The discussion about cost of living misses this point. The real reason developers from places like SF get paid more is because if you don't pay them wages that are competitive with their local companies, they're just going to walk away and take any number of higher paying jobs they have access to.

Re: The Cloud Computer

#535

Post by spamizbad »

aeyes wrote: post #431
qaq wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They literally had CTOs of F100 companies that want to buy this gear as part of VCs pitch. Because as you can imagine your question was the first question VC's asked.

Maybe something like Dell VXBlock didn't exist when they pitched their idea? Any hardware contracts are very long term and you'll have a hard time getting me to switch to a different vendor, especially when they also want to come in with an unknown operating system which I have to run.

When my company looked into it VXBlock looked less like fully integrated hardware and software and more like a smattering of pre-selected components wired into a box ready to go with VMWare with a support contract. If you're already in deep with VMWare they're probably great. But the software side made my head spin. It looks like Oxide is a better fit for orgs that are more IaC.

Re: The Cloud Computer

#536

Post by icedchai »

cashsterling wrote: post #473
Upvoter33 wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see it as a big deal - rather, I see it as a huge amount of venture cap spent on some very bright people to build something no one really wants, or, at best, is niche. Also, it has little to do with the cloud; it is yet another hyperconverged infra. Weirdly, it is attached to something very few people want: Solaris. This relates to the people behind it who still can't figure out why Linux won and Solaris didn…

Back in the day... Sun Micro was a GOAT and pushed the envelope on Unix computing 20-30 years ago. Solaris was stable and high performing. I don't run on-prem clusters or clouds but know a couple people who do and, at large enough scale, it is a constant "fuck-shit-stack on top of itself" (to quote Reggie Watts). There is almost always something wrong and some people upset about it. The promise of a fully integrated…

I used to love Sun and Solaris. Then the dot-com bubble burst, and Linux ate its lunch. I haven't seen a new Solaris system deployed in over 20 years.

Re: The Cloud Computer

#537

Post by bcantrill »

addisonj wrote: post #455

I have been following oxide for a bit, and really don't have to add to the tech conversation, but do want to say: Congrats to the team on reaching this big milestone and (in my eyes at least) just as much congratulations on doing it in a way that has been unique and sticking to values that seems to drive a strong positive culture (at least from the outside looking in). Shipping products is hard , and only getting har…

Thank you very much for the kind words! It has been important for us to do things the right way and to be a model for others -- so it's really meaningful for us to hear that that's appreciated; thank you!

Re: The Cloud Computer

#539

Post by Aurornis »

steveklabnik wrote: post #524
systemvoltage wrote: post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if they offer equity. Hierarchies always form, they tried this with Gore Associates in Arizona (totally flat company structure) and has major problems.

We are compensated with equity, yes.

Do all employees get the same equity?

I've worked at two companies where everyone got the same base salary, but the variation came in equity.

Re: The Cloud Computer

#540

Post by tomnipotent »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #231
growse wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those of us who've bought large "turn-key" solutions from Dell etc. have often discovered that it's actually just a cobbled-together bunch of things which may or may not work well together on a good day, depending on what you're trying to do. Just because it's all got the word "Dell" written on it, doesn't mean that the components were all engineered by people who were working together to build a single working syste…

Total agreement. Another point: Having the "Dell" name on the front doesn't give you a "throat to choke" as so many people seem to think is important. Unless you're very large scale then, at best, you can threaten them that they don't get your next business. You're certainly not going to get help. You're no worse-off with Oxide from that perspective. Their open source firmware means that thr opportunity to pay somebo…

> that they don't get your next business.

Even small shops can use bad experience as leverage for credits and discounts, especially if the vendor has account managers. This is one of the (few) benefits of having a human involved in invoicing vs. self-serve.

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