Beware of geeks bearing gifts • Hacker News Board

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#61

Post by jff » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 7:48 PM UTC

pjmlp wrote: post #11

kintamanimatt wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do that so students grow up knowing one operating system: Windows. Such students grow up, graduate, and then feel more comfortable using it in the workplace (and at home); it ends up being a net positive for Microsoft. If schools didn't receive free Windows licenses, such schools might end up using Ubuntu! Imagine how that would affect Microsoft's future profits and product adoption if the next generation of wor…

No different than the program Apple had for American schools, if I am not mistaken.

Come now, we don't talk about the Apple machines in almost every American elementary school from kindergarten on. Surely these children won't be trained into using Apple systems; the real imprinting will occur 10 years later when they take high school keyboarding classes.

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#62

Post by j_baker » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 8:22 PM UTC

Remember that both Google and Facebook are publicly‐traded transnational corporations that are legally mandated to act in the best interests of their shareholders.

This is a huge misconception. The idea that corporations should maximize shareholder value above all else is very modern and likely came from Jack Welch. The truth is that there is no enforceable legal mandate for corporations or their officers to maximize profits.

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov/2012/06/26/the-sharehol...

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#63

Post by mindcrime » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 8:34 PM UTC

pearkes wrote: post #33

drcongo wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funnily enough, Coke are already draining the wells of villages that do have them. http://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/mar/19/business.india1

Yea, let me clear – I'm not saying a huge multi-national corporation is squeaky clean because of one positive thing they've done. The point I was trying to make is that the motivation of said company may not be to "save the world", but the results (and the impressive efficiency of attaining them) may do a lot of good, even if indirectly.

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. ~~ Adam Smith

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#64

Post by mindcrime » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 8:37 PM UTC

j_baker wrote: post #62

Remember that both Google and Facebook are publicly‐traded transnational corporations that are legally mandated to act in the best interests of their shareholders. This is a huge misconception. The idea that corporations should maximize shareholder value above all else is very modern and likely came from Jack Welch. The truth is that there is no enforceable legal mandate for corporations or their officers to maximize…

That was an excellent article, thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to getting a copy of the author's book - it sounds fascinating.

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#65

Post by lmartel » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 8:44 PM UTC

TL;DR: trading Africa's third world problems for first world problems is a bad thing because targeted advertising.

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#66

Post by pkteison » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 8:56 PM UTC

j_baker wrote: post #62

Remember that both Google and Facebook are publicly‐traded transnational corporations that are legally mandated to act in the best interests of their shareholders. This is a huge misconception. The idea that corporations should maximize shareholder value above all else is very modern and likely came from Jack Welch. The truth is that there is no enforceable legal mandate for corporations or their officers to maximize…

That blog is an extremely shallow ad for a book. Is there some new development that invalidates Dodge v Ford Motor?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Company

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#67

Post by notahacker » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 9:05 PM UTC

TheMagicHorsey wrote: post #59

I really hope nobody takes this guys post seriously. For the one situation that I am personally familiar with, Western companies taking an interest in Indian villages has been a great boon to the locals. There are many idealists in the West that don't understand what the impact is of even simple things that they take for granted. If a man provides fresh drinking water to a remote Indian village, and if the water come…

People who assume that the developing world is some kind of ad-free utopia are also in for a rude shock if they actually visit it for long enough to realize the only painted buildings in many villages are decorated with the branding of a mobile phone service provider, the fridges are all supplied by beverage companies and even the crummiest of market stalls are decorated with sponsored bunting. I don't think they'll be too upset if Bollywood banners follow them round the web and some analyst working with anonymised data sees an surge in searches for Hinduism.

Frankly, if anyone loses from adequate speed internet in remote locations in the underdeveloped world, it's Western corporations that aren't very good at targeting their ad spend...

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#68

Post by j_baker » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 9:27 PM UTC

pkteison wrote: post #66

j_baker wrote: post #62

Remember that both Google and Facebook are publicly‐traded transnational corporations that are legally mandated to act in the best interests of their shareholders. This is a huge misconception. The idea that corporations should maximize shareholder value above all else is very modern and likely came from Jack Welch. The truth is that there is no enforceable legal mandate for corporations or their officers to maximize…

That blog is an extremely shallow ad for a book. Is there some new development that invalidates Dodge v Ford Motor? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Company

From the linked wikipedia article:

Dodge is often misread or mistaught as setting a legal rule of shareholder wealth maximization. This was not and is not the law. Shareholder wealth maximization is a standard of conduct for officers and directors, not a legal mandate. The business judgment rule [which was also upheld in this decision] protects many decisions that deviate from this standard. This is one reading of Dodge. If this is all the case is about, however, it isn’t that interesting.

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#69

Post by pigscantfly » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 9:50 PM UTC

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #48

Timeo danaos et dona ferentes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeo_Danaos_et_dona_ferentes

Part of my favorite passage from the Aeneid :); the literal translation is a little different from the English phrase that's become popular, but I've always thought it amazing that people from that time period had the same insights we get from very modern situations. (see: quis custodiet ipsos custodes, Catullan love poetry, etc - it's a shame more Roman literature doesn't survive).

Re: Beware of geeks bearing gifts

#70

Post by r00fus » Wed, Aug 21, 2013, 10:34 PM UTC

plg wrote: post #31

We shouldn't be relying on for-profit companies to provide a service as basic (in today's modern world) and powerful (education, health, etc) as internet access... because they have nefarious motives in mind. Instead we should be relying on our governments, who have our interests in mind and whose primary job is to protect our rights. ... .. um... oops never mind

So clearly the Internet (nee ARPANET) should live free of government interference.

Sounds about as logical as "get the government out of my medicare".