270 karma · joined February 3, 2010
Google author name and see if you can figure out his place of work.
He joined us in August... We launched in November... He started shopping for another job in January... He quit in February...
He is my girlfriend's childhood friend's younger brother. After doing a year of postgrad at Columbia, he spent April to August looking for job, which did not pan out. I was putting together all of the tech for this firm, I knew they had an entry level position.
There was no interview process, no whiteboards, no nothing, I said "Hire this guy, he's hard working and smart, and look at those prestigious degrees!" They met him and then offered to hire him next day. So, this guy went from no call backs in a five month job search to being offered a job after a single interview.
Of course he felt that we were under utilizing his skills (he felt like a glorified secretary), but PR is a networking business, clients want to talk to the guy they've worked with for 20 years, not some dude who started a month ago.
I don't mean to drag all this out into the public, but, this op-ed is the definition of adding insult to injury. I like to make connections, if I know about an opportunity, I really enjoy putting people together. It's something I've always done and now I'm going to question myself every time because this blew up so badly.
I personally know the author, Jon Levine, in fact, I'm the guy that got him the "dead-end job" with my family's firm. He's a member of the "I have an Ivy League degree, I deserve a job" a set. Never mind his degree was in history and political science, he felt entitled to a prestigious, high paying job in the worse economy in 70 years.
After a 5 month job search without a callback, I stepped in, did a favor and got him an entry level position at a very small PR firm. This was not a "dead-end job", he was the first hire at a newly formed company, there was definitely an opportunity for him to grow his career in a highly lucrative field. But, being that he went to NYU and Columbia (notice the name dropping in the article), growth didn't come fast enough for him.
We accommodated him (time off, flexible hours) while he spent two months trying to find another job. When nothing stateside panned out, he gave us three days notice before leaving for China. It's been a very surreal day for me, I'm incredibly disappointed that he chose to criticize a job which he only gained through my action.
I don't know whether any of you should go to China, but hopefully I've given you a little perspective on why he did.
TL;DR: I know author, he couldn't hack it stateside, took China job as last restort, not as some enlightened life decision.
Doesn't matter. No one uses Linux.
> Ability to easily copy files on and off the phone.
Doesn't matter. Everyone uses email for a file store.
> Ability to sync podcasts directly on the phone, without having to connect to a computer with iTunes (not used an iPhone for a while, they might have finally fixed this).
They fixed this, also, doesn't matter, no one listens to podcasts.
> Ability to run software Apple doesn't like (emulators).
Doesn't matter.
If you want to make an argument that Android is a better purchase option for mass market consumers, you'll need an argument that actually represents the mass market. I can't think of any argument, as Apple alternatives are always better: better media library, better app library, better product lifetime support (both in terms of software updates, product maintenance), better hardware, better (consistent) software, better branding. These are the things that matter to people.