jc (aka Mu'adib),
<<That's just it. You, and everyone else, has to make it your purpose to persuade, or your actions will go against all those who are trying to persuade this market in the direction that you yourself wish it to go>>
Well, I guess I have a couple of reactions to your posts. First, your point is well taken, in the karmic sense that one gets what one gives, so if I'm snide with the Dell folks, they're likely to be snarly back, and that isn't helpful to AMD's cause. (Well, maybe they'll just take it out on me personally by shipping me a bad motherboard rather than AMD as a whole - after all, I'm not the company rep that Jerry is <g>). But seriously, it's a point well taken, that we're all accountable for our actions and their consequences. (I just wish Dell would be more accountable for their actions ;0 )
On the other hand, this isn't exactly a Jihad, and people are allowed to lose it once in a while, which I admittedly did. I don't think my actions have much of an effect on Dell (notwithstanding the idea implied in your post that small actions amplified by thousands can create big effects), and I think my response comes partly as a reaction to the cynical, manipulative nature of Dell's actions, and on a deeper level from my disappointment in the loss of the belief that the stock market is a meritocracy: i.e., when I began investing in AMD, I believed that superior technology could not be defeated by public realtions/marketing smoke 'n mirrors and FUD. Well, looking back I see how naive that stance is, as those tactics as used by Intel and their partners, analysts, and others has demonstrated fairly successfully how such a clear technological advantage can be obscured from the public long enough to put that advantage in doubt, if not obscure it almost altogether. When I see Dell use the same kind of cynical tactics, part of my reaction is to be personally pissed that here it comes again. And that was obviously expressed in my e-mail to them. My point wasn't to persuade, as I said, but to react to and hold them accountable for the nature of their actions, altho that, too, is probably a fairly futile idea. If I were an official AMD spokesman, I'd think a lot more carefully about my words, as I do in my professional life when I'm representing others than myself. And I understand your point that I *do* represent AMD, to a small extent - I just don't think that Dell cares much one way or another what you or I think. It's nice to think that one can change the system with individual actions, and in some ways and cases one can and does influence events and people, but the deck is often stacked against that where vested interests are concerned. It's kind of like the 'myth' of Democracy - the idea is that this is a one person, one vote culture is very popular, but the truth is that money makes influence disproportional - it's easily seen in the courts, in the political system, in the corporate world. Notwithstanding, I like your idealism - Freud said something to the effect that, believing in illusions is the necessary precursor to making those illusions a reality.
<<Take some ideas from the Aes Sedai or the Bene Gesserit. Sure, it all boils down to the fact that they're all just a bunch of women with magical powers, but you can learn a lot from people like that.>>
Less seriously, I was disturbed at first to see Frank Herbert taken as a heavyweight philosopher. Then, I considered that he *is* a heavyweight when compared to Capts. Kirk, Picard (Make It So, Yousef), or C3PO as spiritual guides to life. Perhaps the future does lie in AMD finally overcoming Intel by moving from an SOI process to an SOS (Silicon on Spice) one. <g>
Regards,
Ol' Blue Eyes |
