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Trouble with my PC freak employer (quit my job?)
- Thread starter h4ckintosh
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I agree with previous posters that there is a significant chance h4ckintosh will get ripped off in this "work for a year but get paid only with a computer" arrangement. I personally wouldn't go there.
Look at it this way: $2900 is only three months even at minimum wage (full time). It would be safer to work for the money and buy your own G5.
Certainly, if my only payment for a job were to be a computer, it would need to be the computer I wanted to get, not the cheaper one the employer wanted to buy me.
Good luck, h4ckintosh.
Crikey
Look at it this way: $2900 is only three months even at minimum wage (full time). It would be safer to work for the money and buy your own G5.
Certainly, if my only payment for a job were to be a computer, it would need to be the computer I wanted to get, not the cheaper one the employer wanted to buy me.
Good luck, h4ckintosh.
Crikey
h4ckintosh said:I am doing a Web Design job for a small local company, and am on-site for about the next year. I do alot of Photoshop and PHP/MySQL stuff, and am requesting a 2.0GHz G5 with 1GB RAM. The problem is, they say that a Mac is uneconomical, and say that I should use a Dell instead! My project begins in a month, so I was wondering: What could I do to persuade them into making the purchase?
I would also say to your employer that the Mac holds its value for longer. After a year, that Dell won't get you much on the second hand market, whereas the Mac will be worth more. In that respect, if they pay you with a Dell, then by the end of the job, the Dell has depreciated more in value.
Also, what system is the web site going to run on when it's up and running? If it's going to be hosted by a UNIX server, then you could promote the UNIX underpinnings of Mac OS X. It is also much much simpler (for me anyway) to configure Mac OS X to use mySQL/PHP/Apache/Postfix than it is to do the same on Windows.
If they go the Mac route, you've also got the software savings of no AntiVirus utilities, not to mention the time saved by not having to worry about it and do things about it.
Then there's the other point someone made about software. Do you own Photoshop for Mac and Windows? Does your boss? What about other software? Purchasing new software is expensive.
Finally, point to his car. I'm sure it's not the most economical variety (knowing Americans). He didn't base his choice of car on economy (or worse, cheapness).
Apart from making the points above, I don't understand the arrangement here. It seems a bit dodgy to me. Real people get paid in real money. Accounting states that the value of computers depreciates by 1/3 per year (except in rare cases). Your employer will have to have that machine on the books for 3 years. Sounds like a scam to me on his part. He buys a new computer and doesn't pay for an employee? What about contributions and taxes?
It would seem to me that the best way to work is for you to go to him, get a brief for the website, and charge him per project, not per hour. That's much more efficient for both parties. Then again, this would mean that you'll have to be registered for taxes, etc.
But $50/hour works out at $2,000/week. They'll save money on you in the second week...? And they're complaining about $800 difference?
Enough rambling for me. Time to go mountain biking...
Well since he's not giving us details about his work and why he's doing it for free, I'm assuming it's because there are more details that would make his argument seem weaker.
Anyway, many of you are saying things like, "Well, a similarly specced Dell would cost almost as much, maybe more!" While that may (or may not ) be true, the fact remains that he doesn't "need" a computer of the spec of a Dual 2.0GHz G5 to do his work, or any similarly specced PC. You're telling him to convince his boss that a similarly specced PC would cost more, but he'll just ask you why you need such specs to do the job to begin with?
Ask for something reasonable if they don't have a reasonable computer to use. I'd laugh in your face if you asked me for a $2100+ computer because its the best machine for what you do when a 2.2 GHz P4 is sitting in a corner. If they don't have a reasonable computer to work with, they should buy you a cheaper P4 with 1GB of RAM and a decent size HDD.
Anyway, many of you are saying things like, "Well, a similarly specced Dell would cost almost as much, maybe more!" While that may (or may not
) be true, the fact remains that he doesn't "need" a computer of the spec of a Dual 2.0GHz G5 to do his work, or any similarly specced PC. You're telling him to convince his boss that a similarly specced PC would cost more, but he'll just ask you why you need such specs to do the job to begin with? Ask for something reasonable if they don't have a reasonable computer to use. I'd laugh in your face if you asked me for a $2100+ computer because its the best machine for what you do when a 2.2 GHz P4 is sitting in a corner. If they don't have a reasonable computer to work with, they should buy you a cheaper P4 with 1GB of RAM and a decent size HDD.
i hope you're joking...simple code and power draw have nothing to do with one another. it's the efficiency of the chip and motherboard.mac_head101 said:
anyways, whoever said a G5 only uses 25 watts of power is way off. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it's much closer to 100, I think it was like 75-80, which is pretty damn good for what it is.
Abstract said:Well since he's not giving us details about his work and why he's doing it for free, I'm assuming it's because there are more details that would make his argument seem weaker.
Anyway, many of you are saying things like, "Well, a similarly specced Dell would cost almost as much, maybe more!" While that may (or may not
Ask for something reasonable if they don't have a reasonable computer to use. I'd laugh in your face if you asked me for a $2100+ computer because its the best machine for what you do when a 2.2 GHz P4 is sitting in a corner. If they don't have a reasonable computer to work with, they should buy you a cheaper P4 with 1GB of RAM and a decent size HDD.
if the computer is his payment, he should get what he wants. for a year's worth of maintanenance, that's pretty inexpensive when you think about it.
The Job Situation - compromise
Well, I'm assuming that this isn't the job that is paying for your rent or for your food, which leaves you in the power position. It's not worth your time and effort to maintain a web site for a year without the compensation you're seeking. Would they rather go through the process of finding someone else they can trust who will work for so little?
Assuming that the main goal here is to offer a little time and talent to buy a computer that you otherwise couldn't afford, it wouldn't be worth doing it for a computer you don't want.
So, if they budgetted the 1800 for this project that the Dell would have cost them, why not just agree that they'll contribute 1800 toward the DPG5 and you'll pay the rest. You end up with a really great deal on a DPG5, and they paid what they had expected to pay. Everyone's happy.
Just a thought.
Well, I'm assuming that this isn't the job that is paying for your rent or for your food, which leaves you in the power position. It's not worth your time and effort to maintain a web site for a year without the compensation you're seeking. Would they rather go through the process of finding someone else they can trust who will work for so little?
Assuming that the main goal here is to offer a little time and talent to buy a computer that you otherwise couldn't afford, it wouldn't be worth doing it for a computer you don't want.
So, if they budgetted the 1800 for this project that the Dell would have cost them, why not just agree that they'll contribute 1800 toward the DPG5 and you'll pay the rest. You end up with a really great deal on a DPG5, and they paid what they had expected to pay. Everyone's happy.
Just a thought.
Makosuke said:
Virtual PC for PC already exists. It always you to run multiple versions of windows at the same time, or just have multiple systems loaded up. It is also cheaper than VPC for Mac. That doesn't rule out the fact that macs can also test the compatibility of Mac browsers, but since when have you known anyone to care about that?