BookWyrm

vin_aigre reviewed The Cuckoo’s Egg by Clifford Stoll

Clifford Stoll: The Cuckoo’s Egg (2005, Pocket)

In the days when the presence of a computer did NOT presume the presence of …

None

5 stars

Q: What happens if you mix wit, hacking, astronomy, the late 80’s, wit, unix, wit, 3-letter agencies, and smart metaphors?
A: This gem of a book.

vin_aigre rated L'homme nu. La dictature invisible du numérique: 4 stars

Marc Dugain, Christophe Labbé: L'homme nu. La dictature invisible du numérique (French language)

L'homme nu. La dictature invisible du numérique by Marc Dugain, Christophe Labbé

vin_aigre rated Great American Authors Read from Their Works, Volume 1: 5 stars

No cover — Calliope Author Readings: Great American Authors Read from Their Works, Volume 1 (2014)

Great American Authors Read from Their Works, Volume 1 by Calliope Author Readings

vin_aigre reviewed The Everything Store by Brad Stone

Brad Stone: The Everything Store (Paperback, 2014, Corgi, imusti)

None

3 stars

Amazon reached the ubiquitous corporate status it has today not by squeezing its way in the market but rather by forging it. Innovation and customer-centricity are core principles held dearly by Jeff Bezos and translated directly in Amazon’s business fabric. But, so are other less appealing values such as frugality, impossibly high standards and ruthlessness with the willingness to use threats to subjugate adversity. The last one was patently used with publishers to push the e-book business in a time when Apple was dominating the music part of digital media. Pressuring tactics were also used before acquiring some start-ups like Zappos in 2009 and Quidsi in 2010. Another sad aspect of the corporation are the working conditions of some fulfillment centers (Amazon warehouses) and that made the news a handful of times. It is no surprise that the turnover rate is very high.

All and all, this book raises …

Amazon reached the ubiquitous corporate status it has today not by squeezing its way in the market but rather by forging it. Innovation and customer-centricity are core principles held dearly by Jeff Bezos and translated directly in Amazon’s business fabric. But, so are other less appealing values such as frugality, impossibly high standards and ruthlessness with the willingness to use threats to subjugate adversity. The last one was patently used with publishers to push the e-book business in a time when Apple was dominating the music part of digital media. Pressuring tactics were also used before acquiring some start-ups like Zappos in 2009 and Quidsi in 2010. Another sad aspect of the corporation are the working conditions of some fulfillment centers (Amazon warehouses) and that made the news a handful of times. It is no surprise that the turnover rate is very high.

All and all, this book raises a red flag if you are thinking of working at Amazon.

However, don’t hate the player, hate the game.

With that said, I admire Jeff… From afar.