A turning point for GNU libc

Posted Mar 28, 2012 19:54 UTC (Wed) by marcH (subscriber, #57642)
Parent article: A turning point for GNU libc

So, Goldman Sachs can sometimes do good?

A turning point for GNU libc

Posted Mar 30, 2012 0:26 UTC (Fri) by man_ls (guest, #15091) [Link] (7 responses)

Apparently. One can only wonder what a high-profile hacker can do as VP in such an organization (apart from getting filthy rich). But, if Alan Cox got his MBA, I suppose anything can happen. Torvalds for Governor?

A turning point for GNU libc

Posted Mar 30, 2012 2:36 UTC (Fri) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]

I can see Linus' "I'm always right" statements fitting right in with politics these days. Though he tends to have actual results/arguments to substantiate his claims, so maybe it's not so similar…

trading

Posted Mar 30, 2012 6:40 UTC (Fri) by marcH (subscriber, #57642) [Link] (3 responses)

> One can only wonder what a high-profile hacker can do as VP in such an organization

Short-term trading is not performed by humans nowadays; it's done by algorithms implemented by mathematicians and *software engineers*.

That's why it's called the "virtual/unreal economy": it's performed on a time scale far away from any human time scale and no one has any clue about what they're actually trading.

trading

Posted Mar 30, 2012 7:09 UTC (Fri) by man_ls (guest, #15091) [Link] (2 responses)

I suppose that Drepper might fit in as a senior master super duper engineer or something, but being a VP entails a lot of political responsibilities, at least in the organizations I have seen. I cannot imagine someone with a long history of conflicts (on the negative side) and who is able to write documents in such an excruciating detail (on the positive) being a good politician.

Perhaps Goldman Sachs maintains a large internal library for short-term trading and they don't want it to grow any larger...

trading

Posted Mar 30, 2012 11:28 UTC (Fri) by jwakely (subscriber, #60262) [Link] (1 responses)

being a VP entails a lot of political responsibilities, at least in the organizations I have seen

In US investment banks everyone's a VP. Goldman Sachs have nearly 12000 of them, out of 33000 staff. [source]

trading

Posted Mar 30, 2012 12:33 UTC (Fri) by man_ls (guest, #15091) [Link]

Weird! And even weirder that I haven't read anything about this in my favorite source of corporate knowledge.

A turning point for GNU libc

Posted Mar 30, 2012 19:00 UTC (Fri) by BenHutchings (subscriber, #37955) [Link] (1 responses)

I wondered that when I first heard about his new job. However, in the wake of recent news reports about the resignation letter of a 'VP' it turned out that this is an extreme case of title inflation: about 40% of GS employees have that title! It appears that what normal companies call a VP is an 'Executive VP'.

A turning point for Drepper

Posted Mar 30, 2012 20:00 UTC (Fri) by man_ls (guest, #15091) [Link]

I understand that customers prefer to be contacted by a VP than by an underling, and thus the inflation. But 40% of VPs is a bit too much... Nowadays unless GC employees present themselves as "Ultimate Grand Chamberlain and Patron Saint", I guess customers spit at them.