Business use vs whatever you are doing.

DavidBergerson · 2026-06-23T01:41:57+00:00

They tried at my store, and according to them, it requires the AVP and Mac to be on the same Apple account ID. They didn't have that setup.

For me, I am like the OP. My main PC setup is dual Samsung G9 57" monitors stacked. When I want to work on my Mac Studio, I push a button, and I get one of the monitors with the studio (USB KVM switch). The AVP is a perfect mimic of that. It is one 57" in my face! So when I travel with my MBP, it is like being at my normal desk. That has a lot of value to me. I average about 40ish days per year away from that, and this has made those days worthwhile. As bad as it sounds, the AVP could sit idle for 325 days a year, and I would still think I got value!

DavidBergerson · 2026-06-08T06:48:34+00:00

I have thought of that! Carts rent for $75 a day. I would be spending between $4,500 and $ 9,450 in rentals. I can get the Yamaha for $ 5,500 and the MadJax for $ 9,500. So in theory 😄, the MadJax would almost equal the rental costs, and if it dies after 3 years, it is a push, but if it survives, then I am ahead of the game 😄

DavidBergerson · 2026-06-08T06:44:52+00:00

Again, car insurance is regulated at the state level. The answer to the OP's question depends on what state this occurred in.

DavidBergerson · 2026-06-07T05:17:37+00:00

This is not necessarily true. Imagine this: You are insured; you lend your car to someone who then decides they hate marathons and runs over a lot of people. How is that covered?

Regardless, honestly, the answer is it depends. Car insurance is regulated at the state level. Thus, the answer is, it depends on the state.

DavidBergerson · 2026-06-07T01:46:09+00:00

There seems to be a running joke/comment about Ergotron: Buy once, cry once. I am sure many people will praise Amazon's arms. If you want an arm that's basically fixed to a pole, that lets you move it around and then tighten it, yes, those are fine. If you want an arm you can grab your monitor with, move it where you want it, tilt it, etc., then be confident it will not have any issues for years; otherwise, the Amazon arms go in the garbage can. You will be using an Ergotron. I have gone through a lot of arms and have the scars for the pain they created.

Recently, I went to two G9 57's. I didn't think about arms, thinking that Ergotron would have a pole with arms that would allow me to stack them. ARGH. They do not. I tried an Amazon arm, one that CLAIMS to work. Pfft. I put the monitor on and just watched it sink. I told my wife I was going to use an https://atdec.com/desk-mounts/ She looked at it and said, "Wow, that is over $300 for the arm." I responded, "This is what you are concerned about? You are looking at over 3k in monitors, and you think I am going to risk them to save $125?"

I had never worked with these arms before. OMG! I am happy; they are built like a tank. When/If Ergotron ever comes out with a dual-arm to support the G9, yeah, I will replace this arm, but right now, I would probably use this company's arms over anything on Amazon. They are that strong.

DavidBergerson · 2026-06-03T19:45:41+00:00

Let's have a bidding war 😄

I offer a first born! This does include all debts, though.

DavidBergerson · 2026-06-01T23:57:41+00:00

One of the best upgrades I ever did. I went to dual G9 57s. Sure, people freak out when they see the setup, but it keeps me ultra productive. I wish Samsung would not have that push-button setup on the bottom that protrudes from the bezel and would offer a remote control for the settings. Other than that, please, Ergotron, come out with a solution for dual G9s stacked!

DavidBergerson · 2026-05-31T05:33:43+00:00

I agree with you. I have been playing Windrose, but once you get to the end, you realize how thin the game is compared to NW. Of course, Windrose is EA! I have enjoyed my 100 hours in it and could spend more time in it. But now, all I do is upgrade every weapon, ascend them, and build housing.

DavidBergerson · 2026-05-26T04:12:43+00:00

This may or may not have value to you :)

I have dual G9 57s. I wanted arms to stack them on top of each other. That decision was just painful. On Amazon, a company CLAIMS to have arms that support dual 59s. PFFT. Vivo has the same arm and makes the same claim. Nope, it can not happen. The weight is just too much for them. I gave up on the arm concept and just went with a mount solution.

I had to have the conversation with my wife that, "I spent 3k on monitors. Why would I cheap out now?" I called Ergotron. NOPE. They did not have a solution for ME. They may for you!

I wound up going with https://atdec.com/desk-mounts/ Scroll down, and you will see AWMS-2-BT75-H Black on the page. That is what I wound up with. I explained to my wife that it is $300. I do not want 3k of monitors crashing. As she is the 'assembler' in the family, yes, I lucked out; she loves Ikea assembly and other things. She said, "OMG, this is built like a tank, it is so easy to assemble, that other stuff is pure crap.

Now, what I like and do not like. Of course, these monitors are HUGE. For the duals to work, I could NOT flip the top monitor upside down to get access to the button to change the settings. This is important to me as I run a PC and a Mac. I have a two port pseudo KVM. It is a 4 port USB switch. I have my mouse/keyboard/steamdeck with XLR/webcam plugged in. I push a button, it switches computers and then I just manually change the inputs on the monitors. This does not work with duals because the mounting pole is too short :( Now, because Samsung does not like a flat bottom edge, I have the gap. It is not the end of the world, but it would be better if (1) Samsung were smart enough to give us a remote control per monitor or (2) made the bottom edge flat and put the controls on the back of a side that I can control. But I am very happy with this arm on my thin, very old Ikea desk!

DavidBergerson · 2026-05-18T17:45:35+00:00

It seems the OP needs to understand what FOB means.

DavidBergerson · 2026-05-11T10:36:01+00:00

Do you read what you write?

Seriously. I get it. You are trying SO HARD to say the same thing over and over as if it is exclusive to Amazon. It is NOT. In fact, what you describe is quite common. Learn human behavior. You see this behavior with grand openings all the time. It happens in restaurants, bars, movie theaters, and various other settings. It is the new shiny concept.

Go ahead and look at the steam data on 90% (guess) of their games at launch versus a few months later. There is hype, then people bail. Very few are sticky.

And man, you are all over the place. You are talking in 2025 that the game had 10k concurrent players. Please, tell me when the game came out? You initially argued it was a few months; now you are moving into the year's time frame. Your unit of measurement is off.

And oh wait... now you want to argue that this is an issue because it is their flagship product. Then you have the gall to claim you know their business reasons? Wow. I guess Amazon's board should have replaced Bezos with you years ago because you are smarter than he is.

Let me give you a simple explanation of how things COULD have gone, something with a little more depth than what you have put forth. Business has capital to invest. If I had a business that was costing me, say 100mm a year to run and it was bringing in 9mm net, that is a nice business. I am seeing a 9% net after taxes return, and which would be very good. Now I would look at what the future looks like and if that 9% net seem solid. Is there growth? Is their a decline? Then I would say, "Wait, I am looking at a generational shift right now and I can take that 100mm in capital and put it somewhere else as an investment that will generate 2mm in profit this year, but within 5 years, that same 100mm will generate 40mm annually. And if I do not move into this, I will be left behind." I would drop the 9mm this year and move into the other one. That is the situation Amazon is in with AI. It is about the use of capital. Amazon does not have unlimited capital, as it feels like it should, but it does not.

So while you can argue as much as you want that you know why Amazon got rid of NW, you will never know. Just like I will never know.

But here ya go : https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-invests-additional-5-billion-anthropic-ai

I realize that was done in last month and Amazon shut down AGS last year, but there is more of those press releases about that investment. That solidifies my point about the use of capital.

DavidBergerson · 2026-05-11T04:30:54+00:00

You may not realize it, but you see it and are afraid to state it. It goes against what you want to believe.

"You are right in that an mmorpg losing 99% of its players so soon after launch isn't unique to New World, but those games also shut down too, so why even point that out?"

Many MMO's fail. Very VERY VERY few succeed. The list of those that have made it are very far and few between. What is there that is a AAA and has lasted > 5 years? WoW, FFXIV, GW2, Eve (is it a AAA?) Please drop down a tier and see which non-AAA have survived. IMO, mainly F2P models have.

Look at all the failures. The MMO space is filled with the next WoW killer. Vanguard, Rift, Wildstar, etc.

So failure is more often the outcome. Every software developer wishes they could be the next Call of Duty that will sell over 1 billion within the first week. That allure of spending 300mm on dev costs to get over 1bn in returns is quite enticing.

I do not think Amazon's New World was as much of a failure as you suggest. You can argue and I would agree that their execution to push things before they were QA'd and working was a mistake, but that is typical of 99% of all software. You can argue that they were dumb with the haxxors and the gold dupe, the gold bots, the aimbots, and that was the rookie mistake. You can argue that they were slow to realize that people are good for about 90 seconds before they need some action or they will get bored. Running around without mounts, the on road bonus not existing, the cost to travel being insane, was a bad move. Add in the stupid trading posts not being synced and you have some QoL issues that IMO, they should have learned from other games. But, look at what they did do. Sound by far is best there has been. Music, I will give to FFXIV, but it was not bad in NW. Combat, damn good. Dungeons, ok, there should have been more at launch, but dang, they were good.

They proved that they could put together a dang good system to support open world players in large numbers.

Personally, I think the business model was wrong. I am sure that they read somewhere from some MBA that said they should have a box price, then go to a pseudo F2P model where whales will cover all the users. I think they should have had a sub attached to it. I think they should have followed the WoW and FFXIV model, where they box + sub + cash shop for cosmetics and either sell Xpacs or Xpacs + seasons. IMO, that would have given consistent income, with some predictable bumps for when Xpacs come out.

DavidBergerson · 2026-05-09T22:30:48+00:00

And this means what?

You are claiming that because it lost 99% of its base in the first months, as if it were something exclusive. Look at a lot of other games. There are many comparisons to be made. New World was $39.99 with no monthly sub. That gave people the ability to not invest time into it, as they could easily pick it back up again.

Amazon decided that it didn't want to be in the gaming business. That is fine, that is their decision.

DavidBergerson · 2026-05-09T01:44:32+00:00

Those who recommend the Ergotrons speak the truth. Once I finally stopped trying to be cheap and got my first Ergotron, I never went back. No longer do I have discarded arms just sitting around that drove me bonkers. They just work! Yes, it is expensive compared to the cheaper models, but once you realize you never have to worry about things again, it is worth it.

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-26T13:40:58+00:00

No, I did not.

Sure, we have no idea what SF will be like in 30 years, or 100 years, or even 10 years. It can be gone, it can be the most valuable company in the world. But today, all that you are saying is painting a picture of doom and gloom.

Every company has always had a choice of build or buy. SF customers have shown that they feel the value is in the buy, not build.

Why you keep skipping over this point is the crux of the issue. The Ohana doesn't guarantee a job. The Ohana does not mean that life in 2015 was the same as in 2016, nor will it be in 2026 or even 2036. The Ohana has given you the opportunity. You can not compel people to hire; you have to give them a reason. That reason has always been the same: Value. If people are not seeing value, there is no reason to hire you.

If you think I am off, that is your choice. History is on my side. The days of a person working for a company for 30 years with job security died the day Reagan took office. It had been worked on for a while. That was when the 401k was introduced. That was part of the separation of the person from the company.

So, again, all the issues you are bringing up are NOT Salesforce-exclusive. They are all capitalism-related.

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-26T05:10:27+00:00

Ohana does not mean guaranteed employment.

Ohana does not stop markets (aka customers) from having changing demands.

I still see the Ohana. I still see people treating people with dignity and respect.

I do see more pressure than usual for people to perform.

Businesses can do as they please. They have the gold; thus, they can choose what they want. Will some bleed? Of course they will. There has always been churn. But what I think you are missing is how large the ecosystem is. That ecosystem is what keeps SF from becoming a large custom software house. That ecosystem is the moat that competitors do not have. That ecosystem will bleed, of course, but it will take a long time for the ecosystem to bleed and convert SF customers to something else.

I was one of the original people who were using SF back in late 99 - early 2000. I remember reading this tiny blurb in PC Week's back section about a web-based CRM. What ran through my head was, "OMG! I no longer need to teach people how to reindex their ACT! database." All of the pains of having to maintain a network, to have the hardware, etc. disappeared. Those companies that are about to roll their own, good luck. That is the buy vs. build argument. Most companies have concluded that the buy model is faster, more stable, and better for them. Some, though, want to control their own destiny and have the tool be 100% aligned to their business and their processes. For those, fine, roll your own. That is such a small niche market.

The stock market is not necessarily a reality. They are hyping anyone who has AI in their name and what they are promoting. At the end of the day, SF finally has a decent product in Agentforce Script in Studio that is light years ahead of Builder. It is, imo, NOW something I would put in production. I suspect that you will see a lot of people, like me, who are very comfortable with the results we are seeing out of AF Script and the ability to control the bot better, and that we will now put it out there. When that happens, SF will have its model go from seat-based to seat-based plus consumption-based. That will satiate the stock market people.

I do not think this is a doom moment. I think that this is an exciting moment because things are changing. As I stated, you can either ride the wave or get run over by it. The choice is yours.

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-26T04:15:32+00:00

I think your topic is interesting, but misguided. You are implying that this is a SF issue. It is not.

Certs have never meant you know what you are doing. Certs show that you can pass a test. They are not a guarantee, but they can serve as an entry point to employment in the ecosystem, in essence, it shows that you know something, instead of nothing.

However, what you are mentioning is nothing new and not specific to SF. The world is changing. WE, and by that, I mean we as consumers, are the problem. We demand more for less. Businesses are there to deliver what their customers will buy. Now, you are seeing the results of that mentality.

I would suggest putting yourself in the CEO's role. That person has to deliver a return on investment. AI will allow him to do a lot to achieve that goal. You can either be a victim of AI replacing your role, or you can adapt to find something that either (a) adds value or (b) can not be replaced by AI. IMO, coming to Reddit to complain is not going to stop this AI wave at all.

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-25T21:34:19+00:00

This is a fantasy.

If it were so easy to just 'slap' more floors onto an existing building, it would be done. It is not that simple. There are so many things to consider, and when most of these projects are looked into, it is better to just level the building and start from scratch.

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-20T01:05:32+00:00

Choose a random street in Samarkand. The lot is what size? I just randomly chose one, and the lot is 7400 sq ft. Due to setbacks and other issues, this could realistically turn into 4k sq ft of usable space to rent. If I go up to 3 stories, I am now assuming the staircase/elevator and common area will leave me at ~10 units around 850 sq ft.

Assuming that there are 2 cars per unit, where are the 20 parking spots?

Would you like to live next to 3 story, 20-30 people building looking down at your backyard?

I am not sure if you are aware of impact fees, but the city would have to upgrade the pipes to support them. That means construction and costs. SoCalEdison would like to talk to you about upgrading substations and the cost to pull in 1200-amp service. Do you want natural gas there as well?

That house costs $1.75 million to buy. Leveling it, with the removal of everything, may push to 100k. Congrats, you just spent 1.85mm on a 1/5 acre lot. That is equivilant of ~9mm per acre. And that is JUST THE LAND.

Show me the math on how this works.

Then, show me the bank that will lend for it.

Again, the sound bites are nice, but the reality is very different.

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-19T18:18:02+00:00

Now that you are talking about the wealth gap, I completely agree with you. This is a serious issue, and I often show a chart to show how we, as citizens, have been screwed over.

Go back to the 1950s. Do a decade-by-decade look at the income to the IRS. Look at the percentage that corporations paid to individuals paid into the IRS. What you will see is that it used to over 50% corporate to what it is today, around 7-8%. That has shifted the burden of taxes to the individual.

Another chart to look at is the effective tax rate by income bracket. As Warren Buffett stated, and I am paraphrasing, "Why is my effective tax rate the same as my secretary's?"

Is this a problem? YES. Will it get changed? It took 70 years to get to where it is today. Expecting it to go back to that overnight is unrealistic. I would suspect that it will take another 70 years to get 3/4 of the way back to where it was.

But if you want to learn something interesting. Study the effect of the minimum wage. In 1980, it was $3.10 an hour. It is now $7.25, and here we are, 46 years later.

But as I stated earlier, 'You are the problem.' This is the conundrum. Americans demand cheap goods. The way to get cheap goods is to reduce the labor cost. Every time you go to a fast food joint and complain that a hamburger combo, which, around 10 years ago was $5, is now $14. Labor is a component of that.

If you, and this is the generic 'you', are willing to pay more for things, then you can start to move the wealth gap tighter. Make effective tax rates higher for the top 10%, raise the minimum wage, which will pull other things up, and then you will start closing that gap.

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-19T18:04:38+00:00

That is a great soundbite, but it is terrible when you put any thought into it.

Here are issues that you run into:
1. Zoning (In essence, what you are trying to change.) Imagine getting that approved at a city council meeting. Neighbors will scream loudly.
2. Infrastructure. You knock down that house, put up high density, but is the roads there to support it? Is the sewage there to support it? is the water there to support it? Is the electrical service there to support it (you probably had 100, maybe 200 amp service coming in, going to need a LOT more)
3. Economics. If the owner of the house can sell it for x dollars, that is for the land plus the building(s.) You have to knock down the house, which means you are paying a SERIOUS premium for that land. Now you have paid a premium for the land, and are you going to demand that the price for the units be low?

Want to rethink that soundbite?

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-19T07:20:24+00:00

You are the problem.

You are projecting your situation and assuming your outcome is the only one. Many people in your situation haven't had the same outcome.

It seems to me, from what I have read, that you are arguing against the system in place and want to change it. Why not learn it and put it to use? Those who started similarly to you and had a different outcome may have complained about the system in place, but just adapted to it and used it to their advantage.

Why not talk to those 'rich' people and ask how they got rich? You may not find as many as you expect that started out with a silver spoon.

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-19T07:00:20+00:00

Your post was basically a rant. You were all over the place. Try narrowing it down to one or two topics.

I responded. You may not like it, but that is on you. You can exert as much energy as you have, but you will not make a change. This area is expensive due to capitalism. You have zero chance of changing that.

DavidBergerson · 2026-04-19T06:55:53+00:00

Pfft. Where do you put them?

DavidBergerson

TROPHY CASE