Google's Daydream platform really looked interesting at launch, but it has been kind of problematic in terms of use. That is because when you place your smartphone into a carrier, it might not fit well, and you could end up with something less than ideal. The less-than-ideal part might kick in when email, phone calls, social networking alerts, or text messages come in, screwing up your experience. The headsets Samsung designed for its phones actually are impressively good, but the fact remains that the smartphone is far more a communications device than a virtual reality showcase. Still, this approach has proven to be a very inexpensive way to get into VR. The headsets that use the phones are cheap, some well under $20 (granted most of these are junk) so it does allow folks to get a VR experience without a huge investment. However, if you should get hooked and want something better, the jump-up could be massive: A PC-based VR solution could cost thousands of dollars. The
Tech Career Checklist: Aggressive Diversity, Cold Cash become convinced that too many of us don't prioritize our employment choices properly. What recently drew my attention to this was a conversation I had with Dell's CFO Tom Sweet at Dell Technology World. We were chatting about Dell's problem attracting employees. Because Dell is a private company, few employees get stock or stock options -- they get cash instead. It seems that has put Dell at a disadvantage when competing for top folks. Because I have a rather substantial background in compensation and employee motivation, I started to wonder whether Dell's employees were at an advantage rather than a disadvantage, and whether the recruitment issue was one of correcting a false impression rather than overcoming a competitive weakness. Having watched a ton of my peers lose their options over the years -- and more recently, watching the issues surrounding harassment and diversity in most tech firms --