Laptops in meeting - good or bad

[amritvani]

Meetings are boring and many parts of meetings are irrelevant to many attendees. So they bring laptops and seem constantly typing something (definitely not taking notes though). It is a big distraction for others though and find that irritating.

What do you think about taking laptops in meetings? Do you take to some and not to others and how do you determine that?

[Rakhi]

laptops in meetings? I never took one and never seen anyone taking them either; perhaps in software industry people take them. The most i have seen/done is type away in blackberry in meetings.

[amritvani]

laptops in meetings? I never took one and never seen anyone taking them either; perhaps in software industry people take them.
Yes, software.
The most i have seen/done is type away in blackberry in meetings.
That's a shame... they should have iPhone.

[JaiSpeaks]

The iPad will change that trend soon . No more typing noises :D

[kkkk]

That's a shame... they should have iPhone.

why??? :dontknow: just because you think it is cool?

[YedaAnna]

why??? :dontknow: just because you think it is cool?
No I think he thinks it's better :) Did you see the new Blackberry Torch? :D

[raniraja]

No I think he thinks it's better :) Did you see the new Blackberry Torch? :DI had an Eveready torch, but it is all rusted and not working now :) So I bought a new china made torch :whacky:

[echarcha]

Meetings in our company tend to turn boring and go on a tangent awfully quickly. So I carry a laptop to keep myself busy with either work or browsing.

Some morons dont get it that just by asking questions and going on tangents does not mean you are super enthusiastic and brilliant. And no, you dont get promoted every day because you were a 'maverick' with profound sounding statements.

So to avoid suffering morons, I carry a laptop.

[raniraja]

Meetings in our company tend to turn boring and go on a tangent awfully quickly. This derailing thing seems contagious :D

[echarcha]

This derailing thing seems contagious :D

Ha ha ha ha ha :rep: you.

If the meeting is for status reports, some moron will start with some issue he has not yet resolved with product marketing. Or some other technical issue. I mean fuck you moron, give your status - work done? not done? when will it be done? thats it. Or say 'Will let you know offline' to the manager and move on.

But no. Fucker has to go into some design shit. Now I openly say stuff like 'Focus guys. We all have stuff to do.. so lets just give status'. I said this a couple of times. Now thankfully the manager gets it and stops any off topic or tangential discussion in status meetings.

[raniraja]

I can relate with that. Still, its not so bad for you because those are colleagues. I face much worse stuff. Just because the customer visits my shop for 5-10 rs. ka work, he thinks he has a right to my time. WTF I care what you do on the internet, so long as it is legal. Doesn't matter to me if you are filling application for a bank job or reporting to your company on internet, or typing a letter. It doesn't give you a right to pick my brains. Worse still are the people accompanying. One guy is working on the net, and the other one, having nothing to do, smiles at you and thinks he/she can while away time by "chatting" you up, or commenting on what you are doing on the computer / internet.

I usually put off these people by saying "My time costs Rs. 15 per minute" or "That will be Rs. 500 per question" adding "Rs. 1000 in advance" :).. that takes care of them.. :rotfl:

Then they say "sorry, I didn't know you were busy" .. ha..

[Indian]

laptops, mobiles and blackberries should not be allowed in meeting rooms. PERIOD !
meetings are places to talk with each other...not to indulge in some stupid device. they just beat the prime purpose of meeting.

[Pratiksha]

This derailing thing seems contagious :D

Charchu must have been the trend setter and now the backseater:D

[kkkk]

No I think he thinks it's better :) Did you see the new Blackberry Torch? :D

from business comms perspective, I will take a windows based phone anyday (sync with exchange, even use office communicator etc) - in my type of company obviously. If I am in google/apple, maybe I will consider android based or iPhone types. I dont much care about the blackberry.

[kkkk]

laptops, mobiles and blackberries should not be allowed in meeting rooms. PERIOD !
meetings are places to talk with each other...not to indulge in some stupid device. they just beat the prime purpose of meeting.

arre baba, agar koi information chahiye to kya meeting interrup kar ke bahar jake vapas aayenge? Its always better to be prepared and equipped.

[amritvani]

arre baba, agar koi information chahiye to kya meeting interrup kar ke bahar jake vapas aayenge? Its always better to be prepared and equipped.

Yes, there are some occassions when the meeting needed answer or clarification from a third party, and some with laptop could get that answer by IM or email. But in general the laptops are used by the attendees for their own purpose (not related to the meeting).

[amritvani]

laptops, mobiles and blackberries should not be allowed in meeting rooms. PERIOD !
meetings are places to talk with each other...not to indulge in some stupid device. they just beat the prime purpose of meeting.

Tough to implement though. Mere switching off the phones is not going to cut it. Imagine installing pigeonhole shelves outside meeting room just like temples have for shoes :)

[amritvani]

Ha ha ha ha ha :rep: you.

If the meeting is for status reports, some moron will start with some issue he has not yet resolved with product marketing. Or some other technical issue. I mean fuck you moron, give your status - work done? not done? when will it be done? thats it. Or say 'Will let you know offline' to the manager and move on.

But no. Fucker has to go into some design shit. Now I openly say stuff like 'Focus guys. We all have stuff to do.. so lets just give status'. I said this a couple of times. Now thankfully the manager gets it and stops any off topic or tangential discussion in status meetings.

Yes the facilitation skills are important and often overlooked.

[ShivSainik]

I carry it most of the times except meeting which are productive and involves me heavily as participant in discussion but that is rare. Most of the meetings are like team meetings, status meetings, some product manager giving his sh$t, some team invites whole co. for their proposed design change, all hands and such. I either don't go to these meetings or carry laptop.

[amritvani]

I carry it most of the times except meeting which are productive and involves me heavily as participant in discussion but that is rare.

Does it bother you when you are the heavy participant and others are playing with their laptop? Do you have to repeat yourself when asking questions to them beause they missed it working with laptop? How does that make you feel?

[echarcha]

I carry it most of the times except meeting which are productive and involves me heavily as participant in discussion but that is rare. Most of the meetings are like team meetings, status meetings, some product manager giving his sh$t, some team invites whole co. for their proposed design change, all hands and such. I either don't go to these meetings or carry laptop.

The problem we have is that our team's immediate manager loves to gather all of us in a room and keep talking about the same topics over and over again. And the platitudes he uses are so childish and totally stupid. He says stuff like 'Others are watching us .. we need to be the same team which always has been number one in leadership". Then stuff like 'Team I know its too much stress but we need to step up to the plate". Then more crap like 'You are the premier team, you will have to hold the fort this time too'

I mean this sounds so shallow, stupid, downright insincere and .. I have no words.

In my previous job the manager was down to the point - 'I know the time line is too short, but we have to get it done. I hate it too to check emails and work over the weekend, but we have no choice. Please do all you have to. I thank you in advance.'

Meeting over, point made, point well taken. End of the story.

[amritvani]

The problem we have is that our team's immediate manager loves to gather all of us in a room and keep talking about the same topics over and over again. And the platitudes he uses are so childish and totally stupid. He says stuff like 'Others are watching us .. we need to be the same team which always has been number one in leadership". Then stuff like 'Team I know its too much stress but we need to step up to the plate". Then more crap like 'You are the premier team, you will have to hold the fort this time too'


One of my managers did similar thing and was getting on my nerves. I asked him separately what the deal was since I was giving 110%. He said he was okay with me but pointed some other team members he thought were not putting up. In that case he should tell it to them individually instead of the whole team. Poor management style I guess. He was a good guy otherwise.

[echarcha]

One of my managers did similar thing and was getting on my nerves. I asked him separately what the deal was since I was giving 110%. He said he was okay with me but pointed some other team members he thought were not putting up. In that case he should tell it to them individually instead of the whole team. Poor management style I guess. He was a good guy otherwise.


The problems we have are severe

1) No process as such but we are supposed to be agile and this is taken for granted as permission to allow feature and scope creep.

2) No process as such, we are supposedly on agile, but demands are for waterfall style of documentation

3) Miscommunication between client expectations, product line marketing, management and engineering, causing one week prior to FCS 'Oh fuck, we need to handle this as well'

4) We are given timelines which are way before actual FCS. The philosophy is, and developers have seen through it now, that give the slaves a very tight deadline and push them and they will work wonders. In reality this is causing continuous weekend work for months now. It is causing shitty code to be written or not enough attention being paid to performance and corner cases, resulting in actual shit hitting the fan in production!

5) Micro management to such an extent that except for how to unzip our fly for peeing we are told exactly on how to do things! Even things like how should servers talk to each other is decided by management.

6) In the last one year, people hired based on their last company name. So if you came from a big dick company, you are welcomed with a blow job, irrespective of the fact that you blow at your work. Result? Some quit within a short period looking at the shit we are in, others had to be fired because their 'oh in my previous job we used to first lick the asshole and then fuck it' superior methodologies and 'high level orgasm inducing' design concepts. I dont want to name names, but one such 'Im from a company with a 50 inch penis' came here, and gave big big farts on 'oh when I build this system, the server will give a hand job to our customer'. Fine, management is imagining system performance lap dances already! 6 months pass by. What happens, the shit cannot even run, and instead brings down the entire system! :rotfl:
What would happen at the big penis company? Genius boy would be fired on the spot. Here, he is allowed to collect paycheck for several more months, while he is busy taking off from work without notifying anyone. Manager knows nothing, senior management knows nothing, others in team dont give a rat's ass. Finally he himself decides to come up and say, 'I have a better opportunity and I think I should go'. Fuck!! Great!! He is a true genius :D

7)What does that do to morale of the others - All feel down and out, except a few wise asses like me. Why? Well, I follow a certain principle - 'Treat the product like your own baby, nurture it, work hard in developing it. Stay true to the trust your company has in you.' This is stage 1. Stage 2 is 'oh shit, things are going down hill. Can I save them? No, I cannot. Fine by me'. Stage 3 is 'Why should I worry? When top management can continue in their ways, who the fuck am I? I am getting paid, so let the party continue' Stage 4 - "I really dont care a fuck. Let me enhance my own skills with some new technology and increase my knowledge about the domain or some related domain. When i feel sufficiently bored of coming to the office, I will find another job!'

8) Pulling the carpet from below your feet - This is the favorite game the management plays. Its like this. Oh you are quite entrenched in this particular feature. You know all the nooks and crannies. Customer wants an addition to this feature. Please take the lead and finish it. You are happy to continue work on it. Then there are meetings held to discuss cross functional and cross feature impacts. You are still full of enthusiasm to do your best. Suddenly one fine morning someone else, who has joined most recently, comes up and says 'Ah well, now I am supposed to put my dick in this new asshole. You no longer are supposed to do it.' You express shock to which you get a reply 'Well, I thought Mr. Super Duper Manager already told you'. Wow, so I do all the work, get the bed ready, put on clean sheets, put on flowers, light up incense candles, lubricate my ass with vaseline and lay down prostate and get ready for the big moment. And now someone else gets to get buggered!' Wah wah.. This is what I call true management! Totally morale boosting. It happened twice with me. I should have been once bitten twice shy, but well, I admit, I was stupid. I continued to believe. Now? I dont give a fuck. I follow the universal motto 'What my father goes? You want to lead it? Please be my guest and be the one who gets fucked by the customer when system goes into production and your shit fails not because of your fault but some other asshole was having the same "what my father goes?" moment while writing his module" :D :D :D

[ShivSainik]

Does it bother you when you are the heavy participant and others are playing with their laptop? Do you have to repeat yourself when asking questions to them beause they missed it working with laptop? How does that make you feel?

No.

Because I expect people who are actively participating in discussion to pay attention and I do that too. I take laptops to meeting when I am non-existent but have to attend those meetings just to put my present mark.

[raniraja]

The problem we have is that our team's immediate manager loves to gather all of us in a room and keep talking about the same topics over and over again. Meetings ka koi agenda nahi hota hai kya? Like.. go over things point by point.

[echarcha]

Meetings ka koi agenda nahi hota hai kya? Like.. go over things point by point.

Example - Agenda: Discuss the new protocol X and how it will affect system A, sytem B.

Discussion starts and then couple of morons will say 'But you know if system A were to talk with system C, we will have this'.

Saala gandu bhenchod! I used to get pissed, but not for a long time now. Discussion is about System A and System B. Fuck System C. There can be a separate meeting about it and usually there is. As it is System A and B are going to get affected by this Protocol X, so first focus on A and B. Dont digress.

So instead of getting pissed, I turn to my laptop and echarcha :p

[badriprasad]

Depends ... a must I guess if you are into software or hardware or something or trying to show off. I will consider it bad etiquette. I will prefer written notes.

[raniraja]

Example - Agenda: Discuss the new protocol X and how it will affect system A, sytem B.

Discussion starts and then couple of morons will say 'But you know if system A were to talk with system C, we will have this'.

Saala gandu bhenchod! I used to get pissed, but not for a long time now. Discussion is about System A and System B. Fuck System C. There can be a separate meeting about it and usually there is. As it is System A and B are going to get affected by this Protocol X, so first focus on A and B. Dont digress.

So instead of getting pissed, I turn to my laptop and echarcha :pOk.. samjha. But if someone was to take up the point about system C at the end of the meeting, after the conclusion of the main agenda, what would you feel about it? what would be your response? Laptop and EC, or take up the new topic, or fix up a new meeting (as you said there usually is) ?

[echarcha]

Ok.. samjha. But if someone was to take up the point about system C at the end of the meeting, after the conclusion of the main agenda, what would you feel about it? what would be your response? Laptop and EC, or take up the new topic, or fix up a new meeting (as you said there usually is) ?

Meeting hone ke baad, System C, System D, System E, kuch bhi bolo yaar.. no worries. Just finish the meeting on time and let us get out. :D

I never volunteer to set up meetings for anything. Let those worried about it set up meetings. Gaand maraye saale chewtiye log. Mere baap ka kya jaata hain.

I am just biding my time here. Kuch socha hain, uske baad tata bye bye. Sacchi.

[kkkk]

The problems we have are severe

1) No process as such but we are supposed to be agile and this is taken for granted as permission to allow feature and scope creep.

2) No process as such, we are supposedly on agile, but demands are for waterfall style of documentation

3) Miscommunication between client expectations, product line marketing, management and engineering, causing one week prior to FCS 'Oh fuck, we need to handle this as well'

4) We are given timelines which are way before actual FCS. The philosophy is, and developers have seen through it now, that give the slaves a very tight deadline and push them and they will work wonders. In reality this is causing continuous weekend work for months now. It is causing shitty code to be written or not enough attention being paid to performance and corner cases, resulting in actual shit hitting the fan in production!

5) Micro management to such an extent that except for how to unzip our fly for peeing we are told exactly on how to do things! Even things like how should servers talk to each other is decided by management.

6) In the last one year, people hired based on their last company name. So if you came from a big dick company, you are welcomed with a blow job, irrespective of the fact that you blow at your work. Result? Some quit within a short period looking at the shit we are in, others had to be fired because their 'oh in my previous job we used to first lick the asshole and then fuck it' superior methodologies and 'high level orgasm inducing' design concepts. I dont want to name names, but one such 'Im from a company with a 50 inch penis' came here, and gave big big farts on 'oh when I build this system, the server will give a hand job to our customer'. Fine, management is imagining system performance lap dances already! 6 months pass by. What happens, the shit cannot even run, and instead brings down the entire system! :rotfl:
What would happen at the big penis company? Genius boy would be fired on the spot. Here, he is allowed to collect paycheck for several more months, while he is busy taking off from work without notifying anyone. Manager knows nothing, senior management knows nothing, others in team dont give a rat's ass. Finally he himself decides to come up and say, 'I have a better opportunity and I think I should go'. Fuck!! Great!! He is a true genius :D

7)What does that do to morale of the others - All feel down and out, except a few wise asses like me. Why? Well, I follow a certain principle - 'Treat the product like your own baby, nurture it, work hard in developing it. Stay true to the trust your company has in you.' This is stage 1. Stage 2 is 'oh shit, things are going down hill. Can I save them? No, I cannot. Fine by me'. Stage 3 is 'Why should I worry? When top management can continue in their ways, who the fuck am I? I am getting paid, so let the party continue' Stage 4 - "I really dont care a fuck. Let me enhance my own skills with some new technology and increase my knowledge about the domain or some related domain. When i feel sufficiently bored of coming to the office, I will find another job!'

8) Pulling the carpet from below your feet - This is the favorite game the management plays. Its like this. Oh you are quite entrenched in this particular feature. You know all the nooks and crannies. Customer wants an addition to this feature. Please take the lead and finish it. You are happy to continue work on it. Then there are meetings held to discuss cross functional and cross feature impacts. You are still full of enthusiasm to do your best. Suddenly one fine morning someone else, who has joined most recently, comes up and says 'Ah well, now I am supposed to put my dick in this new asshole. You no longer are supposed to do it.' You express shock to which you get a reply 'Well, I thought Mr. Super Duper Manager already told you'. Wow, so I do all the work, get the bed ready, put on clean sheets, put on flowers, light up incense candles, lubricate my ass with vaseline and lay down prostate and get ready for the big moment. And now someone else gets to get buggered!' Wah wah.. This is what I call true management! Totally morale boosting. It happened twice with me. I should have been once bitten twice shy, but well, I admit, I was stupid. I continued to believe. Now? I dont give a fuck. I follow the universal motto 'What my father goes? You want to lead it? Please be my guest and be the one who gets fucked by the customer when system goes into production and your shit fails not because of your fault but some other asshole was having the same "what my father goes?" moment while writing his module" :D :D :D


used to be the story of my project. how often are your releases?

[kkkk]

Yes, there are some occassions when the meeting needed answer or clarification from a third party, and some with laptop could get that answer by IM or email. But in general the laptops are used by the attendees for their own purpose (not related to the meeting).

dont call them for the meeting next time.

[echarcha]

used to be the story of my project. how often are your releases?
We never know for real when the customer actually wants the new features in the next version. Management loves to keep on whipping us slaves to keep delivering. So every 3 months there is definitely a minor patch release and at the same time we are working for a major release which is every 6 months.

[amritvani]

dont call them for the meeting next time.

Arrey that is another problem... So many guys turn up I don't even know... these guys forward to others who may be expert in their areas don't have much background into our project and we have to repeat the whole story of what we are doing and why and where we are blah blah. I think sending representatives like this is a complete waste and should be banned.

Then there are others like Mr X who have nothing to contribute in the meeting per se but after the meeting the big guys ask 'Is X okay with this? No he did not attend? Well can you check with him before we move forward". Sometimes it is very annoying.

In the in-person meeting we also have a dial-in number for people working remote. I have noticed lately that many dial-in-ers now prefer to attend in person. The meeting rooms are so small and some don't have a window. we actually have a fan standing on floor because it gets so conjusted. Here in America. This is wierd. it also gets very warm and stinky, BTW.

[Randheer]

Meetings in our company tend to turn boring and go on a tangent awfully quickly. So I carry a laptop to keep myself busy with either work or browsing.

Some morons dont get it that just by asking questions and going on tangents does not mean you are super enthusiastic and brilliant. And no, you dont get promoted every day because you were a 'maverick' with profound sounding statements.

So to avoid suffering morons, I carry a laptop.

:D :D :D So True.

I use to hate meetings but my new company I have started enjoying them. Offcourse I carry my laptop there.

[Sane Less]

Arrey that is another problem... So many guys turn up I don't even know... these guys forward to others who may be expert in their areas don't have much background into our project and we have to repeat the whole story of what we are doing and why and where we are blah blah. I think sending representatives like this is a complete waste and should be banned.
...


Join a small company... there everyone knows everyone... and only known people will turn up in your meetings:D