Newest Update From BFL on Chips

[repentance]

I feel like I'm the only BFL who has some sympathy for Josh.  He's just the messenger

No he isnt. He is COO.  And he better start acting like one rather than acting as a messenger/apologist.
I wont hold him personally accountable for all the previous missed deadlines before he got hired,  but he is responsible for making and meeting them now.

And Jody is the General Manager.  Unfortunately, in small organisations job titles often bear little resemblance to actual areas of competence or responsibility.  Josh is clearly not the project leader and he appears to be getting much of his information second-hand.  Jody's last blog post was ridiculous coming from a General Manager.  

There needs to be one person giving updates and that person needs to be someone who actually knows what the fuck is going on rather than someone who's been cast in the role of community liaison because they run a mining pool and can "relate" to miners.  If Josh is going to be given that role, then the project lead needs to be giving him regular, accurate information about where things are at rather than Josh always chasing information. I don't get the impression that Josh is the one setting deadlines at all.  My impression is that he makes extrapolations based on the information given to him by others and has little direct control over anything.  

It's quite odd given that the original plan was for Josh to personally walk the chips through all the remaining steps once they left the fab, but perhaps that plan was more something which Josh hoped to do rather than something which was actually approved.  I'm not sure how you can oversee a technical project if you don't know - for instance - that blank alignment wafers even exist and that not having one will slow down the bumping process.

My perception is that it's easy for the people who are actually responsible to hide behind Josh and let him take the blame for any inaccurate information given to the community because they refuse to make official updates on the BFL website themselves.

[Dalkore]

^^^^ Basically.  Even though I think Josh needs to rise above the muck of BFL and trolling, I was hoping they would empower him more.  But who knows, maybe he has been and it was just bad before and we are giving him a hard time.  He just comes across cynical sometimes when I think instead him and bfl should be more transparent and understanding of people's frustration.   

[Cluster2k]

I, like many others, am getting a little tired of the optimistic timelines frequently published by BFL employees.  In January we were told BFL would be descending upon UPS/FedEx/EMS/etc like a swarm of angry locusts or whatever this week with their finished units.  Yet we know the chips are still being prepared, let alone actually assembled in any finished units.

Please, just keep posting updates (none here for a long time: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=post;topic=145544.20;num_replies=21) and stop making very optimistic projections time and time again.

[repentance]

^^^^ Basically.  Even though I think Josh needs to rise above the muck of BFL and trolling, I was hoping they would empower him more.  But who knows, maybe he has been and it was just bad before and we are giving him a hard time.  He just comes across cynical sometimes when I think instead him and bfl should be more transparent and understanding of people's frustration.    

There's often a fair amount of nepotism in small companies with many of the staff being employed because they're relatives or friends of the owners rather than because they're the most competent person for a particular position.  Somebody external coming into such an environment doesn't have a lot of power to insist that the people who's jobs aren't tied to actual performance lift their games.  

It's also an easy environment in which to regard your customers as a nuisance, as there are often close personal relationships between employees and there's a reluctance to acknowledge that someone you like who's "doing their best" might not be objectively competent.

When a company with 22 employees has a CEO, a COO and a General Manager, there's some serious job title inflation going on and the job titles likely don't reflect experience or competence.

Even BFL Steven (engineer) has no update on where the bumping is up to.  Who the fuck is leading this project and why are they unable to give Josh relevant, timely updates? 

[repentance]

The "ASIC team" is "expecting" 40 chips for testing on Friday.  But there's a sticky on the shoutbox about how 21 - 30 cm of snow will "paralyse BFL's location" and BFL StevenM said that half the staff are working remotely today.  It looks like BFL will literally be able to blame the weather for the next delay they're going to inevitably announce.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

The "ASIC team" is "expecting" 40 chips for testing on Friday.  But there's a sticky on the shoutbox about how 21 - 30 cm of snow will "paralyse BFL's location" and BFL StevenM said that half the staff are working remotely today.  It looks like BFL will literally be able to blame the weather for the next delay they're going to inevitably announce.

This is too good to refrain from posting. They're going to blame it on Q (Storm Q, it is dubbed).

[Micon]

I feel like I'm the only BFL who has some sympathy for Josh.  He's just the messenger

No he isnt. He is COO.  And he better start acting like one rather than acting as a messenger/apologist.
I wont hold him personally accountable for all the previous missed deadlines before he got hired,  but he is responsible for making and meeting them now.

And Jody is the General Manager.  Unfortunately, in small organisations job titles often bear little resemblance to actual areas of competence or responsibility.  Josh is clearly not the project leader and he appears to be getting much of his information second-hand.  Jody's last blog post was ridiculous coming from a General Manager.  

There needs to be one person giving updates and that person needs to be someone who actually knows what the fuck is going on rather than someone who's been cast in the role of community liaison because they run a mining pool and can "relate" to miners.  If Josh is going to be given that role, then the project lead needs to be giving him regular, accurate information about where things are at rather than Josh always chasing information. I don't get the impression that Josh is the one setting deadlines at all.  My impression is that he makes extrapolations based on the information given to him by others and has little direct control over anything.  

It's quite odd given that the original plan was for Josh to personally walk the chips through all the remaining steps once they left the fab, but perhaps that plan was more something which Josh hoped to do rather than something which was actually approved.  I'm not sure how you can oversee a technical project if you don't know - for instance - that blank alignment wafers even exist and that not having one will slow down the bumping process.

My perception is that it's easy for the people who are actually responsible to hide behind Josh and let him take the blame for any inaccurate information given to the community because they refuse to make official updates on the BFL website themselves.

I think at this point we have to at least entertain the idea that Josh's task at BFL is to type things into the computer to calm what must be hordes of angry customers having watched 2 different ASIC makers come online and the network hash rate spiking. 

months of delays, the silence since 2/14, and the lack of pictures is eyebrow-raising at the very least at this point.

[Unacceptable]

I feel like I'm the only BFL who has some sympathy for Josh.  He's just the messenger

No he isnt. He is COO.  And he better start acting like one rather than acting as a messenger/apologist.
I wont hold him personally accountable for all the previous missed deadlines before he got hired,  but he is responsible for making and meeting them now.

And Jody is the General Manager.  Unfortunately, in small organisations job titles often bear little resemblance to actual areas of competence or responsibility.  Josh is clearly not the project leader and he appears to be getting much of his information second-hand.  Jody's last blog post was ridiculous coming from a General Manager.  

There needs to be one person giving updates and that person needs to be someone who actually knows what the fuck is going on rather than someone who's been cast in the role of community liaison because they run a mining pool and can "relate" to miners.  If Josh is going to be given that role, then the project lead needs to be giving him regular, accurate information about where things are at rather than Josh always chasing information. I don't get the impression that Josh is the one setting deadlines at all.  My impression is that he makes extrapolations based on the information given to him by others and has little direct control over anything.  

It's quite odd given that the original plan was for Josh to personally walk the chips through all the remaining steps once they left the fab, but perhaps that plan was more something which Josh hoped to do rather than something which was actually approved.  I'm not sure how you can oversee a technical project if you don't know - for instance - that blank alignment wafers even exist and that not having one will slow down the bumping process.

My perception is that it's easy for the people who are actually responsible to hide behind Josh and let him take the blame for any inaccurate information given to the community because they refuse to make official updates on the BFL website themselves.

I think at this point we have to at least entertain the idea that Josh's task at BFL is to type things into the computer to calm what must be hordes of angry customers having watched 2 different ASIC makers come online and the network hash rate spiking. 

months of delays, the silence since 2/14, and the lack of pictures is eyebrow-raising at the very least at this point.

Your funny Micon   

If your as much a gambler as you say you are,you should see what most of see in these ASIC's coming from BFL(or anyone for that fact).

I myself am not a "gambler",I don't like card games or any of the "casino" games either.....too much risk IMO.

So....seeing your attitude about BFL is quite perplexing to me 

[smoothie]

I feel like I'm the only BFL who has some sympathy for Josh.  He's just the messenger

No he isnt. He is COO.  And he better start acting like one rather than acting as a messenger/apologist.
I wont hold him personally accountable for all the previous missed deadlines before he got hired,  but he is responsible for making and meeting them now.

And Jody is the General Manager.  Unfortunately, in small organisations job titles often bear little resemblance to actual areas of competence or responsibility.  Josh is clearly not the project leader and he appears to be getting much of his information second-hand.  Jody's last blog post was ridiculous coming from a General Manager.  

There needs to be one person giving updates and that person needs to be someone who actually knows what the fuck is going on rather than someone who's been cast in the role of community liaison because they run a mining pool and can "relate" to miners.  If Josh is going to be given that role, then the project lead needs to be giving him regular, accurate information about where things are at rather than Josh always chasing information. I don't get the impression that Josh is the one setting deadlines at all.  My impression is that he makes extrapolations based on the information given to him by others and has little direct control over anything.  

It's quite odd given that the original plan was for Josh to personally walk the chips through all the remaining steps once they left the fab, but perhaps that plan was more something which Josh hoped to do rather than something which was actually approved.  I'm not sure how you can oversee a technical project if you don't know - for instance - that blank alignment wafers even exist and that not having one will slow down the bumping process.

My perception is that it's easy for the people who are actually responsible to hide behind Josh and let him take the blame for any inaccurate information given to the community because they refuse to make official updates on the BFL website themselves.

I think at this point we have to at least entertain the idea that Josh's task at BFL is to type things into the computer to calm what must be hordes of angry customers having watched 2 different ASIC makers come online and the network hash rate spiking. 

months of delays, the silence since 2/14, and the lack of pictures is eyebrow-raising at the very least at this point.

+1 so funny to see the first ASIC company be the ...well basically the last to come online of the few that started.

BFL even had the most pre-order capital. So fail. So fail.

[Micon]

I feel like I'm the only BFL who has some sympathy for Josh.  He's just the messenger

No he isnt. He is COO.  And he better start acting like one rather than acting as a messenger/apologist.
I wont hold him personally accountable for all the previous missed deadlines before he got hired,  but he is responsible for making and meeting them now.

And Jody is the General Manager.  Unfortunately, in small organisations job titles often bear little resemblance to actual areas of competence or responsibility.  Josh is clearly not the project leader and he appears to be getting much of his information second-hand.  Jody's last blog post was ridiculous coming from a General Manager.  

There needs to be one person giving updates and that person needs to be someone who actually knows what the fuck is going on rather than someone who's been cast in the role of community liaison because they run a mining pool and can "relate" to miners.  If Josh is going to be given that role, then the project lead needs to be giving him regular, accurate information about where things are at rather than Josh always chasing information. I don't get the impression that Josh is the one setting deadlines at all.  My impression is that he makes extrapolations based on the information given to him by others and has little direct control over anything.  

It's quite odd given that the original plan was for Josh to personally walk the chips through all the remaining steps once they left the fab, but perhaps that plan was more something which Josh hoped to do rather than something which was actually approved.  I'm not sure how you can oversee a technical project if you don't know - for instance - that blank alignment wafers even exist and that not having one will slow down the bumping process.

My perception is that it's easy for the people who are actually responsible to hide behind Josh and let him take the blame for any inaccurate information given to the community because they refuse to make official updates on the BFL website themselves.

I think at this point we have to at least entertain the idea that Josh's task at BFL is to type things into the computer to calm what must be hordes of angry customers having watched 2 different ASIC makers come online and the network hash rate spiking. 

months of delays, the silence since 2/14, and the lack of pictures is eyebrow-raising at the very least at this point.

Your funny Micon   

If your as much a gambler as you say you are,you should see what most of see in these ASIC's coming from BFL(or anyone for that fact).

I myself am not a "gambler",I don't like card games or any of the "casino" games either.....too much risk IMO.

So....seeing your attitude about BFL is quite perplexing to me 

IMO if you have a BFL pre-order, or really any ASIC order for that matter, you are absolutely gambling.  It may not be on the turn of a card, but in fact on the legitimacy of the business you have ordered from.  

At this stage ASICminer is pretty impressive but won't be commercially available it doesn't look like, and Avalon has not shipped enough units to say "look at where you can buy ASIC mining from," so I'm still doing as you are, waiting and watching.  

[smoothie]

I was goin to bump some wafers, but then I got high.
I was goin to go right down there and sit in their office too, but then I got hiiiigh.
 And now I got no asics, and I know whyyy!!

Sing it baby! 

[Unacceptable]

I feel like I'm the only BFL who has some sympathy for Josh.  He's just the messenger

No he isnt. He is COO.  And he better start acting like one rather than acting as a messenger/apologist.
I wont hold him personally accountable for all the previous missed deadlines before he got hired,  but he is responsible for making and meeting them now.

And Jody is the General Manager.  Unfortunately, in small organisations job titles often bear little resemblance to actual areas of competence or responsibility.  Josh is clearly not the project leader and he appears to be getting much of his information second-hand.  Jody's last blog post was ridiculous coming from a General Manager.  

There needs to be one person giving updates and that person needs to be someone who actually knows what the fuck is going on rather than someone who's been cast in the role of community liaison because they run a mining pool and can "relate" to miners.  If Josh is going to be given that role, then the project lead needs to be giving him regular, accurate information about where things are at rather than Josh always chasing information. I don't get the impression that Josh is the one setting deadlines at all.  My impression is that he makes extrapolations based on the information given to him by others and has little direct control over anything.  

It's quite odd given that the original plan was for Josh to personally walk the chips through all the remaining steps once they left the fab, but perhaps that plan was more something which Josh hoped to do rather than something which was actually approved.  I'm not sure how you can oversee a technical project if you don't know - for instance - that blank alignment wafers even exist and that not having one will slow down the bumping process.

My perception is that it's easy for the people who are actually responsible to hide behind Josh and let him take the blame for any inaccurate information given to the community because they refuse to make official updates on the BFL website themselves.

I think at this point we have to at least entertain the idea that Josh's task at BFL is to type things into the computer to calm what must be hordes of angry customers having watched 2 different ASIC makers come online and the network hash rate spiking. 

months of delays, the silence since 2/14, and the lack of pictures is eyebrow-raising at the very least at this point.

Your funny Micon   

If your as much a gambler as you say you are,you should see what most of see in these ASIC's coming from BFL(or anyone for that fact).

I myself am not a "gambler",I don't like card games or any of the "casino" games either.....too much risk IMO.

So....seeing your attitude about BFL is quite perplexing to me 

IMO if you have a BFL pre-order, or really any ASIC order for that matter, you are absolutely gambling.  It may not be on the turn of a card, but in fact on the legitimacy of the business you have ordered from.  

At this stage ASICminer is pretty impressive but won't be commercially available it doesn't look like, and Avalon has not shipped enough units to say "look at where you can buy ASIC mining from," so I'm still doing as you are, waiting and watching.  

Uh,no I'm waiting only on my order from......................................wait for it............................................BFL 

It's about as much a gamble as when the next asteroid is going to hit earth.............................................when!!!!! 

[Puppet]

And Jody is the General Manager.  Unfortunately, in small organisations job titles often bear little resemblance to actual areas of competence or responsibility.  Josh is clearly not the project leader and he appears to be getting much of his information second-hand.  Jody's last blog post was ridiculous coming from a General Manager.  

If Josh doesnt know, he should keep his mouth shut and stop making bold claims and promises he cant keep. Not too mentions bets he will lose.
But more importantly, its his damn job to know or find out.
What are they paying him for otherwise? And remember, you are paying him.

As for Jody, she promised shipment in June or something, didnt she? I wouldnt be too surprised if she turned out to be correct.

There needs to be one person giving updates and that person needs to be someone who actually knows what the fuck is going on rather than someone who's been cast in the role of community liaison because they run a mining pool and can "relate" to miners.  If Josh is going to be given that role, then the project lead needs to be giving him regular, accurate information about where things are at rather than Josh always chasing information. I don't get the impression that Josh is the one setting deadlines at all.  My impression is that he makes extrapolations based on the information given to him by others and has little direct control over anything.  

Honestly, Josh seems to be acting like I did on my first job 15 years ago, when my idea of project management was acting as a go between between developers and customers,  sugar coating the bad news to the customer, giving it to him little by little, begging the devs to hurry up and never see a delay coming until after it had happened. I had no clue what I was doing, and I failed to realize the devs were acting to me just the same way i was acting towards the customer, and no one was really managing anything. The only thing i managed was customer frustration and it definitely was my fault that neither I or my customer had a realistic view throughout the project. Project management is all about managing risks. You cant manage a bloody thing if you cant even identify the risks.  This is all the more important if you are subcontracting most things out and have no direct control over it.

It's quite odd given that the original plan was for Josh to personally walk the chips through all the remaining steps once they left the fab, but perhaps that plan was more something which Josh hoped to do rather than something which was actually approved.  I'm not sure how you can oversee a technical project if you don't know - for instance - that blank alignment wafers even exist and that not having one will slow down the bumping process.

Exactly. Now Im not an electrical engineer either, but  im not sure how he expects chips and PCBs to be fully tested and qualified the very same day they might arrive at the testing facility.  

My perception is that it's easy for the people who are actually responsible to hide behind Josh

Josh is actually responsible. He may not be able to speed up anything, and whatever he does, maybe there wont even be a single shipped asic until summer and that might not be his fault,  but its his fault for not knowing this and  keep failing to deliver on his promises.

[repentance]

Has kano left the building yet?

[DobZombie]

At this stage BFL would be better off saying "mid-March" and pleasantly surprising people by being ready to ship early than giving another overly optimistic "worst case scenario" and failing to meet it.  22 February was supposed to be the "worst case scenario".

I'm also curious about how much their units weigh because $88 for international shipping sounds way too low.

Are you friggin serious?  Their units would weight 500g - 1kg MAX. 

I got a large package from the US with a computer case in it that weighed over 5kg sent for $55.  It only took 4 business days to arrive in Australia.

So no, $88 is a ridiculous price for international shipping.

[DobZombie]

Micon   
So....seeing your attitude about BFL is quite perplexing to me 

BFL_Josh made Micon look like a fool. Micon spends his days now chucking tantrums over forums, made up websites (whose sole purpose is for self promotion), and what ever other medium he can get his weird skinny hands on.

[Bicknellski]

And Jody is the General Manager.  Unfortunately, in small organisations job titles often bear little resemblance to actual areas of competence or responsibility.  Josh is clearly not the project leader and he appears to be getting much of his information second-hand.  Jody's last blog post was ridiculous coming from a General Manager.  

If Josh doesnt know, he should keep his mouth shut and stop making bold claims and promises he cant keep. Not too mentions bets he will lose.
But more importantly, its his damn job to know or find out.
What are they paying him for otherwise? And remember, you are paying him.

As for Jody, she promised shipment in June or something, didnt she? I wouldnt be too surprised if she turned out to be correct.

There needs to be one person giving updates and that person needs to be someone who actually knows what the fuck is going on rather than someone who's been cast in the role of community liaison because they run a mining pool and can "relate" to miners.  If Josh is going to be given that role, then the project lead needs to be giving him regular, accurate information about where things are at rather than Josh always chasing information. I don't get the impression that Josh is the one setting deadlines at all.  My impression is that he makes extrapolations based on the information given to him by others and has little direct control over anything.  

Honestly, Josh seems to be acting like I did on my first job 15 years ago, when my idea of project management was acting as a go between between developers and customers,  sugar coating the bad news to the customer, giving it to him little by little, begging the devs to hurry up and never see a delay coming until after it had happened. I had no clue what I was doing, and I failed to realize the devs were acting to me just the same way i was acting towards the customer, and no one was really managing anything. The only thing i managed was customer frustration and it definitely was my fault that neither I or my customer had a realistic view throughout the project. Project management is all about managing risks. You cant manage a bloody thing if you cant even identify the risks.  This is all the more important if you are subcontracting most things out and have no direct control over it.

It's quite odd given that the original plan was for Josh to personally walk the chips through all the remaining steps once they left the fab, but perhaps that plan was more something which Josh hoped to do rather than something which was actually approved.  I'm not sure how you can oversee a technical project if you don't know - for instance - that blank alignment wafers even exist and that not having one will slow down the bumping process.

Exactly. Now Im not an electrical engineer either, but  im not sure how he expects chips and PCBs to be fully tested and qualified the very same day they might arrive at the testing facility.  

My perception is that it's easy for the people who are actually responsible to hide behind Josh

Josh is actually responsible. He may not be able to speed up anything, and whatever he does, maybe there wont even be a single shipped asic until summer and that might not be his fault,  but its his fault for not knowing this and  keep failing to deliver on his promises.
[/quote


+1 Yuuup!

[Frizz23]

BFL_Josh made Micon look like a fool. ...

The art of self-deception some BFL asshamsters indulge in is still amazing.

Face it: You have been fucked again. February delivery

[DobZombie]

Face it: You have been fucked again.

Ya mum's face is...

[RHA]

Dear Unacceptable, don't quote the people who have orange Ignore button.