Did Voodoo PC sell its soul?
I noticed that the tone for Rahul Sood has really changed since his company was bought by HP. His blogs are becoming more boring by the day and much less people are commenting on his blog, man. He seems to have too many kiss ups to the new mother company and he is not speaking his mind anymore, at least that is my feeling.
Am I imagining this or do you have the same feeling? Did Rahul really sell his soul to one of the man? Is he still credible? Would you take his advice and invest based on his analysis? What do you think the future hold for Voodoo PC?
posted by IT Kitty Cat at 12:46 AM
16 Comments:
Of course he sold his soul, he does nothing but advertise for HP and talk about how good Intel is.
PS: nice to see you're back. I noticed your blog wasn't working for awhile, maybe just me, but I'm glad it's back.
1:14 AM
Thanks Mike..
My blog for somereason needed republishing..
I agree with you man, Rahul is part of the system now
11:40 AM
I think Rahul used the enthusiasts who made him what he is now to cash in a bigger check..
6:52 PM
I think this is the mistake of his life. His used the small yet unique fish he has as a bait for a bigger fish.. Only if he knows that the bigger fish may swallow him next
6:54 PM
Did you read his market update post?I don't think he's changing anything.
8:09 AM
The answer to your question is "definitely."
Voodoo PC was a low volume, marketing-driven company that simply could not compete with other vendors out there.
Sure, they have a flashy website and an outspoken figure head, but in the end, they're just an overpriced boutique.
9:43 AM
I agree with all of you, especially anonymous (the one posted at 9:43AM). I emailed Ravi about 2 weeks ago and he simply answered, "I know what I'm doing because my name is on the line". My answer, "dude, you have an operpriced boutique, you get your cases from taiwan, lian-li makes your cases, and your reseller ratings are getting lower day by day". It's funny to see how people think so highly of themselves.
I hope that Voodoo dies a painful death executed by HP or gets its co-founder and founder a hit in the head.
Visit my blog sometime, I post real comments and real personal opinions.
3:15 PM
Rahul is a punk. His brother Ravi is the one who saved Voodoo's ass and worked on their sellout to HP. Rahul is so out-of-touch that he has to rely on his technicians in order to generate an opinion. Ravi is the true brains of the operation, yet he hardly knows a thing about PC's.
It was a move of desperation, as Voodoo could only sell a few machines a month and didn't have the power to get any further than they already were.
The employee turnover rate at Voodoo? About half to three quarters of their employees a year. Why? The Sood boys gobble up their budget by jet setting around to kiss ass like they're important, while their technicians are paid less than people working at McDonalds. This mentality has cost them dearly, with their key employees and fresh blood leaving quickly, they can no longer produce quality machines or offer anything other than 'discreet cabling' or glossy paint jobs.
Like Robert said, their laptop machines are bought from Taiwan just like any other builder, repainted, and sent out the door. Their desktop PC's are easily recreated by anyone with an ounce of PC building skill.
So yes, Rahul is now an HP boy. I used to like his blog, because he at the very least WAS impartial to some degree. Now, every time I look it's some bullshit about HP and how nice their monitors are. Who cares?
He saved his own ass because he knew Voodoo was going down the tubes. They have been too focused on bling and they lost their edge. Now they've sold their dream to the corporate world.
Congrats Voodoo! You've done your country proud, and your employees are so brainwashed they cheer like little piglets as they're led off to their doom so that you could save your own asses. How noble!
5:54 PM
I think the sell out was due to fear of Dell's Alienware infinite resources it got over night from Dell. Voodoo PC knew they are counting their last few breaths, really.. See, that is what you get when you give advice to Michael Dell.. He will listen to you, smile in your face, and "stab" when you turn you back..
Do you think Voodoo sold to HP to get back at Michael??
9:40 PM
Not to get back at Dell...it was an ass-saving deal.
Voodoo sells to 'premium' purchasers, and Alienware has established itself as the top of the line trailer trash version. Meaning that anybody who wins at the casino one night can afford an Alienware, but only the Ferrarri-buying crowd can or will buy a $10000 PC - that's the crowd Voodoo has gone after.
So Alienware and Voodoo are generally different markets. The Alien/Dell deal wasn't a threat to Voodoo.
What matters most is that Voodoo was in a position where it's customer support, packaging, and sales experience could only go so far in terms of adding value to bring them above Alienware's machine.
In terms of actual hardware, well, now anyone can buy liquid cooling kits and easily overclock their machines. Cabling, or lack thereof is nice, but not as a selling point, rather as a part of the overall system.
The Voodoo custom paint jobs are nice, but most people don't buy those anyways (no does Voodoo have its professional painter - too many unpaid morning meetings for him to put up with).
I guess the overall idea is that Voodoo has nothing to offer anymore. Back in the 90's, a 33mhz overclocking bonus was a big thing. Now, a 1ghz overclocking bonus is not that huge of a deal, you can do that with a stock e6300 and stock cooling fan. So what's left? Not much.
Voodoo, instead of paying and retaining innovative employees and spending money on R&D, decided to take the easy way out and sell it's ass to HP.
No more worries. If no one buys another Voodoo, what do they have to worry about? Their jobs? No problem, they've got millions in the bank now and can easily live out their days off the interest if they so desire. Plus all the cred Ravi and Rahul have generated over the years, they can work anywhere and get paid well.
I expect them both to get canned after about a year of being HP employees. Rahul will go on to work at Intel, and Ravi will get into commercial real estate in Calgary.
Oh, and forget about Rahul having an unbiased blog now. He censors anything negative about HP. I posted a straightforward comment about printers, and mentioned that Epson printers, IMHO are the best, and that HP and Lexmark are lower quality. Guess where that post went?
7:01 AM
Yeah, I agree with you anonymous (the one above me). I posted a comment about their low-quality cases that are from Taiwan and it never appeared in the comments section of his blog. I mean I understand that he doesn't want negative things about HIS company on HIS blog, but he should atleast accept that and write something to prove me wrong... not just delete it.
And, when you go to Voodoo's forums on their corporate website, you will see a whole group of people compalining about their build time. Voodoo's excuse was that the painter was sick everytime. The painter probably doesn't get paid enuff, and he paints the cases for Voodoo as his secondary job; he does it only when he has some time left over from his usual workplace.
Also, go here: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2579
... Look at the pictures and tell me whether or not the employees look as if they are in some school or jail. The assembly lady looks like shes half dead.
Man, as a matter of fact... I think I'm gonna start my own computer company because I'm fed up with this crap.
Like you said, Rahul is going to work at Intel and Ravi is going to work at some real estate office in Calgary... I agree totally.
7:08 PM
You know what disappointed me most about Rahul? He does not admit that he is just a kiss ass nowadays. I am really concerned that he is going to lose his credibility by posting these PR/Kiss ass HP articles on his blog..
Rahul,
STOP IT?
5:37 PM
I think Rahul is having a Tom Cruise Moment. What do you guys think?
5:41 PM
Tom Cruise moment? Haha!
Well, he's making a fool of himself anyways. I wouldn't be surprised if CPU magazine gave him the boot.
In terms of journalistic integrity, well, he's lost it completely.
-He can't post anything negative about HP of course.
-He can't comment on how well someone other than HP is doing.
-He can't speak about strategy and new technology that he sees as cutting edge without generating competition in the industry for HP.
-He must accept decisions regarding suppliers that are in line with HP corporate strategy.
-Any discussions with corporate rivals must have ceased.
-Decisions to speak about technology must only serve HP's interests.
Anything negative about HP is being deleted in his blog. He doesn't answer any legitimate posts.
I can tell you exactly what he is doing. Make no mistake that his blog was designed to attract industry leaders, and thereby generate more interest in Voodoo. Now he is using his blog to drive the industry to look at HP, HP's employees, and indirectly make people feel more comfortable about HP. HP is a big faceless blob, even moreso than say Intel. Now he's making it informal and cozy.
It's really disgusting.
10:02 AM
I agree with you guys. I commented on his blog where he is talking about one of HP's bosses (interview) and he totally deleted my comment. My comment was not rude or anything and it was not negative about HP. It was about too many blogs of his are becoming about HP..
His credibility is going down the fast lane.
3:46 PM
Please Rahul, if your not gonna be credible anymore, you might as well delete your blog. Cuz thats why most of us read your blog -for the credilbleness since we can't all afford to test out profucts lie you do... idiot.
3:43 PM
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