Time groweth short if you're not planning on not being a Grinch this holiday season. Bargain-priced presents (which I suspect are early Boxing Day deals leaked early) can still be yours, particularly if you have the Super Fast Delivery perk unlocked via an Amazon Prime membership. I'll still be on board over these holiday periods because I'm right there with your mentalityI cannot resist discounts and kick myself if I've missed them. In retro news, I'm celebrating the Aussie birthday of a rare and expensive bird, the SNK Neo Geo CD. Released in limited numbers in Oz around the $600 ballpark ($1,299 in '24 bux), this bad boy delivered near-perfect arcade-quality games, though it was a "budget" alternative to the hilari-expensive, cartridge-based Neo Geo AES. Being CD-based marred this unit with lonnng load times, though the gruelling wait for Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, and Fatal Fury was always worth it. Here's a shot of the beast I sold a kidney and a lung for. Laser: still going strong. This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games.- Neo Geo CD launch, 1994. eBay- Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (GBA) 2004. eBay- WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 (PSP) 2006. eBay- Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands (DS) 2010. eBayTable of ContentsNice Savings for Nintendo SwitchFC 25Introduces some interesting new features, particularly the fast-paced and compelling Rush mode, but much of the package beyond that feels overly familiar.NBA 2K25 (-70%) - A$30Nintendo World Champs (-32%) - A$34Metal Gear Col. (-61%) - A$35.52Metroid Dread (-29%) - A$56.95Expiring Recent DealsStreets of Rage 4 (-60%) - A$15Golf Story (-82%) - A$3.99Super Mario RPG (-20%) - A$64Crisis Core: FF7 Reunion (-25%) - A$63.62Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (-75%) - A$17.48Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.Switch Console PricesHow much to Switch it up?Switch Zelda: $629 $539 | Switch Original: $499 $449 | Switch OLED Black: $539 $479 | Switch OLED White: $539 $479 | Switch Lite: $329 $299 | Switch Lite Hyrule: $339 $309See itBack to topPurchase Cheap for PCAge of Empires II: Def. (-65%) - A$13.98Elden Ring: SotET (-12%) - A$57.19Helldivers 2 (-25%) - A$44.96God of War: Ragnarok (-25%) - A$71.21Metaphor: ReFantazio (-35%) - A$74.71Resi 4 (-49%) - A$37Spidey Miles Morales (-56%) - A$33.35Spidey Remastered (-56%) - A$42.25Expiring Recent DealsOddworld Complete Col. [6 games] (-99%) - A$1.69Mass Effect: Andromeda Del. (-90%) - A$4.99Hitman: WoA (-90%) - A$4.39Spelunky 2 (-60%) - A$11.58Or just get a Steam Wallet CardPC Hardware PricesSlay your pile of shame.Official launch in NovSteam Deck 256GB LCD: $649 | Steam Deck 512GB OLED: $899 | Steam Deck 1TB OLED: $1,049See it at SteamBack to topExciting Bargains for XboxTekken 8Interesting tweaks to Tekkens classic fighting systems, a full suite of fun offline modes, great new characters, incredible training tools, and a vastly improved online experience all add up to a fighting game. 9/10, amazing.FC 25 (-65%) - A$39Starfield (-73%) - A$32Fancy X/S cont. (-17%) - A$79Star Wars Outlaws (-46%) - A$59F1 24 (-46%) - A$59NBA 2K25 (-63%) - A$44Marvels GotG Cosmic (-50%) - A$54Expiring Recent DealsTomb Raider Survivor Trilogy (-70%) - A$20.98Star Wars Outlaws Gold (-55%) - A$77FFXII: Zodiac Age (-66%) - A$26.86CoD: BLOPS 6 (-31%) - A$75.95Metaphor: ReFantazio (-42%) - A$67.03Or just invest in an Xbox Card.Xbox Console PricesHow many bucks for a 'Box? Series X: $799 $671 | Series S Black: $549 $545 | Series S White:$499 $471 | Series S Starter: N/ASee itBack to topPure Scores for PlayStationDragon Ball: Sparking! ZeroReliving a story that was foundational to my youth, looking and sounding as great as I remember it, with the opportunity to alter it in sometimes dramatic new ways is clever.DualSense Purple (-30%) - A$84Rise of the Ronin (-45%) - A$69FC 25 (-65%) - A$39The Last of Us Part 1 (-57%) - A$54Gran Turismo 7 (-56%) - A$55Red Dead Redemption II (-75%) - A$19FF VII: Rebirth (-50%) - A$57Expiring Recent DealsStar Wars Outlaws (-46%) - A$59Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (-14%) - A$99CoD: BLOPS 6 (-42%) - A$64Metaphor: ReFantazio (-40%) - A$68.55Or purchase a PS Store Card.What you'll pay to 'Station.PS5 Slim Disc:$799 $798 | PS5 Slim Digital:679 $529 | PS VR2: $899 | PS VR2 + Horizon: $899 | PS5 Pro $1,199 | PS Portal: $329See itBack to topLegit LEGO DealsAnimal Crossing: Dodo AirlinesWhen you think safe air travel, think extinct bird airlines.Expiring Recent DealsSonic: Knuckles Shrine (-40%) - A$35.99Creator: Exotic Parrot (-40%) - A$23.99City: Excavator, Digger (-35%) - A$52LEGO Advent Calendar Face Off 2024This holiday season, I'm doing something different with the LEGO section. In Mathew Manor, my sons and I are racing LEGO Advent Calendarswe open our respective ones daily and compare the mini-prizes for "Coolness" and "Actual Xmas-ness". Winner gets extra eggnog.If you're also feeling festive, here are the cheapest prices for the three calendars we're using. Or just live vicariously through us.LEGO Star Wars Advent 2024 - A$59.95 $45LEGO Spider-Man Advent 2024 - A$59.95 $45LEGO City Advent 2024 - A$59.95 $45Back to top Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube.

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In-House Counsel 'United Healthcare' Using DMCA Against Luigi Mangione Images Which Is Bizarre & Wildly InappropriateBecause this isn't how copyright law works.ByJoe PatriceonDecember 19, 2024 at 4:02 PMDecember 20, 2024 at 10:27 AM We KNOW Getty owns this picture though that might not stop UHC. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)Someone purporting to be United Healthcare is filing DMCA requests to scrub the internet of artists depictions of the surveillance video of Luigi smiling, parody merchandise of Deny, Defend, Depose, and other merchandise showing the alleged shooter.If it is really the health insurer filing these notices, it wildly oversteps any legal rights the company might have, but if theres any company willing to preemptively breach the law and dare the other side to spend their limited resources trying to protect their rights it would be a health insurer.404 Media reports that a number of DMCA takedown requests from United Healthcare have hit artists depicting the newsworthy event. The publication reached out to the company to confirm that its behind the filings but didnt hear back.For those keeping score at home, the DMCA provides that a copyright owner must inform an internet entity that their intellectual property is being abused and the service provider then has an opportunity to expeditiously remove the material and avoid possible liability. That said, the DMCA only provides a shield against legal action and if the copyright claim is to use the precise legal term utter bullshit, they dont have to comply. Unfortunately, hosts routinely err on the side of caution and remove content when theres zero cognizable claim.If this is someone acting on behalf of United Healthcare, what an irony to lodge a falsified claim without it getting denied.From 404:An entity claiming to be United Healthcare is sending bogus copyright claims to internet platforms to get Luigi Mangione fan art taken off the internet, according to the print-on-demand merch retailer TeePublic. An independent journalist was hit with a copyright takedown demand over an image of Luigi Mangione and his family she posted on Bluesky, and other DMCA takedown requests posted to an open database and viewed by 404 Media show copyright claims trying to get Deny, Defend, Depose and Luigi Mangione-related merch taken off the internet, though it is unclear who is filing them.Its a bizarre and grimly ironic turn if United Healthcare wanted to own the words Deny, Defend, Depose. The takedown request for that piece objects to the artist styling the D with elements of the United Healthcare logo which would be the very definition of protected parody. The 404 story has images if you want to see what these all look like.Beyond tying itself to the gunmans catchphrase, the idea of UHC trying to own any and all fixations of the alleged shooters likeness would be a wild leap. An artists depiction of Mangione could only belong to the artist (Mangione might be able to assert some rights to his likeness a dubious claim under the circumstances and in light of the First Amendment but in no case would UHC have such a claim).What is the circumstance under which United Healthcare might come to own the copyright to a watercolor painting of the guy who assassinated their CEO? tech rights expert and science fiction author Cory Doctorow told 404 Media in a phone call. Its just like, its hard to imagine a lawyer thinking that, he added, saying that its an example of copyfraud.It is illegal to file DMCA notices if you dont own the copyright (or at least have a good faith belief that you do). The idea that UHC now owns every depiction of the guy accused of killing their employee is laughably frivolous and one hopes that its legal department understands this and these requests are coming from a third party troll impersonating the carrier.An independent journalist posting a photo of Mangione with his family also received a DMCA request from a lawyer claiming to represent a family member holding the copyright even though the image was originally posted on the campaign website of Maryland assemblymember Nino Mangione. That site apparently deleted the image and turned around to threaten anyone using it now which is not how fair use works. But at least this request can claim they have a good faith claim, though the system probably shouldnt reward people for trying to retroactively claim rights after they try to memory-hole their internet history.But the disturbing thread running through all these requests is how easy its become for copyright trolls to leverage the DMCA to intimidate providers into accepting facially invalid requests. The statute has given way to a sort of asymmetrical warfare over IP where bad faith actors can pepper sites with ownership claims and trust that their targets will back down rather than deal with the litigation risk. As 404s coverage notes, this doesnt bode well in a country about to inaugurate an administration openly encouraging retribution against journalists in an effort to silence criticism.This sure looks like a company (and a local politician) trying to use copyright law as a square peg-round hole solution to erasing any humanizing or sympathetic depiction of Mangione. And unfortunately, everyone seems to be obeying in advance.Copyright Abuse Is Getting Luigi Mangione Merch Removed From the Internet [404 Media]Joe Patriceis a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free toemail any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him onTwitteror Bluesky if youre interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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Incoming president Donald Trump has confirmed reports that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.Trump said in a statement that Krishnan will help shape and coordinate AI policy across government, working with the presidents council of advisors on science and technology. And in a post on X, Krishnan said that hell be working closely with ex-PayPal COO David Sacks, who was recently named Trumps crypto and AI czar.Im honored to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI, Krishnan wrote. Thank you, Donald Trump, for this opportunity. Krishnan, an entrepreneur and VC, previously led product teams at Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo! (disclosure: TechCrunchs parent company), Facebook, and Snap.He and his wife, Aarthi Ramamurthy, rose to additional prominence in 2021 as hosts of the podcast The Aarthi and Sriram Show (which was then called the Good Time Show).Krishnan has a close relationship with billionaire Elon Musk, with whom he worked to rebuild Twitter (now X) following Musks acquisition of the company in 2022. Musk co-leads the Department of Government Efficiency, a policy group to recommend government restructuring and cuts to federal spending.Krishnan was appointed a general partner at a16z in February 2021, and in 2023, was selected to lead the firms London office, its first non-U.S. location. He left in late November.Krishnan expressed a few of his views on current AI trends in an opinion piece last year in The New York Times. He called for a fundamentally different mechanism for websites to exchange value with OpenAIs ChatGPT and other AI-powered chatbots.Large internet sites are fighting back against AI models with the internet equivalent of raising the castle drawbridge, he said, referring to user protests on Reddit and Stack Exchange and those platforms data licensing programs. Some industry experts believe the answers are in legal action and older sites forming content alliances. As a technologist, my hope is that the answers lie in code rather than lawyers and that we see creative technology solutions to help keep the internet open.

In BriefPosted:2:12 PM PST December 22, 2024Image Credits:Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg / Getty ImagesPalantir and Anduril reportedly building a tech consortium to bid on defense contractsTwo big defense tech players, Palantir and Anduril, are talking to tech companies including SpaceX, OpenAI, Saronic, and Scale AI about forming a consortium to bid on Pentagon contracts, according to a report in the Financial Times.The goal, the FT says, is to challenge the dominance of prime defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing. One unnamed participant described this as an effort to provide a new generation of defense contractors, while another said this will be a more efficient way to sell the government cutting-edge weapons and other tech.Initial partnerships could be announced as soon as January, according to the report.Palantir and Anduril (both named after magical items in J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings) hinted that something like this was in the works earlier this month, with an integration announcement between Palantirs AI Platform and Andurils Lattice software. At the time, the companies said they were launching a new consortium to ensure that the U.S. government leads the world in artificial intelligence.Topics

Internal rotor of a steam Turbine at workshopgettyAs the community of IT leaders and experts ponders the most likely future of technology, in which we outsource more and more cognition to AI, people are also thinking about energy and power.Had you asked me a few years ago, I wouldnt have thought that this particular aspect of IT would be so front and center today. Its also sort of strange to enumerate, because of the way that it contrasts to our human brains. As people, we get our fuel in strange and inefficient ways. By contrast, we know how to power computers - we know their energy needs down to the last detail. Or do we?This was brought back to me in a thought-provoking talk by Vijay Gadepally, where he went into some of the considerations for conserving energy while interacting with Chatbot and AI agents or using data centers to process gigantic amounts of information.Again, its important that we think about this, and its interesting how nuanced AIs power needs can beFive Commandments for Energy SavingsThroughout the presentation, Gadepally returned to five principles for conserving energy in AI operations. I included all five slides, because these are a good way to see visually a lot of the detail behind each of these points. But the main strategies are as follows know the impact of what AI is doing, provide power on an as-needed basis, reduce computing budget by optimizing, consider using smaller models or ensemble learning, and make the underlying systems more sustainable.MORE FOR YOUMeasuring Power NeedsFirst, Gadepally suggests we have to start with a good reckoning of how much power were using. If we have transparency into the energy cost of a ChatGPT query, we can then consider risk versus reward (or cost versus gain) and what we need to focus on in daily operations. For example, scientists have figured out that asking ChatGPT a series of questions generally requires about a 16 ounce bottle of water, and as our experts have pointed out, this has to be drinking-quality water in order to support the infrastructure. So its literally taking portable water out of peoples mouths.Thats to say nothing of the actual energy budget that these technologies have, where a lot of our electricity is still made through burning fossil fuels.This leads us to some of Gadepallys other points about lowering the energy footprint of AI operations.The Benefits of OptimizationFirst, he suggests we should focus just on particular problems that are more important, to reduce the computing budget. We shouldnt just let these systems run in order to see what they can do while the energy costs mount up.Heres a very interesting example that Gadepally points out its about inference, which he refers to as an energy hog.Do computers use more power when they think harder? The short answer is yes.Right now, inference is all the rage as we marvel at the ability of the LLMs to buckle down and concentrate on a particular question or idea. But yes, that type of cognition uses a particular level of energy, and may only be needed for certain higher-level workloads.Then theres Gadepallys suggestion that we can use smaller models for some jobs. This sort of triangulation, which he refers to as telemetry, breaks down the energy needs into components that we can manage, to, as he says, reduce Capex and Opex. (Youll have to forgive the corporate-speak)Finally, theres the recommendation to build systems to be more sustainable. One of the biggest examples is locating the energy sources with the data centers on a particular piece of land, so that youre not losing energy through transmission.Another overarching strategy (I dont think Gadepally talked about this specifically, but its been on my mind) is to ramp up safe nuclear energy production. This is easier said than done if you look at examples like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, but at the same time, its reasonable to hope that nuclear energy safety has made great strides since then. The U.S. is looking, for example, at Chinas successful use of small nuclear facilities to generate electricity without fossil fuel combustion.The bottom line, though, is that were going to need an any and all approach, which is one reason I found Gadepallys talk so appealing. Whether its his example of allowing children to generate bedtime stories, or monitoring the use of drones in industries like defense and transportation, well need to be thinking about how to manage the energy costs as we go.

A detail shot of the UFC Legacy Championship Belt (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via ... [+] Getty Images)Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesMost of the time, if I told you someone from Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship called out a UFC champion, youd be right to file it under: yeah, well thats probably not going to happen. The UFC almost never does cross-promotional events.On Saturday, Platinum Mike Perry called out former UFC welterweight champion Ruthless Robbie Lawler, and there are several reasons why it will probably happen.In case you missed it, heres Perry calling Lawler out during BKFC: Hollywood at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on Saturday night.First, Perry has graduated past the aspect of his career where he would make senseless callouts for attention that have no chance of coming to fruition. Hes endeavored to start his own combat sports promotion, Dirty Boxing, and Perry has learned how to capitalize on his fame.If hes calling Lawler out for a bare-knuckle fight, you can bet hes gotten some indication that its a realistic possibility.Second, as you can see from the clip, Lawler was present for the event, which likely means he was aware Perry was going to call him out. Because of that, there is good reason to believe there may already be a deal in place.MORE FOR YOUThe purpose of the callout could have been to get the buzz going. Considering were in something of a quiet period for the UFC, its a good time to start this discussion.Lastly, bare-knuckle has Lawler written all over it. Lawler isnt currently signed with the UFC, which should free him of the red tape that usually comes with cross-promotion and the worlds No. 1 MMA organization.The style of fighting that we see in bare-knuckle is what weve come to expect from Lawler, who was always down to stand and bang.Quite honestly, there is an argument to be made that Perry-Lawler could be the biggest bare-knuckle fight the BKFC has promotedif it happens.Perry hasnt competed since he lost to Jake Paul in a boxing match in July. Shortly after the loss, BKFCs part-owner and former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor fired Perry on social media.Apparently, the firing didnt stick, as Perry has been present at several BKFC events and was in the ring with a mic on Saturday night to call out Lawler. Theres a lot to like and believe about this moment in BKFC.Ill be watching the developments on this story over the next few months. Dont be surprised if this event comes together sometime in the spring. Here is a look at the results from BKFC: Hollywood.BKFC on DAZN: Hollywood ResultsMike Richman def. Jared Warren via KO in Round 1 (0:44)Wins BKFC World Light-Heavyweight TitleChristine Ferea def. Christine Vicens via TKO in Round 4 (1:22)Defends BKFC World Womens Flyweight TitleLeonardo Perdomo def. Levi Costa via KO in Round 1 (0:47)Bryan Duran def. Kasim Ruffin via TKO in Round 1 (1:59)Gee Perez def. Cary Caprio via TKO in Round 1 (0:44)Justin Ibarrola def. Derek Perez via TKO in Round 2 (1:04)Edgard Plazaola def. Alex Castro via KO in Round 4 (1:25)Sabah Homasi def. Eduardo Peralta via KO in Round 2 (1:02)Tyler Randall def. Austin Lewis via KO in Round 1 (1:46)Francesco Ricchi def. Blake LaCaze via Unanimous Decision (50-43x2, 48-45)Brock Walker def. Chino Bloom via KO in Round 4 (1:04)

I'm the youngest of three siblings and the only Gen Zer.When I graduated this year, I faced the realities of job-hunting and adulthood.I learned lessons from observing my sisters and other millennials navigate their 20s.After 16 years in the education system, my time as a student ended on a random Wednesday afternoon in April. I was finally free from lectures, tests, and group projects but thrust into the realities of a scarier world: adulthood.In this world, there were no set milestones to tell me I was on the right track. Everyone seemed to be on a path to something greater, but I feltI know I'm not alone. Every 20-something has probably felt at least a little bit lost in life. But amid mass layoffs and the threat of AI replacing jobs, stepping into the job market as a fresh graduate in 2024 felt like diving head-first into an abyss.An August report by an early careers platform, Handshake, surveyed 1,925 graduating students. They found that 57% of the students felt pessimistic about starting their careers an increase from 49% of graduating students last year. Of the 57%, 63% said the competitive job market contributed to their pessimism.The stress of not knowing whether I could secure a job was compounded by uncertainty about my career. I had studied journalism but wasn't sure if it was the right fit. I had the irrational fear that if my first job turned out to be the "wrong" choice, I'd be relegated back to the start line of the rat race.Amid a brewing quarter-life crisis, I looked to my sisters, aged 28 and 31. They do many things that people of my generation may scoff at, like watching Instagram reels exclusively and using the laughing emoji. But they seem to have figured out one thing: life after college.Here's what I've learned from watching them conquer the Roaring Twenties.Life doesn't end when school endsToward the end of college, I mentally prepared myself for the fast-approaching expiration of youth."You must treasure your university days," relatives constantly reminded me at yearly Lunar New Year gatherings. They painted adulthood as a bleak portrait of bills, mundanity, and loneliness. So, when the time came, I was reluctant to let go of my identity as a student.But as the youngest sibling, I also watched my sisters graduate from college, get married, and build their own homes. I saw them achieve promotions at work, find new hobbies, and start a life outside the one I knew of us growing up together.Adulting isn't easy I now know that. But there are also so many new milestones and freedoms that come with it, and there is so much to be excited about.A job is just a jobMy elder sister works in communications and the other in architecture. Even when their hours stretched into the night and weekends, they built a whole life outside work.One started a sticker side business, and the other is now an avid runner.It wasn't always smooth. My second-oldest sister burned out after working too much in her first job and took a career break. She prioritized work-life balance at her next job.In that way, millennials and Gen Zers are alike. A 2024 report by Deloitte found that work-life balance topped the priorities for both generations when choosing an employer. When asked which areas of life were most important to their sense of identity, both generations agreed that jobs came second only to friends and family.Distancing myself from the idea that my job had to be my one true passion lifted a weight off my shoulders. As much as I still want a job that gives me purpose, I also make time for other aspects of life that fulfill me, like working out and spending time with friends.Just give it timeAs with most worries, the fear that I'd never find a job was unfounded. In July, I started my first job as a junior reporter. But when the first day at work finally ended, I trudged home in a daze."I have to do this every day for the next 40 years?" I asked my second-oldest sister, who laughed. It wasn't that I didn't like the job. It was the change in routine from school life to a 9-to-5 that unsettled me."You'll get used to it," my sister said. Six months in, I still don't know if I will. But seeing my millennial counterparts thrive has encouraged me.It's not just my siblings who have set an example. At work, my millennial colleagues are a constant source of guidance to the Gen Zers in the office. On social media, millennial influencers brand themselves as "internet big sisters" and give advice on navigating the complex years of their 20s.Older millennials are now turning 40, but they were once in the position of Gen Zers, being scoffed at by the older generations for being "lazy" and changing work culture.Now, they've drawn the map for Gen Zers' entry into the strange world of adulthood. It's made adulting just a little less scary.

Tech employees share their salary negotiation tips, which helped boost their pay by tens of thousands of dollars.Their negotiation strategies include practicing pitches, using data, and leveraging multiple offers.Research and transparency are key in negotiating better compensation in tech roles, they said.Sarra Bounouh has worked at consulting giant Accenture and three Big Tech companies.But she still deals with imposter syndrome, especially when talking compensation."Going into a negotiation is always, at least for me, a very uncomfortable discussion," Bounouh told Business Insider. "I just want to push through and ask for what I deserve."She and four other tech employees from Meta, Google, and Cisco shared their salary negotiation tips before joining a company or when trying to get promoted. They have used these strategies to add tens of thousands of dollars to their original offers in recent years.Product manager at Meta Sarra Bounouh joined Meta in 2024. Sarra Bounouh Avoid offering the first number. If you must, back it up with research, said Bounouh, a product manager who joined Meta earlier this year.She suggested using resources like Levels.fyi or Glassdoor and selecting your role and geography to see recent offers and compensation that makes sense for that job."I personally don't like having detailed conversations about level and compensation from that first call with the recruiter because I want to meet the team, I want to meet the hiring manager, I want to get excited about the role," she said.Bounouh prefers to negotiate her level and compensation once there's an offer on the table.She said she often gets asked about salary expectations early in the process because recruitersShe politely declines to share a number by telling the recruiter: "I don't have a number for your right now. I will need to do some research before getting back to you. At this stage of the process, I'm more focused on meeting the hiring manager and team."Rehearsal is key for conversations about promotions or raises, she said.Bounouh said she practiced her pitch for every job after Accenture and increased all three jobs' initial salary offers: Microsoft by 32%, Snap by 19%, and Meta by 37%.Product manager at Oracle Ketaki Vaidya joined Oracle in 2017 and has grown her career at the company since. Ketaki Vaidya Internal transfers between teams or offices are also an opportunity to negotiate your compensation package.Ketaki Vaidya, who moved from Oracle's India to California office in 2022, said she approached her negotiation with an "everything under the sun is negotiable" mindset.First, Vaidya looked at Glassdoor"I was being given this offer for the credibility that I had built in the organization. I felt like I had an upper hand in negotiating," she said. "I was much more confident in asking for the things that I deserve so it ended up being a very smooth transition."After negotiating her base salary up to $80,000, she discussed other compensation components, including the timing of her next review, sign-on bonuses, relocation costs, paid leave, and remote work. She negotiated a sign-on bonus of $15,000 and a relocation allowance of $15,000, which weren't part of the initial offer.Now, her compensation is about $130,000 annually, including stock units and bonuses.Product manager at Cisco Varun Kulkarni transitioned to tech after a career in consulting. Varun Kulkarni When Varun Kulkarni switched from consulting to tech to work on more artificial intelligence projects, he was careful not to come off as aggressive during his pay negotiations.Once he had offers from Cisco and others in hand in 2022, he was transparent with recruiters and mentioned other offers, without introducing his own counter number.He asked recruiters how high they could go and what they thought about other offers."You want to kind of not be too pushy" he said.His offer from Cisco already matched the market rate and what several competitors were offering, but he managed to negotiate it by 5%, bringing his total compensation to $180,000.Product manager at Google Yung-Yu Lin worked at Yahoo, Meta, Visa, PayPal, and Google. Yung-Yu Lin During his 2022 recruitment process at Google, Yung-Yu Lin used his employer at the time, PayPal, to land better offers from both companies.He interviewed and landed jobs at several places but their pay did not compare with Google's offer.Lin decided to negotiate a retention package. PayPal countered with a 10% pay bump. He then renegotiated with Google.Google offered a 20% raise on his original compensation at PayPal, which brought his offer to the $350,000 to $400,000 range as a senior product manager, including stock-based compensation.Software engineer at Meta Hemant Pandey joined Meta in 2021 after experiences at other tech firms. Hemant Pandey Hemant Pandey, a senior software engineer at Meta, used other offers and research in his most recent job search.After two years at Salesforce, in 2021 he applied to Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, and two other companies. He used offers from these companies to negotiate his compensation at Meta."Be very transparent that you have other offers. Even if you have interviews going on, mention those, because it's also leverage," he said. It signals to the recruiter that they have to move fast and work with your parameters.Meta's recruiters matched the base salary and restricted stock units from the highest of all offers.Aside from being transparent,"I also negotiated my sign-on bonus and said, 'Hey, at Salesforce, I'll be leaving my $30,000 to $40,000 of annual bonus if I join you. Can you help me accommodate that?'"Pandey was offered $520,000 in annual pay, including stock options, in that 2021 move."The most significant thing happened in my career when I made the move from Salesforce to Meta, which was close to almost 80 to 90% hike" in pay, Pandey said.Do you work in tech, consulting, or finance and have a story to share about your career journey? Please reach out at shubhangigoel@insider.com.