While I am actual surprised that C# caught on (as it is only syntacticly slightly more difficult to code then VB.NET without any real advantages) as well as it did. However languages that try to redo the way we think about how we program rarely ever make it. Even object orientation has limited success as most code is written procedurally and just use the class to just contain them in groups. (and gives us a Green Light to use Global Variables).
I haven't seen may apps that properly use OO as to do so requires management oversight, in which usually doen't know about OO anyways.
Bad Analogy. That analogy will end up with you getting punched in the face.
Computer Science and Computer Engineering are Very different topics. (and their quality varies based on what school you go to)
Computer Science is actually Computational Science; the study on how things get calculated. Its focus is less on Calculus and more on Discrete Mathematics. Although it is considered a technical degree because to prove and practice the concepts we use computer programming languages. However you could in theory earn a Computer Science degree without having ever touched a computer. It is a Science not Engineering.
Computer Engineering, is more focused on the actual computer as a device, how it works in a rather detailed level. There is less focus on Discrete Math of which is a process (in basic terms) of validating the truthfulness of a Mathematic/Logical function, and more on Calculus which is great for optimization.
My experience Engineers normally write really crappy code. While it works it doesn't have the same clean style that a Computer Scientist will make. But for a better analogy on how the topic is different it would the be the difference between a chef and a baker. Where both can probable do each others job, however one would do some thing better then others in differnt areas.
It might lead to a faster route to a higher paying job. However do you calculate how much is loss in those 2 years. Tuition for 2 years not working for 2 years, that is probably about $100k (depending on location) loss that you need to make up. Going for work in the real life (if you want to go a path outside of academia) is preferable. 1. You get real experience and put some of your training in real life scenario and you find what type of work you like and dislike. Find real world problems so when you are ready to go back to your masters you now have a focus. 2. You can realize if taking that degree was a good choice for you. I myself got a CS undergrad and the way my life went and where I want to go in my like I am working on a MBA. 3. Real world lets you grow up a bit. Oddly enough things I always hated in my Undergrad are now much easier emotionally for me to do. As I was settled down and married when went back to school I could really focus on the work. And wasn't concerned about finding a girl friend or trying to be popular or at least well known... I am just comfortable with who I am and I can put my time and effort into the education part of school. 4. You are more useful after you get your Grad Degree. You just start work with your grad degree and no real experience. You will find yourself in a place where some of the people without that degree may be your boss or just technically better then you. As well many projects that you work on probably will not fully use skills leaned in your masters.
You should really peruse a masters degree but real life experience isn't a substitute for it. They are two different things.
Wouldn't it be better to turn it off? All you are doing is making some people who contact you angry. Well he has a voice mail, Ill leave him a message, it is not urgent yet but I want a response back. At least if voice mail is turned off or fill it up so it says voice mail is full. If it is important they will try to call you back again.
I don't know being able to Code Linux applications and run them on Windows... Creating a situation where Linux Apps can become the primary App server then at some point they will realize they are running all Linux apps and just dump Windows for Linux and Virtualize their few Windows Apps.
That is the primary reason why Genuine Disadvantage is so pointless. Almost everyone who owns a PC has licensed copy of Windows. People are not going crazy upgrading their old PC to Vista or Windows 7 as that would be Stupid because it will run so slow on these systems. So piracy of Windows is really low. Office on the other hand is a different story. But GA It gets in your way if you want to Virtualize your OS (Or worse Virtualize a boot partition so you can swap them around), or upgrade your Computer to much, or just transfer your drive to a new computer. Then you have to call Microsoft get the bunch of junk and say yea yea I have only one copy per PC... This is the third time I called you this week.
They are making peoples lives difficult for no good reason. I can see strong DRM in office, however Office has much weaker DRM then windows.
As much as I would love to bash on the hypocrisy of of Slashdotters. However virtualization is rather common now and although having VT extensions would make things easier. There are defiantly ways around it. And with a little focus on Security and performance it should be really close to as it was with the VT extension. It is really just Microsoft not wanting Virtualization.
I always find it funny that the politicians see these under funded schools filled with kids who are bright and eager to learn. And if you just give them the right tool they will outshine everyone.
What are they going to do with these laptops... Durring class when they are suppose to be listening and taking notes, they will be browsing the web, and IMing everyone they know, and doing everything but focusing on the class.
They are better off to give 1 Desktop per child so when they go home they have the same set of tools the richer kids have.
Not to sound like an Apple Fan Boy. But these apps are a mixed bag. Apple Control of the apps is a blessing and a curse. It is good in the fact that Malware isn't put on the iPhone or stuff that will just not work, or will hinder the system and make it run slow and crash a lot. However Apple does need to be less paranoid on competing Apps or services.
One of the biggest strengths of games is the ability for choices to mean something, and for alternate endings to bloom. Chrono Trigger is a big one for me, to go back and play it through all over again, the story is rich and wonderful, and experience a few different endings here and there.
And that is why making good stories with games is rather difficult. We either find a few scenarios for completing the story, however even with a few scenarios it falls down to the following issues.
The Old Sierra Game/Infocom Text Adventure Style: Your goal is to complete the story the way the author wants you do do so. You may have multiple ending However and multiple solutions to get to such endings, however they normally resolve similar plots.
Not being the main character for the plot: The plot is going on around you and you just one of those extras who goes around having to do something to achieve your goals. Much like in Quake II, you may have single handedly killed killed a whole army of evil doers, however once you get to your end of the level you will now need to go to the next level were there is a slightly bigger/smarter army ready for you.
Your objective is not to mess up the plot: Blizzard games do that. In essence by loosing some of the early games you actually save humanity. Object: Prince Arthas must survive. Yea right just as he started turning evil we should just send all the nights after him and shred him to pieces.
Innocent Until proven guilty. Granted it doesn't always work properly and it sometimes lets the bad guys go Scott free. But it really is a good idea. As it is better for the Bad Guys to go free then the Good guys to be locked up. Also this could lead to abuse say for this case you are just using a lot of bandwidth legally, They could kick you off and say you were probably pirating just so they don't need to improve their infrastructure.
But if that did happen then that would be some really poor quality milk wouldn't it. Udder Crap would be utter crap.
The term Crap came from John Crapper the inventor of the Toilet. So while Crap normally means deification it has been expanded to anything so worthless that it needs to be disposed of as soon as possible.
Well as I stated the protest was for some silly policy, nothing really the big of deal, and aperently only the protesters knew about, Giving aid to some 3rd world government who is suspected of doing some nasty things to its people, or stopping aid to some 3rd world country who was starving or something like that. What she was protesting against didn't really stick out as being that big of a deal that anyone on the other side felt that it would be that threatening enough to be violent. If you are planning to put on Body Armor against bullets for some silly policy at the State Capital against a National Policy, you are planning to cause trouble, or egg people enough to do something stupid on their end just so you can get national attention.
Or the University System. Who has really lost their way. In a more perfect world the University's who are doing a lot of this research should be communicating with each other and as well with open, non-confrontational dialogs with other companies R&D. As well getting proper funding from these companies and the governments to work on/get better understanding of the problem.
However real life sets in and Universities need to focus on being grades 13,14,15 and 16 to meet the educational demands for jobs outside. Their research is focused on what can be patented and sold, or breakthrough enough to get public interests. Not a bunch of underpaid grad students looking at a bunch of swirls on a computer screen and predicting that the swirl will go 400 miles North West in 3 days.
Actually treating your employees well, is actually a good management decision. Turn over cost about 150% for the first year to replace an employee so it is much more affordable to keep them there. The main way to keep them is to treat your employees like human beings, and compensate them appropriately and fairly. That said management needs to keep the employees focused on what makes the company money, and assuring that projects get completed on a reasonable time scale, as well know the lines between udder crap, poor quality, good enough, and Perfect. This is a near tangential line where 89.99999999999*pi/180 rad is perfect. and the y axis represents time/money.
So you need to assure the product is released at a good enough quality level to make money and keep your company in business. Trying for perfection will cost too much for what people will pay. Because the Line for the consumers for what they will pay for increasing quality falls more on a Logarithmic scale, on the Same Axis.
A lot of protesters really want to get arrested or teargassed or whatever. Because they are not fully protesting any particular issue but feel the government is corrupt and if they get hurt somehow it makes the government look bad, and them look good.
I remember in a college someone was planning to go to a protest on some silly policy. And she was looking into finding a bullet proof vest. So in other words she was planning on harassing the authorities and the people they are protesting against to a point where someone on the other side will cross that line and make them victims.
I don't have a problem with people protesting, and it should be legal. However a lot of protesters are really Stupid and do it the wrong way.
Here are some Stupid Protests I have seen.
A Silent protest on something... (I don't know what it was about because they wouldn't tell me)
A huge Anti-War (I think) protest in the state capital. I saw a lot of people protesting, however I was busy setting up new computers for the Government Higher Ups (who can actually make some fuss) on the 19th and 20th floor. While most of the people up there were focusing on their work. No one could be heard, and if you did look down and see all the people even their biggest signs looked like smudges.
Protesters in groups less then 15. Small groups are not really effective and can easily be seen as just a fringe group who just hates everything.
Playing folk music. I am a fan of folk music myself, however for protests it is way to corny.
Personal attacks, Are you willing to open a fair dialog with someone caring a poster of you looking like the devil or Hitler?
1. If you subscribe to the paper digitally all the content you can get is either via the Web or the Device, so if you happen to not have the device handy you can read it via the more "traditional" Computer method.
2. Archives available. I should be able to search threw the newspapers entire archive for research.
3. Reader must work for all papers, I can subscribe to 1 or multiple papers and use 1 reader, I can cancel a subscription and still keep the reader and have it work for other subscriptions.
4. Price sharing. If I have one news paper they really should give me the device, if I cancel my subscription and get an other one, the new company should pay the other paper the balance of the device, then give me service, If I choose to not have any news service, I pay the balance left for the device. about $5.00 a month of my subscription should go to paying off the balance, or return the device.
5. Once Balance is paid off I should either be able to get a discount or a new upgrade device.
6. No content should make old readers unusable. (like how CNN Website has a bunch of news that is Movie only!, and not give us a text version of the story too) Upgrades should enhance our content not replace it.
7. A way to print coupons/articles.
8. Bookmark ability, I read it I think it was important and I may want to reference it again. Let me flag it for future use.
9. Constant updates. If there is breaking news I want it to update, or keep a stock ticker going.
10. Portable and rugged. A current News paper alone only cost a few cents - a few bucks if you happen to drop it in a puddle or get ripped no big loss. If you happen to break a paper reader then you out a couple hundred bucks and you will not be happy.
Even if it was backed by Gold, What makes gold so valuable, it is just a shiny rock. If you are going to start talking about the rarity of the rock. When why not link our currency to say something else rare, Say old 1920's comic books. Money and Value is a human invention not a natural one.
Slashdot Mirror
While I am actual surprised that C# caught on (as it is only syntacticly slightly more difficult to code then VB.NET without any real advantages) as well as it did. However languages that try to redo the way we think about how we program rarely ever make it. Even object orientation has limited success as most code is written procedurally and just use the class to just contain them in groups. (and gives us a Green Light to use Global Variables).
I haven't seen may apps that properly use OO as to do so requires management oversight, in which usually doen't know about OO anyways.
Bad Analogy. That analogy will end up with you getting punched in the face.
Computer Science and Computer Engineering are Very different topics. (and their quality varies based on what school you go to)
Computer Science is actually Computational Science; the study on how things get calculated. Its focus is less on Calculus and more on Discrete Mathematics. Although it is considered a technical degree because to prove and practice the concepts we use computer programming languages. However you could in theory earn a Computer Science degree without having ever touched a computer. It is a Science not Engineering.
Computer Engineering, is more focused on the actual computer as a device, how it works in a rather detailed level. There is less focus on Discrete Math of which is a process (in basic terms) of validating the truthfulness of a Mathematic/Logical function, and more on Calculus which is great for optimization.
My experience Engineers normally write really crappy code. While it works it doesn't have the same clean style that a Computer Scientist will make. But for a better analogy on how the topic is different it would the be the difference between a chef and a baker. Where both can probable do each others job, however one would do some thing better then others in differnt areas.
It might lead to a faster route to a higher paying job. However do you calculate how much is loss in those 2 years. Tuition for 2 years not working for 2 years, that is probably about $100k (depending on location) loss that you need to make up. Going for work in the real life (if you want to go a path outside of academia) is preferable.
1. You get real experience and put some of your training in real life scenario and you find what type of work you like and dislike. Find real world problems so when you are ready to go back to your masters you now have a focus.
2. You can realize if taking that degree was a good choice for you. I myself got a CS undergrad and the way my life went and where I want to go in my like I am working on a MBA.
3. Real world lets you grow up a bit. Oddly enough things I always hated in my Undergrad are now much easier emotionally for me to do. As I was settled down and married when went back to school I could really focus on the work. And wasn't concerned about finding a girl friend or trying to be popular or at least well known... I am just comfortable with who I am and I can put my time and effort into the education part of school.
4. You are more useful after you get your Grad Degree. You just start work with your grad degree and no real experience. You will find yourself in a place where some of the people without that degree may be your boss or just technically better then you. As well many projects that you work on probably will not fully use skills leaned in your masters.
You should really peruse a masters degree but real life experience isn't a substitute for it. They are two different things.
Wouldn't it be better to turn it off?
All you are doing is making some people who contact you angry. Well he has a voice mail, Ill leave him a message, it is not urgent yet but I want a response back. At least if voice mail is turned off or fill it up so it says voice mail is full. If it is important they will try to call you back again.
I don't know being able to Code Linux applications and run them on Windows... Creating a situation where Linux Apps can become the primary App server then at some point they will realize they are running all Linux apps and just dump Windows for Linux and Virtualize their few Windows Apps.
That is the primary reason why Genuine Disadvantage is so pointless. Almost everyone who owns a PC has licensed copy of Windows. People are not going crazy upgrading their old PC to Vista or Windows 7 as that would be Stupid because it will run so slow on these systems. So piracy of Windows is really low. Office on the other hand is a different story. But GA It gets in your way if you want to Virtualize your OS (Or worse Virtualize a boot partition so you can swap them around), or upgrade your Computer to much, or just transfer your drive to a new computer. Then you have to call Microsoft get the bunch of junk and say yea yea I have only one copy per PC... This is the third time I called you this week.
They are making peoples lives difficult for no good reason. I can see strong DRM in office, however Office has much weaker DRM then windows.
As much as I would love to bash on the hypocrisy of of Slashdotters. However virtualization is rather common now and although having VT extensions would make things easier. There are defiantly ways around it. And with a little focus on Security and performance it should be really close to as it was with the VT extension. It is really just Microsoft not wanting Virtualization.
Blaming Intel, is code word for we don't wanna do it. But our customers want it.
Sam Robert Jacob Christinson
His name is my name too.
When ever we go out
the people always shout
her come s Sam Robert Jacob
fa la la la la...
I always find it funny that the politicians see these under funded schools filled with kids who are bright and eager to learn. And if you just give them the right tool they will outshine everyone.
What are they going to do with these laptops... Durring class when they are suppose to be listening and taking notes, they will be browsing the web, and IMing everyone they know, and doing everything but focusing on the class.
They are better off to give 1 Desktop per child so when they go home they have the same set of tools the richer kids have.
Not to sound like an Apple Fan Boy. But these apps are a mixed bag. Apple Control of the apps is a blessing and a curse. It is good in the fact that Malware isn't put on the iPhone or stuff that will just not work, or will hinder the system and make it run slow and crash a lot. However Apple does need to be less paranoid on competing Apps or services.
One of the biggest strengths of games is the ability for choices to mean something, and for alternate endings to bloom. Chrono Trigger is a big one for me, to go back and play it through all over again, the story is rich and wonderful, and experience a few different endings here and there.
And that is why making good stories with games is rather difficult.
We either find a few scenarios for completing the story, however even with a few scenarios it falls down to the following issues.
The Old Sierra Game/Infocom Text Adventure Style: Your goal is to complete the story the way the author wants you do do so. You may have multiple ending However and multiple solutions to get to such endings, however they normally resolve similar plots.
Not being the main character for the plot: The plot is going on around you and you just one of those extras who goes around having to do something to achieve your goals. Much like in Quake II, you may have single handedly killed killed a whole army of evil doers, however once you get to your end of the level you will now need to go to the next level were there is a slightly bigger/smarter army ready for you.
Your objective is not to mess up the plot: Blizzard games do that. In essence by loosing some of the early games you actually save humanity. Object: Prince Arthas must survive. Yea right just as he started turning evil we should just send all the nights after him and shred him to pieces.
Innocent Until proven guilty. Granted it doesn't always work properly and it sometimes lets the bad guys go Scott free. But it really is a good idea. As it is better for the Bad Guys to go free then the Good guys to be locked up. Also this could lead to abuse say for this case you are just using a lot of bandwidth legally, They could kick you off and say you were probably pirating just so they don't need to improve their infrastructure.
But if that did happen then that would be some really poor quality milk wouldn't it. Udder Crap would be utter crap.
The term Crap came from John Crapper the inventor of the Toilet. So while Crap normally means deification it has been expanded to anything so worthless that it needs to be disposed of as soon as possible.
Well as I stated the protest was for some silly policy, nothing really the big of deal, and aperently only the protesters knew about, Giving aid to some 3rd world government who is suspected of doing some nasty things to its people, or stopping aid to some 3rd world country who was starving or something like that. What she was protesting against didn't really stick out as being that big of a deal that anyone on the other side felt that it would be that threatening enough to be violent. If you are planning to put on Body Armor against bullets for some silly policy at the State Capital against a National Policy, you are planning to cause trouble, or egg people enough to do something stupid on their end just so you can get national attention.
Or the University System. Who has really lost their way. In a more perfect world the University's who are doing a lot of this research should be communicating with each other and as well with open, non-confrontational dialogs with other companies R&D. As well getting proper funding from these companies and the governments to work on/get better understanding of the problem.
However real life sets in and Universities need to focus on being grades 13,14,15 and 16 to meet the educational demands for jobs outside. Their research is focused on what can be patented and sold, or breakthrough enough to get public interests. Not a bunch of underpaid grad students looking at a bunch of swirls on a computer screen and predicting that the swirl will go 400 miles North West in 3 days.
Actually treating your employees well, is actually a good management decision. Turn over cost about 150% for the first year to replace an employee so it is much more affordable to keep them there. The main way to keep them is to treat your employees like human beings, and compensate them appropriately and fairly. That said management needs to keep the employees focused on what makes the company money, and assuring that projects get completed on a reasonable time scale, as well know the lines between udder crap, poor quality, good enough, and Perfect. This is a near tangential line where 89.99999999999*pi/180 rad is perfect. and the y axis represents time/money.
So you need to assure the product is released at a good enough quality level to make money and keep your company in business. Trying for perfection will cost too much for what people will pay. Because the Line for the consumers for what they will pay for increasing quality falls more on a Logarithmic scale, on the Same Axis.
A lot of protesters really want to get arrested or teargassed or whatever. Because they are not fully protesting any particular issue but feel the government is corrupt and if they get hurt somehow it makes the government look bad, and them look good.
I remember in a college someone was planning to go to a protest on some silly policy. And she was looking into finding a bullet proof vest. So in other words she was planning on harassing the authorities and the people they are protesting against to a point where someone on the other side will cross that line and make them victims.
I don't have a problem with people protesting, and it should be legal. However a lot of protesters are really Stupid and do it the wrong way.
Here are some Stupid Protests I have seen.
A Silent protest on something... (I don't know what it was about because they wouldn't tell me)
A huge Anti-War (I think) protest in the state capital. I saw a lot of people protesting, however I was busy setting up new computers for the Government Higher Ups (who can actually make some fuss) on the 19th and 20th floor. While most of the people up there were focusing on their work. No one could be heard, and if you did look down and see all the people even their biggest signs looked like smudges.
Protesters in groups less then 15. Small groups are not really effective and can easily be seen as just a fringe group who just hates everything.
Playing folk music. I am a fan of folk music myself, however for protests it is way to corny.
Personal attacks, Are you willing to open a fair dialog with someone caring a poster of you looking like the devil or Hitler?
That is off topic we are talking about Google not Net-Zero.
Oh come on that is not in the Spirit of Open Source. Free is Free no matter what the real overhead it.
I wonder what type of DRM you can put on a punch card
I am wondering how many of them would have switched to IBM Anyways?
Or were going to go off Sun, and they saw the value discount.
I could only really see this working.
1. If you subscribe to the paper digitally all the content you can get is either via the Web or the Device, so if you happen to not have the device handy you can read it via the more "traditional" Computer method.
2. Archives available. I should be able to search threw the newspapers entire archive for research.
3. Reader must work for all papers, I can subscribe to 1 or multiple papers and use 1 reader, I can cancel a subscription and still keep the reader and have it work for other subscriptions.
4. Price sharing. If I have one news paper they really should give me the device, if I cancel my subscription and get an other one, the new company should pay the other paper the balance of the device, then give me service, If I choose to not have any news service, I pay the balance left for the device. about $5.00 a month of my subscription should go to paying off the balance, or return the device.
5. Once Balance is paid off I should either be able to get a discount or a new upgrade device.
6. No content should make old readers unusable. (like how CNN Website has a bunch of news that is Movie only!, and not give us a text version of the story too) Upgrades should enhance our content not replace it.
7. A way to print coupons/articles.
8. Bookmark ability, I read it I think it was important and I may want to reference it again. Let me flag it for future use.
9. Constant updates. If there is breaking news I want it to update, or keep a stock ticker going.
10. Portable and rugged. A current News paper alone only cost a few cents - a few bucks if you happen to drop it in a puddle or get ripped no big loss. If you happen to break a paper reader then you out a couple hundred bucks and you will not be happy.
Even if it was backed by Gold, What makes gold so valuable, it is just a shiny rock. If you are going to start talking about the rarity of the rock. When why not link our currency to say something else rare, Say old 1920's comic books. Money and Value is a human invention not a natural one.
80 characters (bytes) just happened to be how many punched you can normally fit on a standard punch card.