There's no reason to make this into more than it is. So a few patriotic scientists realize they're research could be destructive to mankind...isn't this a good thing? It's basically the kind of rational decision making that never happens at the beginning of science fiction movies.
We've all seen the dire predictions of what happens when technology "goes too far." 2001: A Space Odyssey, Godzilla, Jaws, Minority Report, the list goes on. So the handful of scientists who are researching the potentially dangerous stuff say, oh, okay, maybe we shouldn't be doing this stuff that might fall into the wrong hands, and you're complaining? Please.
The vast majority of scientists are working on good, useful technology and research, like cures for exotic diseases and inventions that will improve life for all. The few who are meddling where God did not intend are right to have second thoughts.
I will say, however, that Battletech was the single most confusing game I ever had on my Apple//e. I never had any idea what the point of the game was, how I was doing, or sometimes even whether or not I was playing. However, I loved it based on the sheer coolness of the box and instruction manual.
Game companies today could learn a thing or two. People will buy the most boring- or stupid-ass shit as long as the box looks cool, and if the instruction manual delivers, they will not be upset. I think this is how SuSe works.
Well, we just finished up the meetup out here in Mantleshire, and I thought I'd report in.
Fourteen blokes showed up, and we only had to send two home (one was arrested for possession of a firearm, and one had his mum storm and haul him back home). Had several pints and a wee bit of whisky, and discussion of course centered on Free Software and Enterprise.
I was surprised that a number of the lads were finding themselves disillusioned with Linux. The general feeling is that we've been pushed aside as Linux has become more of a mainstream USian commodity, and so a few of them (not myself) are heading back to Windows. But to each his own, as they say.
By the time the pub was closing we were all a might pissed, so I might be mistaken here, but I believe two of the blokes (I won't mention names, but you know who you are) went home together. I guess this was a "meetup" in more ways than one! All in all, a bloody fine evening. It sure beat getting pissed in front of the telly, which is what my weekend's looking like. I look forward to next month's meetup, and encourage anyone near Mantleshire to show up!
Yes, I find this one of the scariest aspects of employing foreign workers. Like it or not, when someone experiences working in the stability and prosperity of America, they effectively become Americans in that they are now able to appreciate life in a developed society. Sending them back would amount to cruel and unusual punishment without due process (protected by the Fifth Amendment).
I think that if a person has worked for an American company for three years, then he should be permitted to stay here as a permanent resident. Otherwise, we are no better than the racist war-torn countries these people are coming from.:(
Well, I would agree with you if we were talking about McDonald's workers or cab drivers. But you have to recognize that technology in general, and software in particular, are increasingly vital to our national security and wellbeing.
The (very real, I should point out) threat of terrorism aside, I question whether someone of any race can really understand America if he has not grown up here and has no family here.
You know how you aren't really careful about spilling beer at your friend's house, but somehow you're really careful at home? It's the same with foreigners in a strange country: they just don't have the sense of belonging to really make them valuable additions to society.
Again, it's nothing to do with race, and they are welcome to work in our service and manufacturing industries (I am not one of these anti-migrant crazies), but in the highly sensitive information industry, I think we should stick to those people who have a stake in America's future.
Okay, this sounds pretty bad at first. I mean, it's basically a license to hack. But I think there might be something worthwhile in here, and I don't want to toss out the baby with the proverbial bathwater.
First, we're talking about the RIAA and MPAA doing this to copyright violators, that is, criminals. These are people who would be thrown in jail if the police were to catch them. So why doesn't the police go after them? Basically, they have other stuff to worry about. With gang shootings and drug smuggling skyrocketing (heh, the one growth sector left...), the cops are out fighting crime. They simply don't have the time or resources to deal with computer criminals.
In that light, this doesn't seem so bad. After all, they'll only be DOSing criminals, so what's the harm? The law-abiding computer users have nothing to worry about. In fact, we might consider off-loading law enforcement in other areas as well. Maybe give good drivers the ability to write traffic tickets?
In essence, there's a huge difference between some punk DOSing an innocent web site and a legitimate company protecting its property by DOSing a hacker.
I question the wisdom in gathering Linux users in public. It will give the impression that we are incapable of forming relationships with those outside of our close-knit and slightly bizarre community.
Many people will see a bunch of pasty, slightly chubby white guys with longish hair drinking beer and laughing about Babylon 5 or what have you, ask what's going on, and then think something along the lines of, "so that's what Lunix is all about...I'll stick with Windows, thanks," before they go back to hitting on cute girls.
Our image is tarnished enough. Let's keep it underground where it belongs.
Wow, what a terrible idea. Don't get me wrong, I get loaded every night like the rest of the world. But Linux users already have a reputation for being sloppy drunks. This will just enforce the stereotypes perpetuated by the media.
Even worse is this:
This sounds like a tax-deductible business trip to me.
Great, now we look like a bunch of tax-evading criminals, too!
To the Linux community: start trying to think about how your actions reflect on the rest of us.
To the Slashdot editors: start being a little more sensitive to these issues when selecting stories to run.
We don't want to be the next Christian Coalition, NRA, or Libertarian Party.
Re:These tech interview questions are STUPID
on
Tech-Interview Riddles
·
· Score: 0, Troll
Sysadmins are not programmers, despite your aspirations. I also think the OP didn't go far enough: even fresh grads should be held to those standards.
CS programs are largely terrible at teaching skills necessary outside of academia (hm, wonder why that is...). If you want to be a big industry player like Bill Gates, Linux Torvalds, or Edward Raymond, you have to be able to pick things up on your own.
Victory! First Real puts out a Linux version, then we learn that Real is going Open Source (and not just with their own stuff, but with Microsoft's as well), and now they embrace Ogg, the best codec ever!
It's good to see companies finally "get" Free Software. I am now going to Real's website to download the latest RealPlayer public alpha for $25, just to show my support for their recent behavior. I encourage every person in the world to do the same.
I hadn't heard of this product before, but I'm excited. Imagine what it'll be like when these devices become commonplace...you'll get up in the morning and grind and brew coffee by hand. Wind up your radio to hear the news as you crank up the microwave for some oatmeal. Then crank your car and drive to work, where you spend all day in front of a computer, pedalling a stationary bike.
This is pointless. Linux has demonstrated time and again its unparalleled leadership in security. As an IT consultant, I've seen every flavor of server there is, from OS/2 to MacOS X. In 90% of cases, clients are willing to reduce their servers' feature set, flexibility, and ease of maintainence by switching from Win2k to Linux, solely due to the improvements in security. Microsoft does many things well, but security is not one of them. Go Linux!
Garby said he didn't know he was committing a crime and would have never gotten involved in selling mod chips if he had known the law.
Jesus Christ, is it any wonder no one wants to rally behind hackers? Could this guy be any more spineless? Here he is, on trial for excercizing his God-given right to modify his own property, and he says "sorry?" (Sorry, Canadian, he must have said "soory.") Give me a break. Leave it to a Canuck to take a perfect opportunity to set a positive precedent and turn it into an excuse to soil his pants and kiss Sony's feet. Unbelievable.
Okay, this is too much. How does no one recognize that it might not be the best idea to pour robotic, self-replicating bugs into our atmosphere?!? How long before the little bastards develop a taste for human flesh?
This is not the correct way to go about fixing the environment. Throwing technology at a problem caused by technology is not going to work. Rather, we need to simplify our lives. Take a page from the Indians, and start harvesting and hunting our own food. Walk or ride horseback instead of driving. Weave your own clothes from skins.
But don't don't don't develop flesh-eating microscoping robo-bugs!
I love the idea of grabbing "mindshare" (/me crosses himself after uttering evil marketingspeak) through good old-fashioned media whoring. Circus ring tactics are essential in the modern computer business. Remember Jay Leno's TV special introducing Windows 95? Or when that Microsoft dude was dancing or whatever? Steve Jobs practically invented tech-biz dramatics.
This will only help in the battle to get Free Software and the FSF taken more seriously by the public. Maybe we can arrange to have someone dressed in a Tux costume as well. Juggling burning Windows XP CDs.
The ISO exists to promote formats and protocols as standards. It is basically a cheerleading group, which has its purpose, but not here. There is no way you can enforce true standardization. Nor can you pass a resolution that takes away a format's status as a standard.
HTML 4.0 only became a true standard when Microsoft supported it in Internet Explorer. Likewise, GIFs are still standard, despite the huge campaign for PNGs. And SMB is a standard for filesharing, while DOC is a standard for word processing.
JPEG is a standard because every graphics program and web browser supports it, not because of some gold star from the ISO. If the ISO wants to remain relevant, it needs to stop making these self-righteous and ineffectual proclaimations and start working on something that matters.
What place do computers have in chemistry? I mean, the TI-81 is pretty handy when you're trying to figure out how many moles of NaOH you need to add to 15% HCl to get a pH of 8.2, but in all honesty a P4 isn't going to be of much use there.
Real chemistry is about test tubes and stirring rods and funny smells. Leave simulation and computers in physics where they belong.
Slashdot Mirror
Someone built a robot that can wear a tuxedo and serve drinks? What's that, the Dean Martin test?
There's no reason to make this into more than it is. So a few patriotic scientists realize they're research could be destructive to mankind...isn't this a good thing? It's basically the kind of rational decision making that never happens at the beginning of science fiction movies.
We've all seen the dire predictions of what happens when technology "goes too far." 2001: A Space Odyssey, Godzilla, Jaws, Minority Report, the list goes on. So the handful of scientists who are researching the potentially dangerous stuff say, oh, okay, maybe we shouldn't be doing this stuff that might fall into the wrong hands, and you're complaining? Please.
The vast majority of scientists are working on good, useful technology and research, like cures for exotic diseases and inventions that will improve life for all. The few who are meddling where God did not intend are right to have second thoughts.
I will say, however, that Battletech was the single most confusing game I ever had on my Apple //e. I never had any idea what the point of the game was, how I was doing, or sometimes even whether or not I was playing. However, I loved it based on the sheer coolness of the box and instruction manual.
Game companies today could learn a thing or two. People will buy the most boring- or stupid-ass shit as long as the box looks cool, and if the instruction manual delivers, they will not be upset. I think this is how SuSe works.
Then you turned over the lone napkin on the bar counter, and found, written in pencil, the cryptic letters, "YHBT. YHL. HAND." Better luck next time.
Well, we just finished up the meetup out here in Mantleshire, and I thought I'd report in.
Fourteen blokes showed up, and we only had to send two home (one was arrested for possession of a firearm, and one had his mum storm and haul him back home). Had several pints and a wee bit of whisky, and discussion of course centered on Free Software and Enterprise.
I was surprised that a number of the lads were finding themselves disillusioned with Linux. The general feeling is that we've been pushed aside as Linux has become more of a mainstream USian commodity, and so a few of them (not myself) are heading back to Windows. But to each his own, as they say.
By the time the pub was closing we were all a might pissed, so I might be mistaken here, but I believe two of the blokes (I won't mention names, but you know who you are) went home together. I guess this was a "meetup" in more ways than one! All in all, a bloody fine evening. It sure beat getting pissed in front of the telly, which is what my weekend's looking like. I look forward to next month's meetup, and encourage anyone near Mantleshire to show up!
Damned Ivy Leaguers get what they deserve.
Yes, I find this one of the scariest aspects of employing foreign workers. Like it or not, when someone experiences working in the stability and prosperity of America, they effectively become Americans in that they are now able to appreciate life in a developed society. Sending them back would amount to cruel and unusual punishment without due process (protected by the Fifth Amendment).
:(
I think that if a person has worked for an American company for three years, then he should be permitted to stay here as a permanent resident. Otherwise, we are no better than the racist war-torn countries these people are coming from.
Well, I would agree with you if we were talking about McDonald's workers or cab drivers. But you have to recognize that technology in general, and software in particular, are increasingly vital to our national security and wellbeing.
The (very real, I should point out) threat of terrorism aside, I question whether someone of any race can really understand America if he has not grown up here and has no family here.
You know how you aren't really careful about spilling beer at your friend's house, but somehow you're really careful at home? It's the same with foreigners in a strange country: they just don't have the sense of belonging to really make them valuable additions to society.
Again, it's nothing to do with race, and they are welcome to work in our service and manufacturing industries (I am not one of these anti-migrant crazies), but in the highly sensitive information industry, I think we should stick to those people who have a stake in America's future.
Okay, this sounds pretty bad at first. I mean, it's basically a license to hack. But I think there might be something worthwhile in here, and I don't want to toss out the baby with the proverbial bathwater.
First, we're talking about the RIAA and MPAA doing this to copyright violators, that is, criminals. These are people who would be thrown in jail if the police were to catch them. So why doesn't the police go after them? Basically, they have other stuff to worry about. With gang shootings and drug smuggling skyrocketing (heh, the one growth sector left...), the cops are out fighting crime. They simply don't have the time or resources to deal with computer criminals.
In that light, this doesn't seem so bad. After all, they'll only be DOSing criminals, so what's the harm? The law-abiding computer users have nothing to worry about. In fact, we might consider off-loading law enforcement in other areas as well. Maybe give good drivers the ability to write traffic tickets?
In essence, there's a huge difference between some punk DOSing an innocent web site and a legitimate company protecting its property by DOSing a hacker.
I question the wisdom in gathering Linux users in public. It will give the impression that we are incapable of forming relationships with those outside of our close-knit and slightly bizarre community.
Many people will see a bunch of pasty, slightly chubby white guys with longish hair drinking beer and laughing about Babylon 5 or what have you, ask what's going on, and then think something along the lines of, "so that's what Lunix is all about...I'll stick with Windows, thanks," before they go back to hitting on cute girls.
Our image is tarnished enough. Let's keep it underground where it belongs.
Told you so. (that comment is regarding Maya, but still applies)
Can't wait to see all the McZealots do a 180 the day Prince Jobs announces the 3-button iMouse.
Wow, what a terrible idea. Don't get me wrong, I get loaded every night like the rest of the world. But Linux users already have a reputation for being sloppy drunks. This will just enforce the stereotypes perpetuated by the media.
Even worse is this:
This sounds like a tax-deductible business trip to me.
Great, now we look like a bunch of tax-evading criminals, too!
To the Linux community: start trying to think about how your actions reflect on the rest of us.
To the Slashdot editors: start being a little more sensitive to these issues when selecting stories to run.
We don't want to be the next Christian Coalition, NRA, or Libertarian Party.
Sysadmins are not programmers, despite your aspirations. I also think the OP didn't go far enough: even fresh grads should be held to those standards.
CS programs are largely terrible at teaching skills necessary outside of academia (hm, wonder why that is...). If you want to be a big industry player like Bill Gates, Linux Torvalds, or Edward Raymond, you have to be able to pick things up on your own.
Victory! First Real puts out a Linux version, then we learn that Real is going Open Source (and not just with their own stuff, but with Microsoft's as well), and now they embrace Ogg, the best codec ever!
It's good to see companies finally "get" Free Software. I am now going to Real's website to download the latest RealPlayer public alpha for $25, just to show my support for their recent behavior. I encourage every person in the world to do the same.
Linux rules!
I hadn't heard of this product before, but I'm excited. Imagine what it'll be like when these devices become commonplace...you'll get up in the morning and grind and brew coffee by hand. Wind up your radio to hear the news as you crank up the microwave for some oatmeal. Then crank your car and drive to work, where you spend all day in front of a computer, pedalling a stationary bike.
We will all be quite muscular!
This is pointless. Linux has demonstrated time and again its unparalleled leadership in security. As an IT consultant, I've seen every flavor of server there is, from OS/2 to MacOS X. In 90% of cases, clients are willing to reduce their servers' feature set, flexibility, and ease of maintainence by switching from Win2k to Linux, solely due to the improvements in security. Microsoft does many things well, but security is not one of them. Go Linux!
Wonder if this will be supported in PS2 Linux. Can you imagine TuxRacer on one of these babies?
Garby said he didn't know he was committing a crime and would have never gotten involved in selling mod chips if he had known the law.
Jesus Christ, is it any wonder no one wants to rally behind hackers? Could this guy be any more spineless? Here he is, on trial for excercizing his God-given right to modify his own property, and he says "sorry?" (Sorry, Canadian, he must have said "soory.") Give me a break. Leave it to a Canuck to take a perfect opportunity to set a positive precedent and turn it into an excuse to soil his pants and kiss Sony's feet. Unbelievable.
Okay, this is too much. How does no one recognize that it might not be the best idea to pour robotic, self-replicating bugs into our atmosphere?!? How long before the little bastards develop a taste for human flesh?
This is not the correct way to go about fixing the environment. Throwing technology at a problem caused by technology is not going to work. Rather, we need to simplify our lives. Take a page from the Indians, and start harvesting and hunting our own food. Walk or ride horseback instead of driving. Weave your own clothes from skins.
But don't don't don't develop flesh-eating microscoping robo-bugs!
I love the idea of grabbing "mindshare" (/me crosses himself after uttering evil marketingspeak) through good old-fashioned media whoring. Circus ring tactics are essential in the modern computer business. Remember Jay Leno's TV special introducing Windows 95? Or when that Microsoft dude was dancing or whatever? Steve Jobs practically invented tech-biz dramatics.
This will only help in the battle to get Free Software and the FSF taken more seriously by the public. Maybe we can arrange to have someone dressed in a Tux costume as well. Juggling burning Windows XP CDs.
That's a fine point, except that those are physics and biology, respectively.
Well, that's a great point, except that it is biology.
If I get my hands on the people responsible for this, they're going to need to call 911!
The ISO exists to promote formats and protocols as standards. It is basically a cheerleading group, which has its purpose, but not here. There is no way you can enforce true standardization. Nor can you pass a resolution that takes away a format's status as a standard.
HTML 4.0 only became a true standard when Microsoft supported it in Internet Explorer. Likewise, GIFs are still standard, despite the huge campaign for PNGs. And SMB is a standard for filesharing, while DOC is a standard for word processing.
JPEG is a standard because every graphics program and web browser supports it, not because of some gold star from the ISO. If the ISO wants to remain relevant, it needs to stop making these self-righteous and ineffectual proclaimations and start working on something that matters.
What place do computers have in chemistry? I mean, the TI-81 is pretty handy when you're trying to figure out how many moles of NaOH you need to add to 15% HCl to get a pH of 8.2, but in all honesty a P4 isn't going to be of much use there.
Real chemistry is about test tubes and stirring rods and funny smells. Leave simulation and computers in physics where they belong.