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  1. Re:Conclusions on Game Development In a Post-Agile World · · Score: 1

    Not necessarily,

    I have been working with Agile software development for 3 years now. Delivering working software every 2 or 3 weeks and never had a single day of delay or extra cost. Got extremely satisfied clients.

    Now, it is not a religion, it is not the only and best way to view software development. It is just one tool every project manager must have in his toolbox.

    Always think, does this software that I am building looks more like a building a bridge or like writing a book?

    If you are building a bridge, please use a process oriented methodology that will get you the correct specs. If you already know exactly what you want, why go for a methodology that is made to coupe with change?

    If you are venturing into the unknown, and nobody has a clear idea of the final software, but has a vague initial definition. Go Agile

  2. Re:Free trade of ideas, anyone? on Google Hacked, May Pull Out of China · · Score: 1

    China's GDP growth was at 11% last quarter, for year-over-year growth of about 8%, and just now replaced Germany as the world's leading exporter. (Funny, how does a "Socialist" European Free Market(tm) democracy be former world's largest exporter, but the US can't be?

    Why would anyone want to be the world's largest exporter?

    What everyone wants to be is the largest importer. The richest countries are the ones that get more products (a bigger piece of the pie).

    All the developing countries always have been the biggest exporters of everything for the last 50 years. But they also have always had huge external debts to go with that, so the products got out, money got in, and the money got out again to pay interest on those debts (which were made to no benefit of the population during good non-democratic governments. Good because they were helped/sponsored/approved by the developed countries).

    What nobody expected was that China would come out of communism to became a huge exporter in 10 years (without debts to balance the cash flow). Nobody expected, because they believed China to be communist like Russia. In fact China never was. China has been an company and run like a company for the last 15 years at least. It has a board of directors and a CEO. It learned the lesson that the western world failed to see: If democracy was the most efficient way to do something, companies would use it. They don't! Employees don't elect the directors. They don't vote for CEO.

    I have been in China for a while now and I see their point, even tough they still don't get that people should be represented in any honest form of government, I can't help but think that they got something right that democracy as we know cannot compete with. Its like seem the end of Feudalism.

  3. Re:The decade isn't over yet! on Ten Gadgets That Defined the Decade · · Score: 1

    Yes, my bad.

  4. Re:The decade isn't over yet! on Ten Gadgets That Defined the Decade · · Score: 1

    Speaking about fail... I meant that by the year 10, Christ was 9.

  5. Re:The decade isn't over yet! on Ten Gadgets That Defined the Decade · · Score: 1

    Yes, this is pedantic. But not incorrect. Now comes the real pedantic part: If you say the best of "the decade" you are implicitly referring to the current decade as counted from the first one until now. The same goes to "the century" and "the millennium". It is correct to refer to the 80's as the period from 1980 until 1989. Every one of those years really belongs to the 80s. Buts. as you said, the first year of our calendar was 1. There was no year 0. This makes the first decade go from 1 to 10. So, it is correct to say that the [current] decade will end next year. It really makes little sense to start on year 1 if you think about it. They wanted to mark the birth of Christ as the start of the calendar, but they made it in a way that by the year 10, Christ was 11. If you ask me that was a major fail.

  6. Re:The decade isn't over yet! on Ten Gadgets That Defined the Decade · · Score: 1

    A new decade ends and begins every second. We're celebrating this one because it's a double digit change on the odometer. What's your problem?

    That is true, but then again, if we must be pedantic about it, since a decade can be any 10 year period, they should specify which decade they are referring to.

  7. Are there any positive side effects? on Russia Plans To Divert Asteroid · · Score: 1

    We all know the horrible death and destruction that it would cause, but would a meteor impact bring any positive side effects? Has anyone ever stop to consider this?

  8. People will pay millions to see it in the movies.. on Russia Plans To Divert Asteroid · · Score: 1

    ...but won't do it to actually prevent it from happening. If there is a small chance that this may hit us, we should prepare. And if it doesn't, we have a perfect chance to practice. Do you really want to wait until a meteor is coming dead center to find out if we can figure out how to divert it?

  9. Why? on Go, Google's New Open Source Programming Language · · Score: 1

    I mean, I get the whole we like to do concurrent staff. But does the world really need another programming language? There has been a literal outbreak of new or revamped programming languages in the last few years. Are we seeing now with programming languages what happened to linux distros a while back? If so, what languages will emerge and what will just merge with others?

  10. Re:They have a way to corrupt elections on Contest To Hack Brazilian Voting Machines · · Score: 1

    Actually, I don't think the election numbers are manipulated in any way in Brazil. Simply because there is no need... People keep voting on these guys and these guys keep the people dumb enough to elect them. If democracy worked, companies would use it. Companies strive to always use the most effective and cost efficient system to manage themselves. It is the law of capitalism, if there is a better way and you don't adapt, you are going out of business. The fact that companies do not use ask the employees to vote on their board of directors should speak enough about how much democracy works.

  11. Re:Why we generally trust the electronic voting on Contest To Hack Brazilian Voting Machines · · Score: 1

    - You OUGHT to vote if you are a Brazilian citizen between 18 and 70, and is not illiterate. You get in a lot of trouble if you don't.

    No You don't. You have to pay about R$4 (USD 2) per election you miss, with a maximum of three elections. So you would have to pay about R$12 if you never go to vote, but need your voter id normalized (in case you decide to vote or get a public job). That is it. The only inconvenience is that you have to go to the voting registry place to do this, and it usually only opens in business hours.

  12. Re:Don't blame me, on The Great Ethanol Scam · · Score: 1

    You are right of course. I just could not resist the opportunity. There are better alternatives to sugar cane, I saw somewhere there was a research to produce ethanol using a special kind of bacteria, so it would convert solar power straight to ethanol, without using up crop space. I think that is promising if it works.

  13. Re:And Brazil is chopping down virgin forests to g on The Great Ethanol Scam · · Score: 1

    Oh come on, There isn't a sugar cane farm within 1000km radius of the amazon rain forest. That is another issue entirely.

  14. Re:Don't blame me, on The Great Ethanol Scam · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah, I am Brazilian and we have our ethanol program (Pro-alcool) since the 70s. It is true that the Engine needs to be specially prepared to handle ethanol. You can't just put ethanol on a regular gas powered car. In Brazil today, almost all cars run on both Gas and Ethanol. It really does work, and has been working for almost 40 years. Making ethanol out of corn? Newbies!

  15. Re:Worse than ignorance, it's iggerunt. on Cisco Offices Raided, Execs Arrested In Brazil · · Score: 1

    I find PERL very nice for poetry.

  16. Re:Only the stupid pay taxes in Brazil on Cisco Offices Raided, Execs Arrested In Brazil · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Thank you!
    I was hopping to meet another Brazilian who had more than half a brain!
    You got it right! The main problem is exactly that, if you don't agree with some law, you fight to revoke it, but you CAN'T CHOOSE WHICH LAWS YOU FOLLOW AND WHICH YOU DON'T.

    And if poor old CISCO did what they did. And I am sure their clients paid full price for the taxes they didn't pay (and I know this because I already made quotes for CISCO equipment) off to jail with them.

    So there!
    And to all those that believe that you should only pay taxes when you get got: I hope you move to some other country if any will have you!
    I had a choice and I am still here, paying my taxes so all you losers can evade yours and complain about poor public service. WTG.

  17. Should he also be put on the Sex Offenders List? on Student Arrested for Making Videogame Map of School · · Score: 1

    What could he possibly do with a hammer? Nail his classmates?

  18. How are we supposed to know the law? on Anti-Spam Suits and Booby-Trapped Motions · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I was reading your comment and it occurred to me. At what point in our life are we supposed to have learned the laws, not all laws, but the basic rules according to which we are supposed to live by?
    I am sure that we all get the basics (no killing, no adultery, no stealing) from when we are kids. But why don't we have basic law taught to us just as we have basic language and math? How many times people break laws simply because they didn't know them? I think that is something to think about.

    BTW, I am not from the USA but I guess the same problem happens everywhere.

  19. The best lawyer on Anti-Spam Suits and Booby-Trapped Motions · · Score: 1

    You know what they say:
    The good lawyers know all the laws.
    The best lawyer knows the judge.

    Jokes apart, I (and all the other people who gets spam) wish you all the luck. Maybe with some examplar punishment for a few spammers the rest of them will think about alternative career choices.

  20. I guess it is an attitude problem. on Word 2007 Flaws Are Features, Not Bugs · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I guess it is an attitude problem.
    If they said their software is sold "as it is" and that it possibibly had problems and were humble enough to admit it, there would be fewer MS-haters out there.
    I agree with you on the impossibility of completly testing a software of the complexity of Word. No argument there.

    BTW, calc.exe already GPFed on me. :)

  21. I didn't know that on Word 2007 Flaws Are Features, Not Bugs · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Windows is filled with these nice features too. Microsoft is sure to include them in every piece of software they release.
    Why spend on testing, when you got paying consumers to do the bug reports for you?
    It may be unethical, but they ARE getting richer by the minute.

  22. How long before... on Building Brainlike Computers · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...comps get lazy and start reading /. instead of working?

  23. Re:Another day in the world of near-monoculture. on Massive Spam Shot of "Storm Trojan" · · Score: 1

    Hahaha. You just gave me my GTalk status for today. Thanks