So here is yet another interface that I have to learn in order to be able to make a device do what I want it to do. When are we going to get to a point where the devices learn how I want to interact with them?
Honestly, this isn't some weird geek porn fetish. If you're travelling in Hostels or even Hotels, sleep with your passport, cards & your netbook. I've heard of people waking up to strangers in their room feeling under the pillow they're sleeping on, so it's best of tucked in with you. An added advantage if travelling alone and you get lonely, you could call it Mary and...
Evidently Marcus Fenix says, "I've seen things you wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die." just before the DRM shuts down the game.
Yet to look at the live site, but slashdot is all about immediacy isn't it?
From reading the article linked from slashdot it looks like the thing just substitutes words. Reminds me of my belief as a young kid that to learn a foreign language all I had to do was learn the corresponding words to English...and voila!
Also, there is infinitely more to a translation than merely word substitution & grammar. Translator's often can't agree to how a text should be rendered in another language, & I suspect that the subtleties of language will be a challenge for computer translators for a long time yet.
I find myself in the situation where the IT manager (no background in IT or anything related to being a human being) has the entire company's internet access locked down & monitored, managers included. A user who is out sick long term has had their password guessed, the details have spread around the company(obviously) & lo & behold porn gets viewed via this user's proxy access account.
I get told that this is "Disgusting stuff, you wouldn't believe it!" by aforementioned IT manager, to which I respond, "I'll change the password & stop the abuse"...only to be informed that it would be best if he kept monitoring it! This has been going on for weeks & no action has been taken to prevent the employees from wasting time.
People have commented on the IT manager's increased trips to the bathroom though.
Moral of this story, it's obviously wrong & a waste of time to look at porn at work, but productive & in the company's best interests to watch other people doing it.
I can only speak from my own experience, but I would say that you're really up against the 8 ball. To begin with you've a background in IT, which to me is almost unheard of in IT management. Secondly you seem to be concerned about how best to manage, & are also bothered by the fact that you may not be suited to management. All highly unusual character traits for those in management positions. Allow me to provide a brief picture of my current IT manager so that you can model yourself on him & remove all concerns that you have for inadequacy.
1. Forget all your IT knowledge, & learn to struggle to attach an email. This is essential. A truly great IT manager says "magic" when shown for the 457th time how to attach a file to his email messages.
2. Learn to ignore all proposals from the IT dept. IT depts. can't be trusted in providing for the best interests of the company that employs them. Backup up WAN links etc. are a waste of money. Everything works well so lets save that 300 Euro per month.
3. Be certain to use the resources & skills of your IT dept. to engage in personal vendettas & covert ops. against regular, hardworking employees of the company & even fellow managers, for the simple reason that you simply don't like them. If, & only if an employee / fellow manager is being sneaky & using the internet for their own pleasure, be sure to hunt them down & crucify them in a manner that would send chills down the spine of a hardened Roman Legionaire.
4. Outlaw the use of company laptops at home, as this is an abuse of company property, but be sure to ask the IT dept. for a spare one when you're sent on junkets which are merely designed to increase your employability after your retirement, all paid, of course, by your current employer.
5. Again, the handing out of occasional favours such as network cables & phone leads etc. for users to take home is totally forbidden, unless of course they are for your own use. When this is the case do feel free to provide the IT dept. with detailed specs. such as "cable of 28 feet in length", or even get the IT dept. to spend the best part of a week rebuilding your trashed home pc. When doing this you will be honing the skills of those you manage, & this is, of course, in the company's best interests.
6. It is also important to correctly understand the productivity of those you manage. If Jack completed 2 projects this week & Jill completed 5, Jack is obviously a lazy employee who probably has something to hide so we begin to implement covert ops.(see point 3. above) and Jill is a far better worker. Due to your lack of IT knowledge(see point 1. above) you will have to try to bring Jill around to initiate covert ops. against Jack. This can be done in a number of ways, but the most effective is to be nice & jovial with Jill for a number of days, because all IT managers know that those under them have the memory of goldfish & forget what their managers are really like after a day or so.
In conclusion it is really all about ignorance, contempt & misanthropy & leveraging your IT dept. to "value add" your own agenda. Good luck in your new job, I wish you well.
Slashdot Mirror
So here is yet another interface that I have to learn in order to be able to make a device do what I want it to do. When are we going to get to a point where the devices learn how I want to interact with them?
Honestly, this isn't some weird geek porn fetish. If you're travelling in Hostels or even Hotels, sleep with your passport, cards & your netbook. I've heard of people waking up to strangers in their room feeling under the pillow they're sleeping on, so it's best of tucked in with you. An added advantage if travelling alone and you get lonely, you could call it Mary and ...
It's better than being called a Wanker.
Evidently Marcus Fenix says, "I've seen things you wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die." just before the DRM shuts down the game.
From reading the article linked from slashdot it looks like the thing just substitutes words. Reminds me of my belief as a young kid that to learn a foreign language all I had to do was learn the corresponding words to English...and voila!
Also, there is infinitely more to a translation than merely word substitution & grammar. Translator's often can't agree to how a text should be rendered in another language, & I suspect that the subtleties of language will be a challenge for computer translators for a long time yet.
I get told that this is "Disgusting stuff, you wouldn't believe it!" by aforementioned IT manager, to which I respond, "I'll change the password & stop the abuse"...only to be informed that it would be best if he kept monitoring it! This has been going on for weeks & no action has been taken to prevent the employees from wasting time.
People have commented on the IT manager's increased trips to the bathroom though.
Moral of this story, it's obviously wrong & a waste of time to look at porn at work, but productive & in the company's best interests to watch other people doing it.
1. Forget all your IT knowledge, & learn to struggle to attach an email. This is essential. A truly great IT manager says "magic" when shown for the 457th time how to attach a file to his email messages.
2. Learn to ignore all proposals from the IT dept. IT depts. can't be trusted in providing for the best interests of the company that employs them. Backup up WAN links etc. are a waste of money. Everything works well so lets save that 300 Euro per month.
3. Be certain to use the resources & skills of your IT dept. to engage in personal vendettas & covert ops. against regular, hardworking employees of the company & even fellow managers, for the simple reason that you simply don't like them. If, & only if an employee / fellow manager is being sneaky & using the internet for their own pleasure, be sure to hunt them down & crucify them in a manner that would send chills down the spine of a hardened Roman Legionaire.
4. Outlaw the use of company laptops at home, as this is an abuse of company property, but be sure to ask the IT dept. for a spare one when you're sent on junkets which are merely designed to increase your employability after your retirement, all paid, of course, by your current employer.
5. Again, the handing out of occasional favours such as network cables & phone leads etc. for users to take home is totally forbidden, unless of course they are for your own use. When this is the case do feel free to provide the IT dept. with detailed specs. such as "cable of 28 feet in length", or even get the IT dept. to spend the best part of a week rebuilding your trashed home pc. When doing this you will be honing the skills of those you manage, & this is, of course, in the company's best interests.
6. It is also important to correctly understand the productivity of those you manage. If Jack completed 2 projects this week & Jill completed 5, Jack is obviously a lazy employee who probably has something to hide so we begin to implement covert ops.(see point 3. above) and Jill is a far better worker. Due to your lack of IT knowledge(see point 1. above) you will have to try to bring Jill around to initiate covert ops. against Jack. This can be done in a number of ways, but the most effective is to be nice & jovial with Jill for a number of days, because all IT managers know that those under them have the memory of goldfish & forget what their managers are really like after a day or so.
In conclusion it is really all about ignorance, contempt & misanthropy & leveraging your IT dept. to "value add" your own agenda. Good luck in your new job, I wish you well.