Looks like plenty of/.'ers have beat me to posting on this hot button topic but I figure I will throw my two cents in anyways. Ironically, I tend to agree that US/Canada IT graduates are NOT ready for the working world and either are most graduates for that matter. Most freshly schooled folks don't usually have the opportunity to home their skills if they don't put serious initiative into learning the glory details of tech and development which does not usually include any sunshine and lollypops. However, to argue to that India's graduates with limited access to subpar technology and weaker institutional standards are better than US graduates is a total farce. The truth is that the employee from India has likely been "thrown" into more situations than the US graduate before, during, and after graduation and therefore are more likely come up with some type of hackjob response faster than a fresh US grad. Most Indian graduates are working during their academic career and freelancing at ridiculously cheap rates to gain experience in the real world with real North American clients. So when time comes for them to enter the job market they already have experience working professionally that US graduates don't.
I work both professionally and in academia and most of the time the people I meet with the same degree as me (either BSc. or MSc.) makes me ashamed that they have the same degree as me. It is a well known fact that its not the degree that makes the professional but its how they use it. I don't have a computer science degree, infact I have an Environment Sciences MSc. and a BSc. in Biology. However, I can score an IT position faster then someone with a PhD in computer sciences because I have real life experience working with clients, government, and organizations which are dependent on qualified developers and techs. When I am not working in IT I follow all of the latest technologies and languages and work well beyond that typical 40 hours a week in open source and online development projects (as a hobby!). If you are not totally immersed in your field you are only there for the pay cheque. Most grads I know were and are still only interested in the bottom line and unfortunately for those people their dream job just doesn't exist right now.
When our species encountered another intelligent sister species of near identical genetic code we obviously annihilated them off the planet. We really don't have much basis or fact to say with 100% certainty that the reason we don't co-exist with another intelligent species on Earth is because of our own doing. Humans instinctively parasitize and conquer everything in sight. If a highly intelligent species were to greet us even as friendly beings in the soul interest of simply learning about our primitive ways our ego would explode and we very likely would turn on this species like we have done to so many others extinct and living on good ole earth.
The greetings may very well be friendly at first but as soon as that alien being turns his back to us - look out.
Theres a really cool sci-fi book I recently discovered called the Bible! It has all sorts of tales of super-men with powers to create entire worlds in 7 days (and he even took the day off on one of those days!), tales of sci-fi monsters, hybrid human/super-men crosses that can heal normal men with one touch, ability to part seas, walk on water, what a wonderous book! I wonder when men will see one of these great sci-fi stories come to truth....... wait....
CMSes and my opinion
on
Front End Drupal
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Let me take a step backwards for a second and explain my situation. I've been developing for the web for many years now and I've seen technology come and go but I've never seen an idea of an OpenSource web portal take such a strong hold as Joomla! has. PHPNuke was close but even then you rarely randomly stumbled upon a Nuke site every second search. However, unlike Nuke, Joomla seems to have taken over like a bad storm.
I still have some websites lingering around that use Joomla but I am very much dissociated with that CMS, infact any CMS nowadays. I find the issues that these systems bring to the table far outweigh any little added productivity that a small group can sustain. There are teams of script kiddies from Asia and elsewhere scouring online websites for these systems to prove just how easy they are to hack into. If you have an online database with confidential client information, you are in trouble.
The largest website I manage is my own and it ran Joomla for 2 years while I was working on my MSc degree. I had to deal with repeated attempts by hackers to break into this website. It was very frustrating after scouring logs on my linux server to find out that they came in through one of the "secured" CMSs. SQL injections, cross site scripting hacks, upload/media vulnerabilities, you pretty much name it that so called secure web server had one big gaping hole in it and that was Joomla.
I peruse Joomlancers sometimes when looking for some spare cash (freelancing site dedicated to Joomla) and try to encourage local North American companies to ditch this disaster of a CMS. Not only do you have to deal with bugs and exploits at the core but when people load up this CMS with extensions that are mostly all crap (even Community Builder can't seem to get it right) you put together a nice looking template (like this guy with his book from Drupal suggests) and then put it out there for the "Mad Dogs of Vietnam" to hack into and make your online reputation look like shit.
I salute the chap that pointed out how vastly the Joomla community is growing with its extensions and micro-economic community, its a good point really. But if you take a look at whose running these communities (Joomla Art, a popular Joomla template company, Joomlancers, and others) are all owned by a Vietnam company that has less than stellar ethics when dealing with clients - Just search the Joomla forums. I have to wonder why the top contributors and hackers are all from the same city Hai Noi =) Birds of a feather I suppose or is that just job "security"?
I got out as fast as I got into looking after websites running Joomla. Last year we had 13 clients running Joomla and what a headache I developed looking after these sites. The previous freelancers knew how to use a CMS and after that they knew nothing. Even their half-assed attempts at building in additional functionality was more of a joke than anything. I had clients breathing down my neck over issues that were really out of my control. One day I woke up and realized that the real issue was Joomla and thats when I drew the line with it.
Now a days I only work for clients that will develop from the ground up. I no longer have to deal with the types of security issues that these open CMS systems bring to the table. They are great to impress a client in a hurry with something that looks and works right away but as the days turn into months you will have the gut feeling like "what did I do..."...don't do it. Build yourself a core set of functions and your own library in PHP and then build ontop of that individual sites. Code Ignitor among others still get a thumbs up from me. Don't use the same mysql fields all the time. Change your database connection strings up. Change critical global variables every now and then. Thats my 2 cents.
There hasn't been a PC Mechwarrior game released in almost 8 years yet people keep playing Mechwarrior4 because of our community support at MekTek.net and other community leagues and forums dedicated to the game and series. We have become so overwhelmed with supporting the Mechwarrior community that we started building our own versions of the classic PC series (AT1:BT using the Blitz3d engine, NP using OGRE, and our MekPaks for MW4). We did produce 3 fan built expansions for MW4 through some rather creative reverse engineering.
On average our webserver costs $2000 USD depending where the economy is at, and we also have a development server which costs $1500 USD. We only ask our community to support our webserver and they always do through donations.
Do I think the community would support a Mechwarrior MMO based on a model that we proved works? SURE! With a little bit of marketing and getting the word out there we could certainly build a self-sustainable Mechwarrior MMO.
Do I think the future of gaming is dependent on this model? No. I think the future of gaming needs bigwigs to realize that the old school hackers will persist in their communities and locking out PC Game modders is a bad thing in a MMO because it is a subscription based service. Rather, I almost prefer that an MMO subscription is only required to access official game servers and download new content from the primary developer (yes the primary developer needs to provide new content).
You should really think about the older folks before babbling on about a scenario that I imagine features that 28 year old blond twit hired for that managerial secretary position because of her perky boobs.
My dad runs a successful business, hes 62, he knows how to use GMail and Hotmail. Very computer illiterate. When GMail introduced the ability to use custom domains along with checking POP3 and download emails into Gmail he was all set. What a great service they offer for someone like him.
Over the years, being an industrial mechanic (and never having or being able to sit at a desk for 8 hours) he never caught on and today he is still nervous about doing anything on the computer himself within a desktop application. However, for some reason doing things on a website seems easier to him, I can't explain it really but thats how it is for him.
KDE4.x is the reason I switched back to Windows! It was just too much to bare. Inability to use older QT apps, difficulties with GTK apps. Whatever. The OpenSource solution is as bad or worse for someone with a day job. This is why desktop linux is no solution to average home users. Even with Compiz running I still couldn't take KDE4.x
These kids are all of the same age range. These are hormone driven teens that have reached puberty that experimenting and trying to entice each other into sexual play. Which is actually healthy, normal, and certainly not something to be considered child pornography. Rather than our hard earned tax dollars going into this obscene judicial process, why not take these kids and teach them about safe sex, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and morals and values about sexually conduct.
Even the bible teaches us males in the first chapter of geniuses about the woes of a woman. How old does the church consider Eve and Adam to be? Considering that man was suppose to have been created in how many days? The same nut jobs that believe that shit are the ones involved in this 'prosecution'.
The black man with the magic wand has a steep hill to climb I think.
Small businesses are a pain in the ass even if you are your own boss. There are plenty of things to do and worry about and since you will likely be looking to more than 5-15 hours a week I would recommend taking that extra 5 hours and spending it with your kids. Infact, don't kid yourself, most clients expect a great deal of work for as little as possible. What happens when a client needs to contact you during 'normal' working hours? Your current employer won't be happy when they figure out what you are doing. I had a part time contract with a full time employer and even though the technology between the two was completely different I ended up loosing the job with the full time employer because they thought I was cutting their company. Be prepared to be overwhelmed. I couldn't imagine doing this work with a family. If you are looking for something to do then why not get a hobby or build a useful application and sell it for $30-40. How much work can you really do in 5 hours? Clients want 50 hours a week not 5!
All markets are doing poorly. Why do people think that these companies are all going to vanish without a trace? Its only noticeable because its the big dog. The little companies are the ones that are vanishing without a trace.
I expect similar announcements from Intel, Cisco, Adobe, just to name a few. It is no shock that Microsoft has to put jobs on the chopping block.
As a webmaster dealing with clients and companies on a regular basis I have to applaud Google for this. There are so many reasons why IE6 is crap that I lost track. Why are people insisting on using that security hazard people call a browser? Lack of PNG support, lack of following standards, I never seen a product from Microsoft that I loath more than IE6. If Microsoft had made a decent browser or release an update for IE6's rendering engine for Win2k+ users then Firefox likely would have been as popular as it has been.
But remember if you switch to Google Chrome be sure to read the EULA =)
I was almost expelled from junior high over ASCII art and this one brought back some memories. There plenty of emoticons banned after that at that school. Funny how the principal even declared that computers were evil arcade machines that would never be useful in the 'real world'. }=)
A certified electrician is who you need to hook this up. If you are going to doing this work yourself then you should be prepared to show the insurance company your electricians papers when you launch into a live system effectively creating a electrical storm and an arc of electricity that can kill you, your loved ones, and burn your home down in a flash.
I live in the North East, and I realize that these things happen. Don't blame the power utility for your misfortune. You are living in one of the more harshest climates in the world (and it does have its advantages -- though most of those are when you live in the sticks and can do whatever the hell you want).
If you have access to a wood stove and some dry hardwood then that would be enough to keep your home warm. Another thing is letting your taps drip which should keep enough water moving in the mainline that your pipes don't freeze. If you have a hot water based furnace then you have other issues since that is a closed system but can also be bled if you know what you are doing.
I just went through the NSERC process for a PGS-D (PhD) scholarship and I was made aware of the different types of NSERC applications. First of all are you undergraduate or graduate? Do you work with a company as well? Was this developed as part of a thesis? Were you funded through some other source?
If you are a graduate with a typical NSERC then you are entitled to the rights of your software. However, the University can publish and distribute the software (not usually code) as they see fit. If you have another funding source (internal? dept? faculty? provincial?) then you may loose the right but not because of nserc. Some jokers say get a lawyer etc.... ya right easier said than done considering you are likely a poor sap. You are better off contacting your student union and getting your graduate student association involved. Get someone with a big mouth that will threaten to go on TV about it. Also go to the heads of department and talk about it. What does your supervisor say? Are you in a lab? It is odd that you post this in the end of the first semester if you were undergrad so I'd say you are graduate. Good luck.
I'm not worried about future global temperatures. If they don't change due to anthropogenic stress they will change naturally and thats all there is to it. I'm more worried about things like drinking water and acceptable aquatic habitats not inhabitable by most species on this planet except for northern marine and terrestrial mammals as well as marine fish which are quite likely to adopt and move southward when the ice is "all gone". Issues that are real and facing today's ecosystem rather than talking about something that might impact the ecosystem drastically in a few 100-1000s of years. I'm sure there will be a major catastrophic event such as an asteroid before then.
Terrestrial animals including humans need to be prepared for shortening of coastlines during this period and more people surviving on coastal maritime islands rather than at the equator (too hot). There will be mass extinction rates but not due this process but due to a cooling process which will soon happen.
Ice acts a deflector deflecting the sun's rays back into space. When this massive deflector is gone we will see oceans absorbing these rays and warming exponentially. Aquatic species will start to perish which are unable to adopt to these warming temperatures. What then happens when water warms? It evaporates. Condensation builds up. Then we see storms, massive storms. I don't believe the most "recent" period will demonstrate what I said previously but rather look back to pre-historic vertebrates that survived these periods and look at their fossil records. The sheer amount of condensation will block the sun.
During the Pleistocene period we have seen a relative period of stability but I disagree with your suggestion that we should try to conserve CO2 for when we really need it. I do agree we should be looking at alternatives to CO2 to stop putting carbon and other nurtrients into the environment that are unnecessary. But, these non-renewable resources will soon be gone and we will still be here (what is the next hot topic then?).
Himalayas likely contributed to the cooling but what about volcanic ash blocking the sun? Would a continental collision not suggest a very active volcanic periods as well?
Most people don't realize this but we are actually still in an ice age. The planet goes through natural cycles of cold and hot. Our cold climate is warming, perhaps from anthropogenic disturbances but also perhaps from natural climate change. Sure the globe might be warming faster from CO2 but it will warm regardless we just might have accelerated things a bit. In terms of the grand scheme this was going to happen.
The Devonian era or the era of 'man' has seen at least 80 known ice ages according to our fossil record. We've spent alot of time freezing our asses off but we've also spent alot of time baking them in the heat. When all of the ice is "gone" the planet will effectively reboot and start the process all over again. Once the oceans warm up to the point condensation will kick in, extreme storms, and then a massive cooling period.
Dino's seen an asteroid kick start the global cooling process during the Triassic period (correct me if I'm wrong on that) and man likely will see global warming accelerate this process unless some other event totally blocks out the sun in the intern such as an asteroid, even a nuclear war, or a major tectonic occurrence could force the cooling period.
The 'naturalists' will be stuck inside their box right up until their extinction occurs.
Slashdot Mirror
So true!
Looks like plenty of /.'ers have beat me to posting on this hot button topic but I figure I will throw my two cents in anyways. Ironically, I tend to agree that US/Canada IT graduates are NOT ready for the working world and either are most graduates for that matter. Most freshly schooled folks don't usually have the opportunity to home their skills if they don't put serious initiative into learning the glory details of tech and development which does not usually include any sunshine and lollypops. However, to argue to that India's graduates with limited access to subpar technology and weaker institutional standards are better than US graduates is a total farce. The truth is that the employee from India has likely been "thrown" into more situations than the US graduate before, during, and after graduation and therefore are more likely come up with some type of hackjob response faster than a fresh US grad. Most Indian graduates are working during their academic career and freelancing at ridiculously cheap rates to gain experience in the real world with real North American clients. So when time comes for them to enter the job market they already have experience working professionally that US graduates don't.
I work both professionally and in academia and most of the time the people I meet with the same degree as me (either BSc. or MSc.) makes me ashamed that they have the same degree as me. It is a well known fact that its not the degree that makes the professional but its how they use it. I don't have a computer science degree, infact I have an Environment Sciences MSc. and a BSc. in Biology. However, I can score an IT position faster then someone with a PhD in computer sciences because I have real life experience working with clients, government, and organizations which are dependent on qualified developers and techs. When I am not working in IT I follow all of the latest technologies and languages and work well beyond that typical 40 hours a week in open source and online development projects (as a hobby!). If you are not totally immersed in your field you are only there for the pay cheque. Most grads I know were and are still only interested in the bottom line and unfortunately for those people their dream job just doesn't exist right now.
When our species encountered another intelligent sister species of near identical genetic code we obviously annihilated them off the planet. We really don't have much basis or fact to say with 100% certainty that the reason we don't co-exist with another intelligent species on Earth is because of our own doing. Humans instinctively parasitize and conquer everything in sight. If a highly intelligent species were to greet us even as friendly beings in the soul interest of simply learning about our primitive ways our ego would explode and we very likely would turn on this species like we have done to so many others extinct and living on good ole earth. The greetings may very well be friendly at first but as soon as that alien being turns his back to us - look out.
Theres a really cool sci-fi book I recently discovered called the Bible! It has all sorts of tales of super-men with powers to create entire worlds in 7 days (and he even took the day off on one of those days!), tales of sci-fi monsters, hybrid human/super-men crosses that can heal normal men with one touch, ability to part seas, walk on water, what a wonderous book! I wonder when men will see one of these great sci-fi stories come to truth....... wait....
Let me take a step backwards for a second and explain my situation. I've been developing for the web for many years now and I've seen technology come and go but I've never seen an idea of an OpenSource web portal take such a strong hold as Joomla! has. PHPNuke was close but even then you rarely randomly stumbled upon a Nuke site every second search. However, unlike Nuke, Joomla seems to have taken over like a bad storm.
...don't do it. Build yourself a core set of functions and your own library in PHP and then build ontop of that individual sites. Code Ignitor among others still get a thumbs up from me. Don't use the same mysql fields all the time. Change your database connection strings up. Change critical global variables every now and then. Thats my 2 cents.
I still have some websites lingering around that use Joomla but I am very much dissociated with that CMS, infact any CMS nowadays. I find the issues that these systems bring to the table far outweigh any little added productivity that a small group can sustain. There are teams of script kiddies from Asia and elsewhere scouring online websites for these systems to prove just how easy they are to hack into. If you have an online database with confidential client information, you are in trouble.
The largest website I manage is my own and it ran Joomla for 2 years while I was working on my MSc degree. I had to deal with repeated attempts by hackers to break into this website. It was very frustrating after scouring logs on my linux server to find out that they came in through one of the "secured" CMSs. SQL injections, cross site scripting hacks, upload/media vulnerabilities, you pretty much name it that so called secure web server had one big gaping hole in it and that was Joomla.
I peruse Joomlancers sometimes when looking for some spare cash (freelancing site dedicated to Joomla) and try to encourage local North American companies to ditch this disaster of a CMS. Not only do you have to deal with bugs and exploits at the core but when people load up this CMS with extensions that are mostly all crap (even Community Builder can't seem to get it right) you put together a nice looking template (like this guy with his book from Drupal suggests) and then put it out there for the "Mad Dogs of Vietnam" to hack into and make your online reputation look like shit.
I salute the chap that pointed out how vastly the Joomla community is growing with its extensions and micro-economic community, its a good point really. But if you take a look at whose running these communities (Joomla Art, a popular Joomla template company, Joomlancers, and others) are all owned by a Vietnam company that has less than stellar ethics when dealing with clients - Just search the Joomla forums. I have to wonder why the top contributors and hackers are all from the same city Hai Noi =) Birds of a feather I suppose or is that just job "security"?
I got out as fast as I got into looking after websites running Joomla. Last year we had 13 clients running Joomla and what a headache I developed looking after these sites. The previous freelancers knew how to use a CMS and after that they knew nothing. Even their half-assed attempts at building in additional functionality was more of a joke than anything. I had clients breathing down my neck over issues that were really out of my control. One day I woke up and realized that the real issue was Joomla and thats when I drew the line with it. Now a days I only work for clients that will develop from the ground up. I no longer have to deal with the types of security issues that these open CMS systems bring to the table. They are great to impress a client in a hurry with something that looks and works right away but as the days turn into months you will have the gut feeling like "what did I do..."
There hasn't been a PC Mechwarrior game released in almost 8 years yet people keep playing Mechwarrior4 because of our community support at MekTek.net and other community leagues and forums dedicated to the game and series. We have become so overwhelmed with supporting the Mechwarrior community that we started building our own versions of the classic PC series (AT1:BT using the Blitz3d engine, NP using OGRE, and our MekPaks for MW4). We did produce 3 fan built expansions for MW4 through some rather creative reverse engineering.
On average our webserver costs $2000 USD depending where the economy is at, and we also have a development server which costs $1500 USD. We only ask our community to support our webserver and they always do through donations.
Do I think the community would support a Mechwarrior MMO based on a model that we proved works? SURE! With a little bit of marketing and getting the word out there we could certainly build a self-sustainable Mechwarrior MMO.
Do I think the future of gaming is dependent on this model? No. I think the future of gaming needs bigwigs to realize that the old school hackers will persist in their communities and locking out PC Game modders is a bad thing in a MMO because it is a subscription based service. Rather, I almost prefer that an MMO subscription is only required to access official game servers and download new content from the primary developer (yes the primary developer needs to provide new content).
Just my 2cents,
MekTek.net Founder
-VAM
You should really think about the older folks before babbling on about a scenario that I imagine features that 28 year old blond twit hired for that managerial secretary position because of her perky boobs.
My dad runs a successful business, hes 62, he knows how to use GMail and Hotmail. Very computer illiterate. When GMail introduced the ability to use custom domains along with checking POP3 and download emails into Gmail he was all set. What a great service they offer for someone like him.
Over the years, being an industrial mechanic (and never having or being able to sit at a desk for 8 hours) he never caught on and today he is still nervous about doing anything on the computer himself within a desktop application. However, for some reason doing things on a website seems easier to him, I can't explain it really but thats how it is for him.
I'm not grammar queen but come on CmdrTaco! This one hurt my brain cell. I think I lost one =)
*gasp* Gnome!
I did. But wasn't the point of the comment. KDE4.x was.
Thank you SIR!
KDE4.x is the reason I switched back to Windows! It was just too much to bare. Inability to use older QT apps, difficulties with GTK apps. Whatever. The OpenSource solution is as bad or worse for someone with a day job. This is why desktop linux is no solution to average home users. Even with Compiz running I still couldn't take KDE4.x
What? People pay for IT work? Thats ridiculous. Bunch of 70s pong playing punks! Since when do pay kids to play with computers!
Stupid post =)
These kids are all of the same age range. These are hormone driven teens that have reached puberty that experimenting and trying to entice each other into sexual play. Which is actually healthy, normal, and certainly not something to be considered child pornography. Rather than our hard earned tax dollars going into this obscene judicial process, why not take these kids and teach them about safe sex, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and morals and values about sexually conduct.
Even the bible teaches us males in the first chapter of geniuses about the woes of a woman. How old does the church consider Eve and Adam to be? Considering that man was suppose to have been created in how many days? The same nut jobs that believe that shit are the ones involved in this 'prosecution'.
The black man with the magic wand has a steep hill to climb I think.
Small businesses are a pain in the ass even if you are your own boss. There are plenty of things to do and worry about and since you will likely be looking to more than 5-15 hours a week I would recommend taking that extra 5 hours and spending it with your kids. Infact, don't kid yourself, most clients expect a great deal of work for as little as possible. What happens when a client needs to contact you during 'normal' working hours? Your current employer won't be happy when they figure out what you are doing. I had a part time contract with a full time employer and even though the technology between the two was completely different I ended up loosing the job with the full time employer because they thought I was cutting their company. Be prepared to be overwhelmed. I couldn't imagine doing this work with a family. If you are looking for something to do then why not get a hobby or build a useful application and sell it for $30-40. How much work can you really do in 5 hours? Clients want 50 hours a week not 5!
Just my 2 cents.
All markets are doing poorly. Why do people think that these companies are all going to vanish without a trace? Its only noticeable because its the big dog. The little companies are the ones that are vanishing without a trace.
I expect similar announcements from Intel, Cisco, Adobe, just to name a few. It is no shock that Microsoft has to put jobs on the chopping block.
As a webmaster dealing with clients and companies on a regular basis I have to applaud Google for this. There are so many reasons why IE6 is crap that I lost track. Why are people insisting on using that security hazard people call a browser? Lack of PNG support, lack of following standards, I never seen a product from Microsoft that I loath more than IE6. If Microsoft had made a decent browser or release an update for IE6's rendering engine for Win2k+ users then Firefox likely would have been as popular as it has been.
But remember if you switch to Google Chrome be sure to read the EULA =)
I was almost expelled from junior high over ASCII art and this one brought back some memories. There plenty of emoticons banned after that at that school. Funny how the principal even declared that computers were evil arcade machines that would never be useful in the 'real world'. }=)
(o)
o >
(o)
A certified electrician is who you need to hook this up. If you are going to doing this work yourself then you should be prepared to show the insurance company your electricians papers when you launch into a live system effectively creating a electrical storm and an arc of electricity that can kill you, your loved ones, and burn your home down in a flash.
I live in the North East, and I realize that these things happen. Don't blame the power utility for your misfortune. You are living in one of the more harshest climates in the world (and it does have its advantages -- though most of those are when you live in the sticks and can do whatever the hell you want).
If you have access to a wood stove and some dry hardwood then that would be enough to keep your home warm. Another thing is letting your taps drip which should keep enough water moving in the mainline that your pipes don't freeze. If you have a hot water based furnace then you have other issues since that is a closed system but can also be bled if you know what you are doing.
Should have bought a K-car instead =)
Since when is slashdot trying to compete with crapbook and shitspace? Get this crap off the RSS please!
You mean someone else supports cleartype fonts now?
I'm not a Microsoft fan but this shit about a vista rebellion has nothing to do with bringing two technologies together (that also have their warts).
I'm petty sure the frustrated Vista users won't be benefiting from peer-peer distributed source code anytime soon.
I just went through the NSERC process for a PGS-D (PhD) scholarship and I was made aware of the different types of NSERC applications. First of all are you undergraduate or graduate? Do you work with a company as well? Was this developed as part of a thesis? Were you funded through some other source?
If you are a graduate with a typical NSERC then you are entitled to the rights of your software. However, the University can publish and distribute the software (not usually code) as they see fit. If you have another funding source (internal? dept? faculty? provincial?) then you may loose the right but not because of nserc. Some jokers say get a lawyer etc.... ya right easier said than done considering you are likely a poor sap. You are better off contacting your student union and getting your graduate student association involved. Get someone with a big mouth that will threaten to go on TV about it. Also go to the heads of department and talk about it. What does your supervisor say? Are you in a lab? It is odd that you post this in the end of the first semester if you were undergrad so I'd say you are graduate. Good luck.
I'm not worried about future global temperatures. If they don't change due to anthropogenic stress they will change naturally and thats all there is to it. I'm more worried about things like drinking water and acceptable aquatic habitats not inhabitable by most species on this planet except for northern marine and terrestrial mammals as well as marine fish which are quite likely to adopt and move southward when the ice is "all gone". Issues that are real and facing today's ecosystem rather than talking about something that might impact the ecosystem drastically in a few 100-1000s of years. I'm sure there will be a major catastrophic event such as an asteroid before then.
Terrestrial animals including humans need to be prepared for shortening of coastlines during this period and more people surviving on coastal maritime islands rather than at the equator (too hot). There will be mass extinction rates but not due this process but due to a cooling process which will soon happen.
Ice acts a deflector deflecting the sun's rays back into space. When this massive deflector is gone we will see oceans absorbing these rays and warming exponentially. Aquatic species will start to perish which are unable to adopt to these warming temperatures. What then happens when water warms? It evaporates. Condensation builds up. Then we see storms, massive storms. I don't believe the most "recent" period will demonstrate what I said previously but rather look back to pre-historic vertebrates that survived these periods and look at their fossil records. The sheer amount of condensation will block the sun.
During the Pleistocene period we have seen a relative period of stability but I disagree with your suggestion that we should try to conserve CO2 for when we really need it. I do agree we should be looking at alternatives to CO2 to stop putting carbon and other nurtrients into the environment that are unnecessary. But, these non-renewable resources will soon be gone and we will still be here (what is the next hot topic then?).
Himalayas likely contributed to the cooling but what about volcanic ash blocking the sun? Would a continental collision not suggest a very active volcanic periods as well?
Most people don't realize this but we are actually still in an ice age. The planet goes through natural cycles of cold and hot. Our cold climate is warming, perhaps from anthropogenic disturbances but also perhaps from natural climate change. Sure the globe might be warming faster from CO2 but it will warm regardless we just might have accelerated things a bit. In terms of the grand scheme this was going to happen. The Devonian era or the era of 'man' has seen at least 80 known ice ages according to our fossil record. We've spent alot of time freezing our asses off but we've also spent alot of time baking them in the heat. When all of the ice is "gone" the planet will effectively reboot and start the process all over again. Once the oceans warm up to the point condensation will kick in, extreme storms, and then a massive cooling period. Dino's seen an asteroid kick start the global cooling process during the Triassic period (correct me if I'm wrong on that) and man likely will see global warming accelerate this process unless some other event totally blocks out the sun in the intern such as an asteroid, even a nuclear war, or a major tectonic occurrence could force the cooling period. The 'naturalists' will be stuck inside their box right up until their extinction occurs.
They could have released the WDDM without the hardware scheduler. Could they not?