As defined by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, flow [wikipedia.org] is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.
Software engineers/developers/programmers often refer to this as working "in the zone". It is a state of full immersion, where one can accomplish a lot in a very short time frame. Unfortunately, interruptions and constant distractions can wreak havoc, making this elevated level of focus nigh impossible - your typical corporate environment.
And even after that, when they actually used to post how much of the cost was paid as taxes. I used to see the tax charts on the pumps all the time, but for the past few years they have been conspicuously absent.
I'm not sure it would be wise to rely on either of those two extremes. I went through a phase where I thought that "cool" meant "useful". I devoted my attention not to what the user needed to accomplish, but how I thought they should accomplish it. From my own experience, I can say that you can score some pretty big misses when you assume that as an engineer, you are automatically imbued with the process knowledge of your users. Quite frankly, I wouldn't give as much weight to what either the managers, marketing, or technical people wanted until I heard from the users (one or more focus groups). They are, after all, the ones that will be buying the software.
It's a little bit different with Walmart. Yes, they buy in bulk, but the fact that Walmart has such a huge portion of the market makes it a bittersweet pill for suppliers. If the suppliers deny the discounts, it's not that they will probably lose Walmart's business, but they lose what could easily be their primary sales channel.
Not only that, but machines under any kind of central administration often have startup scripts that run and all kinds of stuff that make cold-booting a windows box take forEVER. Naturally it's something people want to avoid.
I wholly disagree. If you were to put the kind of movie too many people say that ED "isn't" in front of an audience that can only appreciate that kind of (simplistic) movie, I'd be more than willing to bet that they won't even begin to understand or appreciate the technical differences. In other words, put a piece of candy-coated slop in front of the right audience, and it won't matter how "good" it is...they'll eat it up.
What we really need is a study from a reputable source that focuses one the real cost of "re-training" people from Office to OO.org. Seriously - they both do many things in very similar ways.
I prefer to remain as anonymous as possible. To that end, I do my shopping in-store, and I pay with cash. Yes, I use a store discount card, but it has absolutely no personal information associated with it.
I'm almost convinced that our insatiable desire for convenience will be our downfall. I'll happily give up the convenience of handing over a piece of plastic whenever I can to prevent yet another corporation from pimping information about what I buy, how much I spend, etc., etc.
...that very little of the election debate has covered issues that really matter - like how the mess that Bush & Co have created will be cleaned up, and how/when sense of liberty put forth in our constitution will be restored? How can someone like Hillary Clinton take herself seriously and never discuss this issue?
You know what else makes this whole thing rediculous? How many kids have you heard of being attacked by so-called 'predators' they came in contact with through MySpace? By contrast, how many kids have been molested by people they know and trust - in real life? Teachers seem to be one of the biggest risks these days - especially when it comes to female teachers and under-aged (male) students. I can't help but notice that the safety measures they've come up do all of nothing to combat what appear to be more common vectors of predatory involvement.
The problem is that Congress is so damned spineless to begin with. The REAL ID act was passed in 2005, not after any discussion, debate, or vote, but only because it was slipped into a major spending bill by some self-serving Republican coward from Wisconsin. There wasn't even an effort to nullify it once it was discovered that it had passed - EVEN AFTER 17 states and a majority of Americans have voiced their opposition to it. It's about time Congress did its job already.
I've done something similar - not necessarily because I wanted to make money from it, but because I truly have a passion for learning this stuff, working with it, and creating (hopefully useful) stuff with it.
To combat online music piracy, a digital watermark could be added to all recording prior to release, signifying not only the author of the work, but the user who has purchased a legitimate copy.
This is very interesting because it suggests that you will not be able to anonymously purchase music. Right now I can walk into Barnes and Noble, lay down the cash for a CD, and nobody will be the wiser as to who I am (which is just how it should be). This new scheme seems to suggest a direct tie between revealing your identity, and your ability to enjoy your newly-purchased music. Count me out.
Interesting comment. It reminds me of another recent article here on slashdot regarding "What Makes a Good Programmer" - the stuff the author mentions is the same kind of stuff you're talking about - it's intangible stuff not directly related to formal credentials. It separates those wanting to pursue a passion, from those wanting to pursue a paycheck.
Hell, if you think that doesn't happen right now then you are deluding yourself.
Your're exactly right. The system is only as strong as it weakest link, and those can be plentiful. I remember story a few years ago about a stack of blank birth certificates that were stolen. This REAL ID nonsense is nothing that a few extra bucks to the right person won't render completely useless.
On the radio the discussion was about east coast bars swiping information, lying to the patrons and telling them it was for security reasons, to prevent re-entry of banned or troublesome former-patrons.
If you look at any of the ads (on the web) for this scanning equipment, making money off the information they get from scanning licenses is a key selling point.
Lakeville Liquors just built a new facility less than a half mile from my house. I walk by it daily and am proud that it joins the ranks of Starbucks as an establishment that I will never step foot in.
I must then purchase, at my own cost, a new one. When you copy my entire music library, there is no deprivation involved.
Oh yes there is - it's just a matter of what is being deprived. I may not be physically taking the digital content from you, but I most certainly am depriving the copyright owners of compensation that I'd opine is rightfully theirs. This is compensation that due them in exchange for my enjoyment of their product. If you're suggesting that anyone should be able to enjoy their product whether or not they feel like compensating its owners, I'd like to suggest that you're wrong.
Slashdot Mirror
As defined by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, flow [wikipedia.org] is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.
Software engineers/developers/programmers often refer to this as working "in the zone". It is a state of full immersion, where one can accomplish a lot in a very short time frame. Unfortunately, interruptions and constant distractions can wreak havoc, making this elevated level of focus nigh impossible - your typical corporate environment.
And even after that, when they actually used to post how much of the cost was paid as taxes. I used to see the tax charts on the pumps all the time, but for the past few years they have been conspicuously absent.
It's the kind of error whose magnitude is inversely proportional to the proximity of one's ass.
I'm not sure it would be wise to rely on either of those two extremes. I went through a phase where I thought that "cool" meant "useful". I devoted my attention not to what the user needed to accomplish, but how I thought they should accomplish it. From my own experience, I can say that you can score some pretty big misses when you assume that as an engineer, you are automatically imbued with the process knowledge of your users. Quite frankly, I wouldn't give as much weight to what either the managers, marketing, or technical people wanted until I heard from the users (one or more focus groups). They are, after all, the ones that will be buying the software.
Why is the cell phone listed? Land lines do the same thing and have been around a lot longer, that is nothing new.
I imagine it's because the mobility of cell phones provide their owners with an "always there" quality that land lines cannot match.
Maryland could still take Diebold to court and get a ruling in its favor. Then the fun can really start.
It's a little bit different with Walmart. Yes, they buy in bulk, but the fact that Walmart has such a huge portion of the market makes it a bittersweet pill for suppliers. If the suppliers deny the discounts, it's not that they will probably lose Walmart's business, but they lose what could easily be their primary sales channel.
Not only that, but machines under any kind of central administration often have startup scripts that run and all kinds of stuff that make cold-booting a windows box take forEVER. Naturally it's something people want to avoid.
I'd concur. I have a hard time trusting anything making its way from a high-level government agency, especially under the current administration.
I wholly disagree. If you were to put the kind of movie too many people say that ED "isn't" in front of an audience that can only appreciate that kind of (simplistic) movie, I'd be more than willing to bet that they won't even begin to understand or appreciate the technical differences. In other words, put a piece of candy-coated slop in front of the right audience, and it won't matter how "good" it is...they'll eat it up.
Interesting comment.
What we really need is a study from a reputable source that focuses one the real cost of "re-training" people from Office to OO.org. Seriously - they both do many things in very similar ways.
I prefer to remain as anonymous as possible. To that end, I do my shopping in-store, and I pay with cash. Yes, I use a store discount card, but it has absolutely no personal information associated with it.
I'm almost convinced that our insatiable desire for convenience will be our downfall. I'll happily give up the convenience of handing over a piece of plastic whenever I can to prevent yet another corporation from pimping information about what I buy, how much I spend, etc., etc.
...that very little of the election debate has covered issues that really matter - like how the mess that Bush & Co have created will be cleaned up, and how/when sense of liberty put forth in our constitution will be restored? How can someone like Hillary Clinton take herself seriously and never discuss this issue?
You know what else makes this whole thing rediculous? How many kids have you heard of being attacked by so-called 'predators' they came in contact with through MySpace? By contrast, how many kids have been molested by people they know and trust - in real life? Teachers seem to be one of the biggest risks these days - especially when it comes to female teachers and under-aged (male) students. I can't help but notice that the safety measures they've come up do all of nothing to combat what appear to be more common vectors of predatory involvement.
The problem is that Congress is so damned spineless to begin with. The REAL ID act was passed in 2005, not after any discussion, debate, or vote, but only because it was slipped into a major spending bill by some self-serving Republican coward from Wisconsin. There wasn't even an effort to nullify it once it was discovered that it had passed - EVEN AFTER 17 states and a majority of Americans have voiced their opposition to it. It's about time Congress did its job already.
I've done something similar - not necessarily because I wanted to make money from it, but because I truly have a passion for learning this stuff, working with it, and creating (hopefully useful) stuff with it.
To combat online music piracy, a digital watermark could be added to all recording prior to release, signifying not only the author of the work, but the user who has purchased a legitimate copy.
This is very interesting because it suggests that you will not be able to anonymously purchase music. Right now I can walk into Barnes and Noble, lay down the cash for a CD, and nobody will be the wiser as to who I am (which is just how it should be). This new scheme seems to suggest a direct tie between revealing your identity, and your ability to enjoy your newly-purchased music. Count me out.
Interesting comment. It reminds me of another recent article here on slashdot regarding "What Makes a Good Programmer" - the stuff the author mentions is the same kind of stuff you're talking about - it's intangible stuff not directly related to formal credentials. It separates those wanting to pursue a passion, from those wanting to pursue a paycheck.
Hell, if you think that doesn't happen right now then you are deluding yourself.
Your're exactly right. The system is only as strong as it weakest link, and those can be plentiful. I remember story a few years ago about a stack of blank birth certificates that were stolen. This REAL ID nonsense is nothing that a few extra bucks to the right person won't render completely useless.
On the radio the discussion was about east coast bars swiping information, lying to the patrons and telling them it was for security reasons, to prevent re-entry of banned or troublesome former-patrons.
If you look at any of the ads (on the web) for this scanning equipment, making money off the information they get from scanning licenses is a key selling point.
Lakeville Liquors just built a new facility less than a half mile from my house. I walk by it daily and am proud that it joins the ranks of Starbucks as an establishment that I will never step foot in.
Curious - why Starbucks?
I must then purchase, at my own cost, a new one. When you copy my entire music library, there is no deprivation involved.
Oh yes there is - it's just a matter of what is being deprived. I may not be physically taking the digital content from you, but I most certainly am depriving the copyright owners of compensation that I'd opine is rightfully theirs. This is compensation that due them in exchange for my enjoyment of their product. If you're suggesting that anyone should be able to enjoy their product whether or not they feel like compensating its owners, I'd like to suggest that you're wrong.
Even so you can never be sure, since you can only see what direction they were headed, OR their current position.
You can also use it on Windows (which I do) if you install Cygwin (which I did).