Re:Nothing's going to change
on
Geekonomics
·
· Score: 1
Few people (rightly so) would tolerate Boeings or Airbuses that fell out of the sky through faulty software.
Agreed. But how many of those people would realise that the *reason* they fell out of the air was faulty software? Joe Bloggs (and I generalise, bear with me) appears to have an intellectual disconnect between software (that's the stuff that's in their desktop computers) and things (cars, planes, rockets, etc) working the way they should.
The software in things like aeroplanes is, for all intents and purposes, hidden from the consumer/public eye. There will be no outcry for better engineering practises, or more training for software developers, because the public don't *get it*.
To add fuel to my argument, it's not sexy enough to get the media excited either. And the media - like it or not - is what drives public opinion. And politicians make decisions (including budgetery decisions) based on public opinion.
I think that what you're saying here is true... in one way. That is, from the perspective of someone who works in the office sometimes and telecommuntes sometimes.
For those of us who telecommute on a regular basis (ie: we don't have an office to go to, or leave our stuff in) the argument is different though. I switched from working full time in the office, to telecommuting one day a week, to telecommuting full time (when I moved states and there was no office in the state I moved to).
Telecommuting full time has it's advantages - I can wake up at 8 and be at work at 8:15; I don't have to wear a clean shirt; I can eat my breakfast while checking my emails; I can dash down to the shop for milk whenever I want; I can work in my pyjamas; the list goes on. But there is also disadvantages - most every full time telecommuter I know will put in extra hours either late at night or early in the morning - in the case of overseas phone calls, sometimes at 1 or 2am. This is not recognised, because no one knows we're doing it (let's face it, they're all asleep). It can be hard sometimes to stay motivated and on-topic when there's no one (co-workers, managers or otherwise) hanging over your shoulder, especially when the grass needs mowing, the washing needs hanging out and how lovely would it be to go and sit in the sunroom with a book?
The main problem, and it has been said on this thread already, is that the grass is greener. The non-telecommuters want to wear their pyjamas to work, and the telecommuters want to have someone to talk to from time to time.
Slashdot Mirror
Agreed. But how many of those people would realise that the *reason* they fell out of the air was faulty software? Joe Bloggs (and I generalise, bear with me) appears to have an intellectual disconnect between software (that's the stuff that's in their desktop computers) and things (cars, planes, rockets, etc) working the way they should.
The software in things like aeroplanes is, for all intents and purposes, hidden from the consumer/public eye. There will be no outcry for better engineering practises, or more training for software developers, because the public don't *get it*.
To add fuel to my argument, it's not sexy enough to get the media excited either. And the media - like it or not - is what drives public opinion. And politicians make decisions (including budgetery decisions) based on public opinion.
I think that what you're saying here is true ... in one way. That is, from the perspective of someone who works in the office sometimes and telecommuntes sometimes.
For those of us who telecommute on a regular basis (ie: we don't have an office to go to, or leave our stuff in) the argument is different though. I switched from working full time in the office, to telecommuting one day a week, to telecommuting full time (when I moved states and there was no office in the state I moved to).
Telecommuting full time has it's advantages - I can wake up at 8 and be at work at 8:15; I don't have to wear a clean shirt; I can eat my breakfast while checking my emails; I can dash down to the shop for milk whenever I want; I can work in my pyjamas; the list goes on. But there is also disadvantages - most every full time telecommuter I know will put in extra hours either late at night or early in the morning - in the case of overseas phone calls, sometimes at 1 or 2am. This is not recognised, because no one knows we're doing it (let's face it, they're all asleep). It can be hard sometimes to stay motivated and on-topic when there's no one (co-workers, managers or otherwise) hanging over your shoulder, especially when the grass needs mowing, the washing needs hanging out and how lovely would it be to go and sit in the sunroom with a book?
The main problem, and it has been said on this thread already, is that the grass is greener. The non-telecommuters want to wear their pyjamas to work, and the telecommuters want to have someone to talk to from time to time.