I'm a CIS major. I enjoy it. If you do to, go for it.
But that's not why enrollment is down.
I started college in 2000/2001. The end of the boom. It was VERY obvious that a large portion of the students didn't care about the subject. They weren't too interested in the material. They often didn't know much about how to even use computers above very basic things.
It's clear why there were there. They were in it for the money. At that time all you heard about was the exploding tech sector and 19 year old multi-millionares and getting $90k salaries right out of college. They saw gold and they ran for it. Many of them were very nice people, and some of them tried VERY hard and had a great commitment to the subject that they weren't personally that interested in (I wouldn't be able to do it), but many of them were just trying to slide by to get the money, or had no idea what they wanted to do so they went with the one that had the $$$ behind it.
Now that the bubble has burst (combined with the threat of outsourcing and such, real or imagined) it's not seen as an ultra-lucrative career so people aren't going into it like they used to.
Where ARE they going? From what little I've seen, the new hot things are degrees that get you to accounting (returning favorite), lawyering (classic money maker), or the new hot stuff: biotech. Those are where the gold-rushers are going.
So CS is back to people who want to do CS instead of those people along with gold-rushers, certification mill graduates, and other such people. Big loss.
It will be CS again one day. Google is starting to turn that tide with all the headway it's making.
But the reason CS enrollment is down is the bubble burst and the gold-rushers are gone.
I think the driver issue is the only technical one Apple would face putting OS X on any random PC (note: I don't think they'll ever do it). I don't believe that they would have "all the problems MS does" as Cringely seems to.
That said, I don't think the driver issue would be one for long (for major hardware). If available OS X would have a HUGE demand. I can not tell you how many people I know who hate using Windows (but don't want to buy a new computer to get OS X). There are TONS of people who would switch. And they would all want drivers. And if you wanted to sell your hardware to these people, you'd give them drivers. It's the same thing that would happen if Linux got to 20% of average people's computers, except I think Apple could hit 20% VERY FAST.
The drivers would arrive. A large ammount of hardware is there already (graphics cards, network cards, most USB things, FireWire, printers, scanners, etc). The rest would get there fast.
But Apple won't sell OS X for generic PCs so it's a moot point.
There is no question in my mind. It looks nice, it's easy to use, it's easy to work on. Remember when Apple released the G3 Towers that folded open? As far as I know there still aren't many cases like that on the market for the PC. Dell uses some, but I don't think they are availabile to individuals. Most Macs I've come across (Performas, LC II, Quadras, PowerMacs) have been very easy to open and work on.
Then there is my PowerBook. Great battery life, and it's quiet. VERY quiet. Despite the fact it puts off my heat than my PIII laptop that it replaced, it's almost silent. Only when I really push it do I hear the fan, and then it's quite quiet. Compare that to a constant drone from my old PIII and the wind-tunnel it became when running at full-tilt. Every PC laptop I have come across in the last few years seems to be getting bigger and heavier and staying loud. My PB is thin, quiet, and light.
And what about all those little "Apple touches". Does your keyboard have a backlight? Does it adjust to the ambient light in the room? Does you screen adjust to the ambient light in the room? My Mac does. I've NEVER seen a PC laptop that does that. It's been over a year since I bought mine, and I think Apple ofered it before that.
Apple hardware is GOOD. People say Apple's cost more (which I don't believe, it's quite debatable depending on how you frame it), but if it was true, it was worth it for my laptop. It's a pleasure to use and every Wintel that I've used since just seems clunky. My Mac is a BMW in a world of 1982 Ford Taruses.
All that said, I think Boot Camp is important. As I posted the other day, I would have moved to a Mac much sooner if I could have kept Windows around "just in case" or so I could play Counter Strike. That said, I don't think most home users will use Boot Camp much after they get their feet wet in OS X. The only people who would use it on a regular basis would be developers, heavy gamers (why are you buying a Mac? Sad but true), tinkerers, and maybe in some office settings. It's like I've said about Linux. Dual boot offers niceities when you are thinking about switching or for certain groups, but I don't see a day when even 2% of average users would dual-boot on a regular basis.
I switched in January of last year. Games were on thing that was holding me back, but I realized that I didn't play many games on my PC anyway (I do play a bunch on consoles). I've got my PowerBook G4 and I am very happy. The only thing I miss is counter-strike. I don't see why Valve won't release Half-Life for the Mac (I know they worked on porting it). I'd buy it again in a heartbeat just to play CS.
Would this have helped me? It would give me reassurance, but I doubt I would have used it. Frankly rebooting takes too much time and it's just a hassle. I never reboot my Mac except when it needs security updates that require it. Otherwise it is on 24/7. I take it back and forth to school every day but I just close the lid and it goes into sleep instantly, and wakes up in about 2 seconds.
Now when someone gets either something like WINE working so you could play games (TransGaming... you've got an opportunity here for tons of sales), or true virtulaization gets enabled (some say Apple will do that in 10.5) so that you don't HAVE to reboot, you can just keep Windows in "the background" then I would have JUMPED at the chance to switch to Mac.
There are three things in life. There is having UNIXy goodness (got that), there is having great applications (iLife, Safari, and the ability to run Office/Photoshop), and there are games (got some, missing others). I'd say my Mac scores a 2.3/3.0. Windows is a 2.0/3.0 (games and apps).
Keep up the great work Apple.
So what will most people use this for? Nothing. I expect that virtualization will come out soon enough. All this will do is provide that reassurance for switchers until they go full-on Mac, and I doubt they would use it much.
I've been using a little slip by WaterField Designs for about a year now. It's one of their Sleeve Cases for my 15" PowerBook. My brother has been using one for his Titanium PowerBook for years now and it has held up great (as has mine). It's just the right size for the laptop, easy to get the laptop in and out. It's padded to it adds some protection (I tend to put it in my backpack) and keeps scratches away. It has a pocket on the back that can hold paper or something too which has come in quite handy.
It's nothing heavy duty like some of the cases in the article, but it's a very nice and light bag. They have many others so they may have something tougher but this was exactly what I was looking for to keep my laptop looking nice and in good condition.
That would be interesting. I may do that for sending practice (but then again there are a million of those).
I bought a MFJ Morse Code Tutor with a little LCD and I have been using it during free time at my school. I've learned the full alphabet and I'm working on the numbers right now, after that I just have puncutaion and prosigns (AK, BK, etc).
I'm sure you've heard that one before, and you need to be careful of it. That said, you found yourself a hammer (your new knowledge of whatever) so start looking for nails.
I've run into the same problem many times. I understand not wanting to re-implement things (I thought about making an accounting program for a little bit before deciding to just use Quicken, for example). But you need to be creative.
When I first learned Python I made a simple little game based on one of my favorite games that I used to play on my TI-85. This also let me learn OpenGL. The game was Blocks.
Trying to do more, I made a simulation (I'd call it a game but it wasn't interactive) called Itty Bitty City which also included more OpenGL. It wasn't too complex but was fun to watch (even if I did have Pie-In-The-Sky ideas about what it would do as usual).
I never updated my website because it was a hassle. I didn't want to do it in DreamWeaver or something like that. I wanted to automate things. Python was my favorite language at the time, so I wrote a little program I called SiteMaker to do it for me (ironically, that page is quite out of date). Python was rather well suited to that (it was command line, and needed good text processing) so I used it and gained a good knowledge of Python in the process (including the build-in modules you can use to open and send data across FTP connections).
After that I wanted a program to make it easier to make blog style entries on my website (which would call SiteMaker). I had been wanting to learn Objective-C for use on my Mac so I used that for the project and it was fun, and I learned quite a bit (even if I don't use the program because I didn't add enough features to make it useful). This was SiteBlogger.
When I wanted to learn Java 5 to get back into it (since it had features that fixed my biggest gripes) I made another simple game (which I took rather far) called Pond Game. I got to use all sorts of stuff in Java and got a good working knowledge (after quite a bit of time off).
I was still weak in GUIs in Java (have done no Java GUI programming ever) so I used Java to scratch a major itch I had and made Scheduler which I am now updating for a Senior Project. I learned how GUIs were done in Java and got an even deeper understanding of Java from this project. It also fixed my problem of hating to figure out a school schedule.
I had been wanting to learn PHP, so when a project came up at school to build a system for them (not an assignment, I work there part-time) and they asked me if I wanted to do it, I jumped at the chance to make such a system (which I hadn't done and included a large amount of DB programming) and used PHP (which they were perfectly happy with, and were actually going to suggest).
There are other little ones here and there. The main point of all this is that most of these didn't bug me enough to make them (Scheduler was the only real problem) but I saw them as opportunities to try out a new language or some such. I've learned to do this because of a problem that I would suffer from which I assume you suffered from: I'm curious and would read about a language or some such but not do anything and thus forget it all. I needed the practice, so I found places to do it. Whether these were things I needed for myself (Scheduler, SiteMaker) or just little games that I wanted to make or to use to try something (Blocks which was an OpenGL test, Itty Bitty Citty which was going to be an AI test).
My last suggestion would be to enter a programming contest. I've been enterin
Re:weird perspective for a conflict... and wrong!
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Sun's Open Source DRM
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From all the reading and documentaries that I've watched we had that.
Ask an "old-timer".
Ever wonder why every telephone on old TV shows looks the same?
You couldn't plug anything but a genuine Ma-Bell phone into your phone line. That was the rule.
Now, what was it that happened to Ma Bell? Hmmm... (ignore recent years).
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time as when I saw this new design, and especially the new motto: "OMG! Ponies!".
I have a great idea for an April Fool's joke. I think Alabama should send out a press release that says they have developed a Nuclear Warhead and will use it to defend themselves from Tennessee at all costs.
Yes, but if you were to read what I read (I can't remember where I read it right not) they were talking about an enhanced mode IN ADDITION TO the controller thing. They talked about how the thought about just dropping GC support and making it Revolution only but they didn't. But as a side effect of that (or at least that's what it sounded like) there is an enhanced mode (which I assume means more polygons/better textures/more effects/etc).
Halo 3 I can agree with. I'm hoping I like FF XIII (not really a sequel).
Trivia: Why are the FF games called "Final"?
I read today (in Game Pro) that the first FF game was called Final Fantasy because Square was going out of business and it was going to be the last game they would ever make.
Then it saved them.
But if you don't want to see more sequels, check out the Nintendo Revolution. Besides sequels (Super Smash Brothers Whatever!, which I can't wait for) they will be completely new games that no one has ever seen designed for it, which should be great.
Don't want another sequel? How about a Bob Ross game that will come out for the Revolution and DS?
That's interesting, but let's talk about what's really important. Check out what Iwata said to MTV:
""Our primary focus with the Nintendo Revolution has been to create a system that can do things that the other systems can't, that has functionality that the other systems don't have," he said through a translator. "And speaking to that, there are some other unique features of the Nintendo Revolution hardware that we haven't discussed yet that we will be announcing at E3."
Not only that, we are supposed to see games, prices, and a release date. The Revolution is supposed to be playable at E3.
Plus, I read that Twilight Princess will have an "enhanced mode" for the Rev, which I take to mean enhanced graphics as well. That comes from here. But on checking that link, THEY'RE GONE. ACCOUNT SUSPENDED? Who knows. That's odd. They got that tidbit from an interview with a Nintendo of Japan guy where they talked about all sorts of Zelda stuff including the timeline, and why Tingle RPG was canned (hint: Westerners didn't like Tingle).
I have to wonder at what point will people stop and think to themselves "MS made this buggy OS that needs anti-virus software and anti-spyware software, so why am I trusting them by buying their anti-whatever software?"
That will hit some people. Not everyone, many not most, but some. Maybe then a bigger backlash will start. It will probably depend on if the anti-whatever software is free or not.
You've got to love the oddity of it all though. What if tomorrow Oracle released a version of their software that would randomly drop tables? Let's say for the sake of argument that everyone used it anyway. What if Oracle's solution was to sell you software that would catch that happening and instantly put your table back?
What if your Ford car would randomly stall, and Ford's solution was to give you a anti-stall upgrade on your car?
I hope Vista fixes a lot of this (I'm on OS X so it doesn't matter), because it is just mind-bending if you think about it.In what other industry (other than possibly government) would this kind of thing be accepted so well?
I agree completely. You'd both do both parts, each would just do more of one part than the other. This would allow you to get a lot done while still learning the stuff you are weak in though helping the other person, debugging that code, adding things, etc.
I agree. There are many things that could be done to improve theaters, but ushers would be the biggest. A few ushers with a simple no-nonsense "get out" policy (no warnings during the movie, no refunds when you are kicked out) would work wonders. In addition, I would add there should be a camera (and infrared lights) in the theater so that the ushers can watch people easily to make sure no one is talking constantly or anything like that. If they find 'em, they go in and remove 'em.
Really, the last few time's I've been out to many places (nature parks, restaurants, movies, etc) they've needed ushers to kick out the people with no courtesy.
My state just passed concealed carry, it would be nice if that would scare some sense into people, but we all know it won't (mostly because you aren't allowed to shoot people for making idiots out of themselves). Until people stop putting up with the stuff and start demanding these kind of people be removed from the theater/restraunt/whatever, it will keep happening (and probably get worse).
We are getting close and closer to simultaneous releases (one movie has already done it).
So why don't the theaters step up to the plate? Besides fixing all the other things that they often need to (which will be brought up endlessly in this thread) why not sell the DVDs? Here is the theory:
You go to a movie and you when come out you are offered the chance to buy the DVD of the movie you just saw for... $10. Same with the soundtrack (for $6).
If you liked the movie, then you can buy the DVD right then and there. If you didn't, then you don't have to buy it. This would be an extra source of revenue for the theaters, and would probably boost DVD sales (since it would be much easier to sell to someone who just watched the movie than someone walking by a display in Wal*Mart or Best Buy). Those who don't go to movie theaters (like me) would still buy the DVD at a store as usual.
In fact, by selling that DVD for $10 and not the normal $20, I'm betting there are people who would go to the theater just to buy that DVD that way. The cost of that DVD ($10) plus the cost of the movie ($20?) would be more than the DVD alone at a store ($20), but they would also get to have the theater experience for what would be a discount ($10 difference) compared to normal price.
Theaters are still trying to be what they were in the 70s when you couldn't watch any movie you want any time. Heck, things have hardly changed from the 40s in the theaters, except for the lack of newsreels and the amazing number of ads they show.
Sounds like an excellent idea to me. You can teach them some that way.
My suggestion would be rather obvious, but is there anything that they are better at than you, or something you are weak on? For example, you could give your partner the GUI and you do all the back end stuff (which may be much more complex). They do programing, they help you out, they learn about the system, and you don't do it all.
There are other things you can do too. Much like my parent post suggested, after you design some of the classes, skeleton them out and have your partner fill them in. Then you guys can go in and fix the bugs or improve performance as needed (there are always bugs after all). While there are always things that are going to be very tricky in the system, there are also things that are going to be relatively simple and just take time. You can give him these and work his way up from there.
Besides that, there are other things that can be done depending on what you are doing. For example, I'm not a GUI person. I can do it, but I don't like it (and my GUIs aren't that good). In my situation, I would have my partner not only design the GUI (I'd help, obviously) but implement it as much as possible. In a PHP application they can make all the pages in Dreamweaver or something I can add in the back end code (with their help). They could use a tool like X-Code, Visual Studio, or a Java tool to make the UI which you then attach the code to. They are doing difficult and very important work that way.
My parent's second point is quite important too. Let them take a crack at the design before you say "this is how you do it" because sometimes people will come up with ingenious solutions you never would have thought of.
You say this person is a good friend, and if true that's good. I assume they agree with you on the programming aspect (after all, if they think they are a better programmer then you could be in trouble). But if you two get along then you should be able to work out problems and figure this out in a reasonably balanced manner.
I agree. I've met some very nice and interesting people who look very "weird" at first. I wouldn't ignore someone just because they looked like that.
That said, most people would have that reaction, I would too. I wouldn't really act on it, but many people would. If you are in a business environment, dressing that way means you will have a harder time getting people's trust and respect than if you dressed "correctly." It may be just a little bit harder, it may be near impossible.
My point was that when presenting yourself for something important, to dress far outside the norm starts you off on the wrong foot; and that is something that is just a fact. It may not be nice. It may not be the way things should be, but that is, without a doubt, the way the world works.
But you are a manager and two people come into present what to do about the network. The first guy sounds like he knows what he's talking about and is dressed well. Maybe a suit, maybe just business casual. A second guy comes in, sounds like the knows what he's talking about, and is dressed like in my example in my original post. Maybe 10 people are presenting solutions. Chances are your looks are not going to help you, they are going to hurt you. It's just a fact.
Same with applying for a job. Some employers get hundreds and hundreds of resumes and applicants. They have to weed that down to just a handful. You make a spelling mistake or your resume just doesn't look professional, and they'll toss it. You get into an interview and you look like in my example and the others looked professional, you are not going to get a call back unless you REALLY REALLY REALLY knock it out of the park.
As to your point at the end of your comment about it depending on the job, I agree completely. The graphic designers and professional artists I've met (this is only a few though) do not tend to wear suits. Maybe when they make a big presentation they might but day to day? No way.
What I was talking about here was in your standard office job though, where everyone is expected to dress up to a dress code. Think IBM only not a computer company. If you are guy from IT who has to interact with management, you need to dress that way too; at least when interacting with them. The intern kid who just runs around fixing PCs doesn't. There are cases that are famously casual (many dot-coms, Apple in the early days (don't know about now), Atari, etc.) where this wouldn't apply (and in fact, being in the suit may hurt you like the goth look would hurt you at the IBM like entity above).
You statement by wearing something may be as simple as "Look at me" or as complex as "I'm a smart business woman bucking for a promotion." It may say "Stare at my chest and think I'm sexy" or it may say "I'm trendy and hip." It could be "I'm rich and ostentatious" or "Don't notice me, I just want to blend in."
But make no mistake, any fashion is a statement.
So to dress one way and be mad at people for taking the hint you're sending. That is one of those things that really annoys me.
Dressing slutty or looking like a hooker then being mad that men pay attention to you
Dressing like the columbine kids then being mad people stare at your or avoid you
Dressing in clothes that don't fit with pants that are barely above your ankles and people thinking you're not highly intelligent
As for the car buying example, that was the first thing I thought of. It would work for realtors and other sales people too. Same with doctors. Do you trust the one in the white lab coat, or the one in the bike-racing suit more?
The next release of KDE should be quite a bit faster as they are moving to the new version of QT (4.0?) which is supposed to have some dramatic improvements.
As for the screentop menu bar, I don't know of others that do it, but they must exist. I haven't had a Linux box in a few years, and I haven't looked at the different window managers in 2 or 3 years more than that (you stick with what you like). Look around, they must exist.
A teen, in spiky blue hair with a bolt through his nose and tons of other piercings in beatup old all black clothes who demands you ignore their appearance and treat them just like everyone else.
If appereance doesn't matter (his point, thus I should treat him just like the guy wearing the suit), then what is the point of dressing that way? It makes a statement. And if you choose to make that statement, then you have to understand other people will react to your statement. You can't make a statement and demand it is ignored at the same time.
The article makes perfect sense to me. If you are a programmer at home, or you are working down in the bowels of the building running the network in the crampt hot server room, it makes sense you may want to dress comfortably.
But if you want to consult, or if you have to deal with anyone (management, middle management, customers, etc) then you need to dress appropriatly.
To take it out of context, let's have another example. Let's say you want to buy a BMW. So you go to the dealership. Now who are you more likely to trust as a knowledgeable salesperson? A woman in a nice suit, or a women in a old jogging uniform?
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But that's not why enrollment is down.
I started college in 2000/2001. The end of the boom. It was VERY obvious that a large portion of the students didn't care about the subject. They weren't too interested in the material. They often didn't know much about how to even use computers above very basic things.
It's clear why there were there. They were in it for the money. At that time all you heard about was the exploding tech sector and 19 year old multi-millionares and getting $90k salaries right out of college. They saw gold and they ran for it. Many of them were very nice people, and some of them tried VERY hard and had a great commitment to the subject that they weren't personally that interested in (I wouldn't be able to do it), but many of them were just trying to slide by to get the money, or had no idea what they wanted to do so they went with the one that had the $$$ behind it.
Now that the bubble has burst (combined with the threat of outsourcing and such, real or imagined) it's not seen as an ultra-lucrative career so people aren't going into it like they used to.
Where ARE they going? From what little I've seen, the new hot things are degrees that get you to accounting (returning favorite), lawyering (classic money maker), or the new hot stuff: biotech. Those are where the gold-rushers are going.
So CS is back to people who want to do CS instead of those people along with gold-rushers, certification mill graduates, and other such people. Big loss.
It will be CS again one day. Google is starting to turn that tide with all the headway it's making.
But the reason CS enrollment is down is the bubble burst and the gold-rushers are gone.
That said, I don't think the driver issue would be one for long (for major hardware). If available OS X would have a HUGE demand. I can not tell you how many people I know who hate using Windows (but don't want to buy a new computer to get OS X). There are TONS of people who would switch. And they would all want drivers. And if you wanted to sell your hardware to these people, you'd give them drivers. It's the same thing that would happen if Linux got to 20% of average people's computers, except I think Apple could hit 20% VERY FAST.
The drivers would arrive. A large ammount of hardware is there already (graphics cards, network cards, most USB things, FireWire, printers, scanners, etc). The rest would get there fast.
But Apple won't sell OS X for generic PCs so it's a moot point.
There is no question in my mind. It looks nice, it's easy to use, it's easy to work on. Remember when Apple released the G3 Towers that folded open? As far as I know there still aren't many cases like that on the market for the PC. Dell uses some, but I don't think they are availabile to individuals. Most Macs I've come across (Performas, LC II, Quadras, PowerMacs) have been very easy to open and work on.
Then there is my PowerBook. Great battery life, and it's quiet. VERY quiet. Despite the fact it puts off my heat than my PIII laptop that it replaced, it's almost silent. Only when I really push it do I hear the fan, and then it's quite quiet. Compare that to a constant drone from my old PIII and the wind-tunnel it became when running at full-tilt. Every PC laptop I have come across in the last few years seems to be getting bigger and heavier and staying loud. My PB is thin, quiet, and light.
And what about all those little "Apple touches". Does your keyboard have a backlight? Does it adjust to the ambient light in the room? Does you screen adjust to the ambient light in the room? My Mac does. I've NEVER seen a PC laptop that does that. It's been over a year since I bought mine, and I think Apple ofered it before that.
Apple hardware is GOOD. People say Apple's cost more (which I don't believe, it's quite debatable depending on how you frame it), but if it was true, it was worth it for my laptop. It's a pleasure to use and every Wintel that I've used since just seems clunky. My Mac is a BMW in a world of 1982 Ford Taruses.
All that said, I think Boot Camp is important. As I posted the other day, I would have moved to a Mac much sooner if I could have kept Windows around "just in case" or so I could play Counter Strike. That said, I don't think most home users will use Boot Camp much after they get their feet wet in OS X. The only people who would use it on a regular basis would be developers, heavy gamers (why are you buying a Mac? Sad but true), tinkerers, and maybe in some office settings. It's like I've said about Linux. Dual boot offers niceities when you are thinking about switching or for certain groups, but I don't see a day when even 2% of average users would dual-boot on a regular basis.
Would this have helped me? It would give me reassurance, but I doubt I would have used it. Frankly rebooting takes too much time and it's just a hassle. I never reboot my Mac except when it needs security updates that require it. Otherwise it is on 24/7. I take it back and forth to school every day but I just close the lid and it goes into sleep instantly, and wakes up in about 2 seconds.
Now when someone gets either something like WINE working so you could play games (TransGaming... you've got an opportunity here for tons of sales), or true virtulaization gets enabled (some say Apple will do that in 10.5) so that you don't HAVE to reboot, you can just keep Windows in "the background" then I would have JUMPED at the chance to switch to Mac.
There are three things in life. There is having UNIXy goodness (got that), there is having great applications (iLife, Safari, and the ability to run Office/Photoshop), and there are games (got some, missing others). I'd say my Mac scores a 2.3/3.0. Windows is a 2.0/3.0 (games and apps).
Keep up the great work Apple.
So what will most people use this for? Nothing. I expect that virtualization will come out soon enough. All this will do is provide that reassurance for switchers until they go full-on Mac, and I doubt they would use it much.
It's nothing heavy duty like some of the cases in the article, but it's a very nice and light bag. They have many others so they may have something tougher but this was exactly what I was looking for to keep my laptop looking nice and in good condition.
I bought a MFJ Morse Code Tutor with a little LCD and I have been using it during free time at my school. I've learned the full alphabet and I'm working on the numbers right now, after that I just have puncutaion and prosigns (AK, BK, etc).
I'm sure you've heard that one before, and you need to be careful of it. That said, you found yourself a hammer (your new knowledge of whatever) so start looking for nails.
I've run into the same problem many times. I understand not wanting to re-implement things (I thought about making an accounting program for a little bit before deciding to just use Quicken, for example). But you need to be creative.
When I first learned Python I made a simple little game based on one of my favorite games that I used to play on my TI-85. This also let me learn OpenGL. The game was Blocks.
Trying to do more, I made a simulation (I'd call it a game but it wasn't interactive) called Itty Bitty City which also included more OpenGL. It wasn't too complex but was fun to watch (even if I did have Pie-In-The-Sky ideas about what it would do as usual).
I never updated my website because it was a hassle. I didn't want to do it in DreamWeaver or something like that. I wanted to automate things. Python was my favorite language at the time, so I wrote a little program I called SiteMaker to do it for me (ironically, that page is quite out of date). Python was rather well suited to that (it was command line, and needed good text processing) so I used it and gained a good knowledge of Python in the process (including the build-in modules you can use to open and send data across FTP connections).
After that I wanted a program to make it easier to make blog style entries on my website (which would call SiteMaker). I had been wanting to learn Objective-C for use on my Mac so I used that for the project and it was fun, and I learned quite a bit (even if I don't use the program because I didn't add enough features to make it useful). This was SiteBlogger.
When I wanted to learn Java 5 to get back into it (since it had features that fixed my biggest gripes) I made another simple game (which I took rather far) called Pond Game. I got to use all sorts of stuff in Java and got a good working knowledge (after quite a bit of time off).
I was still weak in GUIs in Java (have done no Java GUI programming ever) so I used Java to scratch a major itch I had and made Scheduler which I am now updating for a Senior Project. I learned how GUIs were done in Java and got an even deeper understanding of Java from this project. It also fixed my problem of hating to figure out a school schedule.
I had been wanting to learn PHP, so when a project came up at school to build a system for them (not an assignment, I work there part-time) and they asked me if I wanted to do it, I jumped at the chance to make such a system (which I hadn't done and included a large amount of DB programming) and used PHP (which they were perfectly happy with, and were actually going to suggest).
There are other little ones here and there. The main point of all this is that most of these didn't bug me enough to make them (Scheduler was the only real problem) but I saw them as opportunities to try out a new language or some such. I've learned to do this because of a problem that I would suffer from which I assume you suffered from: I'm curious and would read about a language or some such but not do anything and thus forget it all. I needed the practice, so I found places to do it. Whether these were things I needed for myself (Scheduler, SiteMaker) or just little games that I wanted to make or to use to try something (Blocks which was an OpenGL test, Itty Bitty Citty which was going to be an AI test).
My last suggestion would be to enter a programming contest. I've been enterin
Ask an "old-timer".
Ever wonder why every telephone on old TV shows looks the same?
You couldn't plug anything but a genuine Ma-Bell phone into your phone line. That was the rule.
Now, what was it that happened to Ma Bell? Hmmm... (ignore recent years).
Sorry, I'm new at this being British thing :)
Only on /. would someone catch that.
All hail mother England!
I have a great idea for an April Fool's joke. I think Alabama should send out a press release that says they have developed a Nuclear Warhead and will use it to defend themselves from Tennessee at all costs.
Yes, but if you were to read what I read (I can't remember where I read it right not) they were talking about an enhanced mode IN ADDITION TO the controller thing. They talked about how the thought about just dropping GC support and making it Revolution only but they didn't. But as a side effect of that (or at least that's what it sounded like) there is an enhanced mode (which I assume means more polygons/better textures/more effects/etc).
Trivia: Why are the FF games called "Final"?
I read today (in Game Pro) that the first FF game was called Final Fantasy because Square was going out of business and it was going to be the last game they would ever make.
Then it saved them.
But if you don't want to see more sequels, check out the Nintendo Revolution. Besides sequels (Super Smash Brothers Whatever!, which I can't wait for) they will be completely new games that no one has ever seen designed for it, which should be great.
Don't want another sequel? How about a Bob Ross game that will come out for the Revolution and DS?
""Our primary focus with the Nintendo Revolution has been to create a system that can do things that the other systems can't, that has functionality that the other systems don't have," he said through a translator. "And speaking to that, there are some other unique features of the Nintendo Revolution hardware that we haven't discussed yet that we will be announcing at E3."
Not only that, we are supposed to see games, prices, and a release date. The Revolution is supposed to be playable at E3.
Plus, I read that Twilight Princess will have an "enhanced mode" for the Rev, which I take to mean enhanced graphics as well. That comes from here. But on checking that link, THEY'RE GONE. ACCOUNT SUSPENDED? Who knows. That's odd. They got that tidbit from an interview with a Nintendo of Japan guy where they talked about all sorts of Zelda stuff including the timeline, and why Tingle RPG was canned (hint: Westerners didn't like Tingle).
It's an apache configuration page!
I'M BEING HACKED!
AAAAAAaaaaahhhhhh......
I'd better call the FBI!
That will hit some people. Not everyone, many not most, but some. Maybe then a bigger backlash will start. It will probably depend on if the anti-whatever software is free or not.
You've got to love the oddity of it all though. What if tomorrow Oracle released a version of their software that would randomly drop tables? Let's say for the sake of argument that everyone used it anyway. What if Oracle's solution was to sell you software that would catch that happening and instantly put your table back?
What if your Ford car would randomly stall, and Ford's solution was to give you a anti-stall upgrade on your car?
I hope Vista fixes a lot of this (I'm on OS X so it doesn't matter), because it is just mind-bending if you think about it.In what other industry (other than possibly government) would this kind of thing be accepted so well?
I agree completely. You'd both do both parts, each would just do more of one part than the other. This would allow you to get a lot done while still learning the stuff you are weak in though helping the other person, debugging that code, adding things, etc.
Really, the last few time's I've been out to many places (nature parks, restaurants, movies, etc) they've needed ushers to kick out the people with no courtesy.
My state just passed concealed carry, it would be nice if that would scare some sense into people, but we all know it won't (mostly because you aren't allowed to shoot people for making idiots out of themselves). Until people stop putting up with the stuff and start demanding these kind of people be removed from the theater/restraunt/whatever, it will keep happening (and probably get worse).
So why don't the theaters step up to the plate? Besides fixing all the other things that they often need to (which will be brought up endlessly in this thread) why not sell the DVDs? Here is the theory:
You go to a movie and you when come out you are offered the chance to buy the DVD of the movie you just saw for... $10. Same with the soundtrack (for $6).
If you liked the movie, then you can buy the DVD right then and there. If you didn't, then you don't have to buy it. This would be an extra source of revenue for the theaters, and would probably boost DVD sales (since it would be much easier to sell to someone who just watched the movie than someone walking by a display in Wal*Mart or Best Buy). Those who don't go to movie theaters (like me) would still buy the DVD at a store as usual.
In fact, by selling that DVD for $10 and not the normal $20, I'm betting there are people who would go to the theater just to buy that DVD that way. The cost of that DVD ($10) plus the cost of the movie ($20?) would be more than the DVD alone at a store ($20), but they would also get to have the theater experience for what would be a discount ($10 difference) compared to normal price.
Theaters are still trying to be what they were in the 70s when you couldn't watch any movie you want any time. Heck, things have hardly changed from the 40s in the theaters, except for the lack of newsreels and the amazing number of ads they show.
My suggestion would be rather obvious, but is there anything that they are better at than you, or something you are weak on? For example, you could give your partner the GUI and you do all the back end stuff (which may be much more complex). They do programing, they help you out, they learn about the system, and you don't do it all.
There are other things you can do too. Much like my parent post suggested, after you design some of the classes, skeleton them out and have your partner fill them in. Then you guys can go in and fix the bugs or improve performance as needed (there are always bugs after all). While there are always things that are going to be very tricky in the system, there are also things that are going to be relatively simple and just take time. You can give him these and work his way up from there.
Besides that, there are other things that can be done depending on what you are doing. For example, I'm not a GUI person. I can do it, but I don't like it (and my GUIs aren't that good). In my situation, I would have my partner not only design the GUI (I'd help, obviously) but implement it as much as possible. In a PHP application they can make all the pages in Dreamweaver or something I can add in the back end code (with their help). They could use a tool like X-Code, Visual Studio, or a Java tool to make the UI which you then attach the code to. They are doing difficult and very important work that way.
My parent's second point is quite important too. Let them take a crack at the design before you say "this is how you do it" because sometimes people will come up with ingenious solutions you never would have thought of.
You say this person is a good friend, and if true that's good. I assume they agree with you on the programming aspect (after all, if they think they are a better programmer then you could be in trouble). But if you two get along then you should be able to work out problems and figure this out in a reasonably balanced manner.
That said, most people would have that reaction, I would too. I wouldn't really act on it, but many people would. If you are in a business environment, dressing that way means you will have a harder time getting people's trust and respect than if you dressed "correctly." It may be just a little bit harder, it may be near impossible.
My point was that when presenting yourself for something important, to dress far outside the norm starts you off on the wrong foot; and that is something that is just a fact. It may not be nice. It may not be the way things should be, but that is, without a doubt, the way the world works.
But you are a manager and two people come into present what to do about the network. The first guy sounds like he knows what he's talking about and is dressed well. Maybe a suit, maybe just business casual. A second guy comes in, sounds like the knows what he's talking about, and is dressed like in my example in my original post. Maybe 10 people are presenting solutions. Chances are your looks are not going to help you, they are going to hurt you. It's just a fact.
Same with applying for a job. Some employers get hundreds and hundreds of resumes and applicants. They have to weed that down to just a handful. You make a spelling mistake or your resume just doesn't look professional, and they'll toss it. You get into an interview and you look like in my example and the others looked professional, you are not going to get a call back unless you REALLY REALLY REALLY knock it out of the park.
As to your point at the end of your comment about it depending on the job, I agree completely. The graphic designers and professional artists I've met (this is only a few though) do not tend to wear suits. Maybe when they make a big presentation they might but day to day? No way.
What I was talking about here was in your standard office job though, where everyone is expected to dress up to a dress code. Think IBM only not a computer company. If you are guy from IT who has to interact with management, you need to dress that way too; at least when interacting with them. The intern kid who just runs around fixing PCs doesn't. There are cases that are famously casual (many dot-coms, Apple in the early days (don't know about now), Atari, etc.) where this wouldn't apply (and in fact, being in the suit may hurt you like the goth look would hurt you at the IBM like entity above).
You statement by wearing something may be as simple as "Look at me" or as complex as "I'm a smart business woman bucking for a promotion." It may say "Stare at my chest and think I'm sexy" or it may say "I'm trendy and hip." It could be "I'm rich and ostentatious" or "Don't notice me, I just want to blend in."
But make no mistake, any fashion is a statement.
So to dress one way and be mad at people for taking the hint you're sending. That is one of those things that really annoys me.
As for the car buying example, that was the first thing I thought of. It would work for realtors and other sales people too. Same with doctors. Do you trust the one in the white lab coat, or the one in the bike-racing suit more?
As for the screentop menu bar, I don't know of others that do it, but they must exist. I haven't had a Linux box in a few years, and I haven't looked at the different window managers in 2 or 3 years more than that (you stick with what you like). Look around, they must exist.
A teen, in spiky blue hair with a bolt through his nose and tons of other piercings in beatup old all black clothes who demands you ignore their appearance and treat them just like everyone else.
If appereance doesn't matter (his point, thus I should treat him just like the guy wearing the suit), then what is the point of dressing that way? It makes a statement. And if you choose to make that statement, then you have to understand other people will react to your statement. You can't make a statement and demand it is ignored at the same time.
The article makes perfect sense to me. If you are a programmer at home, or you are working down in the bowels of the building running the network in the crampt hot server room, it makes sense you may want to dress comfortably.
But if you want to consult, or if you have to deal with anyone (management, middle management, customers, etc) then you need to dress appropriatly.
To take it out of context, let's have another example. Let's say you want to buy a BMW. So you go to the dealership. Now who are you more likely to trust as a knowledgeable salesperson? A woman in a nice suit, or a women in a old jogging uniform?