Currently, the limiting factor in software development is managing complexity
Simple programs become complex as features are added and design decisions evolve
The current direction of layers and layers of frameworks on top of managed runtimes is wrong. It simply adds more incomprehensible complexity
We need modeling and visualization tools to help us manage and control the complexity
Almost everything the author said in the article is the wrong direction. We don't need non-interchangeable parts, designed to facilitate intellectual property ownership
Mechanical engineers can buy a screw, ball bearing, gearbox and use them freely, wherever they fit. They don't need to adopt a design "religion" or include a large, restrictive set of base classes and frameworks
The old methods of crossbreeding were limited and judged by nature. The available tools were crude and impotent and nature acted as "referee" to keep bad shit from happening
Any person who pays attention knows that ALL processed food contains GMOs
Unless you know the farmer personally, or REALLY trust the advertising of the "organic" producers, it's safe to assume that ALL corn and soybeans, and ALL products made from corn and soybeans contain GMOs
Kinda reminds me of Cal prop 65, requiring sellers to disclose if their products caused cancer in lab animals. Now EVERY product has the warning, and everybody ignores it
..is to look at your passion and talent. Of course, you can't ignore the job market, but it should be a secondary consideration
For example..when programming is the HOT market..
The talented, passionate people do very well because of their talent and passion..and are rewarded handsomely (like me)
The not-so-talented or passionate may get a job during the boom, it may even pay well, but when the bust comes, they are the first ones "staff reduced"
NEVER pick a career based on the job market unless you have (at least a little) talent and passion for it
Lots of devices, like AC motors require AC to run. This includes air conditioning systems and refrigerators, which are the biggest power users in a typical home
Modern AC-DC power supplies are much more efficient than the article claims
But, the biggest reason this is silly is the ENORMOUSLY HUGE number of existing devices that run on AC
Maybe, maybe it might make sense for a VERY small number of VERY specialized devices in new construction
Old time programmers remember squeezing every bit of performance out of a system
I remember doing image processing on a 4MHz 8088, in 1986, in assembly
Modern processors are INSANELY powerful..yet, most of the power is wasted on layers and layers of crap that incompetent programmers don't even realize is there
..that they are totally honest and competent, and that weakening security will only hurt the bad guys
In the real world, government security is done by people who actually want to work for the government..if you're at the bottom of the technological barrel..hey, a job is a job..and government jobs have job security. Yeah, I have to take a drug test..but that's OK..I don't use illegal drugs (within the testing window)
If you are on the other side of the fence..all that matters is technical competence
You might be a criminal, or a terrorist, or someone who is just pissed off..but IF you have the ability to exploit the weaknesses that are intentionally introduced, under the pretext of national security..you will win
Regardless of your skill, some devices are designed to be throwaway
Some are assembled with glue or welding Some are completely encased in plastic by potting or overmolding Some components, like ICs in BGA packaging, cannot easily be replaced with common tools Many manufacturers don't offer repair parts..at any price Sometimes, manufacturers grind off the identifying information on common parts to make repair and reverse engineering more difficult Schematics and repair manuals are often completely unavailable, or very expensive Many products require special tools that are unavailable at any price Even if you have the skill to build your own tools, software interface documentation is rarely available, and often the interface is obfuscated I have been building stuff, fixing stuff and reverse engineering stuff for many, many years Yes, I agree that fixing stuff is a valuable skill that should be taught and not allowed to die But, much of the fault lies with the manufacturers who aggressively resist any attempt by users to gain control over their devices
This practice should be illegal, we should have the legal right to fix stuff we own if we have the knowledge to do so
Instead of our current system where work/school starts at 8:00 and we adjust our clocks to compensate for the season, it would make more sense for schools and businesses to adjust their hours based on the season
Slashdot Mirror
Currently, the limiting factor in software development is managing complexity
Simple programs become complex as features are added and design decisions evolve
The current direction of layers and layers of frameworks on top of managed runtimes is wrong. It simply adds more incomprehensible complexity
We need modeling and visualization tools to help us manage and control the complexity
Almost everything the author said in the article is the wrong direction. We don't need non-interchangeable parts, designed to facilitate intellectual property ownership
Mechanical engineers can buy a screw, ball bearing, gearbox and use them freely, wherever they fit. They don't need to adopt a design "religion" or include a large, restrictive set of base classes and frameworks
Yes, it can be made to work, but a pipe is always better
Need more capacity, add more fibers
Once the spectrum is saturated, it's full
Yeah, clever coding and compression can help, but it's still a finite spectrum
You can't just be equal, you can't just be good, you must be better..MUCH better..an order of magnitude better.. night vs day better
Google+ was kinda as good as Facebook..maybe
The inertia (and pain) of switching from Facebook..and convincing ALL of your friends to switch from Facebook was too high a bar
The old methods of crossbreeding were limited and judged by nature. The available tools were crude and impotent and nature acted as "referee" to keep bad shit from happening
The new methods may bypass this protection
Any person who pays attention knows that ALL processed food contains GMOs
Unless you know the farmer personally, or REALLY trust the advertising of the "organic" producers, it's safe to assume that ALL corn and soybeans, and ALL products made from corn and soybeans contain GMOs
Kinda reminds me of Cal prop 65, requiring sellers to disclose if their products caused cancer in lab animals. Now EVERY product has the warning, and everybody ignores it
Lots of people listen in the car, on crappy earbuds, in a crappy room..etc
VERY FEW people listen in a treated room with excellent, calibrated monitors
Yes, trained, critical listeners, in a great room, with great equipment and great ears can tell the difference
No..it doesn't matter for most people
..is to look at your passion and talent. Of course, you can't ignore the job market, but it should be a secondary consideration
For example..when programming is the HOT market..
The talented, passionate people do very well because of their talent and passion..and are rewarded handsomely (like me)
The not-so-talented or passionate may get a job during the boom, it may even pay well, but when the bust comes, they are the first ones "staff reduced"
NEVER pick a career based on the job market unless you have (at least a little) talent and passion for it
Some designer who cares more about fashion than functionality comes up with a "new" idea
Management decides to vote for fashion over usability, and decides to force it on users who hate it and don't want it
At first, they called it "metro", a perfectly fine name
Then, they decided that they needed to strong-arm the users a bit more, so they renamed it "modern"
This is a classic use of a name as propaganda to make users believe that "modern" is better, and the alternative is "obsolete"
On the desktop, the metro interface sucks and blows at the same time
Houses last a long time, tech moves much faster
Remember the houses of the 80s, pre-wired for cable TV?
Nice, large conduits allow cat-6 today, fiber tomorrow..something else later
Yeah, wireless can be useful, but a wire is always better
..annoying honest people to create the illusion of safety
Lots of devices, like AC motors require AC to run. This includes air conditioning systems and refrigerators, which are the biggest power users in a typical home
Modern AC-DC power supplies are much more efficient than the article claims
But, the biggest reason this is silly is the ENORMOUSLY HUGE number of existing devices that run on AC
Maybe, maybe it might make sense for a VERY small number of VERY specialized devices in new construction
Looks to me like marketoids chasing buzzwords
Car companies should concentrate on making cars and leave the fashionable electronics to the fashionable electronic manufacturers
I wonder how many cars still have built-in analog cellphones? or built-in cassette players?
The ONLY thing that should be built-in is a speaker system, tuned to the acoustics of the car, with an amplifier and aux jack
ALL other "infotainment" devices should be separate
..seems to be forgotten
Old time programmers remember squeezing every bit of performance out of a system
I remember doing image processing on a 4MHz 8088, in 1986, in assembly
Modern processors are INSANELY powerful..yet, most of the power is wasted on layers and layers of crap that incompetent programmers don't even realize is there
We need to re-discover efficiency in programming
Simple programs used by the general public could conceivably be served from the cloud to a browser
Even for those simple things, many people will still prefer local data and local control
I find it hard to imagine that serious stuff like CAD, video editing, digital audio workstations, etc could ever be forced into this model
I, for one, require local data, local software and local control..and I will NEVER rent software
..or an electrician, or a carpenter, or a gardener or any other profession where physical presence is required to do the job
If virtual presence is good enough, you can be anywhere with good internet
..that they are totally honest and competent, and that weakening security will only hurt the bad guys
In the real world, government security is done by people who actually want to work for the government..if you're at the bottom of the technological barrel..hey, a job is a job..and government jobs have job security. Yeah, I have to take a drug test..but that's OK..I don't use illegal drugs (within the testing window)
If you are on the other side of the fence..all that matters is technical competence
You might be a criminal, or a terrorist, or someone who is just pissed off..but IF you have the ability to exploit the weaknesses that are intentionally introduced, under the pretext of national security..you will win
..of the personal computer era
Most of the speculations about how personal computers would be used were wrong..comically wrong
Most of the articles I see today about the Internet of Things seem silly, comically silly (NO, I don't want my refrigerator to order anything)
I suspect that there may actually be some useful ways to put "things" on the internet..we just haven't invented them yet
Why not use the grid as a reservoir..like a battery or capacitor?
When your local production exceeds your demand..push the rest into the reservoir
When you have a deficit..draw from it
Many people who advocate being off the grid are extreme isolationists..who value isolation over practicality
Sometimes, being a bit dependent, and interconnected, is good
..from registering their name in the ,sucks domain
It should only be available to their critics
Otherwise..why bother?
Who would want to go to McDonalds.sucks to see a pro-McDonalds ad?
..it's a computer figuring out how to beat a computer at a kinda simple game
The real world is a bit harder
Still..well done!
They should dump the "content" divisions..the movie studio and record company
The "content" divisions crippled innovation by insisting that the first priority must be content restrictions
They should shift their focus from style to substance
The "style" advocates crippled innovation by insisting that the first priority must be fashion
They should do whatever it takes to return to being the world's best electronics company
Regardless of your skill, some devices are designed to be throwaway
Some are assembled with glue or welding
Some are completely encased in plastic by potting or overmolding
Some components, like ICs in BGA packaging, cannot easily be replaced with common tools
Many manufacturers don't offer repair parts..at any price
Sometimes, manufacturers grind off the identifying information on common parts to make repair and reverse engineering more difficult
Schematics and repair manuals are often completely unavailable, or very expensive
Many products require special tools that are unavailable at any price
Even if you have the skill to build your own tools, software interface documentation is rarely available, and often the interface is obfuscated
I have been building stuff, fixing stuff and reverse engineering stuff for many, many years
Yes, I agree that fixing stuff is a valuable skill that should be taught and not allowed to die
But, much of the fault lies with the manufacturers who aggressively resist any attempt by users to gain control over their devices
This practice should be illegal, we should have the legal right to fix stuff we own if we have the knowledge to do so
Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River published a homebrew recipe for Pliny the Elder along with a detailed description of how he designed it
Mitch Steele of Stone wrote a book on IPA which included recipes for many of Stone's beers
Craft brewing and homebrewing have a long and interconnected history
Many craft brewers started as homebrewers and many craft breweries own homebrew supply stores and support homebrew clubs
The craft brewers I have visited freely answered any questions I asked
It's the same everywhere
Instead of our current system where work/school starts at 8:00 and we adjust our clocks to compensate for the season, it would make more sense for schools and businesses to adjust their hours based on the season
Agreed
It's hard to imagine any site allowing 1,000,000 bad guesses
It probably varies by site, but methinks anything over 100 or so would trigger a response
Even if the limit was 1000, same outcome