Pepsi products? Ha ha! It's funny, but the schools I mentioned (UGa and GaTech) both had LOTS and LOTS of stuff named Woodruff: dorms, etc. Of course, the Woodruff was the long-time head of the Coca Cola company, headquartered in Atlanta. We had a similar problem, if a different product.:)
...seem to run against the grain of your argument. Many of our most prestigious and hallowed institutions have been run as businesses since their inception. The act of taking money for research makes sense...you get to do more research. Privatization makes sense. The projects that demonstrate commercial viability fund more research into some projects that are not as commercially viable.
You use the same argument that I used for some time, but in a different area: commercialism taints academic progress. I used to complain how funds and effort were channeled into the football program at Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia...until I found out that the programs' incomes paid for themselves, every other sport, and much, much more. Hey, I misunderstood how important these funds are to the school's very existance, and I think you misunderstand, as well.
For that matter, the replication of hardware components, using software, is an interesting exercise, as it teaches computer architecture and programming. For a quick and dirty project, write a binary adder in C++, and componentize it for use with other components. Of course, you can't CHEAT and just add numbers, you have to implement the architecture in code.
This form of emulation is pretty interesting, and can get as complex as you would like...See the emulator thread from earlier.
You know, this topic is the subject of many academic papers, books, and more than a few long, incomprehenisible rants. Here's mine:
I assume that you are using some formal or semi-formal methods for your software design. If not, I would suggest doing a bit of reading on software development processes and methodologies. Despite what some will lead you to believe, you don't have to formalize your own development strategy into a white paper, but having some idea of the manner in which others analyze problems, design a software solution, and implement that solution, will generally give you great insight into best practices that you can use in your own work. I'll avoid book references here, but suffice it to say that there is a huge selection of many fine books on the subject. If you're interested in open discussion about the matter, check out the WorldWide Institute of Software Architects.
I feel that your problem lies primarily in the area of motivation. I have been a developer for ten years or so, myself. I recently went through a period much like what you describe: struggling, unmotivated, and feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume and complexity of my work. My own cure was multifaceted:
Exercise - If you aren't exercising, and I mean real exercise, not Quake III a couple of nights a week, then you're not working up to your potential. I have been a real workaholic for some time, but I found that taking time out everyday to get on the mountain bike has increased my energy levels tremendously. I'm also quite a bit happier, and I sleep better, both of which help a lot.
Other Creative Work - I am a programmer because of what programming is, an art. I originally wanted to be an architect, because of the mixture of technical prowess with creative skill, and I think programming is just the same. You're an artist, in some part, and you need to think about problems in various ways to really be able to conceptualize them, then translate the problems to your medium (the software). Other artists would call this "learning to see." I have started journaling and drawing more, something I did in the past, but left behind when I entered my career. I have found that the creative outlets provided by the other arts have been extraordinarily beneficial to my inner-programmer's artistic sense. Try something similar. Pick up a pen and draw, write down your problems in a book, pick up a guitar and learn to play. Do something (away from the computer) with your mind and gain a different perspective. It may not give you insight into the problem at hand, but it will relax your mind and help you relearn to think creatively...to learn to see.
Caffeine - The more I read, the better this stuff gets. It's a buzz with few tradeoffs, and it even might help you avoid some bad things. But, keep your levels in some sort of check, and try not to get "fuzzy around the edges." Being overstimulated, for me, is just too counterproductive...in most cases.:)
I hope this helps. I think that burnout, the traditional ailment of our field, is completely avoidable. At least, I hope it is. Feel free to drop me a line, and I can direct you to more specific references and methods that I have found useful.
Michael Maddox Senior Software Engineer HCS Tallahassee, FL
Jon Katz may not be your favorite writer. Fine. He's not mine, either, but he's not a bad writer, and he sure as hell is taking your side in most of these big issues and arguments. If he's going to work to write all these articles, exposing the masses to issues that are all so apparent to you and I, I think the least you could do would be to have a little respect for the effort. Plus, he doesn't feel the need to hack the English language up with stupid adolescent misspellings for normal words like "elite," nor does he use the word "fucking" in every other sentence.
Get a clue and get some class. Represent your species with some dignity.
4 of Aureal's board members walked out in March of this year, along with all 8 of the company's senior executives. Two weeks later, the company filed for Chapter 11. Now, although Aureal has recently re-filled these management positions, and contends that the Chapter 11 filing was for the purposes of reorganization of their financial affairs, the similar actions of companies like SyQuest and Adlib (remember them?) and their subsequent demise lead me to think that this is about it for Aureal.
This is a shame, too. Good products can fail because of poor management...an axiom that many of us geeks should learn and remember.
Although the company appears all but dead, I would hazard a recommendation that anyone looking to buy a sound card avoid the purchase of any Aureal or Aureal-based products.
You make a valid point. The author's attack against IP is very, very idealistic. Notice, in particular, the attacks made against wealth and power:
"The rich and powerful, it should be noted, seldom contribute much intellectual labour to the creation of new ideas. "
"...intellectual property is one more way for rich countries to extract wealth from poor countries..."
The author then follows up by espousing the Marxist views of human equality, and similar philosphies:
"In a society with less hierarchy and greater equality, intrinsic motivation and satisfaction would be the main returns from contributing to intellectual developments."
Can anyone tell me how such equality is to be established? How about enforced? Can anyone come up with an attack or restructuring plan that will not lapse into blatant communist dogma? Hell, communism would be great if it fit human nature, but the experiments have shown...we just aren't the type of creatures who live with everyone else's best interests in mind.
...electronic voting is a really difficult thing to pull off. Having been, in the past, the primary consultant with the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, for their electronic voting tests and election-night return systems, I have been exposed to the wild fluctuations in traffic these sites are exposed to. The sites are hit by huge numbers...and the staff within the state agencies tend to be among the least-qualified to administer the technology capable of handling the traffic. The states act as though they are capable of monitoring their elections, but the amount of reliance that they must place on their consultants makes this task impossible for them to successfully complete. Their level of technical competence is just not up to the task.
I believe that there must be some amount of trial and error involved in putting together a successful online voting application. Some sites and some elections are going to be corrupted, and some bad things are going to happen. If the process can get through such an ordeal, we may one day have a workable voting system. The states will have to change their hiring procedures and pay scales before anything of the sort will ever be possible.
For those of you interested in this sort of thing, without the added bonus of nutjobs like the protagonist in this article, there are many serious high-powered rocketry enthusiasts and groups throughout the US and the world.
The most successful is Tripoli, the high-powered rocketry association.
Also of interest is the Reaction Research Society, who has been looking for a real amateur space shot for a few years now...50 miles up.
I have to agree with James. The root of this is an essential disagreement between the morality of the MPAA and that of the consumers. The MPAA is a big, paranoid industry organization who would steal if it meant more profits for them. Thus, they ASSUME that anyone else would do so if presented the opportunity. Of course, most consumers (meaning you and me) wouldn't be out wantonly distributing DVDs any more than we are currently pirating VHS tapes (a la Kramer and the videocamera).
It's interesting what sort of personality traits one reveals when opening one's mouth...or, in this case, when writing one's contracts.
Actually, I have the 450 Pro series. They're both quite flat and black, and render tack-sharp images. The only real gripes I have about them are:
1. bizarre interference I get if they are setup to run at the same frequency (they are right next to each other, and I get a moving scan line at regular intervals, one moving UP one monitor, and one moving DOWN the other, in a synchronized manner). I just make them run slightly offset.
2. the face bezels are wide enough that the center area between the screens freaks me out when something is split between the two displays. I saw some people running monitors with the bezels and cases removed, but it was just too weird.
...are pretty neat. I've been running two 19" iiyama monitors on a Matrox G400 MAX (under Win 2000) for a few months, and, for a developer, it's downright indispensible. App on one side, debugger on the other, or multiple source files simultaneously...it's really spoiled me to the point that I could never go back to a single screen (which means I'm nuts whenever I'm on the laptop). By far the most interesting thing, however, is the gaming capability that the monitors provide. Multiple views are supported in some games (mostly Microsoft ones: FS2000, Baseball 2000, etc.), but, unfortunately, not too many companies are providing such support, and the display falls back to the single, PRIMARY display. Still, I think this has been the most enjoyable upgrade that I have ever made. If you've got the desk real estate, you can get the CRTs pretty cheaply...of course, if you've got the deep pockets, go get that quad.
It seems that the authors, in releasing the software under the GPL, have given license to all current copies of the software that are in existence. It seems that the authors, in selling their license to Mattel, have really sold them the same license that I have to use the software. In other words, "Quick, everyone sell Mattel the rights to your copy, before they figure out what's going on!"
I wonder how well the GPL is going to stand up to lawyers? Has it had serious contest before?
A new acquaintance and I brought up this subject recently, when Tim's first Open Letter came out. Here's his point:
Yeah, we saw something about that, but you have to realize, the examiner of the application had something like 8-12 hours to research the application, perhaps write a rejection, answer the attorney's arguments and decide whether information found in their research suggested that someone do what the application claims to be novel or inventive (no one had suggested doing it). As former patent examiners of 10 years (my wife and I), I can safely say that none of the examiners have enough time than to give a patent the "presumption of validity" that the law says it has. I doubt there was any "abuse" of the patent office by Amazon, only abuse of the patent examiners and the public by the Patent Office.
Perhaps the people in charge of the office, setting the policy, and making the schedule should be blamed, rather than those poor saps doing the work. We bitch about examiner ineptitude, but maybe the problem lies with those appointed bureaucrats that CAN be affected by negative politics. Start writing those letters!
If you remember, on the Apple II version of the game, you had to pound shit out of two keys on the keyboard. You should see what a few weeks of this does to a Franklin Ace 1000 (remember THAT clone!?), not to mention the wrists.
...that old Apple II company that sold utils and whatnot used to have the BEST catalogs. They came out monthly with tons of neat one liners in Apple Basic. They even sold a compilation floppy with all their one-liner contest winners.
All the U.S. Government is trying to do is put on a big front and show...which allows them to crack down arbitrarily and forcefully on any entity (business or individual) who they see as a threat to their interests. The government sells more dangerous toys to foreign governments than ANYBODY. They're more interested in running the show than actually protecting world peace, so don't let them fool you.
I used to think they were just damn fools, now I realize they're EVIL damn fools.
...diversification. When you buy a mutual fund, you don't throw all your money into a tech sector funds; you'll lose your ass if there's a downturn on NASDAQ.
If you're Microsoft, you seek market proliferation. If there's a trend toward Linux, you write code for Linux boxes, just as they have done for Mac users all these years. Don't kid yourself into thinking that a CIO, who has ALREADY been talked into trying out Linux, won't jump at the chance to comfort himself with some big-name "reliability." Thus, Microsoft writes Office for the penguins.
Oh, and you anti-libertarians (you KNOW who you are...talking out of your ass) out there. Go find out what the Libertarian party is all about. Freedom of speech, small government, and protection of individual rights...if you don't support at least some of the LP's views, I question your support of this site...and you're definitely NOT a geek like me.
I tired of the dumbed-down information that my local rag foisted upon me, mostly a collection of tired news and local claptrap, none of which held interest or relevancy for me. I have not read a local paper for the past two years, relying exclusively on publishing, magazines, and the Net for my information. I even avoid the television, as it seems to cater to the same audience that the newspapers want to impress. I don't think that a newspaper could ever persuade me to subscribe. They have just gone too far down their chosen path; they're nothing but junk mail for me now.
Slashdot Mirror
Pepsi products? Ha ha! It's funny, but the schools I mentioned (UGa and GaTech) both had LOTS and LOTS of stuff named Woodruff: dorms, etc. Of course, the Woodruff was the long-time head of the Coca Cola company, headquartered in Atlanta. We had a similar problem, if a different product. :)
...seem to run against the grain of your argument. Many of our most prestigious and hallowed institutions have been run as businesses since their inception. The act of taking money for research makes sense...you get to do more research. Privatization makes sense. The projects that demonstrate commercial viability fund more research into some projects that are not as commercially viable.
You use the same argument that I used for some time, but in a different area: commercialism taints academic progress. I used to complain how funds and effort were channeled into the football program at Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia...until I found out that the programs' incomes paid for themselves, every other sport, and much, much more. Hey, I misunderstood how important these funds are to the school's very existance, and I think you misunderstand, as well.
Good point! Assuming that the damnable thing ever comes OUT. Sheesh!
Personally, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this.
Of course, you could then move to your other arm, your legs, pocketwatches, your penis...whatever. Imagine your computing power.
For that matter, the replication of hardware components, using software, is an interesting exercise, as it teaches computer architecture and programming. For a quick and dirty project, write a binary adder in C++, and componentize it for use with other components. Of course, you can't CHEAT and just add numbers, you have to implement the architecture in code.
This form of emulation is pretty interesting, and can get as complex as you would like...See the emulator thread from earlier.
Okay, then where did the original K6 fit into this, if the K6-2 is the equivalent of the Pentium MMX? Is it the regular Pentium?
You know, this topic is the subject of many academic papers, books, and more than a few long, incomprehenisible rants. Here's mine:
I assume that you are using some formal or semi-formal methods for your software design. If not, I would suggest doing a bit of reading on software development processes and methodologies. Despite what some will lead you to believe, you don't have to formalize your own development strategy into a white paper, but having some idea of the manner in which others analyze problems, design a software solution, and implement that solution, will generally give you great insight into best practices that you can use in your own work. I'll avoid book references here, but suffice it to say that there is a huge selection of many fine books on the subject. If you're interested in open discussion about the matter, check out the WorldWide Institute of Software Architects.
I feel that your problem lies primarily in the area of motivation. I have been a developer for ten years or so, myself. I recently went through a period much like what you describe: struggling, unmotivated, and feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume and complexity of my work. My own cure was multifaceted:
I hope this helps. I think that burnout, the traditional ailment of our field, is completely avoidable. At least, I hope it is. Feel free to drop me a line, and I can direct you to more specific references and methods that I have found useful.
Michael Maddox
Senior Software Engineer
HCS
Tallahassee, FL
My problem isn't with the word, but the all-too-common multiple meanings and usages. If you think about it, you sorta sound like the Smurfs.
Here here!
Jon Katz may not be your favorite writer. Fine. He's not mine, either, but he's not a bad writer, and he sure as hell is taking your side in most of these big issues and arguments. If he's going to work to write all these articles, exposing the masses to issues that are all so apparent to you and I, I think the least you could do would be to have a little respect for the effort. Plus, he doesn't feel the need to hack the English language up with stupid adolescent misspellings for normal words like "elite," nor does he use the word "fucking" in every other sentence.
Get a clue and get some class. Represent your species with some dignity.
4 of Aureal's board members walked out in March of this year, along with all 8 of the company's senior executives. Two weeks later, the company filed for Chapter 11. Now, although Aureal has recently re-filled these management positions, and contends that the Chapter 11 filing was for the purposes of reorganization of their financial affairs, the similar actions of companies like SyQuest and Adlib (remember them?) and their subsequent demise lead me to think that this is about it for Aureal.
This is a shame, too. Good products can fail because of poor management...an axiom that many of us geeks should learn and remember.
Although the company appears all but dead, I would hazard a recommendation that anyone looking to buy a sound card avoid the purchase of any Aureal or Aureal-based products.
You make a valid point. The author's attack against IP is very, very idealistic. Notice, in particular, the attacks made against wealth and power:
"The rich and powerful, it should be noted, seldom contribute much intellectual labour to the creation of new ideas. "
"...intellectual property is one more way for rich countries to extract wealth from poor countries..."
The author then follows up by espousing the Marxist views of human equality, and similar philosphies:
"In a society with less hierarchy and greater equality, intrinsic motivation and satisfaction would be the main returns from contributing to intellectual developments."
Can anyone tell me how such equality is to be established? How about enforced? Can anyone come up with an attack or restructuring plan that will not lapse into blatant communist dogma? Hell, communism would be great if it fit human nature, but the experiments have shown...we just aren't the type of creatures who live with everyone else's best interests in mind.
Remember, to design a system that is fool-proof is to underestimate the ingenuity of a fool.
...electronic voting is a really difficult thing to pull off. Having been, in the past, the primary consultant with the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, for their electronic voting tests and election-night return systems, I have been exposed to the wild fluctuations in traffic these sites are exposed to. The sites are hit by huge numbers...and the staff within the state agencies tend to be among the least-qualified to administer the technology capable of handling the traffic. The states act as though they are capable of monitoring their elections, but the amount of reliance that they must place on their consultants makes this task impossible for them to successfully complete. Their level of technical competence is just not up to the task.
I believe that there must be some amount of trial and error involved in putting together a successful online voting application. Some sites and some elections are going to be corrupted, and some bad things are going to happen. If the process can get through such an ordeal, we may one day have a workable voting system. The states will have to change their hiring procedures and pay scales before anything of the sort will ever be possible.
For those of you interested in this sort of thing, without the added bonus of nutjobs like the protagonist in this article, there are many serious high-powered rocketry enthusiasts and groups throughout the US and the world.
The most successful is Tripoli, the high-powered rocketry association.
Also of interest is the Reaction Research Society, who has been looking for a real amateur space shot for a few years now...50 miles up.
Check em out. Part of this complete breakfast
I have to agree with James. The root of this is an essential disagreement between the morality of the MPAA and that of the consumers. The MPAA is a big, paranoid industry organization who would steal if it meant more profits for them. Thus, they ASSUME that anyone else would do so if presented the opportunity. Of course, most consumers (meaning you and me) wouldn't be out wantonly distributing DVDs any more than we are currently pirating VHS tapes (a la Kramer and the videocamera).
It's interesting what sort of personality traits one reveals when opening one's mouth...or, in this case, when writing one's contracts.
Actually, I have the 450 Pro series. They're both quite flat and black, and render tack-sharp images. The only real gripes I have about them are:
1. bizarre interference I get if they are setup to run at the same frequency (they are right next to each other, and I get a moving scan line at regular intervals, one moving UP one monitor, and one moving DOWN the other, in a synchronized manner). I just make them run slightly offset.
2. the face bezels are wide enough that the center area between the screens freaks me out when something is split between the two displays. I saw some people running monitors with the bezels and cases removed, but it was just too weird.
...are pretty neat. I've been running two 19" iiyama monitors on a Matrox G400 MAX (under Win 2000) for a few months, and, for a developer, it's downright indispensible. App on one side, debugger on the other, or multiple source files simultaneously...it's really spoiled me to the point that I could never go back to a single screen (which means I'm nuts whenever I'm on the laptop). By far the most interesting thing, however, is the gaming capability that the monitors provide. Multiple views are supported in some games (mostly Microsoft ones: FS2000, Baseball 2000, etc.), but, unfortunately, not too many companies are providing such support, and the display falls back to the single, PRIMARY display. Still, I think this has been the most enjoyable upgrade that I have ever made. If you've got the desk real estate, you can get the CRTs pretty cheaply...of course, if you've got the deep pockets, go get that quad.
The only difference in a cult and a religion is the number of members, you sheep.
It seems that the authors, in releasing the software under the GPL, have given license to all current copies of the software that are in existence. It seems that the authors, in selling their license to Mattel, have really sold them the same license that I have to use the software. In other words, "Quick, everyone sell Mattel the rights to your copy, before they figure out what's going on!"
I wonder how well the GPL is going to stand up to lawyers? Has it had serious contest before?
A new acquaintance and I brought up this subject recently, when Tim's first Open Letter came out. Here's his point:
Yeah, we saw something about that, but you have to realize, the examiner of
the application had something like 8-12 hours to research the application,
perhaps write a rejection, answer the attorney's arguments and decide
whether information found in their research suggested that someone do what
the application claims to be novel or inventive (no one had suggested doing
it). As former patent examiners of 10 years (my wife and I), I can safely
say that none of the examiners have enough time than to give a patent the
"presumption of validity" that the law says it has. I doubt there was any
"abuse" of the patent office by Amazon, only abuse of the patent examiners
and the public by the Patent Office.
Perhaps the people in charge of the office, setting the policy, and making the schedule should be blamed, rather than those poor saps doing the work. We bitch about examiner ineptitude, but maybe the problem lies with those appointed bureaucrats that CAN be affected by negative politics. Start writing those letters!
If you remember, on the Apple II version of the game, you had to pound shit out of two keys on the keyboard. You should see what a few weeks of this does to a Franklin Ace 1000 (remember THAT clone!?), not to mention the wrists.
...that old Apple II company that sold utils and whatnot used to have the BEST catalogs. They came out monthly with tons of neat one liners in Apple Basic. They even sold a compilation floppy with all their one-liner contest winners.
Sigh. The good ol' days, no?
All the U.S. Government is trying to do is put on a big front and show...which allows them to crack down arbitrarily and forcefully on any entity (business or individual) who they see as a threat to their interests. The government sells more dangerous toys to foreign governments than ANYBODY. They're more interested in running the show than actually protecting world peace, so don't let them fool you.
I used to think they were just damn fools, now I realize they're EVIL damn fools.
...diversification. When you buy a mutual fund, you don't throw all your money into a tech sector funds; you'll lose your ass if there's a downturn on NASDAQ.
If you're Microsoft, you seek market proliferation. If there's a trend toward Linux, you write code for Linux boxes, just as they have done for Mac users all these years. Don't kid yourself into thinking that a CIO, who has ALREADY been talked into trying out Linux, won't jump at the chance to comfort himself with some big-name "reliability." Thus, Microsoft writes Office for the penguins.
Oh, and you anti-libertarians (you KNOW who you are...talking out of your ass) out there. Go find out what the Libertarian party is all about. Freedom of speech, small government, and protection of individual rights...if you don't support at least some of the LP's views, I question your support of this site...and you're definitely NOT a geek like me.
MMI tired of the dumbed-down information that my local rag foisted upon me, mostly a collection of tired news and local claptrap, none of which held interest or relevancy for me. I have not read a local paper for the past two years, relying exclusively on publishing, magazines, and the Net for my information. I even avoid the television, as it seems to cater to the same audience that the newspapers want to impress.
I don't think that a newspaper could ever persuade me to subscribe. They have just gone too far down their chosen path; they're nothing but junk mail for me now.