For over five years, I worked for an international biotech company that has been around for over 150 years. My title was "Senior X Engineer", where X varied from Software to Bioinformatics. I had specializations in genetics and statistics.
I have been where you are.
And I was not able to get my company to wake up, either.
You have already talked with the CEO. The CEO has listened, and he told you that he has bigger things to worry about.
That is the final answer. Things will not change at your company.
I strongly advise you: update your resume, and find another place that cares about quality. Because poor quality software will be discovered. The managers will actively seek someone to blame. And because you complained, those same managers are likely to blame you for the bad quality.
No, it's not fair. It happens anyway.
I'm serious: you are on a sinking ship, and you will be the first one blamed. Update your resume, find a new job while you're getting your current paycheck, and switch.
Good luck.
Re:The first Slashdot troll post investigation
on
KaZaa Suspends Downloads
·
· Score: -1, Offtopic
I just sent a letter to The Register, pointing them to the parent of this discussion. I've no idea whether they'll take it up, but it definitely sounds like their cup of tea. I'm debating on also sending a copy to
Dan Gillmor
or
Good Morning Silicon Valley
of
SiliconValley.com
.
They might get a kick out of it, too.
I'm trying to think of other good non-mainstream media that would be interested... the problem is, there aren't THAT many. And I'd rather the mainstream media (like ZDNet / CNET, MSNBC, and technical savvy newspapers) have to read the non-mainstream media. (Yes, I know that Dan Gillmor works for the San Jose Mercury News. They're still quite cool in my book.)
What the heck. I'm sending the letter on to them, as well.
Re:The first Slashdot troll post investigation
on
KaZaa Suspends Downloads
·
· Score: -1, Offtopic
I doubt that we're extinct in the Slashdot world... but I am writing a polite but strong letter to
Commander Taco
with my complaint.
Let's face it... this abuse of moderation is already being publicized outsize Slashdot, and if they continue to attack us, the publicity will just get worse.
Re:The first Slashdot troll post investigation
on
KaZaa Suspends Downloads
·
· Score: -1, Offtopic
Actually, it was less than two minutes. I was impressed.
I do hope that the moderators realize that a link to this very discussion is shooting up the moderation queue over in
Kuro5hin
. Unless they delete the parent to this message completely from their system, they're going to get an awful lot of bad press...
Re:The first Slashdot troll post investigation
on
KaZaa Suspends Downloads
·
· Score: -1, Offtopic
I am posting this message to protest the abuse of the moderation system. Whoever is moderating this system is trying to override the authority of the people... but it's only the comments of the people that make Slashdot a worthwhile system.
The stories posted themselves are not closely fact-checked. Without the tireless eyes of the thousands of Slashdot readers examining the stories, this site would be worthless. Only because they check your information, dig deeper, and share their knowledge does this site become useful.
This abuse of moderation is against the entire spirit of open-source software. Without being able to bring faults into the light, Linux (and other operating systems) would not have grown into the stable system that it is today. Without competition and cooperation, open source would fail miserably.
You, Mister Editor, are actively attempting to kill Slashdot by moderating down all posts in this thread. You will succeed in driving us "trolls" to other websites, or to found our own... leaving Slashdot in the rubble of history.
I demand the following things from Slashdot:
An honest accounting of what happened with this thread; in particular, who is responsible for downmodding every post of this thread.
An explanation of why this is happening. Why the democratic masses are being overridden by the few.
A return to open-source methodologies, especially including technical adjustments to ensure that this abuse of power cannot take place again.
If Slashdot wants to be the powerhouse in the open source movement, it needs to be responsive to its users -- or it will lose them.
In other comments below, it looks like you're talking about the "TechnoScout" ad. This advertisement looks like news, but it's in the advertisement spot to the right side of Yahoo's information.
I cannot, otherwise, find any references to this practice.
Truly unbreakable encryption has existed for many years: the
one-time pad
. The problems of unbreakable encryption aren't the theory, but the practice. (If you want truly secure communications among n people who each transmit x bytes of data through the group each day, how will you securely generate n*(n-1)*x bytes of random data each day, and securely distribute it to each of them?)
Forgive my bad memory, but wasn't there a company about two years ago that allowed you to add comments to any Web site... and to read all of the comments left on that site?
And weren't the -vast- majority of the comments left everywhere, essentially, graffiti? Not spam (ie: trying to be commercial), but the equivalent of the goat-sex and penis-birds of Slashdot?
If they do implement this system, I strongly hope that they use a moderation schema like the ones of Slashdot or Kuro5hin...
I've got a similar handicap to wiredog, but worse. I'm (functionally, uncorrectably) blind in one eye, and I have been from birth.
It qualifies me as handicapped, but frankly, it means little to my ability to program or for any of my hobbies. (Luckily, I'm not trying to do stereooptics, or anything that requires sight in three dimensions.)
I believe the statistic that one-sixth (or so) of Americans are handicapped. But, I also believe that the vast majority of the handicapped -- like me -- have handicaps that we just work around in our ordinary lives.
P.S. The 21-inch monitor that my boss got me has nothing to do with my handicap. No matter how much I love it!
That being said, we're still confident that Tux Racer will be available for purchase on our website by Christmas, and will be availble [sic] in retail in the new year.
In other words, Sunspire Studios won't have Tux Racer out in time for the biggest shopping season for games.
First,
this link
may help you with where to get information.
Second, I've been wondering... since so much now depends on window managers and the windows-icon-mouse-pointer paradigm, why not create a simple reader that will give the blind full access to computers:
Set a screen to very low resolution (320x240?) and black and white, and set the font to be a Braille font. The reader would then plug into the video output port, and each element would move up or down with whether the output is on or off.
Instead of using a mouse, the user would push down hard (harder than reading) at the point that he wants to click.
Expensive? At first, yes. We'd need to have a very, VERY cheap way to move up and down (individually) some 76800 individual dots, as well as be able to read the postiiton at those points. But worthwhile? I think so.
According to
The Washington Post
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64 663-2001Nov8.html, for the goat-wary),
The Justice Department has decided to listen in on the conversations of lawyers with clients in federal custody, including people who have been detained but not charged with any crime, whenever that is deemed necessary to prevent violence or terrorism.
Attorney General John D. Ashcroft approved the eavesdropping rule on an emergency basis last week, without the usual waiting period for public comment. It went into effect immediately, permitting the government to monitor conversations and intercept mail between people in custody and their attorneys for up to a year at a time.
You know... right now, I'm regretting not having a more broad education.
Why?
I didn't know that just four years after I left college (well, grad school), I would be going back to get a broader knowledge of biology for my current job in bioinformatics. In order to talk with my coworkers, I need to learn their language.
I have to say that I'm having a blast with my current job. I'm a "senior bioinformatics specialist" at a major pharm company. What I really do is write code for the biologists.
I'm constantly learning (they're paying for my classes), and I'm working with some extremely bright people. To me... that's fun.
If you're not enjoying your current job, I recommend switching. Don't quit; just start looking. If you don't know exactly what you want, I highly recommend the exercises in
What Color Is Your Parachute?
Slashdot's group consensus seems to be that this trojan has no chance of spreading.
I politely disagree.
With the spread of easy-to-install Linux systems, people with relatively little technical knowledge have installed Linux. These people are the ones most likely to fall for the trojan.
The only question... how could they get a list of newbies?
Speech recognition has been part of Windows CE
for a long while.
Here
is a press release from Lernout & Hauspie for
the technology that was licensed to Microsoft
in 1998. [I recall using a very poor speech
recognition software on Windows CE even
earlier.]
Re:Not this stupid 'programming is art' BS again!
on
Software Aesthetics
·
· Score: 2
You're right... you can't express an emotion in C++.
This is not a blast against XP. I think that XP has a number of good ideas.
However,
XP is not a silver bullet
.
If you're interested in learning to be a better programmer, learn from many methodologies. The following are some of the books in my collection:
Journey of the Software Professional: A
Sociology of Software Development
by Luke Hohmann (Prentice Hall, 1997) goes through many of the ideas that make up Extreme Programming, and lets you pick the best choices for your own team.
201 Principles of Software Development
by Alan M. Davis (McGraw-Hill, 1995) is a collection of 201 very simple principles, short-short essays, and links to other books. It's an easy afternoon read that will change your world.
The Unified Software Development Process
by Ivar Jacobson, Grady Booch, and James Rumbaugh (Addison-Wesley, 1999) is a software development book that I trust far more than Extreme Programming.
Constructing Superior Software
edited by Paul C. Clements (Macmillian Technical Publishing, 2000) is an excellent collection of essays about constructing software.
Regardless of whether you choose the books in my collection or other books, I strongly suggest that you read more than one methodology.
Slashdot Mirror
For over five years, I worked for an international biotech company that has been around for over 150 years. My title was "Senior X Engineer", where X varied from Software to Bioinformatics. I had specializations in genetics and statistics. I have been where you are. And I was not able to get my company to wake up, either. You have already talked with the CEO. The CEO has listened, and he told you that he has bigger things to worry about. That is the final answer. Things will not change at your company. I strongly advise you: update your resume, and find another place that cares about quality. Because poor quality software will be discovered. The managers will actively seek someone to blame. And because you complained, those same managers are likely to blame you for the bad quality. No, it's not fair. It happens anyway. I'm serious: you are on a sinking ship, and you will be the first one blamed. Update your resume, find a new job while you're getting your current paycheck, and switch. Good luck.
I'm trying to think of other good non-mainstream media that would be interested... the problem is, there aren't THAT many. And I'd rather the mainstream media (like ZDNet / CNET, MSNBC, and technical savvy newspapers) have to read the non-mainstream media. (Yes, I know that Dan Gillmor works for the San Jose Mercury News. They're still quite cool in my book.)
What the heck. I'm sending the letter on to them, as well.
Let's face it... this abuse of moderation is already being publicized outsize Slashdot, and if they continue to attack us, the publicity will just get worse.
I do hope that the moderators realize that a link to this very discussion is shooting up the moderation queue over in Kuro5hin . Unless they delete the parent to this message completely from their system, they're going to get an awful lot of bad press...
The stories posted themselves are not closely fact-checked. Without the tireless eyes of the thousands of Slashdot readers examining the stories, this site would be worthless. Only because they check your information, dig deeper, and share their knowledge does this site become useful.
This abuse of moderation is against the entire spirit of open-source software. Without being able to bring faults into the light, Linux (and other operating systems) would not have grown into the stable system that it is today. Without competition and cooperation, open source would fail miserably.
You, Mister Editor, are actively attempting to kill Slashdot by moderating down all posts in this thread. You will succeed in driving us "trolls" to other websites, or to found our own... leaving Slashdot in the rubble of history.
I demand the following things from Slashdot:
If Slashdot wants to be the powerhouse in the open source movement, it needs to be responsive to its users -- or it will lose them.
I cannot, otherwise, find any references to this practice.
Truly unbreakable encryption has existed for many years: the one-time pad . The problems of unbreakable encryption aren't the theory, but the practice. (If you want truly secure communications among n people who each transmit x bytes of data through the group each day, how will you securely generate n*(n-1)*x bytes of random data each day, and securely distribute it to each of them?)
If that won't confuse people, nothing will...
I believe -- correct me if I'm wrong -- that was a problem with the mail client of emacs.
And weren't the -vast- majority of the comments left everywhere, essentially, graffiti? Not spam (ie: trying to be commercial), but the equivalent of the goat-sex and penis-birds of Slashdot?
If they do implement this system, I strongly hope that they use a moderation schema like the ones of Slashdot or Kuro5hin...
It qualifies me as handicapped, but frankly, it means little to my ability to program or for any of my hobbies. (Luckily, I'm not trying to do stereooptics, or anything that requires sight in three dimensions.)
I believe the statistic that one-sixth (or so) of Americans are handicapped. But, I also believe that the vast majority of the handicapped -- like me -- have handicaps that we just work around in our ordinary lives.
P.S. The 21-inch monitor that my boss got me has nothing to do with my handicap. No matter how much I love it!
I have one certification (Java Certified Programmer), and a Master's Degree in Computer Science. I have not needed any other certifications.
Though I'm sure that it will make for an interesting time in the tracking that's going on...
In other words, Sunspire Studios won't have Tux Racer out in time for the biggest shopping season for games.
Second, I've been wondering... since so much now depends on window managers and the windows-icon-mouse-pointer paradigm, why not create a simple reader that will give the blind full access to computers:
Set a screen to very low resolution (320x240?) and black and white, and set the font to be a Braille font. The reader would then plug into the video output port, and each element would move up or down with whether the output is on or off.
Instead of using a mouse, the user would push down hard (harder than reading) at the point that he wants to click.
Expensive? At first, yes. We'd need to have a very, VERY cheap way to move up and down (individually) some 76800 individual dots, as well as be able to read the postiiton at those points. But worthwhile? I think so.
According to the IMDB , you're sometimes credited as "Pete Perkinson" or "Roc Sandstorm". Where did you get those names from?
According to The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64 663-2001Nov8.html, for the goat-wary),
By the way, I've noticed that even people from Apple use OmniWeb over Microsoft IE.
Why?
I didn't know that just four years after I left college (well, grad school), I would be going back to get a broader knowledge of biology for my current job in bioinformatics. In order to talk with my coworkers, I need to learn their language.
I have to say that I'm having a blast with my current job. I'm a "senior bioinformatics specialist" at a major pharm company. What I really do is write code for the biologists.
I'm constantly learning (they're paying for my classes), and I'm working with some extremely bright people. To me... that's fun.
If you're not enjoying your current job, I recommend switching. Don't quit; just start looking. If you don't know exactly what you want, I highly recommend the exercises in What Color Is Your Parachute?
Good luck.
I strongly recommend that you check out any MU* before you move students on. Ask the wizards the following questions:
If you're looking for a list of MUDs, Yahoo has a good, unpolitical selection. Good luck!
Slashdot's group consensus seems to be that this trojan has no chance of spreading.
I politely disagree.
With the spread of easy-to-install Linux systems, people with relatively little technical knowledge have installed Linux. These people are the ones most likely to fall for the trojan.
The only question... how could they get a list of newbies?
Speech recognition has been part of Windows CE for a long while. Here is a press release from Lernout & Hauspie for the technology that was licensed to Microsoft in 1998. [I recall using a very poor speech recognition software on Windows CE even earlier.]
But Perl poetry has a long history.
If you're interested in learning to be a better programmer, learn from many methodologies. The following are some of the books in my collection:
Journey of the Software Professional: A Sociology of Software Development by Luke Hohmann (Prentice Hall, 1997) goes through many of the ideas that make up Extreme Programming, and lets you pick the best choices for your own team.
201 Principles of Software Development by Alan M. Davis (McGraw-Hill, 1995) is a collection of 201 very simple principles, short-short essays, and links to other books. It's an easy afternoon read that will change your world.
The Unified Software Development Process by Ivar Jacobson, Grady Booch, and James Rumbaugh (Addison-Wesley, 1999) is a software development book that I trust far more than Extreme Programming.
Constructing Superior Software edited by Paul C. Clements (Macmillian Technical Publishing, 2000) is an excellent collection of essays about constructing software.
Regardless of whether you choose the books in my collection or other books, I strongly suggest that you read more than one methodology.