I have access to so much high-quality news and editorial information for free that it's hard to justify paying for more information that doesn't have much to differentiate itself except the name of the source.
What makes the New York Times worth paying for that I can't find from 100 or 1000 free sources via news.yahoo.com or news.google.com?
Not that many folks are using UTS/Uniscope terminal emulation packages like UTS Express or QTerm anymore, but some of us still do. At least the programs will allow functions to be remapped, but SysRQ is an intuitive key for that type of function. It's a low-level interrupt sent to the mainframe OS.
I use Facebook to assist folks back home with technical problems and to keep in touch with family (all of them over 1000 miles away from me). It's far more convenient than a phone call.
Sounds like your firm isn't one I'd want to be a part of, either.
Would it surprise you to find out that most software engineers work at companies whose primary business is to produce software?
It would surprise me. Most of the folks I know who write software work as internal developers for airlines, banks, insurance companies, etc., and not for software houses.
I personally suspect that most programmers work in places which create software for internal corporate use and not for external customers. There's a HUGE demand for such software, still.
Good luck getting rid of fax machines. Some businesses still require either fax or snail mail to send legal documents... e-mail attachments and other such things are not acceptable alternatives.
It's nice to learn vi if you use *nix systems because it seems to be installed on almost everything, making it very convenient. If that's all you have and you don't know it, hilarity ensues.:-) Or frustration. Whatever.
Of course, the definition of a "PC" is hardly fixed. What happens if you replace components? The CPU? The mommyboard? Replace the case? Is it still the same PC?
I think the parent poster's point was that such simplication is far easier when dealing with a limited domain, like a submap system, and much more difficult when dealing with a more complex system like often organically-constructed street network in a typical city.
Scale matters when one is navigating through an urban landscape. You can't simply the map to remove all elements but the desired ones in all cases... sometimes context is critical to accurate navigation. Not so important when the only info you need to convey is "get off at the third stop".
In larger or more established companies, managers take a lot longer to develop. Maybe this quick transaction from intern to manager explains why so many smaller companies tend to get run into the ground...
They finally realized that there are some technie types who are very good on the technical side and who were able to significantly contribute in that way.
While moving into management might have its compensatory and political benefits, it's no longer a hard requirement for advancement. I love that I have an option.:-)
hard for me to be sympathetic about the on call bit, since I've been on call for most of my 21-year career...
While the public can pay to enter, the theater is really private property. Isn't it?
I still find it shocking that the penalty is so harsh for this type of thing while so many violent crimes in the US result in much more lenient sentences...:-(
I've had text messages sent between by cell phone and my wife be delayed by over an hour... sometimes I've used IM software to talk to her for a while and she's gotten the text message while we're conversing via IM. We use different phone providers, so that is probably part of the issue.
I've laso had to stick timestamps on various alerts I send out at work because I've found that sometimes the alert is delayed at some point for as long as 30 minutes. Although for some of these alerts I suspect the outgoing mail server or mail->SMS gateway rather than SMS itself.
What have each of them actually worked on? And can I talk to each of them in person first?
I can't easily use a person who hasn't worked with technology at least tangentially related to what we're using, and there's also a lot more involved (when working as part of a small team) than just a person's technical skills and technical experience. How well do they get along? Can they handle pressure? Are they willing to play a 24x7 support role for the code they write? How about code they didn't write? Etc...
I've done quite a bit, thank you, and can describe it in some detail, but my code resides on the system of my previous employers, and I cannot legally (or ethically) provide examples.
Let's reverse this: What makes you qualified to judge my previous work?:-)
I learned BASIC, Fortran, and bits of 6502 assembly before going to college.
In college, I went through the formal CompSci program and graduated with a BSCS with a focus on "systems software" (basic OS/language/compiler theory), but also had exposure to several additional languages and environments as well as team projects.
I've written software (mainly applications, though not all) for a living now for 21 years, and computers are both my vocation and avocation. I get paid to play with software, and I love every minute of it.
I wish more software developers were curious about things. I think it's that curiosity and level of interest which breeds better insight, not simply formal training or experience.
We purchased an $80 VTech cordless phone system around three years ago (three handsets, one base station, and two other charging stations), and it seems to keep both its caller ID records and its phonebook data in a central location. If you make an entry on one unit, it shows up immediately on all three.
Slashdot Mirror
You engage in roleplaying while playing chess? I guess it could be done. :-)
I have access to so much high-quality news and editorial information for free that it's hard to justify paying for more information that doesn't have much to differentiate itself except the name of the source.
What makes the New York Times worth paying for that I can't find from 100 or 1000 free sources via news.yahoo.com or news.google.com?
That's an old IBM CUA convention. OS/2 did cut and paste with the same keystrokes. :-)
Not that many folks are using UTS/Uniscope terminal emulation packages like UTS Express or QTerm anymore, but some of us still do. At least the programs will allow functions to be remapped, but SysRQ is an intuitive key for that type of function. It's a low-level interrupt sent to the mainframe OS.
I use Facebook to assist folks back home with technical problems and to keep in touch with family (all of them over 1000 miles away from me). It's far more convenient than a phone call.
Sounds like your firm isn't one I'd want to be a part of, either.
I suspect she's probably a very pleasant sight even today. :-)
Why do slick web sites matter? I would rather see an informative web site.
It would surprise me. Most of the folks I know who write software work as internal developers for airlines, banks, insurance companies, etc., and not for software houses.
I personally suspect that most programmers work in places which create software for internal corporate use and not for external customers. There's a HUGE demand for such software, still.
Good luck getting rid of fax machines. Some businesses still require either fax or snail mail to send legal documents ... e-mail attachments and other such things are not acceptable alternatives.
It's nice to learn vi if you use *nix systems because it seems to be installed on almost everything, making it very convenient. If that's all you have and you don't know it, hilarity ensues. :-) Or frustration. Whatever.
Heck, even a manually switched heat function would be sufficient. A cop or city employee could turn it on whenever the light seems like it's blocked.
Of course, the definition of a "PC" is hardly fixed. What happens if you replace components? The CPU? The mommyboard? Replace the case? Is it still the same PC?
I think the parent poster's point was that such simplication is far easier when dealing with a limited domain, like a submap system, and much more difficult when dealing with a more complex system like often organically-constructed street network in a typical city.
Scale matters when one is navigating through an urban landscape. You can't simply the map to remove all elements but the desired ones in all cases ... sometimes context is critical to accurate navigation. Not so important when the only info you need to convey is "get off at the third stop".
In larger or more established companies, managers take a lot longer to develop. Maybe this quick transaction from intern to manager explains why so many smaller companies tend to get run into the ground...
They finally realized that there are some technie types who are very good on the technical side and who were able to significantly contribute in that way.
While moving into management might have its compensatory and political benefits, it's no longer a hard requirement for advancement. I love that I have an option. :-)
hard for me to be sympathetic about the on call bit, since I've been on call for most of my 21-year career...
While the public can pay to enter, the theater is really private property. Isn't it?
I still find it shocking that the penalty is so harsh for this type of thing while so many violent crimes in the US result in much more lenient sentences... :-(
I've had text messages sent between by cell phone and my wife be delayed by over an hour ... sometimes I've used IM software to talk to her for a while and she's gotten the text message while we're conversing via IM. We use different phone providers, so that is probably part of the issue.
I've laso had to stick timestamps on various alerts I send out at work because I've found that sometimes the alert is delayed at some point for as long as 30 minutes. Although for some of these alerts I suspect the outgoing mail server or mail->SMS gateway rather than SMS itself.
"An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know absolutely everything about nothing."
I forget where I saw the above quote (I would guess a tagline on FidoNet), but it sometimes seems to apply.
Not enough information.
What have each of them actually worked on? And can I talk to each of them in person first?
I can't easily use a person who hasn't worked with technology at least tangentially related to what we're using, and there's also a lot more involved (when working as part of a small team) than just a person's technical skills and technical experience. How well do they get along? Can they handle pressure? Are they willing to play a 24x7 support role for the code they write? How about code they didn't write? Etc...
I've done quite a bit, thank you, and can describe it in some detail, but my code resides on the system of my previous employers, and I cannot legally (or ethically) provide examples.
Let's reverse this: What makes you qualified to judge my previous work? :-)
I learned BASIC, Fortran, and bits of 6502 assembly before going to college.
In college, I went through the formal CompSci program and graduated with a BSCS with a focus on "systems software" (basic OS/language/compiler theory), but also had exposure to several additional languages and environments as well as team projects.
I've written software (mainly applications, though not all) for a living now for 21 years, and computers are both my vocation and avocation. I get paid to play with software, and I love every minute of it.
I wish more software developers were curious about things. I think it's that curiosity and level of interest which breeds better insight, not simply formal training or experience.
We purchased an $80 VTech cordless phone system around three years ago (three handsets, one base station, and two other charging stations), and it seems to keep both its caller ID records and its phonebook data in a central location. If you make an entry on one unit, it shows up immediately on all three.
...when the web was more about content than fancy presentation?
I mean, how many people really need to use fancy fonts to read a web forum, read a news article, or buy an item from a store?
It's a nice idea if universal buy-in could be obtained, but ... why? :-)
Those regions have had their own internal conflicts for far longer than the British Empire has existed.
I'm not the OP, but I use Slashdot's web UI because they haven't created an nntp gateway for me yet. :-)
Once that is done, you won't see me using this web-based interface, believe me. I'd be using Yarn here, or maybe slrn with slrnpull.
The content here is decent for the most part (STN ratio is often quite good). It's the interface that sucks.