Very well said, DrShasta. Corporations do not view programmers as craftsmen, they view us as machines. Frankly, they couldn't care less if you're happy so long as you're productive, predictable, and cheap.
The cold war is over dude. Is anyone still actually worried about the russians? It wouldn't surprise me if Bin Ladin bought the property and built a nuke in our own backyard. Shit, I'd give him props if he pulled that off. We're just stupid enough to let him get away with it.
Re:Heisenbugs...
on
Debugging
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
In my experience they are usually caused by inadequate protection of data that needs to be thread safe. In fact, I've never had one from a buffer overflow.
Of course this brings up the point of don't make assumptions that "this" has to be the problem. The bugs that take the longest time to debug are the ones where we build a false premise in our head of where the problem is or what the state of things are up to the point of the problem.
Actually, it wouldn't really require the backing of the military. It just would require the military to stay out of it. As former military, I don't think I would have been able to shoot at my own countrymen. I can assure you that a lot of people in the military would feel the same way.
Ignore the common Hollywood depiction of military personnel being robots. It's not really that way.
NASA made their AI engine available in the public domain in 1986. It's called CLIPS. It was written in C, was very portable, and very fast. In fact it's still being updated. The funny thing is that it did what other companies were charging $10,000 for.
So this is nothing new for NASA. Maybe it's just been a long time since they've done it. Technically, all non-classified government funded software is supposed to be made available in the public domain.
It's called Opera. It's more stable than Firefox, it supports more IE crap than Firefox, it blocks pop-ups, has tabbed browsing, etc. It's had all the features of Firefox (and then some) for a long time. It's even free if you don't mind a small little add box up where the icons are (I don't even notice it).
A lot of people think people cheat who just happen to be VERY good. When I first started playing UT2k3, I thought a lot of people were cheating. After I played it for 6 months, I realized I was very wrong. Some people are just exceptionally good players. Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean it's impossible or cheating.
In any event, when I first started UT2k3 I was a n00b, but after several months of playing I became quite good, joined a clan, competed in ladders, etc. It just takes a long time to get there. Practice, practice, practice. You also have to learn how to tune your mouse, know what kind of mouse to use, have a good mouse pad for your mouse (logitechs are great mice but finicky with what pad you use), hotkeys, etc. Just get over the fact you're gonna get your ass kicked all over creation for a long time and you'll be fine.
Seriously, stay with the medical profession. It's doubtful most of us will have jobs 5 years from now since companies are moving to offshore development and support in India and other places where they make 1/5th what we do. We can't compete with that. In ten years the middle class in this country will be decimated.
Stick with medicine. Good doctors are always needed and you can't send that offshore.:)
Mirra is a great idea really. I would like a networked backup solution that I can even access from anywhere on the web. In fact, this is exactly what I'm looking for in a backup product right now. However, I will NEVER buy this product with it's current pricing model. Not because it's $500, but because they charge an extra $100 for an upgrade of 80 to 125GB of storage. A quick check on price watch shows you can get a 160GB HD for $104. It's called RAPING the customer. Mirra can go to hell for that. Here's my favorite quote from their site:
This is nothing. Many years ago IBM banned use of the term "motherboard" since it could be considered offensive to some mothers. Instead they call them "mainboards." They also won't use the graphic of a tree in an icon becuase some Japanese might consider it offensive since the tree could look too much like a mushroom cloud.
Corporate America has been leading the way for political correctness for many years. Apparently some of you didn't get the memo.
Did you ever stop to think that most parents out there don't know squat about p2p file sharing? Most parents don't read slashdot, and most aren't geeks. Sure, the parents are always responsible for the actions of their children, however, it doesn't mean you can't cut them some sympathy on something like this. Most likely the parents will have to fork up the $3500 to get the RIAA off their backs for something they probably didn't even know was possible.
I find it amusing that people still expect companies to make games for Linux. If you're really a gamer you need to get on Windows plain and simple. I don't like MS or Windows but I'm at least realistic about the situation.
And no, the Mac doesn't count as a real gaming platform.
I completely agree. People work too much in the U.S. It has all kinds of bad side effects and most people in this country are such sheep they don't even realize what's going on. We're brainwashed to think it's normal. It's all about working your ass off so some other guy can get rich. The social side effects of this are alcoholism, drugs, and crime.
Fortunately I was able to see this for what it is and went independant. I now have as much vacation, sick, or any other time as I damn well please. I don't think I could tolerate working as an "employee" ever again.
Actually, Idea IntelliJ is the best java IDE but feel free to live in the dark. However, if you want to say it's the best FREE IDE then I won't argue with you.
Yeah, I don't see what the concern is about not having chicks in IT. All the men will lose their jobs to India soon anyway. IT is a dying industry in the U.S. so why anyone would want to go into at this point is beyond me. Women should stick with things like marketing where there's still jobs to be had (and good pay).
Macs have cute little handles because they are for chicks. Real men use PCs. Also, Apple doesn't invent these ideas; they simply enclose them in see-through plastic and act as if they just invented sliced bread. As far as I can tell only idiots have fallen for this ploy...and chicks. Which are you?
SWG is even more about money than EQ. You can only have one character per account per server. EQ let you have EIGHT. I was interested in SWG but that completely turned me off. I won't even try it now.
Perhaps you all aren't paying attention but the risk to open source is nothing compared to the damage that Bill is really doing. A LOT of software is already outsourced to India. He's wants to help India turn into one giant outsourcing corporation. The bonus for him is the use of his products. The bonus for us that we lose even more programming jobs here in the U.S. The market sucks, there's still tons of H1-B's around and now this...
I don't know about you but I'm a little concerned.
Slashdot Mirror
Very well said, DrShasta. Corporations do not view programmers as craftsmen, they view us as machines. Frankly, they couldn't care less if you're happy so long as you're productive, predictable, and cheap.
The cold war is over dude. Is anyone still actually worried about the russians? It wouldn't surprise me if Bin Ladin bought the property and built a nuke in our own backyard. Shit, I'd give him props if he pulled that off. We're just stupid enough to let him get away with it.
In my experience they are usually caused by inadequate protection of data that needs to be thread safe. In fact, I've never had one from a buffer overflow.
Of course this brings up the point of don't make assumptions that "this" has to be the problem. The bugs that take the longest time to debug are the ones where we build a false premise in our head of where the problem is or what the state of things are up to the point of the problem.
Assume nothing.
Actually, it wouldn't really require the backing of the military. It just would require the military to stay out of it. As former military, I don't think I would have been able to shoot at my own countrymen. I can assure you that a lot of people in the military would feel the same way.
Ignore the common Hollywood depiction of military personnel being robots. It's not really that way.
NASA made their AI engine available in the public domain in 1986. It's called CLIPS. It was written in C, was very portable, and very fast. In fact it's still being updated. The funny thing is that it did what other companies were charging $10,000 for.
So this is nothing new for NASA. Maybe it's just been a long time since they've done it. Technically, all non-classified government funded software is supposed to be made available in the public domain.
Opera is better and it works on Linux, FreeBSD, and your damn cell phone too.
It's called Opera. It's more stable than Firefox, it supports more IE crap than Firefox, it blocks pop-ups, has tabbed browsing, etc. It's had all the features of Firefox (and then some) for a long time. It's even free if you don't mind a small little add box up where the icons are (I don't even notice it).
So what's the big deal about Firefox again?
A lot of people think people cheat who just happen to be VERY good. When I first started playing UT2k3, I thought a lot of people were cheating. After I played it for 6 months, I realized I was very wrong. Some people are just exceptionally good players. Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean it's impossible or cheating.
In any event, when I first started UT2k3 I was a n00b, but after several months of playing I became quite good, joined a clan, competed in ladders, etc. It just takes a long time to get there. Practice, practice, practice. You also have to learn how to tune your mouse, know what kind of mouse to use, have a good mouse pad for your mouse (logitechs are great mice but finicky with what pad you use), hotkeys, etc. Just get over the fact you're gonna get your ass kicked all over creation for a long time and you'll be fine.
Seriously, stay with the medical profession. It's doubtful most of us will have jobs 5 years from now since companies are moving to offshore development and support in India and other places where they make 1/5th what we do. We can't compete with that. In ten years the middle class in this country will be decimated.
:)
Stick with medicine. Good doctors are always needed and you can't send that offshore.
Mirra is a great idea really. I would like a networked backup solution that I can even access from anywhere on the web. In fact, this is exactly what I'm looking for in a backup product right now. However, I will NEVER buy this product with it's current pricing model. Not because it's $500, but because they charge an extra $100 for an upgrade of 80 to 125GB of storage. A quick check on price watch shows you can get a 160GB HD for $104. It's called RAPING the customer. Mirra can go to hell for that. Here's my favorite quote from their site:
"50% larger than the M-80 for only $100 more."
WHAT A BARGAIN!! ROFL
People are actually surprised by this??
This is nothing. Many years ago IBM banned use of the term "motherboard" since it could be considered offensive to some mothers. Instead they call them "mainboards." They also won't use the graphic of a tree in an icon becuase some Japanese might consider it offensive since the tree could look too much like a mushroom cloud.
Corporate America has been leading the way for political correctness for many years. Apparently some of you didn't get the memo.
Oh please...
Did you ever stop to think that most parents out there don't know squat about p2p file sharing? Most parents don't read slashdot, and most aren't geeks. Sure, the parents are always responsible for the actions of their children, however, it doesn't mean you can't cut them some sympathy on something like this. Most likely the parents will have to fork up the $3500 to get the RIAA off their backs for something they probably didn't even know was possible.
Just buy an Audiotron. It's not wireless but it's only $300. It doesn't support FLAC or shorten but it does support WAV for lossless playback.
I find it amusing that people still expect companies to make games for Linux. If you're really a gamer you need to get on Windows plain and simple. I don't like MS or Windows but I'm at least realistic about the situation.
And no, the Mac doesn't count as a real gaming platform.
I completely agree. People work too much in the U.S. It has all kinds of bad side effects and most people in this country are such sheep they don't even realize what's going on. We're brainwashed to think it's normal. It's all about working your ass off so some other guy can get rich. The social side effects of this are alcoholism, drugs, and crime.
Fortunately I was able to see this for what it is and went independant. I now have as much vacation, sick, or any other time as I damn well please. I don't think I could tolerate working as an "employee" ever again.
I'd buy it but I don't want to have to pay SCO the $2 license fee.
Damn dude, your wife is a babe.
Actually, Idea IntelliJ is the best java IDE but feel free to live in the dark. However, if you want to say it's the best FREE IDE then I won't argue with you.
Yeah, I don't see what the concern is about not having chicks in IT. All the men will lose their jobs to India soon anyway. IT is a dying industry in the U.S. so why anyone would want to go into at this point is beyond me. Women should stick with things like marketing where there's still jobs to be had (and good pay).
Macs have cute little handles because they are for chicks. Real men use PCs. Also, Apple doesn't invent these ideas; they simply enclose them in see-through plastic and act as if they just invented sliced bread. As far as I can tell only idiots have fallen for this ploy...and chicks. Which are you?
SWG is even more about money than EQ. You can only have one character per account per server. EQ let you have EIGHT. I was interested in SWG but that completely turned me off. I won't even try it now.
Perhaps you all aren't paying attention but the risk to open source is nothing compared to the damage that Bill is really doing. A LOT of software is already outsourced to India. He's wants to help India turn into one giant outsourcing corporation. The bonus for him is the use of his products. The bonus for us that we lose even more programming jobs here in the U.S. The market sucks, there's still tons of H1-B's around and now this...
I don't know about you but I'm a little concerned.