That's a really good point. I do see a difference in flavor between old D&D and 4e, but I've seen those changes in each version. From what I can tell, this version is much more "balanced" in terms of the different class abilities. They have focused instead on roles.
My most major concern is that they may have watered it down too much, making groups of classes too similar. I really haven't played it enough to know if that is a real concern as of yet.
The verdict is still out, but I have hope that the new rules system will still retain that D&D flavor. So far, it has.... yet again, that is something the players and DM bring to the table....
I am surprised by all of the complaining about how the mechanics of the game are all MMO based and RPG is left to the side.
This is simply not true. My group just gave 4e a shot on Saturday, and I have to say that the general reaction from all 7 of us was that it is a fine gaming system... we still have a lot to learn about it, but it went well....
We also had one of our best ROLEPLAYING sessions to date, and this group has been playing well in this regard for years. We spent TWO HOURS in non-combat situations, talking to the local townsfolk in our starting village and in Winterhaven. We learned a lot, and made a lot of friends in the town through some very savvy roleplaying (and our dwarves still got drunk and made an a** of themselves, but our wizard was savvy enough to make sure the barmaid was aware of the situation before hand...:)
We had a great mixture of the serious and humorous aspects of the game, from all involved.
The skill checks for diplomacy, and sense motive (insight) and the like were still there (when they needed to be)... all the options are still available, just condensed into more sensible skill check options.
Can you pull off a roleplaying session like that in an MMO? Nope. It's still D&D folks. At it's heart, it is still a roleplaying game. Each group will roleplay to the extent that they want to. It's all in how the DM presents the material and how the players react to that material.
This has ALWAYS been the case, regardless of edition. Roleplaying isn't a rule you can codify and enforce, at least well. It has to come from the players and the DM.
Given the non-combat encounter system, I'd say this version even attempts to encourage this kind of thing, but I can't comment on it because we haven't tried that yet.
We also fought in two encounters (about an hour each) The kobolds were tricky little guys, using their powers to shift all over the board. Even with our numbers, they were a threat, the wizard almost bought it, as did our dwarven fighter, even with healing surges and all the like (btw, you can use second wind only once per encounter... there is still a need for clerics (and warlords), their abilities came in very handy.
Give the game a shot before you poo-poo it. I think it's quite interesting, and is still D&D. THe "powers" format will take a little getting used to, but I think it will ultimately simplify things while still giving characters enough rules-based flavor to allow people to roleplay their characters anyway they want.
I disagree slightly with your translation of events. I don't think the Jews "blew it..." but rather they acted just like anybody else would. They were a good people, they were a bad people, they waffled (how many times have you prayed to God to help you in a desparate situation, and how many times have you actually practiced Godly principles in desparate situations? We all fall short. (Romans 3:23))
The Jewish people are an example to man, both good and bad, warts and all. Their history should be a focusing lens on life today. They were MEANT to provide the world with the messiah. The whole "The Jews Killed Jesus and therefore they are evil" argument really makes me laugh, because IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN THAT WAY. WE ALL are under the law... not to mention that it was a Gentile that actually ordered Christ's death (washing your hands of the matter does not free you of guilt!) Jesus was the final sacrifice for man's sin (again, we're all guilty!) Christ's death on the cross was intentional! It had to happen to fulfill the old covenant and introduce the new testament.
In fact, the Jews are still God's chosen, but through Christ the rest of the world can now (more easily) enter into this pact. Through the Jews, God allowed the rest of the world to have salvation. The bible even says something like "Jesus came to save man, first for the jews, and then for the rest of the world (I forget the scripture, so I paraphrase.) Jesus, born and bred as a Jew, died on the cross as the means to allow all of the world to be saved.
The "strict rules" and political corruption in judaism in Christ's time is an indictment against all organized religion and corruption. Just look at Christianity today... it *soooo* similar to the practice of Judiasm in Christ's time. The people in power, no matter how "good" their "intentions" are doing things that are simply not Godly... Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
Religous fervor can make people do stupid things. This I know from personal experience (I was a misguided zealot in my youth.) But the real truth comes in how people live *their* lives. THAT's the key to the whole thing... and if you read the old testament and the new, it's really evident that it's been the point all along.
BTW -- Jesus said he did not come to replace the law, but to fulfill it! (Matthew 5:17) Read your bible, folks, this stuff is all in there. It's so stunning to me how many people form opinions about this stuff without reading the documentation first!
How about using facts, references or links? As we can see far too much harm has come from people speaking up without actually considering the history or factual data behind what they are saying...
To Jews, there is no "Old Testament." The books that Christians call the New Testament are not part of Jewish scripture. The so-called Old Testament is known to us as Written Torah or the Tanakh.
The site goes on to relate the hebrew writings to the christian texts:
This is a list of the books of Written Torah, in the order in which they appear in Jewish translations, with the Hebrew name of the book, a translation of the Hebrew name (where it is not the same as the English name), and English names of the books (where it is not the same as the Hebrew name). The Hebrew names of the first five books are derived from the first few words of the book. The text of each book is more or less the same in Jewish translations as what you see in Christian bibles, although there are some occasional, slight differences in the numbering of verses and there are a few significant differences in the translations.
The site includes the list. Check it out, and know something about what you post before you do so.
Please don't take this out on the majority of the christian population. Yes, there are people out there who use fear and ignorance to take their deep-seeded agressions out on others... this is unfortunately human nature (the wages of sin is death, after all), and far too many people are far too easily manipulated by this kind of stuff.
I just want to point out that BEATING PEOPLE UP is not a "fundamental" Christian philosophy. Jesus would certainly NOT approve.... Pick up a Bible and read through the entire new testament (you can skip Revelations if you'd like -- it's interesting, but confusing and not really the point.) Only then can a person actually understand what it REALLY means to live a christian life.
Blessed are the meek.... for they shall inherit the earth.
Individual developers should not be held accountable for flaws in their code. This is like blaming an individual soldier for losing the entire war.
Companies, and their generals, on the other hand, should be held responsible for producing low quality code. There are software engineering techniques available to improve the quality and integrity of software, but far too many companies are worried about the bottom line so they skip through these processes (or ignore them outright) without care.
This is where the real problem lies -- it's in the processes (or lack thereof) used to develop the software.
Bugs happen. Security Flaws happen. A well established process has the Architecture, QA points and a Test Plan to track, control and manage these concerns.
"I consider programming of any nontrivial program a job for professionals with a solid and broad education, rather than for people with a hurried and narrow training."
- Bjarne Stroustrup, Creator of the C++ programming language.
I firmly believe that it is very important that students understand the fundamental concerns behind computer science. It's been very helpful to me in my career. Even more so, understanding the core concepts of SCIENCE (the careful analysis and measurments of facts to form theories instead of relying on hyperbole and politics) has been very helpful in my career.
Far too many people know how to write code, but have no respect or understanding for what is really happening behind the scenes. This was true even during my college career -- too many people didn't have a passion for the art, and therefore lacked the knowledge to set them apart from the others.
Having a technology skill is one thing. Being able to understand HOW and WHY a technology works and WHEN to apply it is a completely different beast all together.
I do agree that computer scientists and programmers alike should be well versed in the problem areas that they work in... but this is simply a matter of being able to learn new problem concepts as they come along.
I myself am INTP, and a lot of what you said in your question applied to me when I was in school. What you really have to focus on is Work Ethics (I'm sure that's going to send shudders down a great many spines around here...:) However, what you need to do is learn to apply yourself to whatever task is at hand.
Many of the posts I've read here have been negative. But that's just BS from the 90% of the world that doesn't know what's like to see the world the way we do. Albert Einstein was an INTP, and he wasn't understood until much later in his life (and even more so after his death.)
Learn to concentrate on specific goals. Don't be afraid to tread on a few feet (as we are want to do.) College will help you grow and learn to understand different peoples and cultures, and there is stuff there you will learn. I highly recommend it. But be prepared for disappointment. It is highly goal oriented. Learn to embrace that.... but apply your own unique touch to it. It'll help you in the real world. But don't forget to think inside, upside, downside and outside the box. That's what true innovation is about anyway.
Yes, yes, yes! People skills are WAY more important in the long term, even if all you do is contract work!
Flexibility is the key. You're not always going to get your idea across (in fact, you may have to restrain yourself from saying "I told you so..." later on.)
The problem with younger folk is that they tend to be VERY idealistic. I know, I've been there, done that. Unfortunately, we all find out the world isn't all black and white (although that doesn't mean that you should sacrifice your morals or ethics!) But there are more than 256 shades of grey.
Not true. I am an adjunct professor at a local community college. Most of the brightest students I have are actually 30-40+. Granted, this isn't always the case, but the tendancy is that the older individuals actually *want* to learn.
This isn't to say that there aren't young people who are bright and gifted (these *want to learn* too.) But I honestly have to say that age has very little to do with learning capacity. Rather, it's the inquisitive mind, one who is willing to learn new things, that do the best.
IMHO, the most important aspect of a programmer or technologist is the ability to solve problems and the capacity to figure things out on their own. In the end, the technology becomes a tool, and nothing more. This requires an open mind, insight and a huge helping of curiosity.... None of which are directly related to age.
To simply think that younger people are automatically terrific at figuring out new technologies is a silly idea, at best.
I read through some of the comments here, and thought I'd put in my $0.02....
First off, you have your integrity. If you see something wrong, you have a duty, more than your job, to mention it. Measure the response.
Personally, ethics is a very important part of my job. I don't always win, and sometimes, I'm thought of as a troublemaker.
That's not what I'm doing, though. I feel that whatever job you do, you should do it to the best of your ability....
Abe Lincoln said it best... "Whatever you are, Be good at it..." (I paraphrase.)
Be responsible, be good, and be right. In the same breath, also recognize when you are wrong.
Don't be afraid to be wrong, and *don't afraid to take a chance to be right*. Nothing we do is certain.
If we all give in and compromise our ethics, then what have we become? Worthless, in my humble opinion.
Our country is built on people who take chances. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they don't.... But they never know until they try.
"Never give up, Never surrender!" -- to quote Galaxy Quest. This is not only a silly saying, but really a mantra that we all should aspire to.
Otherwise, what are you trying to accomplish? Money? It's simply pretty paper. It will not last... And in the end you will be left empty, void and dead.
Behave like individuals, and work well with others in teams.
Okay, I'll step off my soapbox now. I hope you get what I'm trying to say...
Chris Nothing in this life is certain, except for truth.
>> Aligned interests (good code in exchange for good money) can be a much better model in the long run.
Hogwash. I'm sorry, but good money almost *never* gives good software. I've read where something like 80% of software projects fail... fail to meet deadlines, fail to meet price schedules, and fail to meet user requirements.
Personally, I have been witness to several software projects that were paid for with good dollars... Nothing good came from them.
Also, I have seen almost every proprietary, closed, "packaged" product that my company has used fail miserably to deliver on patches, updates, support and functionality.
On the other hand, more open, available tools tend to get the job done -- and if it doesn't, we have the source, and the *user community* to find out why and *fix* the problem.
Granted, some companies may have a valid reason to close their product (ie, vertical markets...) But even these can benefit from OSS... Ever heard of the LGPL?
I just spent a night at BEA eWorld speaking to a sales rep and developer at a dev2dev Open Source Software roundtable. I thought at first this would be a good thing... You know, how to use OSS tools and software, getting BEA to acknowledge that it's cool, and that, most importantly, developers WANT OSS tools and software.
But the evening turned into a whole BEA vs JBoss debate. The sales guy was kind of rude and cocky about JBoss... and everytime we tried to change the subject (to the benefits of OSS, for example), he kept going back to slamming JBoss.
I was very disappointed in the BEA sales rep, I expected a much more professional and conversational attitude. His partner, whom I think was a developer, had a much better view and kept trying to calm his friend down.
Admittedly, I can see where JBoss is a potential threat to BEA, but really, they have nothing to be afraid of (so far.) Their products are positioned for large applications and large enterprises, and JBoss would have trouble supporting that right now... (unless a large application needed to support a smallish to medium sized app...)
The plus side was there was a whole table full of people who were *for* OSS, including other tools, not just JBoss. In fact, I was later told that our table (in a room full of discussion groups) was the most active and interesting. Maybe someday those guys will be managers, directors, etc and will make decisions based on wisdom and common sense, and not sales and marketing pitches.
[Disclaimer: I love BEA's products. They're doing some great stuff -- they just need an attitude adjustment when it comes to OSS and other tools.]
And while I'm rambling... I just spent the last two days trying to get corporate approval to run the Tomcat based servlet container that comes with the Actuate 6.0 Reporting tool. There are a whole slew of valid business reasons why this is a Good Idea, but it was a no go. Instead, we have to link that product into our BEA servers, which aren't load balanced or very well protected for failover right now. Big Corporations seem to be afraid of OSS, and have extremely arbitrary rules for choosing software. This is something the OSS community needs to work hard to change. We're making headway, especially in terms of operating systems (RedHat), but we need to push even harder for other products.
Here, here! Or something. I agree with you. I can understand students pirating these software packages that are expensive in their fees... Students need to learn. However, games are for ENTERFREAKINTAINMENT. Pay for them already. Why do you think [a game] is so expensive? It's because they have to fight piracy. So stop spending your so precious cash supply on pot and beer and buy the damn game already. I mean, really. Sorry, I ramble.
Nonetheless. Games are entertainment. Pay the people who write these things. It's not as easy as it looks.
After reading some hints of gloom and doom over open source software I've seen posted about this thing with freshmeat, I'd like to throw in my two cents....
I think OSS has a GREAT potential, and I think we're going to experience more struggles with this in the future. All I ask of you people is to pay attention... And be nice. Snap decisions and quick judgments are so much more simple to make when we're covered by this anonymous dredge of email... Email is SO much more impersonal, and because of that, we're so ready to flame.... So much more ready to make fast judgments. So (I'm using that word a lot, no?) we need to maintain and contain ourselves.... Be careful of what you say and how you say it.
The old saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is nice, but to tell you the truth, in this hidden world of geekdom, words can hurt far more than anything else. Remember what you say, and say only what you mean, but please, please, TRY to present yourself in an honrable and respectable way.
I've been using the internet for quite sometime, and I've had a bit of experience myself about being butt stupid about things... I once flamed an individual... And I was the straw that broke the camels back. Apparently this guy did a lot of work for the particular project.... And I was the guy who finally posted the last flame.
I felt horrible about my actions, after seeing the truth, that I acted in a horrible and extremely rude fashion. I apologized and things were eventually smoothed out. I just hope that scoop gets the same kind of response.
Remember people, that a lot of the work in OSS is done in spare time, and people put a lot of effort in to helping you, for free, out of the kindness of their hearts.
So, I guess the golden rule applies. Do unto others has you would have them do unto yourself.
Slashdot Mirror
That's a really good point. I do see a difference in flavor between old D&D and 4e, but I've seen those changes in each version. From what I can tell, this version is much more "balanced" in terms of the different class abilities. They have focused instead on roles.
My most major concern is that they may have watered it down too much, making groups of classes too similar. I really haven't played it enough to know if that is a real concern as of yet.
The verdict is still out, but I have hope that the new rules system will still retain that D&D flavor. So far, it has.... yet again, that is something the players and DM bring to the table....
I am surprised by all of the complaining about how the mechanics of the game are all MMO based and RPG is left to the side.
:)
This is simply not true. My group just gave 4e a shot on Saturday, and I have to say that the general reaction from all 7 of us was that it is a fine gaming system... we still have a lot to learn about it, but it went well....
We also had one of our best ROLEPLAYING sessions to date, and this group has been playing well in this regard for years. We spent TWO HOURS in non-combat situations, talking to the local townsfolk in our starting village and in Winterhaven. We learned a lot, and made a lot of friends in the town through some very savvy roleplaying (and our dwarves still got drunk and made an a** of themselves, but our wizard was savvy enough to make sure the barmaid was aware of the situation before hand...
We had a great mixture of the serious and humorous aspects of the game, from all involved.
The skill checks for diplomacy, and sense motive (insight) and the like were still there (when they needed to be)... all the options are still available, just condensed into more sensible skill check options.
Can you pull off a roleplaying session like that in an MMO? Nope. It's still D&D folks. At it's heart, it is still a roleplaying game. Each group will roleplay to the extent that they want to. It's all in how the DM presents the material and how the players react to that material.
This has ALWAYS been the case, regardless of edition. Roleplaying isn't a rule you can codify and enforce, at least well. It has to come from the players and the DM.
Given the non-combat encounter system, I'd say this version even attempts to encourage this kind of thing, but I can't comment on it because we haven't tried that yet.
We also fought in two encounters (about an hour each) The kobolds were tricky little guys, using their powers to shift all over the board. Even with our numbers, they were a threat, the wizard almost bought it, as did our dwarven fighter, even with healing surges and all the like (btw, you can use second wind only once per encounter... there is still a need for clerics (and warlords), their abilities came in very handy.
Give the game a shot before you poo-poo it. I think it's quite interesting, and is still D&D. THe "powers" format will take a little getting used to, but I think it will ultimately simplify things while still giving characters enough rules-based flavor to allow people to roleplay their characters anyway they want.
I disagree slightly with your translation of events. I don't think the Jews "blew it..." but rather they acted just like anybody else would. They were a good people, they were a bad people, they waffled (how many times have you prayed to God to help you in a desparate situation, and how many times have you actually practiced Godly principles in desparate situations? We all fall short. (Romans 3:23))
P rinter.cfm?pageName=%2Fonline%2Fadvanced%2Fclass1_ lesson3_2.cfm
The Jewish people are an example to man, both good and bad, warts and all. Their history should be a focusing lens on life today. They were MEANT to provide the world with the messiah. The whole "The Jews Killed Jesus and therefore they are evil" argument really makes me laugh, because IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN THAT WAY. WE ALL are under the law... not to mention that it was a Gentile that actually ordered Christ's death (washing your hands of the matter does not free you of guilt!) Jesus was the final sacrifice for man's sin (again, we're all guilty!) Christ's death on the cross was intentional! It had to happen to fulfill the old covenant and introduce the new testament.
In fact, the Jews are still God's chosen, but through Christ the rest of the world can now (more easily) enter into this pact. Through the Jews, God allowed the rest of the world to have salvation. The bible even says something like "Jesus came to save man, first for the jews, and then for the rest of the world (I forget the scripture, so I paraphrase.) Jesus, born and bred as a Jew, died on the cross as the means to allow all of the world to be saved.
The "strict rules" and political corruption in judaism in Christ's time is an indictment against all organized religion and corruption. Just look at Christianity today... it *soooo* similar to the practice of Judiasm in Christ's time. The people in power, no matter how "good" their "intentions" are doing things that are simply not Godly... Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
Religous fervor can make people do stupid things. This I know from personal experience (I was a misguided zealot in my youth.) But the real truth comes in how people live *their* lives. THAT's the key to the whole thing... and if you read the old testament and the new, it's really evident that it's been the point all along.
BTW -- Jesus said he did not come to replace the law, but to fulfill it! (Matthew 5:17) Read your bible, folks, this stuff is all in there. It's so stunning to me how many people form opinions about this stuff without reading the documentation first!
here's an interesting link on this that I googled: http://www.salvationhistory.com/utilities/article
Okay, I'll stop rambling now, before somebody labels me a crackpot or "fundamentalist" for expressing my beliefs!
Chris
Quite eloquent...
How about using facts, references or links? As we can see far too much harm has come from people speaking up without actually considering the history or factual data behind what they are saying...
to quote http://www.jewfaq.org/torah.htm
To Jews, there is no "Old Testament." The books that Christians call the New Testament are not part of Jewish scripture. The so-called Old Testament is known to us as Written Torah or the Tanakh.
The site goes on to relate the hebrew writings to the christian texts:
This is a list of the books of Written Torah, in the order in which they appear in Jewish translations, with the Hebrew name of the book, a translation of the Hebrew name (where it is not the same as the English name), and English names of the books (where it is not the same as the Hebrew name). The Hebrew names of the first five books are derived from the first few words of the book. The text of each book is more or less the same in Jewish translations as what you see in Christian bibles, although there are some occasional, slight differences in the numbering of verses and there are a few significant differences in the translations.
The site includes the list. Check it out, and know something about what you post before you do so.
Please don't take this out on the majority of the christian population. Yes, there are people out there who use fear and ignorance to take their deep-seeded agressions out on others... this is unfortunately human nature (the wages of sin is death, after all), and far too many people are far too easily manipulated by this kind of stuff.
I just want to point out that BEATING PEOPLE UP is not a "fundamental" Christian philosophy. Jesus would certainly NOT approve.... Pick up a Bible and read through the entire new testament (you can skip Revelations if you'd like -- it's interesting, but confusing and not really the point.) Only then can a person actually understand what it REALLY means to live a christian life.
Blessed are the meek.... for they shall inherit the earth.
Chris
Individual developers should not be held accountable for flaws in their code. This is like blaming an individual soldier for losing the entire war.
Companies, and their generals, on the other hand, should be held responsible for producing low quality code. There are software engineering techniques available to improve the quality and integrity of software, but far too many companies are worried about the bottom line so they skip through these processes (or ignore them outright) without care.
This is where the real problem lies -- it's in the processes (or lack thereof) used to develop the software.
Bugs happen. Security Flaws happen. A well established process has the Architecture, QA points and a Test Plan to track, control and manage these concerns.
"I consider programming of any nontrivial program a job for professionals with a solid and broad education, rather than for people with a hurried and narrow training."
- Bjarne Stroustrup, Creator of the C++ programming language.
I firmly believe that it is very important that students understand the fundamental concerns behind computer science. It's been very helpful to me in my career. Even more so, understanding the core concepts of SCIENCE (the careful analysis and measurments of facts to form theories instead of relying on hyperbole and politics) has been very helpful in my career.
Far too many people know how to write code, but have no respect or understanding for what is really happening behind the scenes. This was true even during my college career -- too many people didn't have a passion for the art, and therefore lacked the knowledge to set them apart from the others.
Having a technology skill is one thing. Being able to understand HOW and WHY a technology works and WHEN to apply it is a completely different beast all together.
I do agree that computer scientists and programmers alike should be well versed in the problem areas that they work in... but this is simply a matter of being able to learn new problem concepts as they come along.
Chris
I myself am INTP, and a lot of what you said in your question applied to me when I was in school. What you really have to focus on is Work Ethics (I'm sure that's going to send shudders down a great many spines around here... :) However, what you need to do is learn to apply yourself to whatever task is at hand.
Many of the posts I've read here have been negative. But that's just BS from the 90% of the world that doesn't know what's like to see the world the way we do. Albert Einstein was an INTP, and he wasn't understood until much later in his life (and even more so after his death.)
Learn to concentrate on specific goals. Don't be afraid to tread on a few feet (as we are want to do.) College will help you grow and learn to understand different peoples and cultures, and there is stuff there you will learn. I highly recommend it. But be prepared for disappointment. It is highly goal oriented. Learn to embrace that.... but apply your own unique touch to it. It'll help you in the real world. But don't forget to think inside, upside, downside and outside the box. That's what true innovation is about anyway.
Good luck!
Chris
I put comments in my source... @cbf @1234 @whatever
And then I use grep to search for them. And presto-chango!!! there is my list.
To me, it's more than obvious.
Yes, yes, yes! People skills are WAY more important in the long term, even if all you do is contract work!
Flexibility is the key. You're not always going to get your idea across (in fact, you may have to restrain yourself from saying "I told you so..." later on.)
The problem with younger folk is that they tend to be VERY idealistic. I know, I've been there, done that. Unfortunately, we all find out the world isn't all black and white (although that doesn't mean that you should sacrifice your morals or ethics!) But there are more than 256 shades of grey.
Life is more important than a computer.
Chris
Not true. I am an adjunct professor at a local community college. Most of the brightest students I have are actually 30-40+. Granted, this isn't always the case, but the tendancy is that the older individuals actually *want* to learn.
This isn't to say that there aren't young people who are bright and gifted (these *want to learn* too.) But I honestly have to say that age has very little to do with learning capacity. Rather, it's the inquisitive mind, one who is willing to learn new things, that do the best.
IMHO, the most important aspect of a programmer or technologist is the ability to solve problems and the capacity to figure things out on their own. In the end, the technology becomes a tool, and nothing more. This requires an open mind, insight and a huge helping of curiosity....
None of which are directly related to age.
To simply think that younger people are automatically terrific at figuring out new technologies is a silly idea, at best.
Chris
I read through some of the comments here, and thought I'd put in my $0.02....
First off, you have your integrity. If you see something wrong, you have a duty, more than your job, to mention it. Measure the response.
Personally, ethics is a very important part of my job. I don't always win, and sometimes, I'm thought of as a troublemaker.
That's not what I'm doing, though. I feel that whatever job you do, you should do it to the best of your ability....
Abe Lincoln said it best... "Whatever you are, Be good at it..." (I paraphrase.)
Be responsible, be good, and be right. In the same breath, also recognize when you are wrong.
Don't be afraid to be wrong, and *don't afraid to take a chance to be right*. Nothing we do is certain.
If we all give in and compromise our ethics, then what have we become? Worthless, in my humble opinion.
Our country is built on people who take chances. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they don't.... But they never know until they try.
"Never give up, Never surrender!" -- to quote Galaxy Quest. This is not only a silly saying, but really a mantra that we all should aspire to.
Otherwise, what are you trying to accomplish? Money? It's simply pretty paper. It will not last... And in the end you will be left empty, void and dead.
Behave like individuals, and work well with others in teams.
Okay, I'll step off my soapbox now. I hope you
get what I'm trying to say...
Chris
Nothing in this life is certain, except for truth.
>> Aligned interests (good code in exchange for good money) can be a much better model in the long run.
Hogwash. I'm sorry, but good money almost *never* gives good software. I've read where something like 80% of software projects fail... fail to meet deadlines, fail to meet price schedules, and fail to meet user requirements.
Personally, I have been witness to several software projects that were paid for with good dollars... Nothing good came from them.
Also, I have seen almost every proprietary, closed, "packaged" product that my company has used fail miserably to deliver on patches, updates, support and functionality.
On the other hand, more open, available tools tend to get the job done -- and if it doesn't, we have the source, and the *user community* to find out why and *fix* the problem.
Granted, some companies may have a valid reason to close their product (ie, vertical markets...)
But even these can benefit from OSS... Ever heard of the LGPL?
Thanks,
Chris
er, that should be
:)
(unless a large *enterprise* needed to support a smallish to medium sized app...)
heh. preview. It's kind of neat.
I just spent a night at BEA eWorld speaking to a sales rep and developer at a dev2dev Open Source Software roundtable. I thought at first this would be a good thing... You know, how to use OSS tools and software, getting BEA to acknowledge that it's cool, and that, most importantly, developers WANT OSS tools and software.
But the evening turned into a whole BEA vs JBoss debate. The sales guy was kind of rude and cocky about JBoss... and everytime we tried to change the subject (to the benefits of OSS, for example), he kept going back to slamming JBoss.
I was very disappointed in the BEA sales rep, I expected a much more professional and conversational attitude. His partner, whom I think was a developer, had a much better view and kept trying to calm his friend down.
Admittedly, I can see where JBoss is a potential threat to BEA, but really, they have nothing to be afraid of (so far.) Their products are positioned for large applications and large enterprises, and JBoss would have trouble supporting that right now... (unless a large application needed to support a smallish to medium sized app...)
The plus side was there was a whole table full of people who were *for* OSS, including other tools, not just JBoss. In fact, I was later told that our table (in a room full of discussion groups) was the most active and interesting. Maybe someday those guys will be managers, directors, etc and will make decisions based on wisdom and common sense, and not sales and marketing pitches.
[Disclaimer: I love BEA's products. They're doing some great stuff -- they just need an attitude adjustment when it comes to OSS and other tools.]
And while I'm rambling... I just spent the last two days trying to get corporate approval to run the Tomcat based servlet container that comes with the Actuate 6.0 Reporting tool. There are a whole slew of valid business reasons why this is a Good Idea, but it was a no go. Instead, we have to link that product into our BEA servers, which aren't load balanced or very well protected for failover right now. Big Corporations seem to be afraid of OSS, and have extremely arbitrary rules for choosing software. This is something the OSS community needs to work hard to change. We're making headway, especially in terms of operating systems (RedHat), but we need to push even harder for other products.
Here, here! Or something. I agree with you. I can understand students pirating these software packages that are expensive in their fees... Students need to learn. However, games are for ENTERFREAKINTAINMENT. Pay for them already. Why do you think [a game] is so expensive? It's because they have to fight piracy. So stop spending your so precious cash supply on pot and beer and buy the damn game already. I mean, really. Sorry, I ramble.
Nonetheless. Games are entertainment. Pay the people who write these things. It's not as easy as it looks.
After reading some hints of gloom and doom over
open source software I've seen posted about this
thing with freshmeat, I'd like to throw in my
two cents....
I think OSS has a GREAT potential, and I think
we're going to experience more struggles with this
in the future. All I ask of you people is to
pay attention... And be nice. Snap decisions
and quick judgments are so much more simple to make when we're covered by this anonymous dredge of email... Email is SO much more impersonal, and
because of that, we're so ready to flame.... So much more ready to make fast judgments. So (I'm
using that word a lot, no?) we need to maintain and contain ourselves.... Be careful of what you say and how you say it.
The old saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is nice, but
to tell you the truth, in this hidden world of geekdom, words can hurt far more than anything else. Remember what you say, and say only what you mean, but please, please, TRY to present yourself in an honrable and respectable way.
It's the only way we, this movement, can survive.
I've been using the internet for quite sometime,
and I've had a bit of experience myself about
being butt stupid about things... I once flamed
an individual... And I was the straw that broke
the camels back. Apparently this guy did a lot
of work for the particular project.... And I
was the guy who finally posted the last flame.
I felt horrible about my actions, after seeing the
truth, that I acted in a horrible and extremely rude fashion. I apologized and things were eventually smoothed out. I just hope that scoop
gets the same kind of response.
Remember people, that a lot of the work in OSS is done in spare time, and people put a lot of effort in to helping you, for free, out of the kindness of their hearts.
So, I guess the golden rule applies. Do unto others has you would have them do unto yourself.
cfury@bev.net