You're probably having a hard time finding people because you are limiting your search to "if you know VB.NET."
If your entire company switched from another platform, so could a new hire. Any good C++ or Java guy could take a VB.NET and be fully ramped-up in the language in about the same time it would take to show a new the ropes of your particular company anyway.
Nothing annoys us older programmers more than HR people who don't realize just how portable code skills are between languages & environments, and think they can only hire people versed in the specific tools their company is using this week.
If you want to live outside of government control, I invite you to move to Western Sahara and send us all a postcard telling us all about your newfound utopia.
"Dead things go downstream, mother! We're going upstream!!!"
Most underrated movie of the 1980s, if you ask me.
I realize that I'm completely alone in this opinion, but I think Dick Cheney is the most awesome Republican since Ike. I wish he was the President and Bush was still running Texas or something. Too bad he won't run in 2008, but then between the bad ticker and a wife who wants him home, I guess it's out of the question. He probably wouldn't stand a chance of winning anyway. He lacks TV charisma.
I guess '08 is going to be another "hold your nose and vote for the other asshole" election, where we get to select whether we want to be shafted by Senator Clinton or Senator McCain. If it comes down to that, I'll probably roll with the Dragon Lady. I frankly think all that torture in 'Nam rattled McCain's brain pan a little too much.
Back on topic, a hand-held check-out gismo seems more evolutionary than revolutionary. The real revolution will be when I'll be able to walk into a store, grab something, walk out without even talking to anybody, and the smart-card in my pocket will inform the store to bill be the price of the items I took as I walk through the exit.
Until then, nobody has improved on the process of taking actual money and putting it into a simple cash register, as far as customer experience is concerned.
Re:XBox360 Dead or Alive?
on
DOA Ships Today
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Given that DOA3 displaced the Soul Calibur series as my favorite gaming franchise, and that I thought DOAX was a brilliant work of art, I fully expect that DOA4 will not suck, based on Team Ninja's track record thus far.
I also prefer good games over good graphics, but the DOA series have been very, very good games which also happen to have good graphics.
You must have missed the part of my post where I mentioned paying in cash.
You must have also missed my point entirely. It's not that I mind people having my personal info. I'll gladly tell you what brand, style and color of underwear I have on if it means you'll give me a 10% discount on my new DVD burner.
What I mind is the fact the the simple act of buying shit has become so much of a hassle in recent years.
The transaction for buying an iPod car adapter should be a simple "that will be 62.43, sir", "here you go", "17.57 is your change... thank you and have a nice day", "thanks, you too."
And I don't need a little folder with an invoice, receipt, product info, and the cashier's business card, either. I'm buying electronic gadgets, not real estate.
Why is everybody assuming I'm paranoid about protecting my personal data, just because I would like to be able to walk into a store with cash and walk out shortly afterwards with a product, and not need to jump through any hoops to make that happen?
It would be great because it would be simple, relatively fast, and involve fewer hassles. I've bought a lot of stuff at Apple Stores, and every single time I've been annoyed by the check-out procedure. It took me less time to close the deal on the last car I bought than it has taken me to buy some stuff from them.
If you don't like the way that they do business, just fuck right off out of the store. You don't have to be there in the first fucking place! Nobody will give a shit, least of all Apple, but you can feel like you've made your stand if you really want to.
What's all this about making a stand?
I was just expressing an opinion. Gosh, sorry if my annoyance with Apple's check-out procedures challenged your religion or something.
I'll never complain about anything ever again, no matter how asinine it is, especially where Apple retail outlets are concerned. Will that make you happy? Can I go back to having a right to exist again?
Re:XBox360 Dead or Alive?
on
DOA Ships Today
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Lack of DOA4 kept me out of the X-Box 360 lines during the Christmas rush.... well, that and lack of compatability with DOAX.
Now they are about half way to getting me to want one.
The easypay line was an OPTION to help handle the extra traffic for the holidays.
An OPTION that was needed because they take about six weeks per customer to check people out in the regular line, due to the massive volume of personal information they insist on gathering, their sluggish handling of sales, and the AppleCare plans they try to "upsell" at the counter.
You still have that option. Just walk to the back of the store with your wad of cash (try not to get mugged on the way) and you can happily pay in any denomination of legal tender. No personal information required.
But they'll still pester me for that personal information, as well as the personal information of every last person in line ahead of me and I'm a crotchety old curmudgeon. Bah!!!
They are just trying to find a way to reduce the lineup at a busy time. Is that such a bad thing?
Those days are gone, though. The Genius Bar proved popular enough that they needed to create an electronic queue, so now when you want their help, you must first sign up for a spot in line on a web browser using... your Apple ID.
Apple had worked out a totally wireless, paperless checkout process, called EasyPay.
You know what's easy? I hand you money, you hand me the product and receipt. If you want my personal information, buy it. Wouldn't it be great if we all went back to that sort of system?
Why does everything an 11-year old kid does have to contribute to making him/her a better person?
When I was 11, my coalition force of Empire and Rebel Alliance action figure units would mount a joint assult on the mighty Green Army Man Lego Fortress for hours on end. Assults became more one-sided after "The Empire Strikes Back" was released, as I was suddenly able to employ tough-looking Snowtroopers, along with three different Han Solos, but then the Green Army Men added some Yellow Japanese Soldiers, who found the Rebel Snow Speeder to be little difficulty compared to the mighty Godzilla. The scales were finally tipped by ramped up production from the Droid Factory, a collectable 8" R2D2, and my brother's Boba Fett, who towered over everybody like a massive anime robot. Sometimes, small firecrackers would be deployed, but only against the cheap Green Army men, which actually looked cooler if you had a few mangled "casualties" in the set.
I didn't learn a single goddamn thing of any socially redeeming value at all from my time spent commanding those plastic troops, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything.
So if your kid is playing maybe a little too much Grand Theft Auto for your liking, just be glad he isn't blowing up shit behind your tool shed.
The question is, particularly after MS-NBC split, is the door now conveniently open for Microsoft to buy into Time/Warner or Disney/ABC to play the same leverage game? They've got the money.
Considering the recent Google deal with AOL Time/Warner, and the very cozy relationship between Disney/ABC and Apple, I think it will take more than a just few suitcases full of money to get the job done this time. Microsoft will have to offer a long-term business case for why partnering makes sense with a company which has royally shafted pretty much every last partner they ever had.
Who else besides me is just going to party hard on New Years and not let this stuff bother us for a night?
Here's a tip: Don't let it bother you ever. Make it a New Year's resolution. Honestly, the sooner you let go of any fantasy of fighting back against the perceived demons of corporate oligarchy, the sooner you'll realize that this kooky, mixed-up world is really not such a bad one to live in.
Wanna-be radical kids will hold their noses up and call you sheep, but most sheep actually live very comfortably and get a free haircut every once in a while. That sort of thing can only bother you if you let it.
Help me here, is Microsoft following Apple's example by "bolting a feature that a small fraction of users find useful directly to the dashboard",
Yes, to over-explain a perfectly simple joke, that's (almost) exactly what I was saying. To be more specific, I was saying that the Dashboard was an earlier example of bolting a marginally-popular feature to an OS....or are you implying that this feature is only revolutianary to Apple's users?
Of course not. That sort of thing only gets said in the apple.slashdot.org section. In the rest of slashdot, Apple is an evil producer of closed-source software and you must never dare imply they are any better than the dreaded Microsoft in any way that matters. New here or something?
I doubt most people here even realy know what a corp is.
[Robbins]Let me explain to you how this works: you see, the corporations finance Team America, and then Team America goes out... and the corporations sit there in their... in their corporation buildings, and... and, and see, they're all corporation-y... and they make money.[/Robbins]
Let me get this staight, you're making fun of Microsoft for implementing a feature, but since Apple did the same thing, Microsoft is just copying their revolutianary idea.
Items 1-3 are typically not owned by your local paper, but purchased through syndication deals, so the three most popular items in your local paper are missing from the on-line version. Also, IIRC, major-league sports stats require an additinal fee to the leauge in question to re-post them (and users can find them for free from espn or league web sites anyway), so those are also typically omitted.
On top of that, the vast majority of "news stories" run in your local paper are cut-and-paste reprints of wire service reports. The amount of actual unique news content (not counting the editorials) is really very tiny in most papers. They are sort of like Karma whores who make "Link Slashdotted - Article Text" posts. (And they are every bit as redundant.)
Newspapers are not news companies, and have not been for a long time. They are ad space companies. They just happen to use news content as one of several ways in which they capture your eyeballs.
Slashdot Mirror
You're probably having a hard time finding people because you are limiting your search to "if you know VB.NET."
If your entire company switched from another platform, so could a new hire. Any good C++ or Java guy could take a VB.NET and be fully ramped-up in the language in about the same time it would take to show a new the ropes of your particular company anyway.
Nothing annoys us older programmers more than HR people who don't realize just how portable code skills are between languages & environments, and think they can only hire people versed in the specific tools their company is using this week.
If you want to live outside of government control, I invite you to move to Western Sahara and send us all a postcard telling us all about your newfound utopia.
"Dead things go downstream, mother! We're going upstream!!!"
Most underrated movie of the 1980s, if you ask me.
I realize that I'm completely alone in this opinion, but I think Dick Cheney is the most awesome Republican since Ike. I wish he was the President and Bush was still running Texas or something. Too bad he won't run in 2008, but then between the bad ticker and a wife who wants him home, I guess it's out of the question. He probably wouldn't stand a chance of winning anyway. He lacks TV charisma.
I guess '08 is going to be another "hold your nose and vote for the other asshole" election, where we get to select whether we want to be shafted by Senator Clinton or Senator McCain. If it comes down to that, I'll probably roll with the Dragon Lady. I frankly think all that torture in 'Nam rattled McCain's brain pan a little too much.
Back on topic, a hand-held check-out gismo seems more evolutionary than revolutionary. The real revolution will be when I'll be able to walk into a store, grab something, walk out without even talking to anybody, and the smart-card in my pocket will inform the store to bill be the price of the items I took as I walk through the exit.
Until then, nobody has improved on the process of taking actual money and putting it into a simple cash register, as far as customer experience is concerned.
Given that DOA3 displaced the Soul Calibur series as my favorite gaming franchise, and that I thought DOAX was a brilliant work of art, I fully expect that DOA4 will not suck, based on Team Ninja's track record thus far.
I also prefer good games over good graphics, but the DOA series have been very, very good games which also happen to have good graphics.
I don't think I could play a Murloc. The fin-slapping sound of my footsteps would drive me nuts after a while.
You must have missed the part of my post where I mentioned paying in cash.
You must have also missed my point entirely. It's not that I mind people having my personal info. I'll gladly tell you what brand, style and color of underwear I have on if it means you'll give me a 10% discount on my new DVD burner.
What I mind is the fact the the simple act of buying shit has become so much of a hassle in recent years.
The transaction for buying an iPod car adapter should be a simple "that will be 62.43, sir", "here you go", "17.57 is your change... thank you and have a nice day", "thanks, you too."
And I don't need a little folder with an invoice, receipt, product info, and the cashier's business card, either. I'm buying electronic gadgets, not real estate.
Why is everybody assuming I'm paranoid about protecting my personal data, just because I would like to be able to walk into a store with cash and walk out shortly afterwards with a product, and not need to jump through any hoops to make that happen?
It would be great because it would be simple, relatively fast, and involve fewer hassles. I've bought a lot of stuff at Apple Stores, and every single time I've been annoyed by the check-out procedure. It took me less time to close the deal on the last car I bought than it has taken me to buy some stuff from them.
If you don't like the way that they do business, just fuck right off out of the store. You don't have to be there in the first fucking place! Nobody will give a shit, least of all Apple, but you can feel like you've made your stand if you really want to.
What's all this about making a stand?
I was just expressing an opinion. Gosh, sorry if my annoyance with Apple's check-out procedures challenged your religion or something.
I'll never complain about anything ever again, no matter how asinine it is, especially where Apple retail outlets are concerned. Will that make you happy? Can I go back to having a right to exist again?
Lack of DOA4 kept me out of the X-Box 360 lines during the Christmas rush. ... well, that and lack of compatability with DOAX.
Now they are about half way to getting me to want one.
The easypay line was an OPTION to help handle the extra traffic for the holidays.
An OPTION that was needed because they take about six weeks per customer to check people out in the regular line, due to the massive volume of personal information they insist on gathering, their sluggish handling of sales, and the AppleCare plans they try to "upsell" at the counter.
No question about it. Playing a cute gnome with pink pigtails is a lot of fun. Playing a (quite literal) cow is not.
WoW is a role playing game, and how you look does have an impact on how people choose to interact with you.
You still have that option. Just walk to the back of the store with your wad of cash (try not to get mugged on the way) and you can happily pay in any denomination of legal tender. No personal information required.
But they'll still pester me for that personal information, as well as the personal information of every last person in line ahead of me and I'm a crotchety old curmudgeon. Bah!!!
They are just trying to find a way to reduce the lineup at a busy time. Is that such a bad thing?
I must have missed the part where I said it was.
Those days are gone, though. The Genius Bar proved popular enough that they needed to create an electronic queue, so now when you want their help, you must first sign up for a spot in line on a web browser using... your Apple ID.
Apple had worked out a totally wireless, paperless checkout process, called EasyPay.
You know what's easy? I hand you money, you hand me the product and receipt. If you want my personal information, buy it. Wouldn't it be great if we all went back to that sort of system?
Why does everything an 11-year old kid does have to contribute to making him/her a better person?
When I was 11, my coalition force of Empire and Rebel Alliance action figure units would mount a joint assult on the mighty Green Army Man Lego Fortress for hours on end. Assults became more one-sided after "The Empire Strikes Back" was released, as I was suddenly able to employ tough-looking Snowtroopers, along with three different Han Solos, but then the Green Army Men added some Yellow Japanese Soldiers, who found the Rebel Snow Speeder to be little difficulty compared to the mighty Godzilla. The scales were finally tipped by ramped up production from the Droid Factory, a collectable 8" R2D2, and my brother's Boba Fett, who towered over everybody like a massive anime robot. Sometimes, small firecrackers would be deployed, but only against the cheap Green Army men, which actually looked cooler if you had a few mangled "casualties" in the set.
I didn't learn a single goddamn thing of any socially redeeming value at all from my time spent commanding those plastic troops, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything.
So if your kid is playing maybe a little too much Grand Theft Auto for your liking, just be glad he isn't blowing up shit behind your tool shed.
The question is, particularly after MS-NBC split, is the door now conveniently open for Microsoft to buy into Time/Warner or Disney/ABC to play the same leverage game? They've got the money.
Considering the recent Google deal with AOL Time/Warner, and the very cozy relationship between Disney/ABC and Apple, I think it will take more than a just few suitcases full of money to get the job done this time. Microsoft will have to offer a long-term business case for why partnering makes sense with a company which has royally shafted pretty much every last partner they ever had.
Who else besides me is just going to party hard on New Years and not let this stuff bother us for a night?
Here's a tip: Don't let it bother you ever. Make it a New Year's resolution. Honestly, the sooner you let go of any fantasy of fighting back against the perceived demons of corporate oligarchy, the sooner you'll realize that this kooky, mixed-up world is really not such a bad one to live in.
Wanna-be radical kids will hold their noses up and call you sheep, but most sheep actually live very comfortably and get a free haircut every once in a while. That sort of thing can only bother you if you let it.
Help me here, is Microsoft following Apple's example by "bolting a feature that a small fraction of users find useful directly to the dashboard",
...or are you implying that this feature is only revolutianary to Apple's users?
Yes, to over-explain a perfectly simple joke, that's (almost) exactly what I was saying. To be more specific, I was saying that the Dashboard was an earlier example of bolting a marginally-popular feature to an OS.
Of course not. That sort of thing only gets said in the apple.slashdot.org section. In the rest of slashdot, Apple is an evil producer of closed-source software and you must never dare imply they are any better than the dreaded Microsoft in any way that matters. New here or something?
Good catch, AC. Coupons is another one, especially for the Sunday paper.
I doubt most people here even realy know what a corp is.
[Robbins]Let me explain to you how this works: you see, the corporations finance Team America, and then Team America goes out... and the corporations sit there in their... in their corporation buildings, and... and, and see, they're all corporation-y... and they make money.[/Robbins]
Let me get this staight, you're making fun of Microsoft for implementing a feature, but since Apple did the same thing, Microsoft is just copying their revolutianary idea.
Actually, I was making fun of both companies.
It's funny. Laugh.
I think the biggest problems newspapers have with making money off on-line offereings is this:
Almost nobody who buys the paper does so to get the news.
People who buy papers generally are looking for (in rough order of popularity and priority):
1. Comics
2. Crossword puzzles & brain teasers
3. Horoscopes
4. Sports stats
5. Movie listings
6. Everything else
Items 1-3 are typically not owned by your local paper, but purchased through syndication deals, so the three most popular items in your local paper are missing from the on-line version. Also, IIRC, major-league sports stats require an additinal fee to the leauge in question to re-post them (and users can find them for free from espn or league web sites anyway), so those are also typically omitted.
On top of that, the vast majority of "news stories" run in your local paper are cut-and-paste reprints of wire service reports. The amount of actual unique news content (not counting the editorials) is really very tiny in most papers. They are sort of like Karma whores who make "Link Slashdotted - Article Text" posts. (And they are every bit as redundant.)
Newspapers are not news companies, and have not been for a long time. They are ad space companies. They just happen to use news content as one of several ways in which they capture your eyeballs.
What made me chuckle was: "RSS support will be built into not just Internet Explorer 7.0, but also Outlook 12 and Windows Vista itself"
"Quick! There's a feature out there that a small fraction of users find useful! Let's bolt it directly onto the OS!"
Of course, considering the Dashboard in Mac OS X 10.4, this could just be another example of Microsoft following Apple's example.
Childish namecalling really hammers your point home.
Actually, childish name-calling was the point.
I swear I can remember a time when most of the Slashdot crowd had a sense of humor. Was that all just a dream or something?