Oh, I was just giving an abstract example. I guess it could have been misundestood. I personally write engineering software and I'm happy with it. Although I did have a frustrating experience with programming PDAs a few years ago.
How often do you have to deal with programs that you yourself have written not doing exactly what you want? I know I do all the time. Language and technology restrictions really frustrate me.
Try writing a PDA todo list where the "done" items are indicated by a strikethrough. Too bad! Microsoft Compact Framework doesn't support strikethrough font for labels. But try explaining that to your boss.
As a young programmer, I guess I have to learn to not get frustrated by these things, but it's hard when your job and career depends on it. Anyone have any other stories of programmning frustration or tips to deal with them please post.
This problem reminds me of the prescription medicine naming issue. There are only so many ways to say that a certain drug is for the heart. This is a huge problem and a cause of pharmacy medical mixups all over the world.
The same problem exists with software. Sure it would be nice if a photo editing app has the name Photo in it, but sooner or later you're going to run out of names. And this problem isn't limited to Linux--how exactly does "Excel" imply spreadsheet?
I will agree that Linux names are a bit on the wilder side and less professional sounding. But the problem isn't really as bad as it made it sound. What type of program the GIMP is can be indicated by its icon or where the user found it in the menu hierarchy.
Seriously, we need to devote more time to build software that does what it's meant to do well. I'm sure people will use a killer app if it was called "U Nasty" if it did what the users wanted.
As I was reading this article, I realized that this is so true. I started working for a company about 3 weeks ago. The company has 300 employees. The manager, Al, has a very boisterous style. Everyone jokes that you don't look for Al--you listen for him. I realized that this is actually a pretty clever management style. Nothing wakes you up on Monday morning than a lively atmosphere and a jovial manager. This also keeps all the company's informed about the goings on of the company--which is always a good thing.
Free AJAX T-Shirt!
on
Ajax in Action
·
· Score: 2, Informative
OK, I know this isn't much of a deal, but it's still good if you buy a lot of books. If you buy AJAX in Action and another Manning book from major bookstores, you'll get a free AJAX T-shirt. A list of bookstores has been posted.
I don't work for Manning, but I'm so in love with their books. The Java GUI programming book alone is worth a million to me. I refer to it almost everyday. I've looked at similar O'Reilly books and they don't even come close! I'm about to purchase Manning's.NET book pretty soon as well.
I've really been enjoying some of the videos being posted on Channel 9--part of MSDN. It's great to see what real MS engineers are working and thinking on. Just the other day, they posted a video covering Visual Studio TFS.
I'm surprised at myself for liking these videos. I keep going to Chan.9 more than once a day. It's great to get a peek behind the scenes at MS development.
Apple needs Microsoft to justify their existence, but Microsoft doesn't. MS realizes that at this moment, Mac is a niche platform and they will continue for support Office for Mac until they see Mac as a real threat. MS couldn't care less if Apple disappeared.
On the other hand, if MS disappears (highly unlikely), who will Apple fans point to as the average, price conscious user? Apple's merits and "you-get-what-you-pay for" philosophy only make sense with an alternative such as MS that works but isn't sexy or stylish.
And that's why I can't "buy" into Apple and the Mac platform. I just want to get work done--not show off. I'm not saying OS X is a bad product--far from it. It just seems like owning a Apple product turns people into RDFed Steve fans. That's not what I want to be, sorry.
Personally, as a student, Im looking forward to Visual Studio Express editions.
You can still grab the Express betas for free. From what I hear, the price point for the final version will be under $100. I think this is a great move by Microsoft. Now millions of students will have access to a cheap, industry standard IDE to code in. What could be better?
Not sure when the final versions will be released, but hoping Nov 7 as well.
As someone who suffers from Avoidant Personality Disorder, this is good news. A lot of psychologists argue about the very existence of AvPD! Can you imagine suffering from a disease and getting treatment from somebody who doesn't even believe your disease is real?
I hope technologies like this will help advance social disorders to a higher level on the psych radar. I personally believe social disorders are some of the worst and misdiagnosed ailments in human history. They affect your entire outlook and can destroy a life.
Any advancement to get rid of social disorder is good.
I got laid off after six months of working as a Java developer--straight out of college. I had even interned with the company the summer before I graduated and everything was great until the day-to-day reality set it.
My boss was a micromanager and a bully as well. I would try to defend my decisions unlike other employees and I got into bad favor with management. The whole office was so badly run and management had no clue what employees were up to. I got blamed for something that I was partly responsible but didn't deserve to get fired for. But I did.
I was extremely disillusioned. The lack of jobs made it worse, but I bounced back with a brand new career in freelance writing. Sure I don't make as much money, but it's getting better and I love the work and the hours (9 am start).
At this point, I'm kind of glad it happened. Although, I don't know how I'll explain the huge gap in employment if the whole freelancing doesn't work out. At this point things are looking good. Getting fired isn't the worst thing. Not doing what you love is.
My favorite source is Blackmask. It pretty much as evertyhing in Gutenberg but in every format imaginable. Most books come in Ms-Reader, Acrobat, Rocket eBook, Zipped format, iSilo, Mobipocket and EasyRead.
That way you pick your favorite format and read ebooks on your PDA.
"While Daniel Robbins is busy converting Gentoo into a not-for-profit organisation on his side of the Atlantic, the German Gentoo developers have finalised all the necessary steps for registering an almost identical legal entity, called "eingetragener Verein" (registered association) under the German law. It'll take the commercial courts another four to six weeks to acknowledge the setup, but the association[11] is already operational, has opened a bank account, and started raking in bushels of money via their new online shop[12], whose main advantage over the Gentoo store[13] in the US lies in its comparatively low-cost deliveries to customers in Germany."
This is what I received, I've edited some of it sensitive material out. I had to acknoledge that I had stopped sharing this file or my internet connection would be dropped
Subject: Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Motion Pictures
(Reference#: xxxxxx)
MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. 15503 VENTURA BOULEVARD ENCINO, CALIFORNIA 91436
UNITED STATES Anti-Piracy Operations PHONE: (818) 728 - 8127 Email: MPAA@copyright.org
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Name: XXX XXXX E-mail: xxx@xxx ISP: xxx University
Via Fax/Email
RE: Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Motion Pictures MPA Case Name: directconnect://xxx:ipaddr/ Reference#: 2937735
Date of Infringement: 11/12/2003 2:28:05 PM GMT
Dear:
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) represents the following motion picture production and distribution companies:
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. Disney Enterprises, Inc. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. Paramount Pictures Corporation TriStar Pictures, Inc. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation United Artists Pictures, Inc. United Artists Corporation Universal City Studios, LLLP Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
We have received information that an individual has utilized the IP address, xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx, at the above noted date and time to offer downloads of copyrighted motion picture(s) through a "peer-to-peer" service, including such title(s) as:
Chicago
The distribution of unauthorized copies of copyrighted motion pictures constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 106(3). This conduct may also violate the laws of other countries, international law, and/or treaty obligations.
Since you own this IP address, we request that you immediately do the following:
1. Disable access to the individual who has engaged in the conduct described above, and; 2. Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms of Service Agreement.
On behalf of the respective owners of the exclusive rights to the copyrighted material at issue in this notice, we hereby state, pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 512, that the information in this notification is accurate and that we have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owners, their respective agents, or the law.
Also pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that we are authorized to act on behalf of the owners of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification.
Please contact us at the above listed address or by replying to this email should you have any questions. Kindly include the above noted Reference # in the subject line of all email correspondence.
We thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Your prompt response is requested.
Respectfully,
Thomas Temple Director Worldwide Internet Enforcement
I actually go to Louisiana Tech. Chokchai Leangsuksun (Dr. Box), the director of the HA-Oscar program also teaches my Operating Systems class. He came into class today looking tired...he said he'd been working very hard on it.
I think it's about time LaTech got some recognition.
I have a dual boot system with Windows XP Pro and Gentoo. The gentoo installation guide is extremely useful. Anytime you're running UNIX commands such as fdisk and grub it is easy to shoot yourself in the foot. This is where the installation guide really comes through. Mandrake's installer is definitely easier, but then it doesn't have the portage systems. I am a former Mandrake user and believe me I felt empowered when I switched from RPM to portage. Once you setup Gentoo, it is very easy to extend and maintain. The docs are the best I've ever seen. You should definitely give Gentoo a shot. The docs will guide you through setting up a dual boot.
i support this completely. I have been to india and to give you an example, what you pay $5 in US for a McDonald's meal can be bought for "cheaper" in equivalent Rupees yet the fast food industry does better in America. This is because of various econmoic and cultural reasons and also the fact that labor is very cheap in India as compared to the US. As for the success of this new business, I would have to doubt it. Internet connections in India are mostly dialup (cable/dsl for the super-rich), and the backbones aren't as good as in the west.
Someone stated that IE is free. But its not, you see. We all do. IE comes conviniently with the following MS products:
Windows (in all 31 flavors)
Office
Works
Etc.
Of course, by the fact that you need Windows to run all of the above products and need Windows to run IE itself, you have paid for IE. Of course, once you are hooked onto it you can get all the free refills you want from microsoft.com
No one (so far) seems to be talking about the people who actually legally purchase these CDs. What is the cost of all this technology to prevent something that they are no doing but someone else is doing (ilegally). Have they jacked up the price of these "smart" CDs more or is someone else bearing that burden. Ofcourse technology like this is certainly not free, and obviously not cheap considering the popularity of a band like Nsync (IMO, they suck, but oh well).
Slashdot Mirror
Oh, I was just giving an abstract example. I guess it could have been misundestood. I personally write engineering software and I'm happy with it. Although I did have a frustrating experience with programming PDAs a few years ago.
How often do you have to deal with programs that you yourself have written not doing exactly what you want? I know I do all the time. Language and technology restrictions really frustrate me.
Try writing a PDA todo list where the "done" items are indicated by a strikethrough. Too bad! Microsoft Compact Framework doesn't support strikethrough font for labels. But try explaining that to your boss.
As a young programmer, I guess I have to learn to not get frustrated by these things, but it's hard when your job and career depends on it. Anyone have any other stories of programmning frustration or tips to deal with them please post.
This problem reminds me of the prescription medicine naming issue. There are only so many ways to say that a certain drug is for the heart. This is a huge problem and a cause of pharmacy medical mixups all over the world.
The same problem exists with software. Sure it would be nice if a photo editing app has the name Photo in it, but sooner or later you're going to run out of names. And this problem isn't limited to Linux--how exactly does "Excel" imply spreadsheet?
I will agree that Linux names are a bit on the wilder side and less professional sounding. But the problem isn't really as bad as it made it sound. What type of program the GIMP is can be indicated by its icon or where the user found it in the menu hierarchy.
Seriously, we need to devote more time to build software that does what it's meant to do well. I'm sure people will use a killer app if it was called "U Nasty" if it did what the users wanted.
As I was reading this article, I realized that this is so true. I started working for a company about 3 weeks ago. The company has 300 employees. The manager, Al, has a very boisterous style. Everyone jokes that you don't look for Al--you listen for him.
I realized that this is actually a pretty clever management style. Nothing wakes you up on Monday morning than a lively atmosphere and a jovial manager. This also keeps all the company's informed about the goings on of the company--which is always a good thing.
OK, I know this isn't much of a deal, but it's still good if you buy a lot of books. If you buy AJAX in Action and another Manning book from major bookstores, you'll get a free AJAX T-shirt. A list of bookstores has been posted.
.NET book pretty soon as well.
I don't work for Manning, but I'm so in love with their books. The Java GUI programming book alone is worth a million to me. I refer to it almost everyday. I've looked at similar O'Reilly books and they don't even come close! I'm about to purchase Manning's
Happy reading.
I've really been enjoying some of the videos being posted on Channel 9--part of MSDN. It's great to see what real MS engineers are working and thinking on. Just the other day, they posted a video covering Visual Studio TFS.
I'm surprised at myself for liking these videos. I keep going to Chan.9 more than once a day. It's great to get a peek behind the scenes at MS development.
I reviewed a similar book with the same title for Linux Journal a few months ago. If you're into security, you might find it interesting.
Apple needs Microsoft to justify their existence, but Microsoft doesn't. MS realizes that at this moment, Mac is a niche platform and they will continue for support Office for Mac until they see Mac as a real threat. MS couldn't care less if Apple disappeared.
On the other hand, if MS disappears (highly unlikely), who will Apple fans point to as the average, price conscious user? Apple's merits and "you-get-what-you-pay for" philosophy only make sense with an alternative such as MS that works but isn't sexy or stylish.
And that's why I can't "buy" into Apple and the Mac platform. I just want to get work done--not show off. I'm not saying OS X is a bad product--far from it. It just seems like owning a Apple product turns people into RDFed Steve fans. That's not what I want to be, sorry.
Personally, as a student, Im looking forward to Visual Studio Express editions. You can still grab the Express betas for free. From what I hear, the price point for the final version will be under $100. I think this is a great move by Microsoft. Now millions of students will have access to a cheap, industry standard IDE to code in. What could be better? Not sure when the final versions will be released, but hoping Nov 7 as well.
For $399 plays videos such as Xvid, Divx. Can do pictures as well.
Official Site
Digital Life TV Review
Might be a worthy rival to the iPod.
Sorry to hear about your situation. There are a few Avoidant groups around. The best one (ironically for a /. user) is on msn groups http://groups.msn.com/AvoidantPersonalityGroup.
Another sure way of self-diagnosing AvPD is if you have trouble forming words or slurred speech.
Good luck
As someone who suffers from Avoidant Personality Disorder, this is good news. A lot of psychologists argue about the very existence of AvPD! Can you imagine suffering from a disease and getting treatment from somebody who doesn't even believe your disease is real? I hope technologies like this will help advance social disorders to a higher level on the psych radar. I personally believe social disorders are some of the worst and misdiagnosed ailments in human history. They affect your entire outlook and can destroy a life. Any advancement to get rid of social disorder is good.
I got laid off after six months of working as a Java developer--straight out of college. I had even interned with the company the summer before I graduated and everything was great until the day-to-day reality set it.
My boss was a micromanager and a bully as well. I would try to defend my decisions unlike other employees and I got into bad favor with management. The whole office was so badly run and management had no clue what employees were up to. I got blamed for something that I was partly responsible but didn't deserve to get fired for. But I did.
I was extremely disillusioned. The lack of jobs made it worse, but I bounced back with a brand new career in freelance writing. Sure I don't make as much money, but it's getting better and I love the work and the hours (9 am start).
At this point, I'm kind of glad it happened. Although, I don't know how I'll explain the huge gap in employment if the whole freelancing doesn't work out. At this point things are looking good. Getting fired isn't the worst thing. Not doing what you love is.
CNBC will have a live interview at 2:30 PM ET. Some please capture + Bittorrent!!!
My favorite source is Blackmask. It pretty much as evertyhing in Gutenberg but in every format imaginable. Most books come in Ms-Reader, Acrobat, Rocket eBook, Zipped format, iSilo, Mobipocket and EasyRead.
That way you pick your favorite format and read ebooks on your PDA.
What's the easiest way to upgrade for current users?
This is from the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter:
"While Daniel Robbins is busy converting Gentoo into a not-for-profit
organisation on his side of the Atlantic, the German Gentoo developers
have finalised all the necessary steps for registering an almost identical
legal entity, called "eingetragener Verein" (registered association) under
the German law. It'll take the commercial courts another four to six weeks
to acknowledge the setup, but the association[11] is already operational,
has opened a bank account, and started raking in bushels of money via
their new online shop[12], whose main advantage over the Gentoo store[13]
in the US lies in its comparatively low-cost deliveries to customers in
Germany."
According to this article the problem is worse
This is what I received, I've edited some of it sensitive material out. I had to acknoledge that I had stopped sharing this file or my internet connection would be dropped
:
Subject: Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Motion Pictures
(Reference#: xxxxxx)
MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC.
15503 VENTURA BOULEVARD
ENCINO, CALIFORNIA 91436
UNITED STATES
Anti-Piracy Operations
PHONE: (818) 728 - 8127
Email: MPAA@copyright.org
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Name: XXX XXXX
E-mail: xxx@xxx
ISP: xxx University
Via Fax/Email
RE: Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Motion Pictures
MPA Case Name: directconnect://xxx:ipaddr/
Reference#: 2937735
Date of Infringement: 11/12/2003 2:28:05 PM GMT
Dear
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) represents the following motion picture production and distribution companies:
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Paramount Pictures Corporation
TriStar Pictures, Inc.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
United Artists Pictures, Inc.
United Artists Corporation
Universal City Studios, LLLP
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
We have received information that an individual has utilized the IP address, xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx, at the above noted date and time to offer downloads of copyrighted motion picture(s) through a "peer-to-peer" service, including such title(s) as:
Chicago
The distribution of unauthorized copies of copyrighted motion pictures constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 106(3). This conduct may also violate the laws of other countries, international law, and/or treaty obligations.
Since you own this IP address, we request that you immediately do the following:
1. Disable access to the individual who has engaged in the conduct described above, and;
2. Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms of Service Agreement.
On behalf of the respective owners of the exclusive rights to the copyrighted material at issue in this notice, we hereby state, pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 512, that the information in this notification is accurate and that we have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owners, their respective agents, or the law.
Also pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that we are authorized to act on behalf of the owners of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification.
Please contact us at the above listed address or by replying to this email should you have any questions. Kindly include the above noted Reference # in the subject line of all email correspondence.
We thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Your prompt response is requested.
Respectfully,
Thomas Temple
Director
Worldwide Internet Enforcement
I actually go to Louisiana Tech. Chokchai Leangsuksun (Dr. Box), the director of the HA-Oscar program also teaches my Operating Systems class. He came into class today looking tired...he said he'd been working very hard on it.
I think it's about time LaTech got some recognition.
You play Jenna Jameson, I'll be the "meat"
I have a dual boot system with Windows XP Pro and Gentoo. The gentoo installation guide is extremely useful. Anytime you're running UNIX commands such as fdisk and grub it is easy to shoot yourself in the foot. This is where the installation guide really comes through.
Mandrake's installer is definitely easier, but then it doesn't have the portage systems. I am a former Mandrake user and believe me I felt empowered when I switched from RPM to portage. Once you setup Gentoo, it is very easy to extend and maintain.
The docs are the best I've ever seen. You should definitely give Gentoo a shot. The docs will guide you through setting up a dual boot.
i support this completely. I have been to india and to give you an example, what you pay $5 in US for a McDonald's meal can be bought for "cheaper" in equivalent Rupees yet the fast food industry does better in America. This is because of various econmoic and cultural reasons and also the fact that labor is very cheap in India as compared to the US. As for the success of this new business, I would have to doubt it. Internet connections in India are mostly dialup (cable/dsl for the super-rich), and the backbones aren't as good as in the west.
Someone stated that IE is free. But its not, you see. We all do. IE comes conviniently with the following MS products:
Windows (in all 31 flavors)
Office
Works
Etc.
Of course, by the fact that you need Windows to run all of the above products and need Windows to run IE itself, you have paid for IE. Of course, once you are hooked onto it you can get all the free refills you want from microsoft.com
No one (so far) seems to be talking about the people who actually legally purchase these CDs. What is the cost of all this technology to prevent something that they are no doing but someone else is doing (ilegally). Have they jacked up the price of these "smart" CDs more or is someone else bearing that burden. Ofcourse technology like this is certainly not free, and obviously not cheap considering the popularity of a band like Nsync (IMO, they suck, but oh well).
What do some of you have to say to this?