This is the real answer. The number one thing I hear from people who do hiring is "Yeah, we post the job but it's just a formality. By the time it's posted, we already have a guy in mind who was referred to us by a colleague/business parter/stake holder/trusted friend etc."
So if you want a job, you want to be the guy that's being recommended, and that comes from knowing the right people, not having the right degree. However, it's no mistake that in the process of getting the right degree you meet the right people as well.
Given that sysadmin is not in any way equivalent to Computer Sceince, I'd say he's in luck. Anyone who requires a CS degree for a sysadmin job is just ignorant of that fact.
it gives me a nice list of all my programs in one quick spot.
I prefer the apps list in Windows 8 as a list of all programs in one quick spot. It's alphebetized and doesn't include nonsense like uninstall wizards and docs like the start menu does. And it shows all the icons at once so I don't have to read a series of folder names like with the Start Menu.
What do you mean the full screen problem? Desktop apps open as usual. Do you mean metro apps? Don't use them then. As for the kludge, it's all perspective. I for one appreciate the changes. You don't. Okay fine, but you have the option of not upgrading. Big deal.
I like how you characterize the start menu as "well organized" but the start screen as "a pile" (subtext "unorganized"). The start screen can be just as organized as the start menu, and given that the start screen has one more dimension than the start menu, I have more options for organization. My start screen on my Windows 8 PC is organized to my liking and doesn't seem like a "pile" to me at all.
Super bar is what many call the task bar in Windows 7, since it is both a task bar and a launcher combined in one.
And no, my desktop is not covered icons. I use about 10 programs regularly (Photoshop, Indesign, Visual Studio, Matlab, TexWorks, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Opera) and they are all pinned to my task bar. Anything else I want to use I just launch from the search box.
I don't mind the transition between desktop and start screen at all, but if you do, you can just put a shortcut do desktop in your startup folder and it'll take you right there on startup.
Does anyone actually use the start menu anymore? I know Microsoft's data shows they don't, and people largely launch apps from the super bar. I know my own usage is the same. The only time I ever go in the start menu is to do a search. Can't remember the last time I went to All Programs. For me, the start screen is no big deal, and I actually welcome it since it's more useful than the start menu ever was for me.
That can work with an application which only needs a mouse and has huge icons for touch, but it will still suck on one of the devices.
I don't see why that's the case at all. Many games can be played with touch controls and with mouse+keyboard. On the tablet, the controls are on the screen, on the desktop, the controls are mapped to mouse+keyboard. Write a game once, buy it once, play it on all your devices. The only kind of apps that don't translate well to touch are those which require a lot of precision, or a lot of keyboard such as word, excel, visual studio, etc. Going the other way around though, apps that are built for touch screen are easily usable on a desktop. Most gestures like tap, pinch to zoom, tap drag, etc. are easily mappable to mouse commands.
I was responding to your post which was talking about tablets and desktops. Most tablets don't have keyboards
Okay, even for tablets that don't have keyboards, when I plug a Windows 8 tablet into a mouse + keyboard + monitor, I have a fully fledged desktop with access to any application I want available for Windows. When I plug an Android or iOS tablet into a mouse+keyboard+monitor, I just have a tablet attached to mouse+keyboard+monitor. Thus a Windows 8 tablet has much more flexibility in usage than the other two.
So either: 1. I'll need to use a virtual mouse and keyboard on the tablet. Or 2. I'll need a touch screen on the desktop.
You're missing the third option, that the same app works with both touch and mouse. For a large set of applications, there's no reason this can't be the case. Look at my current Windows 8 setup, calendar, mail, pictures, music, stocks, browser, a handful of games, organizer, reader... these all work fine with touch and keyboard+mouse. You just have to get used to two sets of inputs (which most people are now). For instance in touch mode I swipe to scroll, in mouse mode I roll the mouse ball. In mouse mode I right click, in touch mode I press and hold. Menus can adjust accordingly based on the input type. For instance when I'm using touch mode, the target areas in a menu can be larger. Of course, this kind of thing doesn't work for all apps, which brings me to my next point:
Running Word and Excel on a touchscreen tablet will be great!
You say this in a post that's about a diversity in hardware configurations. I've used a convertible tablet since 2005, and I find it very efficient with Windows 8. When I want touchscreen apps, it's in tablet mode. When I want to do actual work in Photoshop, Visual Studio, Matlab, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc. it's in laptop mode. This works very well for the people who want to use these applcations, and is much preffered to being forced into one input type or the other, as you tried to do in the first part of your post.
Yes, this is the biggest reason Apple isn't a market share leader in most of its markets. They typically make one form factor and do it very well... and this appeals to a great many people. They do it with the iMac, the iPhone, and the iPad. But eventually manufacturers come in and fill in the gaps for people who don't prefer those form factors. For some reason, most tablets still look like the iPad, with the most notable exception being the Asus Transformer, one of the most popular Android tablets. I think as more tablets deviate from the iPad design, we'll see Apple's tablet market share shrink as others take advantage of the long tail.
I think it's also interesting to note that, in the one space where Apple does dominate, the MP3 player market, they have a variety of models in all shapes and sizes and colors, and at almost every price point. I think if they only ever released the original hard drive iPod, it's dominance would have been short-lived. I remember on year everyone bought up the iPod nano, because they wanted an iPod but didn't have $300. Were there no nano, they would have went with another mfgr for sure. For some reason Apple doesn't do this anymore. Maybe they feel ubiquity dilutes the brand?
Sorry to self reply, but I think I missed the most obvious shortcoming (given the topic of this article) of the current tablet market: hardware variety. If I want a tablet today, I can have any I want as long as it's a 7-10" black ARM slab. What if I want a 14" tablet for drawing? What if I want one with a quad core processor. What if I want discrete graphics? What if I want an 50" tablet I can hang on my wall? And yeah, what if I want one that flips or twists or slides? These aren't available today, and with Window 8 and an variety of manufacturers in the game these will be available in the next 1-2 years.
Most of the people I know with an iPad keep it in a case with a bluetooth keyboard. When I see them surfing and working, it's always in the propped up position and they're typing on the physical keyboard. These are all people who probably would consider something like a Windows 8 tablet with a slide out keyboard. These OEMs probably are just responding to seeing that kind of demand. As someone who codes, I know I personally would like something like this over a soft-keyboard-only iPad. (Notwithstanding the fact that you can't actually code on an iPad whereas I can run VS or any other IDE on Windows 8)
What is Microsoft bringing to the table that Android, or Apple, or even RIM aren't doing?
One of the biggest things better multitasking... as in two windows running at once side by side. That's something you won't find on the iPad. Further, things like apps that work across tablet and desktop is another big one. Further better pen support. I've used a Windows 7 Tablet PC since it came out, and pen support is way beyond what Android has to offer. And since there will be x86 platforms you still have access to all the best apps and games and universal device compatibility, which is one of the biggest shortcomings of the iPad and Android tablets.
Contrary to popular misbelieve, the Prada was announced AFTER the iphone.
The original iPhone was announced January 9, 2007. First pics of the LG Prada appeared on Engadget on December 15 2006, and according to LG, it was unveiled for the first time at the 2006 iF Design Award in September 2006. Not saying this means anything, as I don't think Apple copied it, but your facts are wrong.
Hammond: I don't think you're giving us our due credit. Our scientists have done things which nobody's ever done before...
Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.
Good thing we're not programming on a speedway then. The menus will stay in the same place forever. After using the software for a day, the menus could be written backwards and in Spanish and you would still know exactly what item you're clicking on, since by then it will be a muscle reflex and not a task of speed reading. Further, the uppercase menu has larger buttons, therefore they're easier to target and by Fitts' law the time to access a menu goes down.
Thank you for bringing some sense to this discussion. I miss the days when Microsoft was an evil empire. Back then Slashdot really had something to complain about. You'd get a story about Microsoft destroying competition and whole industries through sabotage and subterfuge, and the Slashdot community would be outraged! Outraged I tell you!
Now, Slashdot still wants to be outraged at Microsoft, and it really seems like we're scraping the barrel here. Seriously, minutia like top level menu case is not something to be outraged about. It's pretty much the most insignificant thing in the world, and on top of it all you can disable it. Seriously Slashdot, it's time to find a new boogeyman.
Given your broad generalizations, you just come of like you have an axe to grind. Seriously, every campus in America is socially deficient compared to the rest of the world? And you've been to how many... you own? And they treated you bad so now you have a vendetta?
Look in the mirror. By your own admission, you didn't even try to socialize. You went from your residence to class to the library and back again. You didn't join any clubs, you didn't join any social organizations, you didn't volunteer... you just hung out with your friends. Seems like your own problem.
So, you say, it's a meritocracy where ass licking skills are what matters instead of academics.
What you call "ass licking skills" the rest of us call "social skills." No, we live in a society, where social interaction and relationships rule over numbers on a paper. I didn't kiss my advisor's ass, but I worked with him daily and he knows my abilities and the kind of work I can produce. Thus, if one of his many many colleagues from around the world says to him "Joe, I'm looking for a guy that can do X, know anyone?" he's going to drop my name. If someone asks Professor Thrun the same question, he's going to drop the name of one of his real students who he's had personal interactions with, not on of his Udacity students.
Now, why you seem to put no value on social skills, I don't know. Maybe you're just bad at them, since you tried to stay in the library for four years. But slashdot is pretty much the only place in the world where you'll be modded +5 insightful for having no EQ.
As part of that $40k you're also getting contacts and connections. You think Prof. Thrun is going to recommend you to a colleague who might be hiring, or provide a reference for you? Because I know my master's advisor certainly will.
Depends on the game I think... Kinect is pretty much the ultimate party game controller. During parties I always have my xbox running, and people just jump in and out of the game as they feel like it. Much better than wii and ps3 where there's passing around controllers... since they tend to get misplaced between sessions and as drunkenness ensues... which reminds me of the best feature of the kinect: taking pictures of drunk people playing games and uploading them automatically to facebook. Amazing.
Slashdot Mirror
This is the real answer. The number one thing I hear from people who do hiring is "Yeah, we post the job but it's just a formality. By the time it's posted, we already have a guy in mind who was referred to us by a colleague/business parter/stake holder/trusted friend etc."
So if you want a job, you want to be the guy that's being recommended, and that comes from knowing the right people, not having the right degree. However, it's no mistake that in the process of getting the right degree you meet the right people as well.
Given that sysadmin is not in any way equivalent to Computer Sceince, I'd say he's in luck. Anyone who requires a CS degree for a sysadmin job is just ignorant of that fact.
it gives me a nice list of all my programs in one quick spot.
I prefer the apps list in Windows 8 as a list of all programs in one quick spot. It's alphebetized and doesn't include nonsense like uninstall wizards and docs like the start menu does. And it shows all the icons at once so I don't have to read a series of folder names like with the Start Menu.
What do you mean the full screen problem? Desktop apps open as usual. Do you mean metro apps? Don't use them then. As for the kludge, it's all perspective. I for one appreciate the changes. You don't. Okay fine, but you have the option of not upgrading. Big deal.
I like how you characterize the start menu as "well organized" but the start screen as "a pile" (subtext "unorganized"). The start screen can be just as organized as the start menu, and given that the start screen has one more dimension than the start menu, I have more options for organization. My start screen on my Windows 8 PC is organized to my liking and doesn't seem like a "pile" to me at all.
Super bar is what many call the task bar in Windows 7, since it is both a task bar and a launcher combined in one.
And no, my desktop is not covered icons. I use about 10 programs regularly (Photoshop, Indesign, Visual Studio, Matlab, TexWorks, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Opera) and they are all pinned to my task bar. Anything else I want to use I just launch from the search box.
They're only complaining because they're removing functionality people were used to. I agree this is the right move though.
I don't mind the transition between desktop and start screen at all, but if you do, you can just put a shortcut do desktop in your startup folder and it'll take you right there on startup.
Does anyone actually use the start menu anymore? I know Microsoft's data shows they don't, and people largely launch apps from the super bar. I know my own usage is the same. The only time I ever go in the start menu is to do a search. Can't remember the last time I went to All Programs. For me, the start screen is no big deal, and I actually welcome it since it's more useful than the start menu ever was for me.
That can work with an application which only needs a mouse and has huge icons for touch, but it will still suck on one of the devices.
I don't see why that's the case at all. Many games can be played with touch controls and with mouse+keyboard. On the tablet, the controls are on the screen, on the desktop, the controls are mapped to mouse+keyboard. Write a game once, buy it once, play it on all your devices. The only kind of apps that don't translate well to touch are those which require a lot of precision, or a lot of keyboard such as word, excel, visual studio, etc. Going the other way around though, apps that are built for touch screen are easily usable on a desktop. Most gestures like tap, pinch to zoom, tap drag, etc. are easily mappable to mouse commands.
I was responding to your post which was talking about tablets and desktops. Most tablets don't have keyboards
Okay, even for tablets that don't have keyboards, when I plug a Windows 8 tablet into a mouse + keyboard + monitor, I have a fully fledged desktop with access to any application I want available for Windows. When I plug an Android or iOS tablet into a mouse+keyboard+monitor, I just have a tablet attached to mouse+keyboard+monitor. Thus a Windows 8 tablet has much more flexibility in usage than the other two.
So either: 1. I'll need to use a virtual mouse and keyboard on the tablet. Or 2. I'll need a touch screen on the desktop.
You're missing the third option, that the same app works with both touch and mouse. For a large set of applications, there's no reason this can't be the case. Look at my current Windows 8 setup, calendar, mail, pictures, music, stocks, browser, a handful of games, organizer, reader... these all work fine with touch and keyboard+mouse. You just have to get used to two sets of inputs (which most people are now). For instance in touch mode I swipe to scroll, in mouse mode I roll the mouse ball. In mouse mode I right click, in touch mode I press and hold. Menus can adjust accordingly based on the input type. For instance when I'm using touch mode, the target areas in a menu can be larger. Of course, this kind of thing doesn't work for all apps, which brings me to my next point:
Running Word and Excel on a touchscreen tablet will be great!
You say this in a post that's about a diversity in hardware configurations. I've used a convertible tablet since 2005, and I find it very efficient with Windows 8. When I want touchscreen apps, it's in tablet mode. When I want to do actual work in Photoshop, Visual Studio, Matlab, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc. it's in laptop mode. This works very well for the people who want to use these applcations, and is much preffered to being forced into one input type or the other, as you tried to do in the first part of your post.
There's no single design for everyone.
Yes, this is the biggest reason Apple isn't a market share leader in most of its markets. They typically make one form factor and do it very well... and this appeals to a great many people. They do it with the iMac, the iPhone, and the iPad. But eventually manufacturers come in and fill in the gaps for people who don't prefer those form factors. For some reason, most tablets still look like the iPad, with the most notable exception being the Asus Transformer, one of the most popular Android tablets. I think as more tablets deviate from the iPad design, we'll see Apple's tablet market share shrink as others take advantage of the long tail.
I think it's also interesting to note that, in the one space where Apple does dominate, the MP3 player market, they have a variety of models in all shapes and sizes and colors, and at almost every price point. I think if they only ever released the original hard drive iPod, it's dominance would have been short-lived. I remember on year everyone bought up the iPod nano, because they wanted an iPod but didn't have $300. Were there no nano, they would have went with another mfgr for sure. For some reason Apple doesn't do this anymore. Maybe they feel ubiquity dilutes the brand?
Sorry to self reply, but I think I missed the most obvious shortcoming (given the topic of this article) of the current tablet market: hardware variety. If I want a tablet today, I can have any I want as long as it's a 7-10" black ARM slab. What if I want a 14" tablet for drawing? What if I want one with a quad core processor. What if I want discrete graphics? What if I want an 50" tablet I can hang on my wall? And yeah, what if I want one that flips or twists or slides? These aren't available today, and with Window 8 and an variety of manufacturers in the game these will be available in the next 1-2 years.
Most of the people I know with an iPad keep it in a case with a bluetooth keyboard. When I see them surfing and working, it's always in the propped up position and they're typing on the physical keyboard. These are all people who probably would consider something like a Windows 8 tablet with a slide out keyboard. These OEMs probably are just responding to seeing that kind of demand. As someone who codes, I know I personally would like something like this over a soft-keyboard-only iPad. (Notwithstanding the fact that you can't actually code on an iPad whereas I can run VS or any other IDE on Windows 8)
What is Microsoft bringing to the table that Android, or Apple, or even RIM aren't doing?
One of the biggest things better multitasking... as in two windows running at once side by side. That's something you won't find on the iPad. Further, things like apps that work across tablet and desktop is another big one. Further better pen support. I've used a Windows 7 Tablet PC since it came out, and pen support is way beyond what Android has to offer. And since there will be x86 platforms you still have access to all the best apps and games and universal device compatibility, which is one of the biggest shortcomings of the iPad and Android tablets.
Contrary to popular misbelieve, the Prada was announced AFTER the iphone.
The original iPhone was announced January 9, 2007. First pics of the LG Prada appeared on Engadget on December 15 2006, and according to LG, it was unveiled for the first time at the 2006 iF Design Award in September 2006. Not saying this means anything, as I don't think Apple copied it, but your facts are wrong.
Hammond: I don't think you're giving us our due credit. Our scientists have done things which nobody's ever done before...
Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.
Apple got this, and succeeded, and even stayed culturally cool. Their software is about the task, not the software itself.
It's hard to take you seriously with this; Steve Jobs is (was) well known for putting form before function.
Laughably bad? On the scale of bad things that have every been done, this is at most eyebrow-raisingly bad.
Good thing we're not programming on a speedway then. The menus will stay in the same place forever. After using the software for a day, the menus could be written backwards and in Spanish and you would still know exactly what item you're clicking on, since by then it will be a muscle reflex and not a task of speed reading. Further, the uppercase menu has larger buttons, therefore they're easier to target and by Fitts' law the time to access a menu goes down.
Thank you for bringing some sense to this discussion. I miss the days when Microsoft was an evil empire. Back then Slashdot really had something to complain about. You'd get a story about Microsoft destroying competition and whole industries through sabotage and subterfuge, and the Slashdot community would be outraged! Outraged I tell you!
Now, Slashdot still wants to be outraged at Microsoft, and it really seems like we're scraping the barrel here. Seriously, minutia like top level menu case is not something to be outraged about. It's pretty much the most insignificant thing in the world, and on top of it all you can disable it. Seriously Slashdot, it's time to find a new boogeyman.
Given your broad generalizations, you just come of like you have an axe to grind. Seriously, every campus in America is socially deficient compared to the rest of the world? And you've been to how many... you own? And they treated you bad so now you have a vendetta?
Look in the mirror. By your own admission, you didn't even try to socialize. You went from your residence to class to the library and back again. You didn't join any clubs, you didn't join any social organizations, you didn't volunteer... you just hung out with your friends. Seems like your own problem.
So, you say, it's a meritocracy where ass licking skills are what matters instead of academics.
What you call "ass licking skills" the rest of us call "social skills." No, we live in a society, where social interaction and relationships rule over numbers on a paper. I didn't kiss my advisor's ass, but I worked with him daily and he knows my abilities and the kind of work I can produce. Thus, if one of his many many colleagues from around the world says to him "Joe, I'm looking for a guy that can do X, know anyone?" he's going to drop my name. If someone asks Professor Thrun the same question, he's going to drop the name of one of his real students who he's had personal interactions with, not on of his Udacity students.
Now, why you seem to put no value on social skills, I don't know. Maybe you're just bad at them, since you tried to stay in the library for four years. But slashdot is pretty much the only place in the world where you'll be modded +5 insightful for having no EQ.
As part of that $40k you're also getting contacts and connections. You think Prof. Thrun is going to recommend you to a colleague who might be hiring, or provide a reference for you? Because I know my master's advisor certainly will.
Depends on the game I think... Kinect is pretty much the ultimate party game controller. During parties I always have my xbox running, and people just jump in and out of the game as they feel like it. Much better than wii and ps3 where there's passing around controllers... since they tend to get misplaced between sessions and as drunkenness ensues... which reminds me of the best feature of the kinect: taking pictures of drunk people playing games and uploading them automatically to facebook. Amazing.