My first language was BASIC on a Commodore 64. After that was Fortran and then eventually C and C++ on Windows, and then C and then C++ on Linux.
BASIC was a good stepping stone, but I really wish I would have started with Fortran as it was much easier to learn concepts with. I found the peek/poke memory concepts of the commodore 64 very frustrating.
That's an inescapable reality and it's not unique to closed or open source software. You always have to contend with the fact that the developer may have left a bug intentionally that allows remote code execution or privilege escalation.
You can audit code all day long, but the chance of a something getting through is high. You might be able to take a small application and with some assurance say it's bug free, but you'll never ever accomplish such a feat with a large project like the Linux kernel or the entire GNU userland.
As with all things, we have to take security vulnerability discoveries as they come and keep a watchful eye on code quality and readability.
I'm from Portland Oregon son. I'm sure there are good cops, but the bad ones make the news a lot.
They've been talking about ending racial profiling for 20 years. A cursory glance at the county sherrifs inmate list(1267 people) seems to indicate they primarily arrest black and hispanic men. 48% of the time an officer pulls his gun, no arrest is made. Black men are on the receiving side of 29% of all use of force incidents, despite them making up just 6% of the city population.
Then there's the case of Kendra James, shot and killed for trying to flee after being pulled over. The wikipedia entry is wrong on that one by the way. She wasn't trying to run over the policeman standing next to her car-that was his opinion of the matter because he happened to be standing next to the car when she put it in gear. Instead of backing away, he pulled and fired. He left her bleeding in handcuffs and she died on that street. The policeman involved in this incident was never charged.
Then there's the case of James Chasse, a 40something schizophrenic who got the attention of 2 police officers and a deputy sheriff. They approached, he ran, they pursued. They beat him so bad they broke 26 of his bones and punctured a lung. He died on the way from the jail to the hospital. It's a little unclear why they took him to jail first, considering the beating they gave him. No officers admitted to using force capable of breaking bones, despite numerous eyewitness accounts that they kicked, elbowed and punched him repeatedly. No charges were filed and all 3 police were cleared. The city just settled with James' family for $925,000 and the internal affairs investigation results are not being released to the public.
If you're still reading, here's another story. Christopher Humphreys, one of the officers who beat James Chasse to death is back on the street again after another suspension. He shot a bean bag from his shotgun at a 12 year old girl for resisting arrest. Again, no charges filed.
Think it's an isolated incident? The police chief reinstated Humphreys because the police union threatened to release the results of a no-confidence vote in the chief, which could have cost the chief his job. The policemen support each other, no matter how far off base their actions are.
That's not freedom and liberty. It's tyranny. Most people don't care that much because they've never been on the wrong end of a tazer, bean bag, or police fist.
I don't use it because it's extremely verbose and programming it is a lot more work than plain human readable text files. The types of applications I develop have no need for XML, and the types where it might be applicable won't work well with XML.
Just to be different, I think a newspaper could run a follow-up section which only runs reports on events that have already been reported.
Example: Police officer shoots and kills an unarmed citizen. On administrative leave pending review.
In our typical instant gratification society, most people would read that and go "gotcha! whats next?". Well, some of us want more. I want to read about that cop going to trial. Or that cop going to jail. Or, dunno, why the hell the DA chooses not to press charges. Right now there is no accountability for anyone to see things through to the end. Once it makes a headline, some think it's a job well done.
I don't buy it. I want real news. Not this sound byte ticker bullshit.
There is something to be said for being an advocate for your position and arguing for what you think is right. But there comes a point where you have to cede that the final decision is made by those above you(or by your client) and that ultimately you must do as they want.
By accepting this, you can make a professional argument to support your position and still save face when you lose the argument. Pushing too hard will make you look bullish or get you fired.
As for the submitters original question, buying support for business critical programs is the best way. Or if nothing else, if you're using Linux, buy your distribution from a vendor instead of downloading the ISO.
It's hard to justify already. I'm 28, so I will reach todays retirement age in 39 years, which assumes it isn't raised before I get to 67.
According to a recent GAO study, SS will be insolvent before I reach that age. In effect, I'm already paying tax into a program I will receive zero benefit from. My tax dollars are support YESTERDAYs retirees. It's a ponzi scheme. Always has been. You need massive inflation growth or people to die much faster to keep it solvent.
Let me invest that tax money the way I see fit in my 401k and I guarantee you I will do better than the SS program will do for me.
Big pharma is making a killing right now. I think healthcare has had all the "innovation" it can take. Doctors don't know how much the drugs really cost, so they prescribe the newest patented combination drugs. Patients don't know how much the drugs really cost, so they get the best they can get for a good price. This is of course by design. Insurance rates skyrocket, insurance companies rake in the dough.
The average consumer does not understand that the patented combination drugs they take are horrifically expensive and taking 2 or more generics would be quite a lot less expensive. Even if they did, they would probably naively choose the combination drug because the "oh well the insurance pays for it", not understanding that it has a direct effect on their premiums.
Healthcare needs massive government intervention. Way beyond what either party is proposing. In theory a free market would remove these types of inefficiencies, but healthcare is the least free market I can think of. It's heavily regulated.
As far as emotion goes, I think there should be a little emotion in such a fundamental topic. Without compassion for your fellow citizenry, nationalized healthcare doesn't make sense. Then again, without compassion, social security and a host of other programs don't make sense either.
SS was never supposed to be a retirement. It's a safety net. I can't speak to its original intentions when it was first created, but nobody in the last 30 years has taken SS seriously as a real retirement.
People need to work hard and save for a time when they can't work. That, or have really nice children who will take care of them.
SS needs drastic change. Like, no benefits for people who don't need them. None whatsoever. I don't know where the line needs to be, but there isn't even a line right now.
My experience with this is that they will simply send you to collections, lose your letter and you'll never get anywhere with them. At that point, the only closure is to pay what they're asking so collectors stop calling.
It's that or fire bomb their headquarters for being shysters, but I hear that's illegal now.
The fee is the same whether you bought a $500 phone or a "free" phone. Considering the average person gets anywhere from the "free" phone to a "$100" phone, Verizon will make a killing off the ETF's.
Oh wait, Verizon's already making a killing. The FCC or Congress really needs to take a hard look at AT&T, Verizon and Sprint and clamp down on customer unfairness. Verizon made $15.5 billion on revenue of $93.4 billion for fiscal year '07(that's nearly 17% profit). These ETF's are extremely unfair and are being used as a crude but effective hammer to keep their customers from switching to other carriers.
The wireless carrier industry needs a hardcore congressional shakedown. We Americans spend more on wireless services than anyone else in the world, by a significant margin.
Actually it is Microsoft's fault. They have a responsibility, as all companies do, to be sure that their company and product names are unique enough in whatever markets they choose to do business that they will not cause confusion.
If consumers are harmed by the confusing similarity of product names or company names, this is a cause of action. Microsoft should have conducted a thorough search before naming Bing to be sure it wouldn't cause confusion. Or if they really liked the name Bing, they should have contacted this fellow to see if they could buy the name from him.
Re:Let's just be clear on what they mean here
on
A Requiem For Saab
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· Score: 1
I did. I ended up getting a ticket on I84 at almost 93mph. Luckily the cop didn't realize I was slowing down and had just done a top speed run.
I hit 167ish. As I recall, I had to calculate my speed with my tach because the speedo only went to 160. The policeman was very polite but hit me with points and a $300 fine and said I was lucky-if I was in excess of 100 he would have taken my car.
Re:Speaking for myself as a Swedish brick driver,
on
A Requiem For Saab
·
· Score: 1
The Chrysler 300C is no doubt a very stylish car with compelling features, but give it a go before you buy one. The visibility from the drivers seat is limited regardless of the drivers height.
And I wasn't disparaging American-built Toyota or Honda cars. The tooling, designs and quality standards are all very much Japanese, as is the management culture. US culture has had it's influence on these cars, sometimes for the best and sometimes not. I'd still take a Honda or Toyota over my POS Astrovan. If only I had money...
Maybe so, but anybody who has ever driven an old Pontiac TransAm knows how much fun they are. The feel if a gigantic V8 in your ass, hitting the throttle and being pulled back into your chair as if it was a god damned space shuttle launch.
It was nice. Yes, GM tried to make the Firebird a grocery getter and really had lackluster styling. GM tried to new-ify the Firebird in the 90's when they should have looked towards the past and gone retro like the Camaro.
Re:Speaking for myself as a Swedish brick driver,
on
A Requiem For Saab
·
· Score: 1
Not to burst your bubble or anything, but both Toyota and Honda build the majority of their American-destined cars right here in America. It's been this way for a while.
Something the news companies like to ignore is that these so-called "import" companies are for all intents and purposes American companies.
Re:Two questions from ignorance
on
A Requiem For Saab
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· Score: 2, Insightful
GM really needs to shrink. They don't need to die. They're a huge monolithic company trying to maintain a dozen brand names in a market that just contracted. To top it off, with few exceptions they built largely uninspired cars at cut rate prices to compete with Toyota, Honda and Ford and pumped out trucks like there was no end to demand despite Ford having the market for trucks tied down nicely.
GM is a failure of managements foresight, ability to create a car people really want, failure to compete. Dare I say it, but it's also a clear case of when a workers union can destroy the company they rely on. That a union could expect their workers to make $20 an hour with benefits for punching buttons is ridiculously shortsighted. For a long time now, GM has been under the debt burden of an overpaid union and retirees who just aren't dying as fast as they expected.
The unions resisted automation, which would have allowed GM to deliver better cars for cheaper and made them truly competitive. Out of all the failures in GM, I would say the UAW is at the top of my list.
Re:Let's just be clear on what they mean here
on
A Requiem For Saab
·
· Score: 1
For novice(meaning average) drivers, understeer is far more predictable and manageable then oversteer. After driving a 3rd gen Toyota Supra turbo for a few years, I can tell you oversteer can scare the bejeezus out of anybody if you're not expecting it.
Re:Let's just be clear on what they mean here
on
A Requiem For Saab
·
· Score: 1
Everyone has stories to tell about their car that made it past 200k. Shit, I drive a 2002 Chevy Astrovan with 239k miles. Doesn't mean it's a good van. I've had to repair it numerous times(4wd, tranny, alternator x2, etc.)
I would be interested to see hard data on how far cars typically make it before dying for good. Not just individual cases.
Slashdot Mirror
My first language was BASIC on a Commodore 64. After that was Fortran and then eventually C and C++ on Windows, and then C and then C++ on Linux.
BASIC was a good stepping stone, but I really wish I would have started with Fortran as it was much easier to learn concepts with. I found the peek/poke memory concepts of the commodore 64 very frustrating.
That's an inescapable reality and it's not unique to closed or open source software. You always have to contend with the fact that the developer may have left a bug intentionally that allows remote code execution or privilege escalation.
You can audit code all day long, but the chance of a something getting through is high. You might be able to take a small application and with some assurance say it's bug free, but you'll never ever accomplish such a feat with a large project like the Linux kernel or the entire GNU userland.
As with all things, we have to take security vulnerability discoveries as they come and keep a watchful eye on code quality and readability.
I'm from Portland Oregon son. I'm sure there are good cops, but the bad ones make the news a lot.
They've been talking about ending racial profiling for 20 years. A cursory glance at the county sherrifs inmate list(1267 people) seems to indicate they primarily arrest black and hispanic men. 48% of the time an officer pulls his gun, no arrest is made. Black men are on the receiving side of 29% of all use of force incidents, despite them making up just 6% of the city population.
Then there's the case of Kendra James, shot and killed for trying to flee after being pulled over. The wikipedia entry is wrong on that one by the way. She wasn't trying to run over the policeman standing next to her car-that was his opinion of the matter because he happened to be standing next to the car when she put it in gear. Instead of backing away, he pulled and fired. He left her bleeding in handcuffs and she died on that street. The policeman involved in this incident was never charged.
Then there's the case of James Chasse, a 40something schizophrenic who got the attention of 2 police officers and a deputy sheriff. They approached, he ran, they pursued. They beat him so bad they broke 26 of his bones and punctured a lung. He died on the way from the jail to the hospital. It's a little unclear why they took him to jail first, considering the beating they gave him. No officers admitted to using force capable of breaking bones, despite numerous eyewitness accounts that they kicked, elbowed and punched him repeatedly. No charges were filed and all 3 police were cleared. The city just settled with James' family for $925,000 and the internal affairs investigation results are not being released to the public.
If you're still reading, here's another story. Christopher Humphreys, one of the officers who beat James Chasse to death is back on the street again after another suspension. He shot a bean bag from his shotgun at a 12 year old girl for resisting arrest. Again, no charges filed.
Think it's an isolated incident? The police chief reinstated Humphreys because the police union threatened to release the results of a no-confidence vote in the chief, which could have cost the chief his job. The policemen support each other, no matter how far off base their actions are.
That's not freedom and liberty. It's tyranny. Most people don't care that much because they've never been on the wrong end of a tazer, bean bag, or police fist.
I don't use it because it's extremely verbose and programming it is a lot more work than plain human readable text files. The types of applications I develop have no need for XML, and the types where it might be applicable won't work well with XML.
Just to be different, I think a newspaper could run a follow-up section which only runs reports on events that have already been reported.
Example: Police officer shoots and kills an unarmed citizen. On administrative leave pending review.
In our typical instant gratification society, most people would read that and go "gotcha! whats next?". Well, some of us want more. I want to read about that cop going to trial. Or that cop going to jail. Or, dunno, why the hell the DA chooses not to press charges. Right now there is no accountability for anyone to see things through to the end. Once it makes a headline, some think it's a job well done.
I don't buy it. I want real news. Not this sound byte ticker bullshit.
There is something to be said for being an advocate for your position and arguing for what you think is right. But there comes a point where you have to cede that the final decision is made by those above you(or by your client) and that ultimately you must do as they want.
By accepting this, you can make a professional argument to support your position and still save face when you lose the argument. Pushing too hard will make you look bullish or get you fired.
As for the submitters original question, buying support for business critical programs is the best way. Or if nothing else, if you're using Linux, buy your distribution from a vendor instead of downloading the ISO.
Indeed. It's probably the most widely misused software concept ever.
Except for really large complicated programs, I just don't see any reason to use XML files to describe program configurations. It's retarded.
It's hard to justify already. I'm 28, so I will reach todays retirement age in 39 years, which assumes it isn't raised before I get to 67.
According to a recent GAO study, SS will be insolvent before I reach that age. In effect, I'm already paying tax into a program I will receive zero benefit from. My tax dollars are support YESTERDAYs retirees. It's a ponzi scheme. Always has been. You need massive inflation growth or people to die much faster to keep it solvent.
Let me invest that tax money the way I see fit in my 401k and I guarantee you I will do better than the SS program will do for me.
So you're saying the slashbots should be happy, angry and indignant all at once? That's normal.
You must be new here.
Just for good measure, I still refuse to use XML in any application I design. I have no intentions of changing that any time soon either.
Big pharma is making a killing right now. I think healthcare has had all the "innovation" it can take. Doctors don't know how much the drugs really cost, so they prescribe the newest patented combination drugs. Patients don't know how much the drugs really cost, so they get the best they can get for a good price. This is of course by design. Insurance rates skyrocket, insurance companies rake in the dough.
The average consumer does not understand that the patented combination drugs they take are horrifically expensive and taking 2 or more generics would be quite a lot less expensive. Even if they did, they would probably naively choose the combination drug because the "oh well the insurance pays for it", not understanding that it has a direct effect on their premiums.
Healthcare needs massive government intervention. Way beyond what either party is proposing. In theory a free market would remove these types of inefficiencies, but healthcare is the least free market I can think of. It's heavily regulated.
As far as emotion goes, I think there should be a little emotion in such a fundamental topic. Without compassion for your fellow citizenry, nationalized healthcare doesn't make sense. Then again, without compassion, social security and a host of other programs don't make sense either.
SS was never supposed to be a retirement. It's a safety net. I can't speak to its original intentions when it was first created, but nobody in the last 30 years has taken SS seriously as a real retirement.
People need to work hard and save for a time when they can't work. That, or have really nice children who will take care of them.
SS needs drastic change. Like, no benefits for people who don't need them. None whatsoever. I don't know where the line needs to be, but there isn't even a line right now.
That might not be a good thing. Verizon has like 60 million customers, entitling each one to about $8 in damages from the search deal.
My experience with this is that they will simply send you to collections, lose your letter and you'll never get anywhere with them. At that point, the only closure is to pay what they're asking so collectors stop calling.
It's that or fire bomb their headquarters for being shysters, but I hear that's illegal now.
The fee is the same whether you bought a $500 phone or a "free" phone. Considering the average person gets anywhere from the "free" phone to a "$100" phone, Verizon will make a killing off the ETF's.
Oh wait, Verizon's already making a killing. The FCC or Congress really needs to take a hard look at AT&T, Verizon and Sprint and clamp down on customer unfairness. Verizon made $15.5 billion on revenue of $93.4 billion for fiscal year '07(that's nearly 17% profit). These ETF's are extremely unfair and are being used as a crude but effective hammer to keep their customers from switching to other carriers.
The wireless carrier industry needs a hardcore congressional shakedown. We Americans spend more on wireless services than anyone else in the world, by a significant margin.
I particularly love the part about buying DirecTV from a Best Buy only to find out later that you don't really it.
Oh, and that you can't find a complete document outlining your rights and responsibilities in one place.
Even my credit card company does that...
Actually it is Microsoft's fault. They have a responsibility, as all companies do, to be sure that their company and product names are unique enough in whatever markets they choose to do business that they will not cause confusion.
If consumers are harmed by the confusing similarity of product names or company names, this is a cause of action. Microsoft should have conducted a thorough search before naming Bing to be sure it wouldn't cause confusion. Or if they really liked the name Bing, they should have contacted this fellow to see if they could buy the name from him.
I did. I ended up getting a ticket on I84 at almost 93mph. Luckily the cop didn't realize I was slowing down and had just done a top speed run.
I hit 167ish. As I recall, I had to calculate my speed with my tach because the speedo only went to 160. The policeman was very polite but hit me with points and a $300 fine and said I was lucky-if I was in excess of 100 he would have taken my car.
The Chrysler 300C is no doubt a very stylish car with compelling features, but give it a go before you buy one. The visibility from the drivers seat is limited regardless of the drivers height.
And I wasn't disparaging American-built Toyota or Honda cars. The tooling, designs and quality standards are all very much Japanese, as is the management culture. US culture has had it's influence on these cars, sometimes for the best and sometimes not. I'd still take a Honda or Toyota over my POS Astrovan. If only I had money...
So what you're really saying is if they give programmers a new title of "Bitch" the boss is allowed to bend them over the table and it's legal?
Well that's just F'ed up.
Maybe so, but anybody who has ever driven an old Pontiac TransAm knows how much fun they are. The feel if a gigantic V8 in your ass, hitting the throttle and being pulled back into your chair as if it was a god damned space shuttle launch.
It was nice. Yes, GM tried to make the Firebird a grocery getter and really had lackluster styling. GM tried to new-ify the Firebird in the 90's when they should have looked towards the past and gone retro like the Camaro.
Not to burst your bubble or anything, but both Toyota and Honda build the majority of their American-destined cars right here in America. It's been this way for a while.
Something the news companies like to ignore is that these so-called "import" companies are for all intents and purposes American companies.
GM really needs to shrink. They don't need to die. They're a huge monolithic company trying to maintain a dozen brand names in a market that just contracted. To top it off, with few exceptions they built largely uninspired cars at cut rate prices to compete with Toyota, Honda and Ford and pumped out trucks like there was no end to demand despite Ford having the market for trucks tied down nicely.
GM is a failure of managements foresight, ability to create a car people really want, failure to compete. Dare I say it, but it's also a clear case of when a workers union can destroy the company they rely on. That a union could expect their workers to make $20 an hour with benefits for punching buttons is ridiculously shortsighted. For a long time now, GM has been under the debt burden of an overpaid union and retirees who just aren't dying as fast as they expected.
The unions resisted automation, which would have allowed GM to deliver better cars for cheaper and made them truly competitive. Out of all the failures in GM, I would say the UAW is at the top of my list.
For novice(meaning average) drivers, understeer is far more predictable and manageable then oversteer. After driving a 3rd gen Toyota Supra turbo for a few years, I can tell you oversteer can scare the bejeezus out of anybody if you're not expecting it.
Everyone has stories to tell about their car that made it past 200k. Shit, I drive a 2002 Chevy Astrovan with 239k miles. Doesn't mean it's a good van. I've had to repair it numerous times(4wd, tranny, alternator x2, etc.)
I would be interested to see hard data on how far cars typically make it before dying for good. Not just individual cases.