The funny thing is that most of their comparisons with respect to saving time, development productivity, etc., seem to stack.NET against the current MSFT web development practices.
For example:
According to Khater, the.NET Framework is helping his team to shave close to 90 percent off deployment time by using "XCOPY deployment," which means that developers design, code, and debug on the development platform, and then simply copy their code to a staging server. Once there, the code is ready to run without requiring that the developers register DLLs or build COM or export packages--that is, without anyone having to worry about dependencies.
Of course, you could also be using C++/Java server-side stuff, in which case you write a script to push a tarball to the server, untar, setup permissions, etc. Deployment on the last project I worked on was one command that pushed everything instantaneously.
They also talk about IDLs:
Unlike in the current version of Microsoft Visual Studio®, C# interfaces can be explicitly defined in any language, removing the need to create and compile IDL files.
One of the nightmares that.NET is supposed to make go away is the whole COM/COM+/ActiveX/DLL rat's nest that makes MSFT development a headache.
>...the open sourcers are trying to play catch-
> up with MS.
In this case, it seems to me it's the other way around. Looks like MSFT saw the possibility of app servers (Resin, Tomcat, etc.) and Java getting more market share, and decided to reply with something similar. C# looks very much like Java, which has been around for years now.
I think if Apache/Jakarta had been left up its own devices, open.NET would have just happened. The only difference is the pieces of the system come from different places (Jakarta, Sun, Caucho, etc. vs. DotGNU/Mono/MSFT/Evil Flying Monkeys/Whatever).
That's probably because there's an ad in the page on a different server somewhere that doesn't want to load...one frame is bad, the browser will complain.
> Government funding should be for work that is
> available to everybody. Open source is not
> available to commercial companies. The way the
> license is written, if you use any open-source
> software, you have to make the rest of your
> software open source.
What bunch of crap. Ballmer makes it sound like you have to GPL your product if you use a GPL'd compiler or editor. Idiot. I hope these guys are just shooting theirselves in the foot, 'cause all their recent talk of the government makes me very nervous that a McCarthy-esque Open Source witch hunt will happen.
Anybody used strings on Windows yet to find illegal uses of GPL'd code?
Fast food answers to the desires of the consumer. You want fries that taste fresh? No problem - get in a focus group, give 'em some fries, see what happens.
Some software (commonly used applications and operating systems, shrinkware) answers to this same group of people.
However, a LOT of software is written to satisfy the corporation, who focus on the bottom line. If there are advances in technology or software development best practices that truly save time and money, they will be implemented by the industry leaders so they can increase their profit margin.
In just about every market I can think of (fast food, cars, even technology), there is a wide range of quality available. Since software (and high technology in general) is still a growing market, it seems that the amount of low-quality/mass-produced stuff out there is growing. It is, but it's growing in proportion to the market as a whole. The amount of high-quality stuff is growing as well.
IMHO, this is just a sign that technology is becoming a large, stable market.
> "...Apple has now made beta-quality software
> the de facto standard on all its shipping Macs."
Beta-quality has been the default on Dell boxes for a while...Win98? God, that was HORRIBLE...and Win2k locks up (can't move cursor, have to do a hard reboot) when I start RealPlayer (latest version).
Of course, I'm used to RedHat 6.? and BlackBox...only time I've had that lock is using Together/J (let's hear it for Java, the productivity-enhancer) and a couple random BB segfaults.
Read about Pinnacle's new software that will somehow let you use a CD-R to create discs that a DVD player can read. Not full length, mind you, but it would be nice for distributing edited MiniDV footage...
...home directories. We had this on our undergrad lab accounts, unbeknownst to me until my friend, who was scraping by and ended up dropping out, said "hey, thanks for the code."
"What do you mean?" I said.
"I just grabbed it from your directory."
Great...and it was probably Scheme, too...all those hours of slaving over parentheses...
Unnecessary or Necessary Evil?
on
IT Unions?
·
· Score: 1
It seems that historically, unions have existed in order to represent workers in a capitalist society that places all the power in the hands of the employers. It's kind of a workaround that provides checks-and-balances in business.
The danger comes when workers have too much power, and employers (and the economy) suffer.
I don't yet see IT workers being mistreated to the point where we need a union. I think standards would be a good idea, but like others have suggested, a union is not the right place to create them.
There are undoubtedly things that would be nice to see, like ergonomic standards that require good chairs, ergonomic keyboards, etc. However, one would hope that companies would realize spending a little money now would prevent rising health care or disability costs in the future - this is probably a pipedream, but it's how things are supposed to work.
For now, I think the majority of IT workers have spoken, as no union exists. There have been incidents such as the Microsoft temp workers case and the Digital secretaries (bad keyboards = big time health problem for data-entry workers), but by and large class action lawsuits have worked on our side in those cases.
> Only criminals would worry about security,
> because the rest of us have nothing to hide
> from the world.
But we do have to protect against the people who would take advantage of us...what about the recent articles on incorrectly configured 802 leaving networks wide open? Do you really think the competition won't just hang out across the street at Starbucks and check out how the competing product works and plans for new features?
> Should one keep the keyring on a floppy disk,
> and never have it in the computer when it's
> connected?
That's what I was thinking of doing...but then I've got to disconnect to sign emails.
Other possibilities:
use an iButton for authentication. I still think these things would make for great security devices...unless, of course, you lost it.
use a PDA with GPS and/or some other kind of personal id (voice - the HandSpring has a mic builtin) to upload a one-time key to a computer.
> If only they had actually open-sourced their
> operating system when they first started out. > Then they might be one of the industry > leaders. They might be planning a takeover > of Microsoft instead of talking about
> bankruptcy.
We've been able to download the OS and all
necessary development tools for free for
quite some time.
Please explain how making the OS open source would have saved the company.
Slashdot Mirror
The funny thing is that most of their comparisons with respect to saving time, development productivity, etc., seem to stack .NET against the current MSFT web development practices.
For example:
Of course, you could also be using C++/Java server-side stuff, in which case you write a script to push a tarball to the server, untar, setup permissions, etc. Deployment on the last project I worked on was one command that pushed everything instantaneously.They also talk about IDLs:
One of the nightmares that .NET is supposed to make go away is the whole COM/COM+/ActiveX/DLL rat's nest that makes MSFT development a headache.
> ...the open sourcers are trying to play catch-
.NET would have just happened. The only difference is the pieces of the system come from different places (Jakarta, Sun, Caucho, etc. vs. DotGNU/Mono/MSFT/Evil Flying Monkeys/Whatever).
> up with MS.
In this case, it seems to me it's the other way around. Looks like MSFT saw the possibility of app servers (Resin, Tomcat, etc.) and Java getting more market share, and decided to reply with something similar. C# looks very much like Java, which has been around for years now.
I think if Apache/Jakarta had been left up its own devices, open
That's probably because there's an ad in the page on a different server somewhere that doesn't want to load...one frame is bad, the browser will complain.
And Bush can filter by race! If he can figure out regexp, that is...
There is a newbie X mailing list, probably available from the xfree86.org site...
> Government funding should be for work that is
> available to everybody. Open source is not
> available to commercial companies. The way the
> license is written, if you use any open-source
> software, you have to make the rest of your
> software open source.
What bunch of crap. Ballmer makes it sound like you have to GPL your product if you use a GPL'd compiler or editor. Idiot. I hope these guys are just shooting theirselves in the foot, 'cause all their recent talk of the government makes me very nervous that a McCarthy-esque Open Source witch hunt will happen.
Anybody used strings on Windows yet to find illegal uses of GPL'd code?
Fast food answers to the desires of the consumer. You want fries that taste fresh? No problem - get in a focus group, give 'em some fries, see what happens.
Some software (commonly used applications and operating systems, shrinkware) answers to this same group of people.
However, a LOT of software is written to satisfy the corporation, who focus on the bottom line. If there are advances in technology or software development best practices that truly save time and money, they will be implemented by the industry leaders so they can increase their profit margin.
In just about every market I can think of (fast food, cars, even technology), there is a wide range of quality available. Since software (and high technology in general) is still a growing market, it seems that the amount of low-quality/mass-produced stuff out there is growing. It is, but it's growing in proportion to the market as a whole. The amount of high-quality stuff is growing as well.
IMHO, this is just a sign that technology is becoming a large, stable market.
> "...Apple has now made beta-quality software
> the de facto standard on all its shipping Macs."
Beta-quality has been the default on Dell boxes for a while...Win98? God, that was HORRIBLE...and Win2k locks up (can't move cursor, have to do a hard reboot) when I start RealPlayer (latest version).
Of course, I'm used to RedHat 6.? and BlackBox...only time I've had that lock is using Together/J (let's hear it for Java, the productivity-enhancer) and a couple random BB segfaults.
Read about Pinnacle's new software that will somehow let you use a CD-R to create discs that a DVD player can read. Not full length, mind you, but it would be nice for distributing edited MiniDV footage...
...home directories. We had this on our undergrad lab accounts, unbeknownst to me until my friend, who was scraping by and ended up dropping out, said "hey, thanks for the code."
"What do you mean?" I said.
"I just grabbed it from your directory."
Great...and it was probably Scheme, too...all those hours of slaving over parentheses...
It seems that historically, unions have existed in order to represent workers in a capitalist society that places all the power in the hands of the employers. It's kind of a workaround that provides checks-and-balances in business.
The danger comes when workers have too much power, and employers (and the economy) suffer.
I don't yet see IT workers being mistreated to the point where we need a union. I think standards would be a good idea, but like others have suggested, a union is not the right place to create them.
There are undoubtedly things that would be nice to see, like ergonomic standards that require good chairs, ergonomic keyboards, etc. However, one would hope that companies would realize spending a little money now would prevent rising health care or disability costs in the future - this is probably a pipedream, but it's how things are supposed to work.
For now, I think the majority of IT workers have spoken, as no union exists. There have been incidents such as the Microsoft temp workers case and the Digital secretaries (bad keyboards = big time health problem for data-entry workers), but by and large class action lawsuits have worked on our side in those cases.
> Only criminals would worry about security,
> because the rest of us have nothing to hide
> from the world.
But we do have to protect against the people who would take advantage of us...what about the recent articles on incorrectly configured 802 leaving networks wide open? Do you really think the competition won't just hang out across the street at Starbucks and check out how the competing product works and plans for new features?
> and never have it in the computer when it's
> connected?
That's what I was thinking of doing...but then I've got to disconnect to sign emails.
Other possibilities:
> If only they had actually open-sourced their
> operating system when they first started out.
> Then they might be one of the industry
> leaders. They might be planning a takeover
> of Microsoft instead of talking about
> bankruptcy.
We've been able to download the OS and all
necessary development tools for free for
quite some time.
Please explain how making the OS open source
would have saved the company.