There was a leader in my organization at one point who liked "shiny object" names. He liked to use terms that were getting some press in whatever way seemed useful but they never mated up to the real meaning of the term. Scrum is one that is abused and is so far from the three (or four, depending) question, 15 minute, stand-up meeting it's sad. So no, you're not alone.
As for vetting, if its an actual invention, then you're talking patent and you can't really discuss it with anyone publicly, requiring the aforementioned NDA at the least. If its an idea that might not be patentable, I have used my wife and trusted colleagues as sounding boards. A trusted colleague is someone with personal moral standards beyond reproach and who I want to have involved with the development of the idea.
Probably too late for me. I kept a Windows box to work from home but now that I've been using a spare Linux machine am deciding I can do without. Worst case I could create a dual boot and move on from all future Microsoft products.
I guess I'm tired of the hardware rat race and given the recent issue with DRM on Spore, it would seem I will stop looking at mega-commercial games and start checking out independent shops instead.
As a working PM, I can attest that even in our own field there is a flexibility to the terms "project manager" and "project". Consider it a holy war of sorts. So when someone applies for a position as a PM, it often helps if they have a PMP certification so its clear what their definitions look like.
I don't know how it is for the rest of the slashdot crowd but almost everywhere I've worked it's impossible to be (decently) productive using only authorized software. I was lucky enough to be a key player in determining our End User Agreement design. The solution, from my vantage point, is having the organization know what's installed, why, and who's going to maintain it. So, it is an expectation that if you install something, you report it. The boss is supposed to review that annually to ensure you need it and that you've updated it. If you get hacked b/c of a tool you installed and didn't report or maintain, you're culpable.
This is but a tiny part of a larger security program in our sub-organization including software push responsibility (internally contracted), technical security measures, and an internal Security Reference and annual awareness assessment. An active committee maintains the EUA, Reference, and supplies their peers with the latest happenings.
So I agree, to be efficient you gotta have tools that work well for you, but at the same time responsibility must be drawn, reviewed, and flexible.
I'm in the encouraged realm. I learned something that I did not already know and some of his replies (like the PT item) provide an interesting understanding of the degree of change that leadership in that organization is considering.
Donating it to a non-profit organization is a possibility. The one I volunteer for is very picky since we have funds to have up-to-date materials but many do not. Further, some have the volunteers to reimage them as basic web browsers for less fortunate families who receive them as handouts. Of course, it has to be working.
This idea falls into the "Local Charity Shops". The main targets are probably either very large churches, private schools, and maybe very small churches. Heck, even the local Animal Shelter might be able to use an extra system. And then you could write-off some nominal sum on your taxes too.
When I was interviewing for my last job, one of the company's managers explicitly told me that there would be about two weeks a year of 'crunch time' in which everyone would work longer hours, but otherwise it would be a 40 hour week. Did you get that in writing? That has become my new mantra for things I know can't be reality. Benefits and other things need to be documented or you're opening yourself up to being screwed. Its not as hard as you think, esp when the interviewing manager is flippant about it.
"Oh yeah, we very rarely work more than 40 hours a week." "How often is rarely?" "Maybe once a quarter." "Great, it shouldn't be hard to document that in the offer then."
I got out with the loss of venture funding and apparent lack of future at Sunrocket. Our line's voicemail is now non-functional so I've switched over to another VoIP service that's offering an incentive to Sunrocket customers. It was a great service while we had it and I'll miss the free European calls. I dearly hope the new service will provide service as well as Sunrocket did. But I've got a cell phone so the landline was merely a convenience.
VoIP is still a new market and to expect companies to not go under is to ignore normal business conditions. I was surprised Sunrocket went under but its been clear for a long while that they all won't survive.
On Vonage, I too have heard they lose lots of people and the cause (as I understand it from forums) is poor customer service and difficulty in getting out. They will continue to lose customers until they realize the value of quality customer care, or go out of business entirely.
I ditched Paypal when I couldn't reject a credit card payment (I didn't accept them). Assuming Checkout doesn't have the same issue, it'll be my preferred method of payment/receipt for the long-haul.
To anyone who lives in or near Kokomo, this type of continuance in the face of facts is not surprising. I suspect the mayor had hoped the kid would give up.
His loss is a community loss in tax dollars, which, when considering that Delphi Automotive, one of the city's two largest corporations is in bankruptcy is quite irresponsible.
First, contrary to popular belief, the sig on the back of the card is not there for identification purposes, but rather to indicate that you accept the terms of your cardholder agreement.
There is an implied falsehood here. A legal signature does NOT need to be you name. A simple "X", if made by me, is, in fact, a legal signature. Therefore, my writing "CHECK ID" or whatever WOULD be a legal signature and acceptance of the terms of the card issuer.
Third, the merchant is not required to obey your stupid writing on the back. In fact, if they are doing their job they would require you to sign the card for real to make sure you have agreed to the terms of service. That is why it is perfectly reasonable for a clerk to ask you to sign a card that you present to them unsigned - because your signature is not for ID purposes.
The average kid working the retail counter is not going to know these facts and thus be more likely to ask for an ID. Presuming they look at the back at all, of course.
Being in the higher ed realm myself, I can categorically state that pay sucks in nearly all institutions. You get what you pay for in tax dollars (IMLO), so every time you bitch about wasteful gov't, some technical guru leaves b/c there are no raises for the next biennium. What does that say about me......?
And this kind of information is frequently on the 'Net (though normally protected). That's called service. You like to see your accounts online right? So do students amazingly.
For those who lived through the 80s and the ire toward Dungeons and Dragons, recognition that this too will pass is a given.
Unless you recognize the greater conservative nature of the US as a whole, maybe.
Purdue Univ IST Program Entrance Exam
on
IT Literacy Test
·
· Score: 5, Informative
Back in 1999, I was a chemical engineer looking for a change of pace. Purdue was desperate for computing folks, so they offered a program called Information Systems and Technology Eduction Program.
The entrance exam was a test that determined your ability to think logically and break down the wholes into their parts with appropriate linkages. It included block diagram puzzles and other assorted logic statements and questions. Not a single line of code anywhere in it (that would have defeated the purpose). I took the test, did well, and was hired.
So, these things have been around for quite a while, at least since 1999.
Just completed a research proposal into this very topic. Luminaries in the area like Patricia Mokhtarian and others have well documented the issues like: Management style/structure Workplace distractions Home distractions Employee desire for social interactions Employee desire for visibility for promotion Gender differences (which strongly impact motivation of telecommuting) Geographic location
The point is, this is likely to remain a very specialized option which the employee and employer agree to allow under certain conditions and for only certain individuals. This >50% thing is ridiculous in light of existing issues.
I have lectured in Purdue classes, and CowboyNeal's comment about the access providing a way to not pay attention is true. During the classes I've given presentations, at least 10% of the students were playing games or surfing while I spoke.
Perhaps that's a side-effect of going unwired, but I think its a challenge to be a more interesting speaker.
Slashdot Mirror
There was a leader in my organization at one point who liked "shiny object" names. He liked to use terms that were getting some press in whatever way seemed useful but they never mated up to the real meaning of the term. Scrum is one that is abused and is so far from the three (or four, depending) question, 15 minute, stand-up meeting it's sad. So no, you're not alone.
In related news, Xinhua news agency reported that games involving corruption were being added to educational curriculum.
Its not clear to me if you're asking how to vet an idea or how to get it commercialized. The former is my guess, but if you're interested in commercialization, I suggest this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Commercializing-New-Technologies-Getting-Market/dp/0875847609/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248437892&sr=8-1
As for vetting, if its an actual invention, then you're talking patent and you can't really discuss it with anyone publicly, requiring the aforementioned NDA at the least. If its an idea that might not be patentable, I have used my wife and trusted colleagues as sounding boards. A trusted colleague is someone with personal moral standards beyond reproach and who I want to have involved with the development of the idea.
Probably too late for me. I kept a Windows box to work from home but now that I've been using a spare Linux machine am deciding I can do without. Worst case I could create a dual boot and move on from all future Microsoft products.
I guess I'm tired of the hardware rat race and given the recent issue with DRM on Spore, it would seem I will stop looking at mega-commercial games and start checking out independent shops instead.
This is a non-event. Any quality employer will have pretty specific policies about accessing business data on a need-to-know only basis.
Oil prices are high because speculators think future supply will be low.
I believe there is a study discrediting that theory, largely.
http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article151805.ece/
As a working PM, I can attest that even in our own field there is a flexibility to the terms "project manager" and "project". Consider it a holy war of sorts. So when someone applies for a position as a PM, it often helps if they have a PMP certification so its clear what their definitions look like.
http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/Certification-and-the-Job-Market.aspx
This is but a tiny part of a larger security program in our sub-organization including software push responsibility (internally contracted), technical security measures, and an internal Security Reference and annual awareness assessment. An active committee maintains the EUA, Reference, and supplies their peers with the latest happenings.
So I agree, to be efficient you gotta have tools that work well for you, but at the same time responsibility must be drawn, reviewed, and flexible.
I'm in the encouraged realm. I learned something that I did not already know and some of his replies (like the PT item) provide an interesting understanding of the degree of change that leadership in that organization is considering.
I believe you meant "should have", right?
Donating it to a non-profit organization is a possibility. The one I volunteer for is very picky since we have funds to have up-to-date materials but many do not. Further, some have the volunteers to reimage them as basic web browsers for less fortunate families who receive them as handouts. Of course, it has to be working.
This idea falls into the "Local Charity Shops". The main targets are probably either very large churches, private schools, and maybe very small churches. Heck, even the local Animal Shelter might be able to use an extra system. And then you could write-off some nominal sum on your taxes too.
"Oh yeah, we very rarely work more than 40 hours a week."
"How often is rarely?"
"Maybe once a quarter."
"Great, it shouldn't be hard to document that in the offer then."
I got out with the loss of venture funding and apparent lack of future at Sunrocket. Our line's voicemail is now non-functional so I've switched over to another VoIP service that's offering an incentive to Sunrocket customers. It was a great service while we had it and I'll miss the free European calls. I dearly hope the new service will provide service as well as Sunrocket did. But I've got a cell phone so the landline was merely a convenience.
VoIP is still a new market and to expect companies to not go under is to ignore normal business conditions. I was surprised Sunrocket went under but its been clear for a long while that they all won't survive.
On Vonage, I too have heard they lose lots of people and the cause (as I understand it from forums) is poor customer service and difficulty in getting out. They will continue to lose customers until they realize the value of quality customer care, or go out of business entirely.
Perhaps true now but not when I originally setup the Paypal account, which was before Ebay owned them.
I ditched Paypal when I couldn't reject a credit card payment (I didn't accept them). Assuming Checkout doesn't have the same issue, it'll be my preferred method of payment/receipt for the long-haul.
I know the Human Fund has been asking for free Google advertising....
To anyone who lives in or near Kokomo, this type of continuance in the face of facts is not surprising. I suspect the mayor had hoped the kid would give up.
His loss is a community loss in tax dollars, which, when considering that Delphi Automotive, one of the city's two largest corporations is in bankruptcy is quite irresponsible.
There is an implied falsehood here. A legal signature does NOT need to be you name. A simple "X", if made by me, is, in fact, a legal signature. Therefore, my writing "CHECK ID" or whatever WOULD be a legal signature and acceptance of the terms of the card issuer.
The average kid working the retail counter is not going to know these facts and thus be more likely to ask for an ID. Presuming they look at the back at all, of course.
Being in the higher ed realm myself, I can categorically state that pay sucks in nearly all institutions. You get what you pay for in tax dollars (IMLO), so every time you bitch about wasteful gov't, some technical guru leaves b/c there are no raises for the next biennium. What does that say about me......?
And this kind of information is frequently on the 'Net (though normally protected). That's called service. You like to see your accounts online right? So do students amazingly.
So what SPF will my employer be required to provide for my balding head?
I am a man, not a number!
Signed, #6
Bummer dude.
Yours safely,
#32,001
For those who lived through the 80s and the ire toward Dungeons and Dragons, recognition that this too will pass is a given.
Unless you recognize the greater conservative nature of the US as a whole, maybe.
Back in 1999, I was a chemical engineer looking for a change of pace. Purdue was desperate for computing folks, so they offered a program called Information Systems and Technology Eduction Program.
The entrance exam was a test that determined your ability to think logically and break down the wholes into their parts with appropriate linkages. It included block diagram puzzles and other assorted logic statements and questions. Not a single line of code anywhere in it (that would have defeated the purpose). I took the test, did well, and was hired.
So, these things have been around for quite a while, at least since 1999.
Just completed a research proposal into this very topic. Luminaries in the area like Patricia Mokhtarian and others have well documented the issues like:
Management style/structure
Workplace distractions
Home distractions
Employee desire for social interactions
Employee desire for visibility for promotion
Gender differences (which strongly impact motivation of telecommuting)
Geographic location
The point is, this is likely to remain a very specialized option which the employee and employer agree to allow under certain conditions and for only certain individuals. This >50% thing is ridiculous in light of existing issues.
I have lectured in Purdue classes, and CowboyNeal's comment about the access providing a way to not pay attention is true. During the classes I've given presentations, at least 10% of the students were playing games or surfing while I spoke.
Perhaps that's a side-effect of going unwired, but I think its a challenge to be a more interesting speaker.