Yes, it is getting about that level of crazy over at reddit. And since it's an election year, r/politics is bleeding into every subreddit it can find. I can't unsubscribe from the affected subreddits fast enough.
I plan to check back in sometime after the election. I hate to say it, but I am temporarily finding/.'s group-think more enticing than reddit's hive-mind.
Nonsense. Many of our (US) diplomats are making sure your country suffers with ours. Check out what we're currently doing to Spain for more information.
Yes, they typically do. It usually starts and ends with, "You know what, I think I will program this next application, I think I'll use C / C++ / PHP / MySQL.";-) They learn about buffer overflows the first time they make getline / cin / (it's been a while) choke or die on some input, they learn all about SQL injection attacks when one of their webpages forgets to escape hyphens before running a query, and they learn the value of username / password security the first time they accidentally leave their username / password embedded in some code they're editing in a terminal / SSH session on their laptop, in a public place, when they run to use the bathroom. That plus many of the things that make the compiler throw warnings / errors covers 50% of the security concerns a programmer will run into.
As for security, I said it's not cost-effective to chase down "every last security issue"; it's not, as no matter which OS you might be using, there is a library it's linking to that somewhere will cause a bug which will cause your program to collapse / grant elevated security privileges. If you believe you are running an OS that cannot be cracked / that is secure, feel free to post your IP address to some of the more interesting forums on the internet; with a minimal install, it might take them a week or so to crack; with a full install, and a fair number of normal services running, it might take several minutes.
Sony, in this case, didn't just "not track down every last issue." It didn't track down / patch any of them, preferring security through obscurity (and firing their security team a week before everything collapsed, for good measure). And they are still in business...
R&D is typically the life-blood of a non-'mature' company; 'mature' here meaning a company that has decided that it has completely captured a market, driven out all competitors, and made entry / exit into this market almost impossible. Whether or not this is actually true is a subject of some debate; however, we are getting off topic.
A typical (non-fly-by-night) company has its foundations set in R&D -> the founder(s) of the company came up with a new product, a new design, a new business process, or a new service that proved agreeable with the populace. Even in mature companies, successful spin-offs typically harbor some new technology that enables them to stay afloat long enough to prosper. Hacking away at R&D is the equivalent of destroying the company's future. They're the ones who are making the impossible happen, getting ready for the next product 12 years into the future; they're not the ones who employ 'gimmicks' to make present day sales happen.
Our society, at least a portion of the higher echelons, do value expertise. However, our society (the US, at least) also values becoming wealthy before you hit the age of 30. That's an admirable goal. Still, the paths taken, by some people have proven detrimental over the long term.
I am a capitalist; not a particularly good one, mind you, by anyone's mark or measure; I've received aid from others, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not (there are two ways to read that, and both are correct); I've given aid to others, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not; I've screwed up on more than a few occasions, and I could spend an eternity playing the blame game of which mistake was mine or possibly someone else's; I'm not sure I'd win; I am not, however, what might be termed a 'crony' capitalist. F*cking over other people, and putting myself ahead in the process, has never been, nor ever will be, a part of my game plan. Functionally, though, there may have been non-intentional violations of that rule. And while making myself wealthy has some great appeal (if only so I can pursue other things at leisure), it would not do me well to see my company's pension fund destroyed to make that a reality. Perhaps in this banal fantasy of mine, I think I might somehow achieve one while avoiding the other.
The point of my little distraction is that these people are violating certain rules that are not to any benefit, not even to their own (over the long run). For a company (not necessarily a corporation, in much the same way a customer is not necessarily a consumer) to thrive, it must continually be laying the brickwork for the path it will tread on tomorrow. In response to your comment, I'd recommend leaving to create your own company. The beginning will be rough, as they all are, but your company will remain afloat while theirs sinks; the taste of victory here will remain sweet.
We've done this before -> the best h@x0r$ aren't the people beating their chests, sporting security credentials, hanging out at DefCom, taking down websites, or playing '5 minutes in heaven' with the 3-letter agency people. And they typically aren't the people who have an entire bookshelf devoted to books that actually mention hacking / cracking in the title. The dangerous people are the ones who have the dog-eared copy of Fundamentals of UNIX Programming sitting on their desk; they aren't using the hack of the week, or someone else's 0-day to compromise a system -> they know how the system actually works, all of its strengths and weaknesses. It's like the difference between some poor slob who bought a gun and keeps it in the front part of his jeans, and a trained Marine with his trusty hunting rifle.
Programmers themselves can be scored in several different categories, and it often takes a weird grouping off them to pull off anything outstanding. Knowledge of computing, theory of computing, theory of application, pragmatic programming, knowledge of the programming language / linguistics, mathematics, advanced problem solving, advanced research, imaginary problem solving, and lore of computing. I may have missed a few. Good luck getting all 10s in every category.
Security, by the way, is taught; it's simply not emphasized to the exclusion of other subjects. Most CS students know where the security holes, the major ones, can occur when it comes to programming. However, it's simply not cost-effective to chase down every last security issue (it could take years to release a product).
We will drive under that bridge when we come to it, as Ted Kennedy might say.
For the first 30,000 websites (I'm going to maintain a white-list), I plan to index the more important columns in the database. After that point, assuming I still find the project worthwhile, I'll devise something new that won't run afoul of any Google patents. Again, this project falls under a personal project that will make my life easier, not my day job. Why? Because Google's search results, as of late, are so disastrous for the average programmer that I prefer getting up from my desk, and wandering over to my personal library (old school), rather trying to mentally parse the three hundred or so blogs / commerce site results that have no relevance to my lifestyle.
Which reminds me. The reason for the white list is to blockade commerce sites / blogs / news sites / SEOs. The only people who will be able to submit sites to be crawled will be those who put up 2 BTCs into an escrow account; when you submit a site which violates these terms, I get paid. I also get to run a SQL DELETE query which is hot-linked to your user id, which deletes all your submissions. While I may be a banana dictator (functionally speaking, with regards to this index), I think programmers will enjoy the relevant and hassle-free results. Server upkeep with be supported through BitCoin donations, with the search engine automatically shutting off if / when it exhausts its supply, and turning back on again when its supply is replenished. Since the target market, so to speak, also happens to coincide somewhat with people with higher end video cards, it should be a somewhat palatable experience. A dozen BitCoins might run the server for several months.
Granted, there are "special" people in both groups, but hanging out with the sales / marketing people is kind of like hanging out with the local IRS tax collector or local DA. Except the IRS tax collector / DA might be preferable (this is from an avowed libertarian, mind you). At least the shark has a law degree and the taxman probably is a CPA; psychopathy and pathological lying is, at worst, a learned trait for them. With sales / marketing...well, they didn't have to spend to attend a finishing school or study for an exam to get that good. They were born naturally that way. They're the only people on this earth that, when I am in their presence, I feel the subconscious need to make sure I am still wearing my watch. ^_^
So help a salesman from a local company become the new CIO (seriously, rewrite his resume for him, checking for spelling / grammatical errors, and cut your friends in on it, so they will vet him properly -> "Dude, this man wrote UNIX from scratch; the company needs him and his leadership!"), short the company stock (borrow against everything you own, and when you run out of collateral, see if you can't short naked), and laugh as the company burns down while you become an instant millionaire (inform your friends that snitches get stitches, and be sure to fax your new CIO's latest expenditure reports to the tabloids).
If asked, at some later point, why you did it, explain that you were simply employing the same tactics they used, only more effectively. Explain that while the new CIO may not have been the best fit (v 1.0), he had told you that he was willing to take some night courses to catch up on the things he needed to know (v 1.1 - a patch issued), and that after he had done this, he'd be perfect for the job. When they press about you making out like a king while others got burnt / the company collapses, explain to them that it's exactly the relationship salesmen and programmers have had for years -> one profits obscenely, the other makes good on third-party promises (and gets fired if they fail to meet those promises). Finalize things by handing the former sales staff individualized bad performance reviews, indicating that it was their fault the company went under.
Programmers do what they do because they like getting paid to program -> they like programming, and they like getting paid. Find me a programmer that does not like getting paid, and find me a programmer that does not love writing code. They do not exist (well, except for the burnt out ones).
Salesmen do what they do because they like getting paid to promote company products and close financial transactions -> they like getting paid, and they enjoy selling stuff to people. I am not aware of any salesmen who do not like getting paid, nor of any who do not trumpet their company's products nor attempt to close a deal whenever possible. Find me one that lacks these attributes, I do not believe they exist (perhaps someone fresh out of school?).
The programmer's skill-set is a lot more marketable than the salesman's skill-set. Colleges put out tens (hundreds?) of thousands of salesmen every year, while programmers are of a lesser quantity. A programmer's attributes includes the ability to problem solve, perform complex mathematical calculations, write reusable and legible code, meet requirements from people who do not understand computers or their inner workings, and perform extensive research. A salesman's attributes include the ability to problem solve, charm the customer into submission, lie in ways that would make the Devil blush, draw up requirements for the magical gnomes / elves / pixies (programmers) to follow, and an alcohol tolerance that is higher than the victim (person with purchasing authority from the interested company) that enables them to "guide" the intoxicated's good hand into gripping the pen and signing the purchase order (that the salesman just so happens to have typed up, in his front shirt pocket) all while the emergency personnel are trying desperately to administer CPR.
There's a shortage of people with the former skill-set, not so much with the latter. One would think that wages would reflect that, but one would be wrong.
Assuming you're dealing with a non-programmer boss or board member, I'd be more worried about them shipping the code-base off to someone in India in an effort to save face (never-mind the fact that it's the companies latest flagship product, and the competition will have a copy of it before sunset). The board-member could just jump ship, and take the code with him, to start a new company (thanks for the lift, guys). Not like that doesn't happen all the time.
Letting your non-programmer boss / board member have unrestricted access to the code should rank up there with leaving them alone on a computer that has access to the financial's database. I'm not saying they won't twist your arm to get what they want, I'm just saying it does not bode well for the company.
Depends on the boss, but reality is if you don't have a decent boss (one you can respect for his technical prowess, sharp thinking, and managerial capabilities), it's time to jump ship. Trying to get your boss fired will in all likelihood result in two things: 1.) you burning a bridge and 2.) you getting fired instead.
The current mindset amongst the business people is that programmers are a dime a dozen -> one is interchangeable for another, and that someone in a third world country can do your job for less (so they imagine that they have you up against a wall). Inform them of the difference by quitting, and let the new guy try to find his way through your code (carefully documented or otherwise, any decent project will take several months for him to catch up on).
Promotions are kind of a joke for the last several years -> it's easier to get a pay raise and recognition by floating your resume than believing that being a good / helpful / quiet person will somehow advance your career.
Again, if you're dealing with a boss or a team who are simply not on the same page (and resist change), jump ship. The programmer's greatest liability is his desire to be like the Marines, to leave no man (project) behind. Once cured of this weakness, you will advance in life. It's the same as when you stop offering free technical support (to all but your closest colleagues)-> you suddenly get your free time back.
Hush. Use market discrimination, as they teach in microeconomics. If your market is filled with people who might have trouble locating the ON switch to their machines, use lots of pastels in your program, and spend half your time polishing the UI (yes, you need a GUI, in this instance, it's not optional). If your market is filled with people who know how to program, focus on the background stuff, and use a CLI (unless you like GUIs, at which point, go with that).
And programmers do appear lazy to people of other fields -> more than half your programming career is spent in your head, trying to solve a problem or trying to break your program. Why? Because using pencils and paper is too slow. There isn't a programmer alive whose brain (outside of a terrible accident) isn't the equivalent of the latest generation CPU overclocked to dangerous levels. Other people just see you sitting in your chair, lightly pampered, with a comfortable salary and / or stock options (back in the day), speaking in gibberish and getting awfully excited about things that 1.) they don't understand, 2.) they do not care about, and 3.) are not POPULAR. Popular amongst programmers, yes, but popular amongst the populace, I think not (unless you've styled yourself as a h@x0r). As a programmer, you don't even get real vacations; it's almost impossible to leave your work at work -> it's all in your head, and your mind will keep trying to solve that one annoying problem even on a beach filled with a plethora of naked women and copious amounts of alcohol / weed / whatever. Kind of like Watchmen, with Dr. Manhattan -> you can be physically there with your girlfriend, but mentally in another universe. Most of the time without trying (not because you're bored, but because you're watching a movie and she has her back to you; your brain just schedule stuff into every free time slot it can acquire).
I'm going to use a religious comparison here, and say that people want from programmers the same thing they want from their gods -> they want a show. If the Almighty were to take a stroll amongst the people today, they'd be peppering him with requests for parlor tricks (make water into wine, walk on water, break out the 12 plagues or whatever); the same currently applies to programmers -> the people want a GUI that sings and dances, that has little bouncing icons and transition effects, dancing babies and farting pigs; they do not care about anything else. Bread and circuses.
Yeah, I've decided the search engine will not make use of any javascript. It will offer useful search results, and that will be all. No spelling auto-correct either. Just 100% ad-free, useful, non-natural language search results. I might offer a checkbox to allow for spelling variations...maybe.
It will look for webpages containing all your search terms, by default. And it will only locate phrases / strings if they are clearly placed within quotes.
"I'm a man of the internet, I'm into discipline. Got a router in my hand, and a beard (some stubble) on my chin. But if I finish my all work, and you want to rewind, then for a while we can pretend it's 1999."
Ah, the power of double-posting (thought the original post didn't go through, rewrote a revised one). Anyone else having trouble reaching with/.'s servers?
I am half tempted to call it "Google Classic," so I can make believe that they gave their users a choice.
See, it probably won't be an improvement over the older Google (the one we remember from years ago). It'll just be a restoration of original level of service.
Does Amazon have a physical presence in state (Indiana)? A warehouse, perhaps? If not, why are they collecting sales tax from in-state citizens on behalf of Indiana? Isn't the actual infrastructure being used, that of the roads, bridges, and so forth, being paid for out of the shipping costs from the various shipping companies, who have an actual physical presence in state, and are actually using said infrastructure?
By virtue of taxing (effectively, functionally) an out of state company for infrastructure that it is not using, Indiana is favoring in-state competition. One argument, often repeated, is that the lower cost of not having a physical infrastructure in state is 'unfair' to competitors. I would counter that the spatial locality of the competitors with an in-state presence more than outweighs the cost advantage allowed by a company operating from out of state. It bothers me greatly that Indiana is introducing, for lack of a better phrase, a 'tariff system' inside the Union; now, I am not as up to date as others with the speed and change of politics, but I am fairly certain that that erstwhile commerce clause in an often cited document might forbid this kind of behavior.
How much longer must we bow to these idiot overlords (whose brethren nationwide continue to perpetuate the widespread belief that they have never attended an accounting class, let alone seen the inside of one, nor do they keep the company of anyone who has attended an accounting class, nor do they keep the company of anyone who has seen the inside of an accounting class), and their omnipresent sycophants (who will put forth endless arguments about 'fairness of taxing' of which two things might be noted: 1.) that 'fairness' is redefined on a case by case basis, and 2.) they will always be arguing for someone else's taxes to be increased, never decreased)? I am *this* (presses index finger to thumb) close to paying these sycophants to have a backbone, if only to see what might happen.
As for Amazon itself, the introduction of more bureaucracy into its inner workings should only decrease its competitiveness, decrease its earnings, increase the pain and sufferings of the programmers, lawyers, and business people alike as they are forced to spend bountiful amounts of time and good money to implement and maintain a system of questionable utility. Again, some will argue that "it takes but the wave of a magic wand" to devise and implement such a system, but as any programmer worth his or her salt will calmly explain, code does not write itself, and increasing complexity is rarely seen as a 'good thing.' From the lawyer's standpoint, yes, they are accruing billable hours, but they are also costing their client money for little to no benefit, which is not allow for a healthy relationship between company and firm. And finally, from a business perspective, they are going to lose customers over this change, profits will decrease, and the company may be faced with the unsavory task of having to collect sales tax for everyone else (this change creates a precedent that others will soon exploit).
Does Amazon have any warehouses in state? Aren't the taxes for sending and receiving goods already being handled in the shipping price? UPS, Fedex, and DHL are the ones actually using the existing infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.).
There is no logical reason for Amazon collecting sales tax on behalf of these people. It drives the price for goods up, making Amazon less competitive with other firms (who have the in-state advantage of a physical presence near the customer), and allows for a beach-head for increasing levels of bureaucracy in an otherwise healthy company.
*Puts on funny hat* But of course, we need to continue to bow to our idiot overlords (whose brethren nationwide perpetuate a widespread belief that they have never sat through an accounting class nor know what one might look like, nor have a friend who has sat through an accounting class nor do they have a friend who might know what an accounting class looks like) and their omnipresent sycophants ("Dude, we need to collect the taxes, you know, to keep things 'fair'" -> I, like most people capable of basic reasoning and mathematical understanding, realize that the word 'fair' tends to be redefined on a case by case basis). I'm *this* (presses index finger to thumb) close to paying these people to have a backbone.
Thank you. The party of purple has been a continual road block to discussion about basically any issue I might actually care about. They've become so nuanced about dividing people over minor issues, I feel I am constantly reliving that SNL skit where people are fighting over whether to have a strawberry or orange sorbet. The sad part is, the issues that they should be lampooning each other over, they are in total agreement on!
Or Kodak could focus on building a camera that takes 3D photos.
It's the next big thing in television (which, arguably, is taking it's time to penetrate, but that may have more to do with consumers having recently upgraded to larger sets, and not willing to ditch them immediately for a 3D technology that is still being worked on), why not photography?
At the very least, it would give them the technological edge for a few years, assuming they are first to market (for consumers, professionals, whatever), which assuming their executive staff isn't completely inept, would be a good thing, financially speaking.
Well, there's a bit of a reason for that, in so far I can determine.
The (Evangelical) Christians have an odd thing for the Jews since they are "the Lord's people." It's actually kind of odd: when I grew up, the official message was that "the Jews {read: all of them} killed Jesus" -> thus making general anti-antisemitism an okay thing, because, you know, they killed Jesus. And that they remained 'bad' people because they still wouldn't accept Jesus. That Jesus was, according to their very own guidebook, a Jew himself was somehow lost in the translation. Or that the Romans were the ones who were involved in his execution. Or that on a good day, it was a handle of people, not an entire religion / race.
Now it's the "we need to protect the Lord's people, so he will smile on all us gentiles when he returns with candy, white robes, and rainbows." So, protecting Israel a.k.a. blindly agreeing with their politics and trying to off anyone who disagrees with them, is seen as part of this sacred duty. It's like some form of a perverted, one-sided romance. Seriously, these people would act as human shields for a Jew, any Jew, in the event of a shooting; that's not a joke. And while a (non-Jew) converting to Christianity is seen as good, there's an odd-look they get when converting a Jew. Something about that look has made me pause.
As for the Atheists, they probably don't suffer from this particular problem, and probably recognize a one-sided, unreasonable action in progress. And King Hussein's speech to the American people is an interesting read.
From my standpoint, as a scientist, you have a group of people in a region offing one another for the sake of their belief system; belief systems that, having read a little from both, appear to reject the idea of harming one another as part of their basic tenets (exceptions have been made) -> the Muslims have their "people of the book" and the Jews have their commandment "so show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt." Not that both groups aren't planning to off each other at some point in the future ("during the end of the world"), a time which, if we ever reach it, I plan to spend getting sloshed in a bar somewhere (and activating a thumb-sized device, HHGTTG style). Where was I? Oh yes, and the genetic information from the region indicates that despite the different religions, the people occupying it are generally related to one another -> they're offing their third-cousins or whatever it works out to, over some land. Mind you, family members have poisoned one another over less throughout history, so I guess this is about par for the course.
Not an aviation engineer (I am a scientist), but I have studied some aviation.;-)
And, just for future reference, if you are going to troll someone, at least get your grammar / spelling correct: "something to day?" -> "something to say?"
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, it is getting about that level of crazy over at reddit. And since it's an election year, r/politics is bleeding into every subreddit it can find. I can't unsubscribe from the affected subreddits fast enough.
I plan to check back in sometime after the election. I hate to say it, but I am temporarily finding /.'s group-think more enticing than reddit's hive-mind.
Nonsense. Many of our (US) diplomats are making sure your country suffers with ours. Check out what we're currently doing to Spain for more information.
I'll look into it. ^_^
Yes, they typically do. It usually starts and ends with, "You know what, I think I will program this next application, I think I'll use C / C++ / PHP / MySQL." ;-)
They learn about buffer overflows the first time they make getline / cin / (it's been a while) choke or die on some input, they learn all about SQL injection attacks when one of their webpages forgets to escape hyphens before running a query, and they learn the value of username / password security the first time they accidentally leave their username / password embedded in some code they're editing in a terminal / SSH session on their laptop, in a public place, when they run to use the bathroom. That plus many of the things that make the compiler throw warnings / errors covers 50% of the security concerns a programmer will run into.
As for security, I said it's not cost-effective to chase down "every last security issue"; it's not, as no matter which OS you might be using, there is a library it's linking to that somewhere will cause a bug which will cause your program to collapse / grant elevated security privileges. If you believe you are running an OS that cannot be cracked / that is secure, feel free to post your IP address to some of the more interesting forums on the internet; with a minimal install, it might take them a week or so to crack; with a full install, and a fair number of normal services running, it might take several minutes.
Sony, in this case, didn't just "not track down every last issue." It didn't track down / patch any of them, preferring security through obscurity (and firing their security team a week before everything collapsed, for good measure). And they are still in business...
So, and this is my only question here, were you still wearing your watch after explaining this to your friend? ^_^
R&D is typically the life-blood of a non-'mature' company; 'mature' here meaning a company that has decided that it has completely captured a market, driven out all competitors, and made entry / exit into this market almost impossible. Whether or not this is actually true is a subject of some debate; however, we are getting off topic.
A typical (non-fly-by-night) company has its foundations set in R&D -> the founder(s) of the company came up with a new product, a new design, a new business process, or a new service that proved agreeable with the populace. Even in mature companies, successful spin-offs typically harbor some new technology that enables them to stay afloat long enough to prosper. Hacking away at R&D is the equivalent of destroying the company's future. They're the ones who are making the impossible happen, getting ready for the next product 12 years into the future; they're not the ones who employ 'gimmicks' to make present day sales happen.
Our society, at least a portion of the higher echelons, do value expertise. However, our society (the US, at least) also values becoming wealthy before you hit the age of 30. That's an admirable goal. Still, the paths taken, by some people have proven detrimental over the long term.
I am a capitalist; not a particularly good one, mind you, by anyone's mark or measure; I've received aid from others, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not (there are two ways to read that, and both are correct); I've given aid to others, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not; I've screwed up on more than a few occasions, and I could spend an eternity playing the blame game of which mistake was mine or possibly someone else's; I'm not sure I'd win; I am not, however, what might be termed a 'crony' capitalist. F*cking over other people, and putting myself ahead in the process, has never been, nor ever will be, a part of my game plan. Functionally, though, there may have been non-intentional violations of that rule. And while making myself wealthy has some great appeal (if only so I can pursue other things at leisure), it would not do me well to see my company's pension fund destroyed to make that a reality. Perhaps in this banal fantasy of mine, I think I might somehow achieve one while avoiding the other.
The point of my little distraction is that these people are violating certain rules that are not to any benefit, not even to their own (over the long run). For a company (not necessarily a corporation, in much the same way a customer is not necessarily a consumer) to thrive, it must continually be laying the brickwork for the path it will tread on tomorrow. In response to your comment, I'd recommend leaving to create your own company. The beginning will be rough, as they all are, but your company will remain afloat while theirs sinks; the taste of victory here will remain sweet.
We've done this before -> the best h@x0r$ aren't the people beating their chests, sporting security credentials, hanging out at DefCom, taking down websites, or playing '5 minutes in heaven' with the 3-letter agency people. And they typically aren't the people who have an entire bookshelf devoted to books that actually mention hacking / cracking in the title. The dangerous people are the ones who have the dog-eared copy of Fundamentals of UNIX Programming sitting on their desk; they aren't using the hack of the week, or someone else's 0-day to compromise a system -> they know how the system actually works, all of its strengths and weaknesses. It's like the difference between some poor slob who bought a gun and keeps it in the front part of his jeans, and a trained Marine with his trusty hunting rifle.
Programmers themselves can be scored in several different categories, and it often takes a weird grouping off them to pull off anything outstanding. Knowledge of computing, theory of computing, theory of application, pragmatic programming, knowledge of the programming language / linguistics, mathematics, advanced problem solving, advanced research, imaginary problem solving, and lore of computing. I may have missed a few. Good luck getting all 10s in every category.
Security, by the way, is taught; it's simply not emphasized to the exclusion of other subjects. Most CS students know where the security holes, the major ones, can occur when it comes to programming. However, it's simply not cost-effective to chase down every last security issue (it could take years to release a product).
We will drive under that bridge when we come to it, as Ted Kennedy might say.
For the first 30,000 websites (I'm going to maintain a white-list), I plan to index the more important columns in the database. After that point, assuming I still find the project worthwhile, I'll devise something new that won't run afoul of any Google patents. Again, this project falls under a personal project that will make my life easier, not my day job. Why? Because Google's search results, as of late, are so disastrous for the average programmer that I prefer getting up from my desk, and wandering over to my personal library (old school), rather trying to mentally parse the three hundred or so blogs / commerce site results that have no relevance to my lifestyle.
Which reminds me. The reason for the white list is to blockade commerce sites / blogs / news sites / SEOs. The only people who will be able to submit sites to be crawled will be those who put up 2 BTCs into an escrow account; when you submit a site which violates these terms, I get paid. I also get to run a SQL DELETE query which is hot-linked to your user id, which deletes all your submissions. While I may be a banana dictator (functionally speaking, with regards to this index), I think programmers will enjoy the relevant and hassle-free results. Server upkeep with be supported through BitCoin donations, with the search engine automatically shutting off if / when it exhausts its supply, and turning back on again when its supply is replenished. Since the target market, so to speak, also happens to coincide somewhat with people with higher end video cards, it should be a somewhat palatable experience. A dozen BitCoins might run the server for several months.
He doesn't know that. Nor does his boss.
Granted, there are "special" people in both groups, but hanging out with the sales / marketing people is kind of like hanging out with the local IRS tax collector or local DA. Except the IRS tax collector / DA might be preferable (this is from an avowed libertarian, mind you). At least the shark has a law degree and the taxman probably is a CPA; psychopathy and pathological lying is, at worst, a learned trait for them. With sales / marketing...well, they didn't have to spend to attend a finishing school or study for an exam to get that good. They were born naturally that way. They're the only people on this earth that, when I am in their presence, I feel the subconscious need to make sure I am still wearing my watch. ^_^
So help a salesman from a local company become the new CIO (seriously, rewrite his resume for him, checking for spelling / grammatical errors, and cut your friends in on it, so they will vet him properly -> "Dude, this man wrote UNIX from scratch; the company needs him and his leadership!"), short the company stock (borrow against everything you own, and when you run out of collateral, see if you can't short naked), and laugh as the company burns down while you become an instant millionaire (inform your friends that snitches get stitches, and be sure to fax your new CIO's latest expenditure reports to the tabloids).
If asked, at some later point, why you did it, explain that you were simply employing the same tactics they used, only more effectively. Explain that while the new CIO may not have been the best fit (v 1.0), he had told you that he was willing to take some night courses to catch up on the things he needed to know (v 1.1 - a patch issued), and that after he had done this, he'd be perfect for the job. When they press about you making out like a king while others got burnt / the company collapses, explain to them that it's exactly the relationship salesmen and programmers have had for years -> one profits obscenely, the other makes good on third-party promises (and gets fired if they fail to meet those promises). Finalize things by handing the former sales staff individualized bad performance reviews, indicating that it was their fault the company went under.
Programmers do what they do because they like getting paid to program -> they like programming, and they like getting paid. Find me a programmer that does not like getting paid, and find me a programmer that does not love writing code. They do not exist (well, except for the burnt out ones).
Salesmen do what they do because they like getting paid to promote company products and close financial transactions -> they like getting paid, and they enjoy selling stuff to people. I am not aware of any salesmen who do not like getting paid, nor of any who do not trumpet their company's products nor attempt to close a deal whenever possible. Find me one that lacks these attributes, I do not believe they exist (perhaps someone fresh out of school?).
The programmer's skill-set is a lot more marketable than the salesman's skill-set. Colleges put out tens (hundreds?) of thousands of salesmen every year, while programmers are of a lesser quantity. A programmer's attributes includes the ability to problem solve, perform complex mathematical calculations, write reusable and legible code, meet requirements from people who do not understand computers or their inner workings, and perform extensive research. A salesman's attributes include the ability to problem solve, charm the customer into submission, lie in ways that would make the Devil blush, draw up requirements for the magical gnomes / elves / pixies (programmers) to follow, and an alcohol tolerance that is higher than the victim (person with purchasing authority from the interested company) that enables them to "guide" the intoxicated's good hand into gripping the pen and signing the purchase order (that the salesman just so happens to have typed up, in his front shirt pocket) all while the emergency personnel are trying desperately to administer CPR.
There's a shortage of people with the former skill-set, not so much with the latter. One would think that wages would reflect that, but one would be wrong.
Assuming you're dealing with a non-programmer boss or board member, I'd be more worried about them shipping the code-base off to someone in India in an effort to save face (never-mind the fact that it's the companies latest flagship product, and the competition will have a copy of it before sunset). The board-member could just jump ship, and take the code with him, to start a new company (thanks for the lift, guys). Not like that doesn't happen all the time.
Letting your non-programmer boss / board member have unrestricted access to the code should rank up there with leaving them alone on a computer that has access to the financial's database. I'm not saying they won't twist your arm to get what they want, I'm just saying it does not bode well for the company.
Lol. In this economy, they think you can't find another job, so they can let it all hang out.
Depends on the boss, but reality is if you don't have a decent boss (one you can respect for his technical prowess, sharp thinking, and managerial capabilities), it's time to jump ship. Trying to get your boss fired will in all likelihood result in two things: 1.) you burning a bridge and 2.) you getting fired instead.
The current mindset amongst the business people is that programmers are a dime a dozen -> one is interchangeable for another, and that someone in a third world country can do your job for less (so they imagine that they have you up against a wall). Inform them of the difference by quitting, and let the new guy try to find his way through your code (carefully documented or otherwise, any decent project will take several months for him to catch up on).
Promotions are kind of a joke for the last several years -> it's easier to get a pay raise and recognition by floating your resume than believing that being a good / helpful / quiet person will somehow advance your career.
Again, if you're dealing with a boss or a team who are simply not on the same page (and resist change), jump ship. The programmer's greatest liability is his desire to be like the Marines, to leave no man (project) behind. Once cured of this weakness, you will advance in life. It's the same as when you stop offering free technical support (to all but your closest colleagues)-> you suddenly get your free time back.
Hush. Use market discrimination, as they teach in microeconomics. If your market is filled with people who might have trouble locating the ON switch to their machines, use lots of pastels in your program, and spend half your time polishing the UI (yes, you need a GUI, in this instance, it's not optional). If your market is filled with people who know how to program, focus on the background stuff, and use a CLI (unless you like GUIs, at which point, go with that).
And programmers do appear lazy to people of other fields -> more than half your programming career is spent in your head, trying to solve a problem or trying to break your program. Why? Because using pencils and paper is too slow. There isn't a programmer alive whose brain (outside of a terrible accident) isn't the equivalent of the latest generation CPU overclocked to dangerous levels. Other people just see you sitting in your chair, lightly pampered, with a comfortable salary and / or stock options (back in the day), speaking in gibberish and getting awfully excited about things that 1.) they don't understand, 2.) they do not care about, and 3.) are not POPULAR. Popular amongst programmers, yes, but popular amongst the populace, I think not (unless you've styled yourself as a h@x0r). As a programmer, you don't even get real vacations; it's almost impossible to leave your work at work -> it's all in your head, and your mind will keep trying to solve that one annoying problem even on a beach filled with a plethora of naked women and copious amounts of alcohol / weed / whatever. Kind of like Watchmen, with Dr. Manhattan -> you can be physically there with your girlfriend, but mentally in another universe. Most of the time without trying (not because you're bored, but because you're watching a movie and she has her back to you; your brain just schedule stuff into every free time slot it can acquire).
I'm going to use a religious comparison here, and say that people want from programmers the same thing they want from their gods -> they want a show. If the Almighty were to take a stroll amongst the people today, they'd be peppering him with requests for parlor tricks (make water into wine, walk on water, break out the 12 plagues or whatever); the same currently applies to programmers -> the people want a GUI that sings and dances, that has little bouncing icons and transition effects, dancing babies and farting pigs; they do not care about anything else. Bread and circuses.
Yeah, I've decided the search engine will not make use of any javascript. It will offer useful search results, and that will be all. No spelling auto-correct either. Just 100% ad-free, useful, non-natural language search results. I might offer a checkbox to allow for spelling variations...maybe.
It will look for webpages containing all your search terms, by default. And it will only locate phrases / strings if they are clearly placed within quotes.
"I'm a man of the internet, I'm into discipline. Got a router in my hand, and a beard (some stubble) on my chin. But if I finish my all work, and you want to rewind, then for a while we can pretend it's 1999."
Ah, the power of double-posting (thought the original post didn't go through, rewrote a revised one). Anyone else having trouble reaching with /.'s servers?
Sadly, I am working on it.
I am half tempted to call it "Google Classic," so I can make believe that they gave their users a choice.
See, it probably won't be an improvement over the older Google (the one we remember from years ago). It'll just be a restoration of original level of service.
Well, for the first incarnation, at least.
Does Amazon have a physical presence in state (Indiana)? A warehouse, perhaps? If not, why are they collecting sales tax from in-state citizens on behalf of Indiana? Isn't the actual infrastructure being used, that of the roads, bridges, and so forth, being paid for out of the shipping costs from the various shipping companies, who have an actual physical presence in state, and are actually using said infrastructure?
By virtue of taxing (effectively, functionally) an out of state company for infrastructure that it is not using, Indiana is favoring in-state competition. One argument, often repeated, is that the lower cost of not having a physical infrastructure in state is 'unfair' to competitors. I would counter that the spatial locality of the competitors with an in-state presence more than outweighs the cost advantage allowed by a company operating from out of state. It bothers me greatly that Indiana is introducing, for lack of a better phrase, a 'tariff system' inside the Union; now, I am not as up to date as others with the speed and change of politics, but I am fairly certain that that erstwhile commerce clause in an often cited document might forbid this kind of behavior.
How much longer must we bow to these idiot overlords (whose brethren nationwide continue to perpetuate the widespread belief that they have never attended an accounting class, let alone seen the inside of one, nor do they keep the company of anyone who has attended an accounting class, nor do they keep the company of anyone who has seen the inside of an accounting class), and their omnipresent sycophants (who will put forth endless arguments about 'fairness of taxing' of which two things might be noted: 1.) that 'fairness' is redefined on a case by case basis, and 2.) they will always be arguing for someone else's taxes to be increased, never decreased)? I am *this* (presses index finger to thumb) close to paying these sycophants to have a backbone, if only to see what might happen.
As for Amazon itself, the introduction of more bureaucracy into its inner workings should only decrease its competitiveness, decrease its earnings, increase the pain and sufferings of the programmers, lawyers, and business people alike as they are forced to spend bountiful amounts of time and good money to implement and maintain a system of questionable utility. Again, some will argue that "it takes but the wave of a magic wand" to devise and implement such a system, but as any programmer worth his or her salt will calmly explain, code does not write itself, and increasing complexity is rarely seen as a 'good thing.' From the lawyer's standpoint, yes, they are accruing billable hours, but they are also costing their client money for little to no benefit, which is not allow for a healthy relationship between company and firm. And finally, from a business perspective, they are going to lose customers over this change, profits will decrease, and the company may be faced with the unsavory task of having to collect sales tax for everyone else (this change creates a precedent that others will soon exploit).
Does Amazon have any warehouses in state? Aren't the taxes for sending and receiving goods already being handled in the shipping price? UPS, Fedex, and DHL are the ones actually using the existing infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.).
There is no logical reason for Amazon collecting sales tax on behalf of these people. It drives the price for goods up, making Amazon less competitive with other firms (who have the in-state advantage of a physical presence near the customer), and allows for a beach-head for increasing levels of bureaucracy in an otherwise healthy company.
*Puts on funny hat* But of course, we need to continue to bow to our idiot overlords (whose brethren nationwide perpetuate a widespread belief that they have never sat through an accounting class nor know what one might look like, nor have a friend who has sat through an accounting class nor do they have a friend who might know what an accounting class looks like) and their omnipresent sycophants ("Dude, we need to collect the taxes, you know, to keep things 'fair'" -> I, like most people capable of basic reasoning and mathematical understanding, realize that the word 'fair' tends to be redefined on a case by case basis). I'm *this* (presses index finger to thumb) close to paying these people to have a backbone.
Thank you. The party of purple has been a continual road block to discussion about basically any issue I might actually care about. They've become so nuanced about dividing people over minor issues, I feel I am constantly reliving that SNL skit where people are fighting over whether to have a strawberry or orange sorbet. The sad part is, the issues that they should be lampooning each other over, they are in total agreement on!
Or Kodak could focus on building a camera that takes 3D photos.
It's the next big thing in television (which, arguably, is taking it's time to penetrate, but that may have more to do with consumers having recently upgraded to larger sets, and not willing to ditch them immediately for a 3D technology that is still being worked on), why not photography?
At the very least, it would give them the technological edge for a few years, assuming they are first to market (for consumers, professionals, whatever), which assuming their executive staff isn't completely inept, would be a good thing, financially speaking.
Well, there's a bit of a reason for that, in so far I can determine.
The (Evangelical) Christians have an odd thing for the Jews since they are "the Lord's people." It's actually kind of odd: when I grew up, the official message was that "the Jews {read: all of them} killed Jesus" -> thus making general anti-antisemitism an okay thing, because, you know, they killed Jesus. And that they remained 'bad' people because they still wouldn't accept Jesus. That Jesus was, according to their very own guidebook, a Jew himself was somehow lost in the translation. Or that the Romans were the ones who were involved in his execution. Or that on a good day, it was a handle of people, not an entire religion / race.
Now it's the "we need to protect the Lord's people, so he will smile on all us gentiles when he returns with candy, white robes, and rainbows." So, protecting Israel a.k.a. blindly agreeing with their politics and trying to off anyone who disagrees with them, is seen as part of this sacred duty. It's like some form of a perverted, one-sided romance. Seriously, these people would act as human shields for a Jew, any Jew, in the event of a shooting; that's not a joke. And while a (non-Jew) converting to Christianity is seen as good, there's an odd-look they get when converting a Jew. Something about that look has made me pause.
As for the Atheists, they probably don't suffer from this particular problem, and probably recognize a one-sided, unreasonable action in progress. And King Hussein's speech to the American people is an interesting read.
From my standpoint, as a scientist, you have a group of people in a region offing one another for the sake of their belief system; belief systems that, having read a little from both, appear to reject the idea of harming one another as part of their basic tenets (exceptions have been made) -> the Muslims have their "people of the book" and the Jews have their commandment "so show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt." Not that both groups aren't planning to off each other at some point in the future ("during the end of the world"), a time which, if we ever reach it, I plan to spend getting sloshed in a bar somewhere (and activating a thumb-sized device, HHGTTG style). Where was I? Oh yes, and the genetic information from the region indicates that despite the different religions, the people occupying it are generally related to one another -> they're offing their third-cousins or whatever it works out to, over some land. Mind you, family members have poisoned one another over less throughout history, so I guess this is about par for the course.
Not an aviation engineer (I am a scientist), but I have studied some aviation. ;-)
And, just for future reference, if you are going to troll someone, at least get your grammar / spelling correct: "something to day?" -> "something to say?"
Thank you for an intelligent reply.