I have had Comcast for over a year now and their service levels are not consistent across their service areas.
I've been hearing about how they provide 128 k/bs up but, in my area, they cap it at 15k/bs!!! Their rationale is that, since they don't allow servers on their network, you shouldn't need the upstream. Never mind the fact that uploading to an FTP server is always only for evil purposes, but you have to wonder if they've ever sent an attachment with their email.
Since we're too far from a central station to get DSL, we're left with no other options.
Interesting. In the who-knows-how-many-years that I have been posting on Slashdot, both under this handle and others, I have never been modded as a Troll. Which makes me wonder as to whether the critic involved here understands just what one is.
If, perchance, he was upset/offended/confused by the penis remark, perhaps he might find some enlightenment by taking a look at Japanese popular culture, which does, in fact, hold a fascination with penis size.
At the very least, he should not be too hasty to hit that moderate button without first giving some consideration to what he is critiquing and whether it is, in fact, offensive and if it is, indeed, an attempt to solicit an argument.
Incidentally, for the edification of our friend, the humourless critic, this is not a troll.
Telling you to lighten up and get your head out of your ass would be a troll.
See the difference?
The day seems such a waste when we can't learn something new. How was yours?
I distinctly recall reading an interview (or maybe it was Adams' web site) immediately following his death and this topic was raised. Adams did not want this published. In fact, he was not a big fan of the series to begin with nor did he enjoy being a writer. His noteriety as a perfectionist is actually misplaced. More accurately, he was a severe procrastinator.
Neil Gaiman (yes, that one) wrote a tome on the Guide wherein he lovingly details Adams' experience with writing the book, as well as the radio scripts.
He had written scraps of ideas for the sixth book but had little desire to complete it.
I say let the man rest in peace and don't rob his grave.
MS is not restricted from distributing new versions of Java with their browser. They are simply not allowed to distribute their own customized version of Java, thereby breaking compatibility with the authorized (aka standard) versions.
It is Microsoft's own choice, in an attempt to thwart Java's acceptance, to not distribute Java. It has nothing to do with being locked into an older version.
The Race is On...and We'll All Lose....
on
Dan Gillmor on WinXP
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
So, now MS is being put into a position where it will have to beat a possible injunction by pushing XP out the door even faster. Never mind all of the anti-competitive reasons, my bigger concern is the open access to the raw TCP/IP stack, as discussed by Robert Cringely.
Now, not only are these machines going to have an easily compromised stack, they are going to be even more buggy and vulnerable. The US most likely would not act fast enough to prevent this.
IMHO, anti-competitive reasons will not prevent the release of XP. However, preventing its release on the grounds that it is of danger to the consumer sounds a lot more feasible.
>> one of the reasons that primates other than humans didn't speak is that something to do with their larynxes weren't developed correctly for speech
.net won't be released at the same time as XP, so they are at the same disadvantage with respect to pre-installation. And you can bet that the download for a.net plugin will be more than the JRE plugin.
Most people *will* accept the download, however sites that use Applets need to be persuaded to utilize the Java plug-in, rather than relying on the browser's default implementation. Users are accustomed to downloading plugins (see Shockwave, CometCursor, and other such garbage). Of course, web page developers will have to be persuaded to use the object/embed tags, rather than the applet tag. This will be an uphill battle as IE requires the use of the Object tag, Netscape requires Embed, and good luck on getting users to remember the proper use of both.
Commercial applications (non-applets) written in Java are distributed with a self-installing JVM. As more and more applications are developed using Java, the pre-installation of a JVM will become less of an issue. I doubt that many people are going to distribute their applications for public consumption as a single JAR file. The average user (hell, MOST users) don't know how to invoke them.
Most importantly, the viability of Java as a platform does not rest on whether it is adopted by the home consumer (and that is who we are talking about here). It does not rest of whether it is used in the typical web page. Java's viability and future rests on the server-side, not the client-side. MS's attempt to preclude Java from the default client will have ZERO effect on Java.
...with Win2k. I use it for my dual boot Win2k/98/Linux (suse) machine. No worries.
Re:Unions are *bad* for Consultants
on
Dial U for Union
·
· Score: 1
The point is that he made a decision - a decision to persue liesure instead of profession. Do I hold that decision against him, of course not. Likewise, I do not expect him to hold me in comtempt because I have excelled farther. And yes, I realize that I am speaking in generalities and stereotypes, but so was he.
That I spend my time doing topics that also relate to my job does not make me a morally superior person. It does, however, make me extraordinarily fortunate that I have found a profession that I actually enjoy, nay, love to be a part of. But do not worry, dear friend, I have a life, hobbies, interests, and fancies that exist outside the realm of technology and the like.
Being a consultant requires a lot more work than being an employee. Many consultants must manage their own company, employees, and maintain multiple clients simultaneously, in addition to whatever
project their current client has them working on.
Consultants tend to have a greater degree of specialization than employees, whose skills tend to be more generalized. When utilized properly, a consultant is brought in for that specific phase of a project that requires their services. When they are no longer needed, they are released. Employees have more stability--at the expense of flexibility.
Too many IT professionals are ignorant of what a consultant really is. Their ignorance leads to bigotry. This problem is prevelant in many companies around the world, just as it is with the above poster.
Do I feel that my being a consultant makes me more deserving of opportunites? Aboslutely not. My experience, abilities, successes, efforts, dedication, and marketing make me more deserving.
Does my being a consultant make the employee less deserving of opportunties. Of course not. However, if the employee were capable of fulfilling the requirements of the opportunity, their company would not be enlisting the services of a consultant. Companies turn to consultants because they either lack the ability or the resources within their organization.
But let's be honest with each other, shall we? The most common accusation that I hear is that consultants make more money than employees--that's the real issue, isn't it? Most employees have absolutely no idea what their realized cost to a company is. They assume that it's merely the cost of their salary. They forget that a company has to pay social security (8.5% in the US), payroll taxes (in addition to those that come out of the employees gross pay), insurance and other benefits, facilities (phone, lights, furniture), training, and ancillary services such as receptionists, human resources, medical staff (most large companies maintain one). Add on to this other perks that might be provided such as subsidized lunches, coffee, water, gyms, child care (all of which, by the way, are provided by a Johnson & Johnson, Merck, AT&T, and others), and the cost of an employee can end up being *double* their salary.
But, yes, at the end of it all, a consultant can still make more money. Why? Perhaps because the consultant has a better skill set, more experience, higher ambition, more drive. Or maybe they're just better at negotiating their fees than employees are at working out their salary rates.
Or maybe it's that the perception of consultants is that they bring a level of value deserving of those rates. Maybe it's just supply and demand. Maybe the system is just screwed up.
Maybe it's just the simplest, oldest business rule that has ever existed: "In business you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate."
Mostly what I resent, by both his statements and your accusation of trolling and implying that I feel superior, is this notion of what is deserved. Quite frankly, I don't care what you feel you deserve. If you want something, you go out and get it, work for it, fight for it. I feel disdain for people who feel that they deserve something without earning it. That they should be handed opportunities, rather than having to find them for themselves. That the world owes them, without being expected to provide anything in return.
There's a term for people like that: they're called "looters."
Looters feel that the world should take care of them--because it always has. Looters feel that they shouldn't have to work hard--because there have always been others to work hard for them. Looters believe that others should produce, while they should take. Looters despise those who have made opportunities for themselves, who have achieved success and wealth and the respect of others. Looters feel that they are "owed", and should not have to "earn."
I've chosen to not be a looter. I've chosen to be a Producer.
I have decided that I will make opportunities, not demand them. That I will earn, not expect. That I will work for everything that I have achieved, rather than obtain a handout. If I fail at that which I attempt, at least I will know that I tried.
But don't make the foolish mistake of expecting me to be remorseful and apologetic for the things that I have achieved, for my success, or for whatever it might be that I have and that you do not.
And if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm not talking about anything even remotely having to do with money. Money is a by-product of success and effort. It is not the result. Happiness, pride, self-satisfaction, and fulfillment are the results. It just so happens that those are traits that people are willing to pay for.
I find it interesting that someone earlier mention ed Kurt Vonnegut's short-story "Harrison Bergeron." I think an even better example would be Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." I've already posted the link above--you can put in the effort to find it yourself.
You may not like my opinion about Looters. I don't care--your opinion means naught to me. Read "Atlas Shrugged", take a look at the people around you, above you, below you, and those you consider your peers.
Then decide who you want to be for the rest of your life.
A producer.
Or a looter.
Re:Unions are *bad* for Consultants
on
Dial U for Union
·
· Score: 1
I've spent the majority of my life working to hone my craft. While you're sitting on your arse watching American's Funniest Home Videos, I'm reading up on the latest implementation strategies for distributed systems. While you're hanging out with your buddies throwing back another can of Old Milwaukee, I'm busy doing research for my next book or magazine article. I spend an average of 2-3 months each year on sabbatical. You vacation in Disney World.
I work hard and make a lot of sacrifices to be a, what phrase did you use to denigrate my profession?, a "black belt, gunslinger, or whatever the current cute buzzword of the day is." Are you trying to summon up the word "guru", perhaps?
It's my abilities, my experience, my presentation, that get's me the cool projects that you lament are taken away from you, not being spoon-fed as you seem to expect. "I deserve this cool project. It's my right that I should get this great assignment. The world owes me the more interesting and challenging opportunities despite my lack of effort to persue them on my own, to raise my abilities and core competencies, to work for that which I earn." By who's standards, I ask.
The fact of the matter is, and what pisses you off, is that people like me have more ambition, higher goals, greater dedication, perhaps even more capacity to excel at our chosen profession. It's not a matter of being a consultant -- I've seen plenty of consultants who aspire for the same level of mediocrity that you have so successfully achieved. It's not excluding employees, as some of the most talented people that I have had the good fortune to work with have been employees of my clients.
It's simply that you're upset that the professional world is passing you by, that you can't keep up, and can't bring it upon yourself to place blame where it belongs. If you spent more time trying and less time crying, you wouldn't be so bitter.
My apologies to the rest of the/. community. But trolls like this are a common occurance in the consulting industry and I'm in no mood to deal with ill-informed prujudices such as this. My only true regret is that this comment will probably never be read by laslo2, thereby depriving his poor undeserving soul of the wake-up call it so obviously needs.
Unions are *bad* for Consultants
on
Dial U for Union
·
· Score: 2
I am an independent IT consultant and I will do everything I can and spend everything I have to in order to ensure that unions don't make it into IT.
The reason is very simple. Unions and their employees don't like non-union competition. If a company unionizes, they will not hire consultants. They won't be able to for fear of their union employees striking/walking out/whatever you want to call it.
For those companies that do hire consultants, the unionized workers will be hostile towards the consultants. This is due to the "Remember the Union Label" team-based, all-else-is-heresy mentality that goes along with unions. I've worked in them (before I went into IT), so I know.
Here's another problem with unions--they tend to be specialized. No sooner after the IT union is formed, will we see the DBA union, the UI Interface Union, the Tech Writer's Union... You think it's hard enough to get things done now? You can forget it with several different factions.
And don't even think of prototyping your application against MySql or Access or some other stand-alone database. You're in the Application Developer's Union, and the database boys are gonna get pissed.
That's not an unreasonable scenario--just ask anyone who works in construction or similar industry where multiple unions all work on the same project. It's a mess, it slows development/work down, and it needlessly drives up costs.
Oracle, Inc. (link to skewed performance analysis from MS-sponsored benchmarking lab) is pleased to announce the release of its new database(link to SqlServer product page), Oracle(link to MS FUD page explaining why Oracle is the database choice of anti-what-ever-country-you-happen-to-be-reading-th is-in) 10. After investing 100 million (link to MS stock valuation page) dollars in research, this new version will literally suck (link to www.HouseOfPorn.com) down data at rates(link to MSN Money page) surpassing (link to dictionary.msn.com) those of other leading systems(link to Windows XP 2nd-week-in-October edition). Even Microsoft(link to MS home page) fans(link to www.WorldwideBlindDeafAndDumbSociety) will find(link to MSN's search page) something to love(link to MSN-sponsored dating advice page). Oracle(link to picture of WWII internment camps) will release(link to MS-partner www.UrologyDisorders.com) its new version(link to dictionary.msn.com?lookup="aversion") in August 2001(link to press release notice at MS's site that Windows 2000 has been delayed yet again).
Oooh! Here's another one. The next time that you're shopping at FatBrain, and go to click on the checkout link
Yeah, I can't see anything wrong with this either.
The body isn't even cold yet, and they've already begun to rumage through his clothes. It was an express wish that his unfinished works would not be published. I remember reading about it somewhere on his website.
I for one will not support this disrespectfulness, and will not purchase any posthumous releases.
Tools of the industry, wake up and realize that the RIAA is simply trying to solicit free labor to help bulletproof their encryption scheme.
More importantly, consider this. You know that cool new Nomad Jukebox from Creative Labs? The one that has a 6GB drive in it? It supports the SDMI-format. Great, right?
No.
Last summer I found a media composite from Sony Records. For those of you who don't know, a composite basically gathers articles from several sources into a single volume, the results of which are delivered to executives. There was an interesting article from Billboard, I think it was.
It seems that the SDMI group met last year and decided on certain resolutions regarding the implementation of the SDMI scheme. Of interest is a plan on how to enfore SDMI acceptance on to those of us who decide to stick with our existing players (e.g. WinAmp, MS-MP, XMSS, etc).
The plan is this: SDMI-enabled players are distributed out to surpass their existing versions. The MP3 decoders are time-stamped to expire (aka shutdown) on a set date, after which only SDMI will be supported. Nice, eh? They actually agreed to this.
I am salivating all over myself for the Nomad Jukebox, but I am not about to drop $400-500 without knowing if, in fact, the player does not support this type of initiative *and* that Creative will not subsequently release a bios patch that would render mp3 unplayable.
I will dig up the article (if I can find it - my office is like a 10'x10' version of Beirut in Springtime) and post it here.
- Ryosen
This was originally posted by me as anonymous. I didn't have my password yet.
Slashdot Mirror
...when half of us are out of work anyway?
WMP v. 7 does this as well.
'nuff said.
Well, then permit me to say that it still sucks. =D
I have had Comcast for over a year now and their service levels are not consistent across their service areas.
I've been hearing about how they provide 128 k/bs up but, in my area, they cap it at 15k/bs!!! Their rationale is that, since they don't allow servers on their network, you shouldn't need the upstream. Never mind the fact that uploading to an FTP server is always only for evil purposes, but you have to wonder if they've ever sent an attachment with their email.
Since we're too far from a central station to get DSL, we're left with no other options.
Must be nice to be the only game in town.
Interesting. In the who-knows-how-many-years that I have been posting on Slashdot, both under this handle and others, I have never been modded as a Troll. Which makes me wonder as to whether the critic involved here understands just what one is.
If, perchance, he was upset/offended/confused by the penis remark, perhaps he might find some enlightenment by taking a look at Japanese popular culture, which does, in fact, hold a fascination with penis size.
At the very least, he should not be too hasty to hit that moderate button without first giving some consideration to what he is critiquing and whether it is, in fact, offensive and if it is, indeed, an attempt to solicit an argument.
Incidentally, for the edification of our friend, the humourless critic, this is not a troll.
Telling you to lighten up and get your head out of your ass would be a troll.
See the difference?
The day seems such a waste when we can't learn something new. How was yours?
Given their preoccupation with penis-size, can you imagine the possible results of this?
I suppose that would give a whole new meaning to the expression "Hung like a horse".
I distinctly recall reading an interview (or maybe it was Adams' web site) immediately following his death and this topic was raised. Adams did not want this published. In fact, he was not a big fan of the series to begin with nor did he enjoy being a writer. His noteriety as a perfectionist is actually misplaced. More accurately, he was a severe procrastinator.
Neil Gaiman (yes, that one) wrote a tome on the Guide wherein he lovingly details Adams' experience with writing the book, as well as the radio scripts.
He had written scraps of ideas for the sixth book but had little desire to complete it.
I say let the man rest in peace and don't rob his grave.
MS is not restricted from distributing new versions of Java with their browser. They are simply not allowed to distribute their own customized version of Java, thereby breaking compatibility with the authorized (aka standard) versions.
It is Microsoft's own choice, in an attempt to thwart Java's acceptance, to not distribute Java. It has nothing to do with being locked into an older version.
So, now MS is being put into a position where it will have to beat a possible injunction by pushing XP out the door even faster. Never mind all of the anti-competitive reasons, my bigger concern is the open access to the raw TCP/IP stack, as discussed by Robert Cringely.
Now, not only are these machines going to have an easily compromised stack, they are going to be even more buggy and vulnerable. The US most likely would not act fast enough to prevent this.
IMHO, anti-competitive reasons will not prevent the release of XP. However, preventing its release on the grounds that it is of danger to the consumer sounds a lot more feasible.
>> one of the reasons that primates other than humans didn't speak is that something to do with their larynxes weren't developed correctly for speech
Either that, or because of DMCA violations...
Ryosen
A couple of comments....
.net won't be released at the same time as XP, so they are at the same disadvantage with respect to pre-installation. And you can bet that the download for a .net plugin will be more than the JRE plugin.
.sig and I must scream.
Most people *will* accept the download, however sites that use Applets need to be persuaded to utilize the Java plug-in, rather than relying on the browser's default implementation. Users are accustomed to downloading plugins (see Shockwave, CometCursor, and other such garbage). Of course, web page developers will have to be persuaded to use the object/embed tags, rather than the applet tag. This will be an uphill battle as IE requires the use of the Object tag, Netscape requires Embed, and good luck on getting users to remember the proper use of both.
Commercial applications (non-applets) written in Java are distributed with a self-installing JVM. As more and more applications are developed using Java, the pre-installation of a JVM will become less of an issue. I doubt that many people are going to distribute their applications for public consumption as a single JAR file. The average user (hell, MOST users) don't know how to invoke them.
Most importantly, the viability of Java as a platform does not rest on whether it is adopted by the home consumer (and that is who we are talking about here). It does not rest of whether it is used in the typical web page. Java's viability and future rests on the server-side, not the client-side. MS's attempt to preclude Java from the default client will have ZERO effect on Java.
I have no
...with Win2k. I use it for my dual boot Win2k/98/Linux (suse) machine. No worries.
The point is that he made a decision - a decision to persue liesure instead of profession. Do I hold that decision against him, of course not. Likewise, I do not expect him to hold me in comtempt because I have excelled farther. And yes, I realize that I am speaking in generalities and stereotypes, but so was he.
That I spend my time doing topics that also relate to my job does not make me a morally superior person. It does, however, make me extraordinarily fortunate that I have found a profession that I actually enjoy, nay, love to be a part of. But do not worry, dear friend, I have a life, hobbies, interests, and fancies that exist outside the realm of technology and the like.
Being a consultant requires a lot more work than being an employee. Many consultants must manage their own company, employees, and maintain multiple clients simultaneously, in addition to whatever project their current client has them working on.
Consultants tend to have a greater degree of specialization than employees, whose skills tend to be more generalized. When utilized properly, a consultant is brought in for that specific phase of a project that requires their services. When they are no longer needed, they are released. Employees have more stability--at the expense of flexibility.
Too many IT professionals are ignorant of what a consultant really is. Their ignorance leads to bigotry. This problem is prevelant in many companies around the world, just as it is with the above poster.
Do I feel that my being a consultant makes me more deserving of opportunites? Aboslutely not. My experience, abilities, successes, efforts, dedication, and marketing make me more deserving.
Does my being a consultant make the employee less deserving of opportunties. Of course not. However, if the employee were capable of fulfilling the requirements of the opportunity, their company would not be enlisting the services of a consultant. Companies turn to consultants because they either lack the ability or the resources within their organization.
But let's be honest with each other, shall we? The most common accusation that I hear is that consultants make more money than employees--that's the real issue, isn't it? Most employees have absolutely no idea what their realized cost to a company is. They assume that it's merely the cost of their salary. They forget that a company has to pay social security (8.5% in the US), payroll taxes (in addition to those that come out of the employees gross pay), insurance and other benefits, facilities (phone, lights, furniture), training, and ancillary services such as receptionists, human resources, medical staff (most large companies maintain one). Add on to this other perks that might be provided such as subsidized lunches, coffee, water, gyms, child care (all of which, by the way, are provided by a Johnson & Johnson, Merck, AT&T, and others), and the cost of an employee can end up being *double* their salary.
But, yes, at the end of it all, a consultant can still make more money. Why? Perhaps because the consultant has a better skill set, more experience, higher ambition, more drive. Or maybe they're just better at negotiating their fees than employees are at working out their salary rates.
Or maybe it's that the perception of consultants is that they bring a level of value deserving of those rates. Maybe it's just supply and demand. Maybe the system is just screwed up.
Maybe it's just the simplest, oldest business rule that has ever existed: "In business you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate."
Mostly what I resent, by both his statements and your accusation of trolling and implying that I feel superior, is this notion of what is deserved. Quite frankly, I don't care what you feel you deserve. If you want something, you go out and get it, work for it, fight for it. I feel disdain for people who feel that they deserve something without earning it. That they should be handed opportunities, rather than having to find them for themselves. That the world owes them, without being expected to provide anything in return.
There's a term for people like that: they're called "looters."
Looters feel that the world should take care of them--because it always has. Looters feel that they shouldn't have to work hard--because there have always been others to work hard for them. Looters believe that others should produce, while they should take. Looters despise those who have made opportunities for themselves, who have achieved success and wealth and the respect of others. Looters feel that they are "owed", and should not have to "earn."
I've chosen to not be a looter. I've chosen to be a Producer.
I have decided that I will make opportunities, not demand them. That I will earn, not expect. That I will work for everything that I have achieved, rather than obtain a handout. If I fail at that which I attempt, at least I will know that I tried.
But don't make the foolish mistake of expecting me to be remorseful and apologetic for the things that I have achieved, for my success, or for whatever it might be that I have and that you do not.
And if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm not talking about anything even remotely having to do with money. Money is a by-product of success and effort. It is not the result. Happiness, pride, self-satisfaction, and fulfillment are the results. It just so happens that those are traits that people are willing to pay for.
I find it interesting that someone earlier mention ed Kurt Vonnegut's short-story "Harrison Bergeron." I think an even better example would be Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." I've already posted the link above--you can put in the effort to find it yourself.
You may not like my opinion about Looters. I don't care--your opinion means naught to me. Read "Atlas Shrugged", take a look at the people around you, above you, below you, and those you consider your peers.
Then decide who you want to be for the rest of your life.
A producer.
Or a looter.
I've spent the majority of my life working to hone my craft. While you're sitting on your arse watching American's Funniest Home Videos, I'm reading up on the latest implementation strategies for distributed systems. While you're hanging out with your buddies throwing back another can of Old Milwaukee, I'm busy doing research for my next book or magazine article. I spend an average of 2-3 months each year on sabbatical. You vacation in Disney World.
/. community. But trolls like this are a common occurance in the consulting industry and I'm in no mood to deal with ill-informed prujudices such as this. My only true regret is that this comment will probably never be read by laslo2, thereby depriving his poor undeserving soul of the wake-up call it so obviously needs.
I work hard and make a lot of sacrifices to be a, what phrase did you use to denigrate my profession?, a "black belt, gunslinger, or whatever the current cute buzzword of the day is." Are you trying to summon up the word "guru", perhaps?
It's my abilities, my experience, my presentation, that get's me the cool projects that you lament are taken away from you, not being spoon-fed as you seem to expect. "I deserve this cool project. It's my right that I should get this great assignment. The world owes me the more interesting and challenging opportunities despite my lack of effort to persue them on my own, to raise my abilities and core competencies, to work for that which I earn." By who's standards, I ask.
The fact of the matter is, and what pisses you off, is that people like me have more ambition, higher goals, greater dedication, perhaps even more capacity to excel at our chosen profession. It's not a matter of being a consultant -- I've seen plenty of consultants who aspire for the same level of mediocrity that you have so successfully achieved. It's not excluding employees, as some of the most talented people that I have had the good fortune to work with have been employees of my clients.
It's simply that you're upset that the professional world is passing you by, that you can't keep up, and can't bring it upon yourself to place blame where it belongs. If you spent more time trying and less time crying, you wouldn't be so bitter.
My apologies to the rest of the
Try becoming a contributor. Stop being a looter.
I am an independent IT consultant and I will do everything I can and spend everything I have to in order to ensure that unions don't make it into IT.
The reason is very simple. Unions and their employees don't like non-union competition. If a company unionizes, they will not hire consultants. They won't be able to for fear of their union employees striking/walking out/whatever you want to call it.
For those companies that do hire consultants, the unionized workers will be hostile towards the consultants. This is due to the "Remember the Union Label" team-based, all-else-is-heresy mentality that goes along with unions. I've worked in them (before I went into IT), so I know.
Here's another problem with unions--they tend to be specialized. No sooner after the IT union is formed, will we see the DBA union, the UI Interface Union, the Tech Writer's Union... You think it's hard enough to get things done now? You can forget it with several different factions.
And don't even think of prototyping your application against MySql or Access or some other stand-alone database. You're in the Application Developer's Union, and the database boys are gonna get pissed.
That's not an unreasonable scenario--just ask anyone who works in construction or similar industry where multiple unions all work on the same project. It's a mess, it slows development/work down, and it needlessly drives up costs.
It's simple. Unions are bad for IT.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
h is-in) 10. After investing 100 million (link to MS stock valuation page) dollars in research, this new version will literally suck (link to www.HouseOfPorn.com) down data at rates(link to MSN Money page) surpassing (link to dictionary.msn.com) those of other leading systems(link to Windows XP 2nd-week-in-October edition). Even Microsoft(link to MS home page) fans(link to www.WorldwideBlindDeafAndDumbSociety) will find(link to MSN's search page) something to love(link to MSN-sponsored dating advice page). Oracle(link to picture of WWII internment camps) will release(link to MS-partner www.UrologyDisorders.com) its new version(link to dictionary.msn.com?lookup="aversion") in August 2001(link to press release notice at MS's site that Windows 2000 has been delayed yet again).
Oracle, Inc. (link to skewed performance analysis from MS-sponsored benchmarking lab) is pleased to announce the release of its new database(link to SqlServer product page), Oracle(link to MS FUD page explaining why Oracle is the database choice of anti-what-ever-country-you-happen-to-be-reading-t
Oooh! Here's another one. The next time that you're shopping at FatBrain, and go to click on the checkout link
Yeah, I can't see anything wrong with this either.
The body isn't even cold yet, and they've already begun to rumage through his clothes. It was an express wish that his unfinished works would not be published. I remember reading about it somewhere on his website. I for one will not support this disrespectfulness, and will not purchase any posthumous releases.
Tools of the industry, wake up and realize that the RIAA is simply trying to solicit free labor to help bulletproof their encryption scheme.
More importantly, consider this. You know that cool new Nomad Jukebox from Creative Labs? The one that has a 6GB drive in it? It supports the SDMI-format. Great, right?
No.
Last summer I found a media composite from Sony Records. For those of you who don't know, a composite basically gathers articles from several sources into a single volume, the results of which are delivered to executives. There was an interesting article from Billboard, I think it was.
It seems that the SDMI group met last year and decided on certain resolutions regarding the implementation of the SDMI scheme. Of interest is a plan on how to enfore SDMI acceptance on to those of us who decide to stick with our existing players (e.g. WinAmp, MS-MP, XMSS, etc). The plan is this: SDMI-enabled players are distributed out to surpass their existing versions. The MP3 decoders are time-stamped to expire (aka shutdown) on a set date, after which only SDMI will be supported. Nice, eh? They actually agreed to this.
I am salivating all over myself for the Nomad Jukebox, but I am not about to drop $400-500 without knowing if, in fact, the player does not support this type of initiative *and* that Creative will not subsequently release a bios patch that would render mp3 unplayable.
I will dig up the article (if I can find it - my office is like a 10'x10' version of Beirut in Springtime) and post it here.
- Ryosen
This was originally posted by me as anonymous. I didn't have my password yet.