During the last 20 years that I've been a professional programmer I've developed a theory that says, the more practical an application will be to the larger masses, the less cool it is to programmers. A corollary being that the tools to create uncool applications will also be uncool.
Consider the coolest programming jobs: game developer, theoretical research and embedded missile guidance systems, etc...
Now consider: accounting applications, banking applications and word processors - arguably the most used, most common, most practical of applications - and low down on the programming pole.
And then there are the tools used to build those applications: at the top of the pole assembly, C, Perl; at the bottom: Java, Basic, C#. Again the uncool languages are associated with building uncool apps.
It's a simple as that.
Finally, the exception that proves the rule is operating systems. Linux being a perfect example of a cool thing to work on and eminently practical. I would argue however, that the OS is unseen by the masses. The translucent background against which applications are run, thereby exempting them from the theory.
I've used Alltheweb for searching for 3 or 4 years now. I use Google too. And I like Google. The stuff Google returns is generally relevant, but if I can't find it on Google, or I want an exhaustive list, I use Alltheweb.
<disclaimer> I use windows and linux, emacs and vi, java and perl, etc... </disclaimer>
Canada has highly talented and educated programmers. Many of them, like myself, back from stints in the Bay area. The price is right. Typical rates for Canadian consultants are 10 - 20% discount on US rates and then discount a dollar that only worth $0.65 US. No time zone issues or language barriers. Frankly, I don't understand why a US company would consider going anywhere else.
Is anyone else wondering from which side of the MS anti-trust case Craig got his arguments?
The rules to making money in a capitalistic society are: produce something that people want, and produce it at a price they are willing to pay.
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Kev
Slashdot Mirror
During the last 20 years that I've been a professional programmer I've developed a theory that says, the more practical an application will be to the larger masses, the less cool it is to programmers. A corollary being that the tools to create uncool applications will also be uncool.
Consider the coolest programming jobs: game developer, theoretical research and embedded missile guidance systems, etc...
Now consider: accounting applications, banking applications and word processors - arguably the most used, most common, most practical of applications - and low down on the programming pole.
And then there are the tools used to build those applications: at the top of the pole assembly, C, Perl; at the bottom: Java, Basic, C#. Again the uncool languages are associated with building uncool apps.
It's a simple as that.
Finally, the exception that proves the rule is operating systems. Linux being a perfect example of a cool thing to work on and eminently practical. I would argue however, that the OS is unseen by the masses. The translucent background against which applications are run, thereby exempting them from the theory.
I've used Alltheweb for searching for 3 or 4 years now. I use Google too. And I like Google. The stuff Google returns is generally relevant, but if I can't find it on Google, or I want an exhaustive list, I use Alltheweb.
<disclaimer>
I use windows and linux, emacs and vi, java and perl, etc...
</disclaimer>
Canada has highly talented and educated programmers. Many of them, like myself, back from stints in the Bay area.
The price is right. Typical rates for Canadian consultants are 10 - 20% discount on US rates and then discount a dollar that only worth $0.65 US. No time zone issues or language barriers. Frankly, I don't understand why a US company would consider going anywhere else.
Is anyone else wondering from which side of the MS anti-trust case Craig got his arguments?
The rules to making money in a capitalistic society are: produce something that people want, and produce it at a price they are willing to pay.
---
Kev
I must be gettin' soft in my old age...