What you have actually won is the Grand Prize in CrapFest 2001 for having managed to combine the greatest volume of falsehood and misrepresentation in a single statement.
Some of the earlier posters are fairly accurate in saying the majority of surplus labor is in the MBA/dot-snot Dead Pool, but I really think the big issue among "real" IT people is skillset matching with current market needs.
We all know that saying "programmer" these days is akin to "phyician"- what kind? C++? Obstetrician? XML? Proctologist?
The best advice I can give young students is watch the new trends, and tailor your senior year coursework to them.
Oh, really? And I thought the Egyptians were descended from Alpha Centaurians, and moved the obelisks around with hooks suspended from the mother ship!
Apple has/not/ created a highly user-friendly version of Unix. They smeared a layer of BSD on a poor little Mach kernel and iced it with goo-goo Applesauce. !OSX=crap where OS=yes & X=not!
Let the money-gouging fossil-fuelled utilities jack up their profits. There is one alternative energy technology that is driving toward underpricing grid-connected utilities on a do-it-now turn-key basis.
That would be thin-film photovoltaic technology. The company I work for (sorry marketing, no free plugs) is currently making thin-film PV modules for all-up systems that include batteries and inverters for a cost per watt over 10 years only 3% higher than grid utilities. We presently have about a 40% world market share, with most sales to Europe developing countries. Funny thing is, we're basically an oil company.:|
These modules are also transluscent (read: skylight replacements)and strong enough for building-integrated use (like a solar-electric array that can also be a greenhouse or office facade).
Another benefit: you never need another UPS- the system is by design a battery backup. And best of all, when your generation exceeds use, you can SELL the surplus to your local utility.
It is supposed to be a deterrent, but I think there have been studies showing that it no longer deters either. The only thing it is used for that it actually accomplishes is punishement.
You left one other important result/purpose: criminals in prison, particularly career predators, are no longer at liberty to threaten you or I. A career robber in jail cannot rob me again. Public safety is one of the few good reasons for paying taxes.
It would be more accurate to say that other countries pay better lip service to privacy than the United States, as evidenced by the current flurry of stories about DNA banking in Germany, Canada, and the UK.
It is an oversimplification to single out any one country as less private than another, since practically every government in the world has some form of overt or covert intrusiveness in it's policies and practices.
While I'm not generally inclined toward One World schemes in any sphere, any effective, however belated, attempt to roll back tech-enabled breeches of privacy and codify (and more importantly enforce)privacy standards must perforce involve international cooperation.
It is not helpful to play the "I'm more private that you!" game.
Actually, the whole point is _profit_ and this is generated by advertising revenue. Spammers make money by selling a service, and if there are no buyes, there are no spammers. Convince the advertisers that they are wasting their money and they will return to their usual media, e.g. filling our Snail Mail boxes.
The surest way to kill off spam is make it unprofitable by educating users in the tricks most of us already know to limit our spam intake. One the ad biz hears that 90% of all spam gets killed on the server through user filters/blockers, the ad money will dry up and the spammers will die.
I think that if ISPs were sincere in the no-spam policies, they'd do a better job of explaining despamming tools to their users via FAQs and tech help.
A big fat law would do the trick, but like most I believe that when it comes to government, less is more.
Stupid patent no problem. Once you possess the hardware, you have physical ownership (90% of the law), and once you make a modification of any kind, you have, changed the device and created a new (possibly patentable!!!) device.
My CueCat is now my BookBoffin...I wrote a little VB app that catalogs my home library by scanning the ISBN's into a spreadsheet.
The only thing better than free hardware is free beer!
I agree that a return to the civility of days past would be both helpful and refreshing. I doubt that it could ever happen, since any standard-bearer for such a movement, being human, would be nit-picked to death by our churlish media and be instantly branded a hypocrite at the first hint of imperfection. The rules have changed from the days when we the people would politely look the other way at the politically irrelevant faux pas of a great, albeit human, leader. Alas.
When the fog of creeping middle age parts from time to time, I find humor where I once took righteous offense, and see a veritable 3-ring circus where I once trembled over the State of the World. It amazes me now how otherwise reasonable and intelligent/. readers of all political bents can be turned into the most strident, flame-spurting martyrs at the drop of a hat. Next visit I'll wear galoshes to keep from slipping in the blood of all the gored oxen. Peace.
Where internet property, privacy, and access issues are concerned, whomever occupies the Oval Office is far less significant than the makeup of Congress. Those of us with a professional or social interest in these issues should focus on the activity (or lack thereof) of Congess, the FCC, and the federal judiciary. I would feel more comfortable if the new President does nothing at all, given that a little knowlege is a dangerous thing.
Too bad it took an AC post to say it, but I agree. Our professional standing has been cheapened for too long by dotcom "web developers" whose primary programming tool seems to be Front page Express for IE 4.0.
Slashdot Mirror
What you have actually won is the Grand Prize in CrapFest 2001 for having managed to combine the greatest volume of falsehood and misrepresentation in a single statement.
I've never been much of a conspiracy-monger.
Some of the earlier posters are fairly accurate in saying the majority of surplus labor is in the MBA/dot-snot Dead Pool, but I really think the big issue among "real" IT people is skillset matching with current market needs.
We all know that saying "programmer" these days is akin to "phyician"- what kind? C++? Obstetrician? XML? Proctologist?
The best advice I can give young students is watch the new trends, and tailor your senior year coursework to them.
But it was space aliens! I heard it on the Art Shell show! All your base are belong to us!
Oh, really? And I thought the Egyptians were descended from Alpha Centaurians, and moved the obelisks around with hooks suspended from the mother ship!
How about Zero Juno? That's what they're going to wind up with!
Apple has /not/ created a highly user-friendly version of Unix. They smeared a layer of BSD on a poor little Mach kernel and iced it with goo-goo Applesauce. !OSX=crap where OS=yes & X=not!
DNA mapping+Zavos=Designer Cloning.
Imagine a genetically engineered football team! (The Ravens' defense may actually be the secret prototype).
Visualize Judy Collins as an NFL coach! Send in the clones!
Let the money-gouging fossil-fuelled utilities jack up their profits. There is one alternative energy technology that is driving toward underpricing grid-connected utilities on a do-it-now turn-key basis.
That would be thin-film photovoltaic technology. The company I work for (sorry marketing, no free plugs) is currently making thin-film PV modules for all-up systems that include batteries and inverters for a cost per watt over 10 years only 3% higher than grid utilities. We presently have about a 40% world market share, with most sales to Europe developing countries. Funny thing is, we're basically an oil company. :|
These modules are also transluscent (read: skylight replacements)and strong enough for building-integrated use (like a solar-electric array that can also be a greenhouse or office facade).
Another benefit: you never need another UPS- the system is by design a battery backup. And best of all, when your generation exceeds use, you can SELL the surplus to your local utility.
Pretty cool, huh? Go solar!
You left one other important result/purpose: criminals in prison, particularly career predators, are no longer at liberty to threaten you or I. A career robber in jail cannot rob me again. Public safety is one of the few good reasons for paying taxes.
It would be more accurate to say that other countries pay better lip service to privacy than the United States, as evidenced by the current flurry of stories about DNA banking in Germany, Canada, and the UK.
It is an oversimplification to single out any one country as less private than another, since practically every government in the world has some form of overt or covert intrusiveness in it's policies and practices.
While I'm not generally inclined toward One World schemes in any sphere, any effective, however belated, attempt to roll back tech-enabled breeches of privacy and codify (and more importantly enforce)privacy standards must perforce involve international cooperation.
It is not helpful to play the "I'm more private that you!" game.
Actually, the whole point is _profit_ and this is generated by advertising revenue. Spammers make money by selling a service, and if there are no buyes, there are no spammers. Convince the advertisers that they are wasting their money and they will return to their usual media, e.g. filling our Snail Mail boxes.
The surest way to kill off spam is make it unprofitable by educating users in the tricks most of us already know to limit our spam intake. One the ad biz hears that 90% of all spam gets killed on the server through user filters/blockers, the ad money will dry up and the spammers will die. I think that if ISPs were sincere in the no-spam policies, they'd do a better job of explaining despamming tools to their users via FAQs and tech help. A big fat law would do the trick, but like most I believe that when it comes to government, less is more.
Stupid patent no problem. Once you possess the hardware, you have physical ownership (90% of the law), and once you make a modification of any kind, you have, changed the device and created a new (possibly patentable!!!) device.
My CueCat is now my BookBoffin...I wrote a little VB app that catalogs my home library by scanning the ISBN's into a spreadsheet.
The only thing better than free hardware is free beer!
Q:How many web developers does it take to program a VCR? A: None-they think the blinking clock LED's are way kewl.
I agree that a return to the civility of days past would be both helpful and refreshing. I doubt that it could ever happen, since any standard-bearer for such a movement, being human, would be nit-picked to death by our churlish media and be instantly branded a hypocrite at the first hint of imperfection. The rules have changed from the days when we the people would politely look the other way at the politically irrelevant faux pas of a great, albeit human, leader. Alas.
When the fog of creeping middle age parts from time to time, I find humor where I once took righteous offense, and see a veritable 3-ring circus where I once trembled over the State of the World. It amazes me now how otherwise reasonable and intelligent /. readers of all political bents can be turned into the most strident, flame-spurting martyrs at the drop of a hat. Next visit I'll wear galoshes to keep from slipping in the blood of all the gored oxen. Peace.
Where internet property, privacy, and access issues are concerned, whomever occupies the Oval Office is far less significant than the makeup of Congress. Those of us with a professional or social interest in these issues should focus on the activity (or lack thereof) of Congess, the FCC, and the federal judiciary. I would feel more comfortable if the new President does nothing at all, given that a little knowlege is a dangerous thing.
Too bad it took an AC post to say it, but I agree. Our professional standing has been cheapened for too long by dotcom "web developers" whose primary programming tool seems to be Front page Express for IE 4.0.