"The conversation is a fascinating look into the minds of the two men, both of whom have had immeasurable impact on issues surrounding technology over recent years."
BS. Eric Schmidt has had an impact on technology. Julian Assange has been a pioneer in whistleblowing and avoiding incarceration. Let's not make Assange a technology genius just because we're bored and have nothing interesting to say.
So, in other words, companies are leaving cloud comuputing to set up co-los? This is an option that's been available for, like, at least 15 years.
You ever get the feeling the term "cloud computing" was coined because people were desperate for something new while the economy was getting its legs back?
Pointing out that the Ouya doesn't compare well with other ARM devices is like complaining that the Cadillac CTS doesn't keep pace with a Ferrarri - the Oya's not supposed to be a work horse. It wasn't designed to be one and it wasn't a priority. The bigger problem it has is that its controller, from what I've read, feels "mushy" and suffers from high latency. That's an actual problem. You can still make some pretty cool games with the console and it's pretty wide open so at least there'll be some enthusiasm by the developer community. For heaven's sake, the homebrew community still writes for the Intellivision!;) Let's give Ouya some breathing space, I think it's a pretty ambitious little project and everyone's going to learn something from it. I'll pick it up when it's released.
Well, no - it's not a "simple fact". If it were a fact, it would be quantifiable and verifiable (although I agree with your first point about the cost of hiring an imigrant - that makes sense). The statistics that "experts" like to spout on the productivity of the American worker; first of all, no one really knows if they're made up to begin with. They tell us these numbers, then the next week they tell us something different. Researchers still can't agree whether drinking a glass of wine each day saves you or kills you. So, it's not a simple fact. In the US, the word "fact" is used for practically any opinion. Everything's a fact here.
I do believe that Americans are pretty amazing with implementing technology in business and medicine and that's definitely our edge. And our star players are some of the best in the world, although I'm sure it's majorly buttressed by . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . IMMIGRATION. Immigrants like Linus Torvalds or the countless others from Israel and other countries who come here to be entrepreneurs. They're bright and super hungry and they don't waste their day on Facebook or staring at their phone to find out what their buddies had for lunch or how drunk someone got last night. They don't call in "sick" every third Friday or skip work to go to tailgate parties because they feel like they've earned it somehow. If I'm interviewing someone for a position, I want to know that they're reliable and can handle responsibility. In second world countries, often the employees have had to deal with much harsher situations that by the time they come to the States it makes perfect sense to hire them. They're a safe bet. So, rest assured that the trend to reform immigration will not only continue but will also accelerate. Want to stop the trend? It's easy - just bring your A game to work every day.
Probably the biggest problem today is separating the exceptional, dedicated employee from the ones who aren't. Hard working, results driven workers should be rewarded the same way. Sadly, it's very difficult to find good ones in our area.
No, I don't think so. I believe these companies when they say that they can't find hard working native talent because, if you think about it, it's a pain to have to hire someone from another country. It's not like ordering a pizza, there's effort involved. That's a pretty bad statement when a company is willing to go through that hassle because it's easier than dealing with native workers. And I work in corporate America myself, I can tell you that people who like to think of themselves as hard working and talented; 90% of the time they're perception of self is totally not congruent with reality. They're, in fact, neither.
I read posts like these all the time, but like it or not they're pretty short sighted. It's true that in the short run wages DO go down and that definitely affects the native developer (or whatever kind of worker), but this is always an extrememly short term affect - wages go up before long just because the imigrants start wanting more. The same thing is happening in China with manufacturing. Case in point - Raspberry Pis are starting to be manufactured back in the UK because there wasn't a competive advantage to have the same work done in China anymore as Chinese wages in manufacturing have gone up. They always go up, imigrants aren't interested in being at the bottom for long, which is also great for everybody. Besides cost, which is a big factor, immigrants tend to work harder just because they're used to worse things than a 14 hour day. They're usually puzzled by the wreckless living they find in modern countries, they're just happy to have a nice gig in air conditioned and well lit space. Some native employees are super hard workers, but they're relatively few.
Employers just want reliable employess who work hard, that's why they want immigration reform. If you provide that, then you won't be affected by the H1-B push. I've never seen a company that didn't want to keep top performers. Not interested in continued improvement? In that case, you'd be wise to worry. Also, if you don't like Facebook (and you shouldn't), then never use them for anything ever.
I hate to be reasonable, but exactly how is this an issue (especially for the average Slashdot reader?) There's a long list of organizations that would be pleased as peaches to go through your email. If it's a serious problem, then 1) never keep email longer than a week old (so, yes, unfortunately, you're going to have to learn to not use your email account as a treasure trove of personal information that would ruin you if it fell into the wrong hands - a popular thing nowadays.) and 2) for God's sakes, you shouldn't be on a "free" webmail system at all ever for any reason, even if you adhere to number point 1.
What's that you say? "But not everyone knows how to build their own email server!" Yes, well, everyone SHOULD know how to read and follow directions - setting up a server with an MTA is one of the most common technical tasks in the world and the net is flush with forums that'll show you how to do it. If you have time to screw around on Facebook, you have time to set up a server and email on Azure or Amazon. If that's too hard to do, privacy isn't your biggest problem.
"To avoid this threat and others like it, don’t click on random links you receive on Skype. You’ll be doing yourself a favor, helping stop the spread of malware, and ensuring criminals get a smaller pay day."
Or don't use Skype at all, problem solved. A dead giveaway that a product is no good is whether it's owned by Microsoft.
I think Google doesn't mention Linux because the target consumer has no idea whatsoever what a "Linux" is. They're trying to make the marketing message easier to digest. Probably a good way to go, in my opinion, and I LOVE my preferred Linux distros.
Okay, hold on. I respect your angle, but if I may;
"Yet Farmville programmers get vast sums of cash. Do they provide value? No."
I agree with you, but strictly speaking - SOMEONE likes these games, though they are awful. I don't get it either. They're awful games that make money, the same way as online gambling makes tons of money and is, overall, a net negative to society.
"Advertising and marketing are an arms race in which both customers and suppliers lose - only the marketers benefit. No value."
No argument there. Hard to see how a beer ad during the Super Bowl does anything to push forward our evolution.
"The finance sector is dedicated to redistributing conceptual wealth. We route money back and forth and the well off financiers try to siphon as much as possible to their well off clients. No value."
Subjective. An odious and thorny issue, I agree. But the transfer of wealth does benefit some people who help society in return. Do the ends justify the means?
"I argue that the majority of respectable and lucrative careers have no inherent value and produce very little or no value. In contrast, academics have a mission to explore and expand the meaning of humanity. A single paper on Proust read and discussed by a few groups of students seems a lot more valuable than the total combined contributions of Facebook, Zynga, Myspace, Pinterest, and Twitter. I would much rather permanently lose those five institutions than a two minute conversation with a lit professor."
I don't agree that modern academia's raison d'etre is to explore or expand anything. I think particular personality types enjoy long-winded, circular arguments that lead no where and that we have (or used to have) a cultural distinction for them. The distinction was and is misplaced - these academics or philosophers have never provided an value except to help develop frustrating logic games. Okay, maybe that has contributed to game theory, but that's about it. It's also not fair to compare anything to Facebook, Zynga, Myspace, Pinterest's value since all four of these are terrible things that appear to the lowest possible level of thought and adulation.
I'm rejecting it the same way as I generally reject Mad magazine as something worth spending a lot of time on. I see your point, but in literature what can be lazier than taking a cookie-cutter formula, changing the names around, and selling it? It's the literary equivalent of boy band music. Everyone knows why it's popular, but that doesn't mean it's not trash.
I understand that shooting heroin is bad for me as well, despite not having an informed, personal oppinion. Don't need one. I brief synopsis tells me that this is definitely not something I want to get involved in. So, no I don't agree with your "informed opinion" argument.
It's too difficult to get through more than a page or two of these young adult franchises without getting sick - the typically used formulas, the child-like themes of an obscure main character thrust into greatness through no choice of their own, blah blah blah. It's the same thing every time because that's what children relate to (since they haven't really accomplished anything yet but still yearn to be recognized for their qualities). I understand why some children like Hunger Games, Twilight, Harry Potter, and the rest of that stuff. I don't view Herbert's body of work on that level, and most children aren't going to read the Dune series. And if I ever had a kid who loved reading Dune, I could die happy.
If by "types of fiction", you mean Harry Potter or Hunger Games (books written for kids but for some bizarre reason seem to resonate with some adults), I'd have to take her side. If you mean Heinlein and Herbert, I'm with you.
I kind of feel that "academics" are into philosophy and literature the way geeks are into IT and programming - the only difference being that at this point in time technology skills provide actual value to the world.
If you're a kid growing up and eschewing oppurtunities to go outside for time spent on a keyboard working on a project, then it's a great time to be alive. If you're doing the same for reading classic literature, wow that must be rough. Geeks are just lucky in this era. There's not exactly any demand in today's world for a new Wittgenstein or Popper, unless they can contribute to computer science.
I could never understand how academics could get lifetime positions at universities doing what they do - not exactly the kind of work that provides value in a fast paced world. It just seems that getting a degree in philosophy or literature is like getting a degree is making buggy whips. It's so weird. Does anyone stll believe that reading To Kill a Mockingbird is a relevant exercise in the world we live in when we have enough real world examples of social issues? Indulging in classic literature has been mostly a waste of time for at least 15 years. If you want to do it for personal development, go for it. Professionally? C'mon.
Odd that it would be published like that, right? Yeeeeeaaaaaahhh, something's off. Anyway, just in case, never use MS, Apple, Google, or any mainstream product to maintain privacy.
You may want to do some very light reading on priviledges for your platform of choice. Install your OS, create a guest account and set up the desktop with a browser and some apps that might be needed, then dial back the access so thatt he guest account can't install anything. That's all there is to it. If they complain, throw them out of the house.
This is Facebook we're talking about, a platform that's either for people to do stupid things on or for intelligent people to either ignore or use to the absolute least degree possible.
This is, like, a First World Problem. You can't tell me this ranks up their with serious issues when the only intelligent thing to do with Facebook is to completely disregard it. People who go on FB and act wrecklessly with their private information have a whole host of problems LONG before the Facebook privacy "issue". This isn't an issue. Starvation is an issue.
Slashdot Mirror
"The conversation is a fascinating look into the minds of the two men, both of whom have had immeasurable impact on issues surrounding technology over recent years."
BS. Eric Schmidt has had an impact on technology. Julian Assange has been a pioneer in whistleblowing and avoiding incarceration. Let's not make Assange a technology genius just because we're bored and have nothing interesting to say.
No . . . it's not a real thing. It, "Let's host a ton of virtual servers on very expensive machines and let people rent space on it." Wow. Not new.
So, in other words, companies are leaving cloud comuputing to set up co-los? This is an option that's been available for, like, at least 15 years.
You ever get the feeling the term "cloud computing" was coined because people were desperate for something new while the economy was getting its legs back?
I think that it was the concensus by anyone who has recieved it so far. I think I read it on Gamasutra or Kotaku or something.
That's exactly right.
Pointing out that the Ouya doesn't compare well with other ARM devices is like complaining that the Cadillac CTS doesn't keep pace with a Ferrarri - the Oya's not supposed to be a work horse. It wasn't designed to be one and it wasn't a priority. The bigger problem it has is that its controller, from what I've read, feels "mushy" and suffers from high latency. That's an actual problem. You can still make some pretty cool games with the console and it's pretty wide open so at least there'll be some enthusiasm by the developer community. For heaven's sake, the homebrew community still writes for the Intellivision! ;) Let's give Ouya some breathing space, I think it's a pretty ambitious little project and everyone's going to learn something from it. I'll pick it up when it's released.
Well, no - it's not a "simple fact". If it were a fact, it would be quantifiable and verifiable (although I agree with your first point about the cost of hiring an imigrant - that makes sense). The statistics that "experts" like to spout on the productivity of the American worker; first of all, no one really knows if they're made up to begin with. They tell us these numbers, then the next week they tell us something different. Researchers still can't agree whether drinking a glass of wine each day saves you or kills you. So, it's not a simple fact. In the US, the word "fact" is used for practically any opinion. Everything's a fact here.
I do believe that Americans are pretty amazing with implementing technology in business and medicine and that's definitely our edge. And our star players are some of the best in the world, although I'm sure it's majorly buttressed by . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . IMMIGRATION. Immigrants like Linus Torvalds or the countless others from Israel and other countries who come here to be entrepreneurs. They're bright and super hungry and they don't waste their day on Facebook or staring at their phone to find out what their buddies had for lunch or how drunk someone got last night. They don't call in "sick" every third Friday or skip work to go to tailgate parties because they feel like they've earned it somehow. If I'm interviewing someone for a position, I want to know that they're reliable and can handle responsibility. In second world countries, often the employees have had to deal with much harsher situations that by the time they come to the States it makes perfect sense to hire them. They're a safe bet. So, rest assured that the trend to reform immigration will not only continue but will also accelerate. Want to stop the trend? It's easy - just bring your A game to work every day.
Probably the biggest problem today is separating the exceptional, dedicated employee from the ones who aren't. Hard working, results driven workers should be rewarded the same way. Sadly, it's very difficult to find good ones in our area.
10x or 20x should exist in every profession.
No, I don't think so. I believe these companies when they say that they can't find hard working native talent because, if you think about it, it's a pain to have to hire someone from another country. It's not like ordering a pizza, there's effort involved. That's a pretty bad statement when a company is willing to go through that hassle because it's easier than dealing with native workers. And I work in corporate America myself, I can tell you that people who like to think of themselves as hard working and talented; 90% of the time they're perception of self is totally not congruent with reality. They're, in fact, neither.
No, actually, it's the oposite of fraud. Companies need hard working, talented workers and these companies are insisting that they can't find them.
I read posts like these all the time, but like it or not they're pretty short sighted. It's true that in the short run wages DO go down and that definitely affects the native developer (or whatever kind of worker), but this is always an extrememly short term affect - wages go up before long just because the imigrants start wanting more. The same thing is happening in China with manufacturing. Case in point - Raspberry Pis are starting to be manufactured back in the UK because there wasn't a competive advantage to have the same work done in China anymore as Chinese wages in manufacturing have gone up. They always go up, imigrants aren't interested in being at the bottom for long, which is also great for everybody. Besides cost, which is a big factor, immigrants tend to work harder just because they're used to worse things than a 14 hour day. They're usually puzzled by the wreckless living they find in modern countries, they're just happy to have a nice gig in air conditioned and well lit space. Some native employees are super hard workers, but they're relatively few.
Employers just want reliable employess who work hard, that's why they want immigration reform. If you provide that, then you won't be affected by the H1-B push. I've never seen a company that didn't want to keep top performers. Not interested in continued improvement? In that case, you'd be wise to worry. Also, if you don't like Facebook (and you shouldn't), then never use them for anything ever.
I hate to be reasonable, but exactly how is this an issue (especially for the average Slashdot reader?) There's a long list of organizations that would be pleased as peaches to go through your email. If it's a serious problem, then 1) never keep email longer than a week old (so, yes, unfortunately, you're going to have to learn to not use your email account as a treasure trove of personal information that would ruin you if it fell into the wrong hands - a popular thing nowadays.) and 2) for God's sakes, you shouldn't be on a "free" webmail system at all ever for any reason, even if you adhere to number point 1.
What's that you say? "But not everyone knows how to build their own email server!" Yes, well, everyone SHOULD know how to read and follow directions - setting up a server with an MTA is one of the most common technical tasks in the world and the net is flush with forums that'll show you how to do it. If you have time to screw around on Facebook, you have time to set up a server and email on Azure or Amazon. If that's too hard to do, privacy isn't your biggest problem.
"To avoid this threat and others like it, don’t click on random links you receive on Skype. You’ll be doing yourself a favor, helping stop the spread of malware, and ensuring criminals get a smaller pay day." Or don't use Skype at all, problem solved. A dead giveaway that a product is no good is whether it's owned by Microsoft.
I think Google doesn't mention Linux because the target consumer has no idea whatsoever what a "Linux" is. They're trying to make the marketing message easier to digest. Probably a good way to go, in my opinion, and I LOVE my preferred Linux distros.
Okay, hold on. I respect your angle, but if I may;
"Yet Farmville programmers get vast sums of cash. Do they provide value? No."
I agree with you, but strictly speaking - SOMEONE likes these games, though they are awful. I don't get it either. They're awful games that make money, the same way as online gambling makes tons of money and is, overall, a net negative to society.
"Advertising and marketing are an arms race in which both customers and suppliers lose - only the marketers benefit. No value."
No argument there. Hard to see how a beer ad during the Super Bowl does anything to push forward our evolution.
"The finance sector is dedicated to redistributing conceptual wealth. We route money back and forth and the well off financiers try to siphon as much as possible to their well off clients. No value."
Subjective. An odious and thorny issue, I agree. But the transfer of wealth does benefit some people who help society in return. Do the ends justify the means?
"I argue that the majority of respectable and lucrative careers have no inherent value and produce very little or no value. In contrast, academics have a mission to explore and expand the meaning of humanity. A single paper on Proust read and discussed by a few groups of students seems a lot more valuable than the total combined contributions of Facebook, Zynga, Myspace, Pinterest, and Twitter. I would much rather permanently lose those five institutions than a two minute conversation with a lit professor."
I don't agree that modern academia's raison d'etre is to explore or expand anything. I think particular personality types enjoy long-winded, circular arguments that lead no where and that we have (or used to have) a cultural distinction for them. The distinction was and is misplaced - these academics or philosophers have never provided an value except to help develop frustrating logic games. Okay, maybe that has contributed to game theory, but that's about it. It's also not fair to compare anything to Facebook, Zynga, Myspace, Pinterest's value since all four of these are terrible things that appear to the lowest possible level of thought and adulation.
I'm rejecting it the same way as I generally reject Mad magazine as something worth spending a lot of time on. I see your point, but in literature what can be lazier than taking a cookie-cutter formula, changing the names around, and selling it? It's the literary equivalent of boy band music. Everyone knows why it's popular, but that doesn't mean it's not trash.
I understand that shooting heroin is bad for me as well, despite not having an informed, personal oppinion. Don't need one. I brief synopsis tells me that this is definitely not something I want to get involved in. So, no I don't agree with your "informed opinion" argument.
It's too difficult to get through more than a page or two of these young adult franchises without getting sick - the typically used formulas, the child-like themes of an obscure main character thrust into greatness through no choice of their own, blah blah blah. It's the same thing every time because that's what children relate to (since they haven't really accomplished anything yet but still yearn to be recognized for their qualities). I understand why some children like Hunger Games, Twilight, Harry Potter, and the rest of that stuff. I don't view Herbert's body of work on that level, and most children aren't going to read the Dune series. And if I ever had a kid who loved reading Dune, I could die happy.
Yeah, sorry, Hunger Games? No.
If by "types of fiction", you mean Harry Potter or Hunger Games (books written for kids but for some bizarre reason seem to resonate with some adults), I'd have to take her side. If you mean Heinlein and Herbert, I'm with you.
Yes, yes, and yes.
I kind of feel that "academics" are into philosophy and literature the way geeks are into IT and programming - the only difference being that at this point in time technology skills provide actual value to the world.
If you're a kid growing up and eschewing oppurtunities to go outside for time spent on a keyboard working on a project, then it's a great time to be alive. If you're doing the same for reading classic literature, wow that must be rough. Geeks are just lucky in this era. There's not exactly any demand in today's world for a new Wittgenstein or Popper, unless they can contribute to computer science.
I could never understand how academics could get lifetime positions at universities doing what they do - not exactly the kind of work that provides value in a fast paced world. It just seems that getting a degree in philosophy or literature is like getting a degree is making buggy whips. It's so weird. Does anyone stll believe that reading To Kill a Mockingbird is a relevant exercise in the world we live in when we have enough real world examples of social issues? Indulging in classic literature has been mostly a waste of time for at least 15 years. If you want to do it for personal development, go for it. Professionally? C'mon.
Odd that it would be published like that, right? Yeeeeeaaaaaahhh, something's off. Anyway, just in case, never use MS, Apple, Google, or any mainstream product to maintain privacy.
You may want to do some very light reading on priviledges for your platform of choice. Install your OS, create a guest account and set up the desktop with a browser and some apps that might be needed, then dial back the access so thatt he guest account can't install anything. That's all there is to it. If they complain, throw them out of the house.
Okay, fine, you got me on that one ;)
For the record, blogs are not part of the same as the insidious mess we call social media.
Honestly, who cares? I mean, really? Seriously?!
This is Facebook we're talking about, a platform that's either for people to do stupid things on or for intelligent people to either ignore or use to the absolute least degree possible.
This is, like, a First World Problem. You can't tell me this ranks up their with serious issues when the only intelligent thing to do with Facebook is to completely disregard it. People who go on FB and act wrecklessly with their private information have a whole host of problems LONG before the Facebook privacy "issue". This isn't an issue. Starvation is an issue.
"Does this set a precedent for an iOS version of Microsoft Office?"
No, it means I'm now officially tired of both companies. I hadn't realized that computers had just become red-tape machines instead of facilitators.