Yeah - that's exactly what I came here to write. We needed a law to approve this?!? Geez. I didn't know it was against the law and would have been found guilty of high crimes against my Homeland !!
Dude - I would thumb my nose at any law counter to my beliefs!!! I'm joining the libertarian party next week - it is time to Take Back America! or is that Make America Great... Again I can never remember what our official slogan is:-D
Which is why I do 60 in a 55 zone - but that's another story.
There's this other thing called the phone book. Granted it doesn't contain your DOB. But it does have most of your name, address, and phone#.
I fail to see the importance of this database that these folks found. Yes - your data is out there - companies collect it. It exists, are you surprised? Was a law broken in "leaking" this information (doesn't sound published - more like an accidental leak). In my state it is illegal to post public access into on the web - you have to come get it in person. But I don't know what restrictions exist after that.
The larger concern from my POV is using this kind of data to build a larger database (like Nexus). My name & address? - send me lots of junk mail. Phone number? Already get plenty of robo-calls. But start opening bank accounts in my name or making purchases - that will be a PITA. It's the criminal activity I worry most about.
VISA/Mastercard already have a huge pile of data on me. They know what I purchase and how much I spend. I know this because my employer used to buy "your" name & address & income & spending history for mass-marketing campaigns (targeted marketing -- give us 50,000 people who make $80k+/year and spend X dollars at stores like Apple and Williams/Sonoma).
The fastest way to deal with this is --- delete the database. Fight back, name your children...Little Bobby Tables - https://xkcd.com/327/
Seriously though - I agree that there is no Right Way - it is what works for you. And for software anyhow... Agile works fine for getting things done - even by a specific date. This is where tools such as t-shirt size and velocity comes in. The trade-show example you mention is a Release - and using a burn-down chart allows you to know what will be done by that date. We ask ourselves during Release planning how much scope are we likely to accomplish. Granted many features come in at times as immutable feature-sets -- but they shouldn't be. Story scheduling really helps break things down so that multiple priority feature-areas can move forward in a strategic manner.
Agile is more about understanding where you are at now - and where you are likely to be in a near future. Everything else is scrambling, running around and wishful thinking. Story Points (or Value points?) are money - the PO has X dollars to spend (velocity suggests how much per sprint) - so the PO can (hypothetically) go to the backlog and pull out X dollars of Stories that they wish to have finished in the release (and the Release may be the trade show). I use Release in a soft-definition here.
I worked on a hardware program and used Agile. We had a date based upon lead time to get the final specs to the supplier - we knew that this date was "sprint 20" and prioritized as necessary to get that work done first. You can iterate and refactor hardware - granted harder to do. We iterated with Modeling on software, prototypes, requirements, and final design. But there is that set-in-stone phase - hw & agile needs a technology shift (3D printing, printed circuits for prototyping etc).
It is hard to keep the pace and stick to the concepts of Agile. I think it pays off though. Done is the hardest part. Not having a firm definition of Done (and sticking to it) is usually what causes a Release to go beyond the desired goal.
Iron Triangle - You can define Resources, Time, or Features/Quality. Resources are usually fixed - so is Time. Therefore the only knob you can adjust are what features you build (or their quality). More Features Less Quality or Fewer Features More Quality. Ratio: Features/Quality:-)
The one place that I haven't seen Agile handle well is multiple teams/disciplines across a large organization. This still seems to be best served with a Gantt chart and more traditional PMs. Esp if one team needs training or the like from another team - anything that has a hand-off and the resources need to be scheduled (all remote employees will be in town during week XXX for training) - this can't be "Agile" because plane tickets and rooms to book etc.
What I call the business of engineering - engineers need to think like business people. No you won't be allowed to disappear for 8 months and rewrite the product - need to keep the lights on... (plus - you created the current crap, why would you get it correct the second time?).
As others have said - use the principles of Agile. Have a clear definition of Done (Code, code review, test execution - story acceptance [tests pass & PO sign off]). This is basic 101 stuff. Plus a Clear process (use "Scrum" to enforce the good ideas). If you aren't doing this your company is behind the adoption curve. It was a new concept in 2001 - 20 years later it isn't new.
Listen to your customers. All of the little bug reports need to be grouped - New Features - per Feature, and Poor Quality (per Feature). And then own it. The business person should be able to work with you to help prioritize where investment makes sense. Where are customers complaining the most - and why? Looking at new Features should give the PO an idea of what the "Future" product needs to look like (customers do business differently as time goes on). Poor Quality - focus on distinct areas. You can't tackle it all in a single release.
Second - would a new architecture make sense? SOA/Micro is nice - but you can still create crap - you've done it before. Just that crap is isolated. Plus there's a whole new set of problems to deal with (lost or replay messages etc). But if you can make a Business case for a new architecture - then do it. And TCO can be measured (incoming bug rated decline or something like that - get your metrics defined). What are the current problems and what design changes will take care of them? Plus it helps set priorities for refactoring.
Third - any commonality to your quality issues? Figure that out and solve it. Mentor others, solve the problems, and finally - if you need it - define some process. Process will not improve quality by itself (actually process won't solve anything - you define process as the repeatable method to keep the problem solved).
Focus on each problem area - add *some* missing features, fix *some* bugs, and then move onto the next pile. Biggest impact first - make customer happy.
Listen to your customers !! Are you doing a good job? Yes - Keep going. No - "pivot"
It requires dedicated focus and commitment of everyone involved to decide it is a problem they want to solve. The company must sign up to be Agile as well - and you'll need to make the business case for why Agile is a good thing. Enlist sympathetic business people/managers. Make the story compelling.
This is such a bullshit making a mountain from a molehill article. The moderator did not "quickly shut things down" - the above OP is crap.
"Hi - we're here to talk about the new Ford Mustang" --- Question: "What do you think of the decision to use Aluminum in the F150 frame?" "uh - yeah - great idea, lots of interesting engineering problems to solve... Next Question"
You are Correct. If you listen to the Video the host answers the question asked - but says effectively "this isn't what we came to talk about" - and continues to do his best to answer the question anyhow. After that the moderator comes on and says that this is off topic and further questions will be taken offline.
While I agree that security should be thought of from the get-go, they came to talk about something specific. the OP pulled a 10 second clip and skewed it.
yeah - this really is "from scratch" I read the first few pages - including some of the Q&A. The detail is amazing. The kinds of questions he anticipates - he is trying to teach all possible knowledge
Although, I did find the Machine Learning section pretty cool.
Yeah - as several other folks have posted - WLW was pretty good. It was simple and had only the necessary bells-whistles. Followed the KISS principle - I couldn't believe MS created it. The only thing to come out of the "Windows Live" era that was any good.
I liked it because I did most of my writing offline (disconnected) - plus it produced "real" HTML without lots of frames-in-frames.
As for MS open sourcing it - why not? The new sheriff has committed MS to Open Source - so rather than kill off something that many liked - just upload it on SourceFor^H^H^H^H....github and enjoy the independent life.
I've watched a lot of his videos over the years - great entertainment. He makes a lot of bold statements about lock companies to stay away from - seems almost libelous.
But when is YouTube going to sue him for stealing their logo? Lock Tube down to the color and shape of the logo.:-)
Thanks for the link. It is amazing how far technology has progressed. To think that it took a WHOLE PC to run Windows/DOS and now it can run (pretty well) in a scripted language hosted by another app. I took a look at the source of one of these JS emulation projects and it is amazing the level at which it works - pretty darned cool. I played DOOM in a browser a few years ago - worked better than my 486 of yesteryear.
I'll bet if I looked I'd find one as a VBA macro in Excel.
I'm pretty sure they put it on a shelf for now - and that developers can still take a look at it. I don't think open source - but it is still available for people to play with and take a look at it. Gosh - can't remember my source, maybe a recent Dotnetrocks episode?
Apparently there were parts that they couldn't figure out - and the implementation was becoming ugly.
Sounds like the approach was never going to work out - so they are taking time to rethink it.
Very true I'm sure. But I also believe in "where there's a will, there's a way"
I've been in these kinds of discussions. The Cost to figure out or build such a gap-device is too-large, or equal to "just rewrite it in modern tech." So everyone waits for another 10 years while the rewrite doesn't happen. Rather than picking it apart and refactoring a bit here and there - wait for the big bang!!
The ex-Top Gear hosts showed their excitement for the craft by attempting to Revive it with better technology (portable Van for commuters) - and in a later episode a race though a city.
Although - they may have crushed any hopes that the technology would catch on by mocking the noise & mess they create in front of a "high-class" restaurant.
While driving in the race Clarkson indirectly showed how dangerous the craft can be - tight turns and short stops were impossible. Of course his buffoonery amplified the problems.
While the show needs to grow and match the desires of a modern audience - I look at the shows that they reference the director/producers having been a part of. Would I want to watch a Star Trek that looked and felt like Scorpion? Fast conclusion jumping & non-plausible stories? (I watched 1 episode of Scorpion this year and it seemed more of a comedy/don't-take-this-serious than the few I watched last year).
And is it Abrams? Great question. It was supposed to be a Reboot Franchise film - you can't have the TV show straying from the now New-Original that started it all:-P
I find that the films have been Action Adventure ala Die Hard and lower on Thought process.
Yeah - I liked Voyager too. Enterprise didn't get good until the last season - maybe the fire of cancellation allowed them to Go Boldly !
Granted Voyager did have a few weak seasons and slow story arcs. Overall I liked it.
Enterprise though suffered from being weirdly outside the 'Verse. The whole Kinder Gentler thing was weak. Just thinking about the World and current state - I expect we'd be more Military in our approach to space exploration "v1" - not a bunch of scaredy cats. Sure I know that we as human's in Star Trek land have put aside monetary and other issues in society - but I don't believe that will happen pre-Star Trek. And no version of Star Trek has ever been kinder & gentle. All Captains have pushed the "fire" button when necessary.
In the final season they became angry and focused on a mission. That's when the show became good.
If I remember the baby book correctly - kids focus on the Largest thing they see. Their brain processes items in a priority order - big first, small last. (hmm.... now wondering if small print in Ads is related to this and not space limitations) So big text allows them to "see" the text over any pictures on the page. Of course - this is for small kids. Old people it's because they need a new prescription for glasses.
Aside from that - conceptually the JS example is certainly "small print" or too busy. When I'm first looking at something that interests me - but maybe I haven't made up my mind whether I want to commit, I like the examples to be simple. Conceptual. Interest me in the topic.
The JS/HTML example is full of syntax and crowded with markup. Yes HTML is complicated (lots of typing). But Hello World in HTML is different from Javascript. Honestly I might have lied a bit and shown just the JS - and used a pretty printer to fit the space (and maybe black&white code - colors are busy and what do they mean?)
I became interested in computers when I used a modem to direct-connect to a friend who also had one and we typed text back and forth. After that I learned BASIC and the AT commands for the modem. My fascination was in knowing that this Computer would obey my every command - I could make lights blink, or characters flash/blink on the display.
Stupid simple things - but they were cool to me. My first exposure wasn't even code. It was dumb terminal program that shipped with IBM PC BASIC. But it was Simple and there was a Concept that spoke to me.
I can see the future when Amazon buys FedEx or UPS (or an unknown). Sure it is all out-sourced to them - but they have all created huge distribution networks.
Walmart can become like those Delivery Only Pizza places...or dare I say.. Service Merchandise.
This is where Walmart can beat Amazon - they already have the local warehouse and future distribution center. Amazon is still building theirs.
For those who don't recall who/what Service Merchandise was - Catalog shopping. A mashup of online stores of today. You physically browsed the inventory/catalog and placed your order to pickup In-store. You didn't buy anything off the shelf - instead you placed your order at a computer and it would roll out at the front of the store for pickup, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Yes - I agree that they are still thinking about it wrong. The reason that I use local pickup is because I want it now - today - like in the next 30 minutes. And that's the only option the store provides.
Now - if I could get somebody to drive it over to my house and Deliver it, I would. I shop online to see what is available in a lower stress env (plus I'm thinking about the item Now! Not add to Shopping-List, but Add to Cart!). Of course - rarely do I actually need it Now -- rather today - by 5pm. So load up that truck and bring it today---I can wait for bulk delivery to my neighborhood. Save me the trip and the lines.
I don't *want* Local Pickup. But because that's all that is available when "I need it now" then that's what I use.
Besides - standing in line to checkout at Walmart sucks. My god they have long slow moving lines. So much so that I would rather use Amazon Prime and *wait* two days than shop locally. That's how much it rubs me the wrong way, I avoid Walmart because of the long lines. There are more people standing in the front of the store waiting to checkout than browsing the shelves - if Local Pickup means standing in line to... pickup...ain't gonna use that either.
ah - thanks. I didn't make a living out of hardware at that level so the nomenclature is foggy. I could program better than I could solder. Making those little lights blink and obey my commands was so cool I just kept going with software. I shall stand on the shoulders of hardware engineers !!!!:-P
I recently bought a Raspberry Pi2 hoping to get back in on the fun.
Along similar lines I proposed that certain devices be locked. I approached as a consumer. Power output strength etc. Anything that the FCC governs to protect interference.
WiFi routers can't output beyond their class governance because some kids were having fun. Esp in this age where people can download this from others without understanding the impact. One person was experimenting with friends to see if they could send a signal 30 miles across Kansas - this can't be used in the middle of a big city.
General operation, features, etc need to remain dynamic. In this throw away world - I bought a router that never had updates beyond the day it was made. There were bugs - feature and security. Loading an open source code base onto it fixed my issues and gave life to the device.
But I also suggested that manufactures might be held accountable for this. Each new platform maybe needs a backward compat. Think of video card companies - at least one has a single driver that works with all hardware. Why are people doing this? Some are having fun, pushing the envelop, creating tomorrows tech... others because they paid $200 for a device that was obsolete when they got it home.
I don't know that I agree. IBM used to print the assembly source for their IBM PC BIOS and include it in the tech manual (I still have it - the PC and the manual).
Conceptually you are correct in the description of the firmware. But it is source code that created it. Although maybe there's a definition that is missing - one person's firmware is another's BIOS / EE-PROMs etc.
I used to have an old 8080 prototype kit. Think RaspPI of yester-year. The boot prom could be yanked out and stuck in a cradle attached to a PC w/ serial cable. I would write "code" that would burn the ROM and then plug it back onto the motherboard. While booting the second phase was to load my higher level code and execute it. The kit had push pin board with a EEPROM that could be written multiple times. But once it was working I'd write one with a ROM device that would make it permanent (true ROM). It's a been 30 years so I've forgotten all of the details. I just remember it having a little window on the top that the UV light would shine through to erase it.
I could have provided you a print out of my firmware boot ROM source-code. And if you understood the code - you'd understand what the firmware was doing.
ya-know - another idea might be to charge the device to a higher voltage - and then have metal edges exposed through the stick. So that the shock is delivered to the User when they attempt to pull it out.
The stick would do nothing to the computer - maybe even be empty or show an error. But zap the user could be the prank.
Kind of a whoopie cushion for computers. Oooh oooh - it could emit blue smoke !!
Yup - I see this being available for April 1 next year.
uhh, well. I would think using an Ad blocker is more like "Commons" than pay-as-you-want. Everyone consumes to the detriment of all.
With pay-what-you-want - people add to the system which (they believe) has value. Sure some sit out, but the cause is seen as important and many (enough) want to join in and support the system.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah - that's exactly what I came here to write. We needed a law to approve this?!? Geez. I didn't know it was against the law and would have been found guilty of high crimes against my Homeland !!
Dude - I would thumb my nose at any law counter to my beliefs!!! I'm joining the libertarian party next week - it is time to Take Back America! or is that Make America Great ... Again I can never remember what our official slogan is :-D
Which is why I do 60 in a 55 zone - but that's another story.
There's this other thing called the phone book. Granted it doesn't contain your DOB. But it does have most of your name, address, and phone#.
I fail to see the importance of this database that these folks found. Yes - your data is out there - companies collect it. It exists, are you surprised? Was a law broken in "leaking" this information (doesn't sound published - more like an accidental leak). In my state it is illegal to post public access into on the web - you have to come get it in person. But I don't know what restrictions exist after that.
The larger concern from my POV is using this kind of data to build a larger database (like Nexus). My name & address? - send me lots of junk mail. Phone number? Already get plenty of robo-calls. But start opening bank accounts in my name or making purchases - that will be a PITA. It's the criminal activity I worry most about.
VISA/Mastercard already have a huge pile of data on me. They know what I purchase and how much I spend. I know this because my employer used to buy "your" name & address & income & spending history for mass-marketing campaigns (targeted marketing -- give us 50,000 people who make $80k+/year and spend X dollars at stores like Apple and Williams/Sonoma).
The fastest way to deal with this is --- delete the database. Fight back, name your children...Little Bobby Tables - https://xkcd.com/327/
Well - "you're doing it wrong" ;-)
Seriously though - I agree that there is no Right Way - it is what works for you. And for software anyhow... Agile works fine for getting things done - even by a specific date. This is where tools such as t-shirt size and velocity comes in. The trade-show example you mention is a Release - and using a burn-down chart allows you to know what will be done by that date. We ask ourselves during Release planning how much scope are we likely to accomplish. Granted many features come in at times as immutable feature-sets -- but they shouldn't be. Story scheduling really helps break things down so that multiple priority feature-areas can move forward in a strategic manner.
Agile is more about understanding where you are at now - and where you are likely to be in a near future. Everything else is scrambling, running around and wishful thinking. Story Points (or Value points?) are money - the PO has X dollars to spend (velocity suggests how much per sprint) - so the PO can (hypothetically) go to the backlog and pull out X dollars of Stories that they wish to have finished in the release (and the Release may be the trade show). I use Release in a soft-definition here.
I worked on a hardware program and used Agile. We had a date based upon lead time to get the final specs to the supplier - we knew that this date was "sprint 20" and prioritized as necessary to get that work done first. You can iterate and refactor hardware - granted harder to do. We iterated with Modeling on software, prototypes, requirements, and final design. But there is that set-in-stone phase - hw & agile needs a technology shift (3D printing, printed circuits for prototyping etc).
It is hard to keep the pace and stick to the concepts of Agile. I think it pays off though. Done is the hardest part. Not having a firm definition of Done (and sticking to it) is usually what causes a Release to go beyond the desired goal.
Iron Triangle - You can define Resources, Time, or Features/Quality. Resources are usually fixed - so is Time. Therefore the only knob you can adjust are what features you build (or their quality). More Features Less Quality or Fewer Features More Quality. Ratio: Features/Quality :-)
The one place that I haven't seen Agile handle well is multiple teams/disciplines across a large organization. This still seems to be best served with a Gantt chart and more traditional PMs. Esp if one team needs training or the like from another team - anything that has a hand-off and the resources need to be scheduled (all remote employees will be in town during week XXX for training) - this can't be "Agile" because plane tickets and rooms to book etc.
or it will own you. Been there done that.
What I call the business of engineering - engineers need to think like business people. No you won't be allowed to disappear for 8 months and rewrite the product - need to keep the lights on... (plus - you created the current crap, why would you get it correct the second time?).
As others have said - use the principles of Agile. Have a clear definition of Done (Code, code review, test execution - story acceptance [tests pass & PO sign off]). This is basic 101 stuff. Plus a Clear process (use "Scrum" to enforce the good ideas). If you aren't doing this your company is behind the adoption curve. It was a new concept in 2001 - 20 years later it isn't new.
Listen to your customers. All of the little bug reports need to be grouped - New Features - per Feature, and Poor Quality (per Feature). And then own it. The business person should be able to work with you to help prioritize where investment makes sense. Where are customers complaining the most - and why? Looking at new Features should give the PO an idea of what the "Future" product needs to look like (customers do business differently as time goes on). Poor Quality - focus on distinct areas. You can't tackle it all in a single release.
Second - would a new architecture make sense? SOA/Micro is nice - but you can still create crap - you've done it before. Just that crap is isolated. Plus there's a whole new set of problems to deal with (lost or replay messages etc). But if you can make a Business case for a new architecture - then do it. And TCO can be measured (incoming bug rated decline or something like that - get your metrics defined). What are the current problems and what design changes will take care of them? Plus it helps set priorities for refactoring.
Third - any commonality to your quality issues? Figure that out and solve it. Mentor others, solve the problems, and finally - if you need it - define some process. Process will not improve quality by itself (actually process won't solve anything - you define process as the repeatable method to keep the problem solved).
Focus on each problem area - add *some* missing features, fix *some* bugs, and then move onto the next pile. Biggest impact first - make customer happy.
Listen to your customers !! Are you doing a good job? Yes - Keep going. No - "pivot"
It requires dedicated focus and commitment of everyone involved to decide it is a problem they want to solve. The company must sign up to be Agile as well - and you'll need to make the business case for why Agile is a good thing. Enlist sympathetic business people/managers. Make the story compelling.
Think like a business person.
Use the force and become a Change Agent!
This is such a bullshit making a mountain from a molehill article. The moderator did not "quickly shut things down" - the above OP is crap.
"Hi - we're here to talk about the new Ford Mustang" --- Question: "What do you think of the decision to use Aluminum in the F150 frame?" "uh - yeah - great idea, lots of interesting engineering problems to solve ... Next Question"
You are Correct. If you listen to the Video the host answers the question asked - but says effectively "this isn't what we came to talk about" - and continues to do his best to answer the question anyhow. After that the moderator comes on and says that this is off topic and further questions will be taken offline.
While I agree that security should be thought of from the get-go, they came to talk about something specific. the OP pulled a 10 second clip and skewed it.
yeah - this really is "from scratch" I read the first few pages - including some of the Q&A. The detail is amazing. The kinds of questions he anticipates - he is trying to teach all possible knowledge
Although, I did find the Machine Learning section pretty cool.
Yeah - as several other folks have posted - WLW was pretty good. It was simple and had only the necessary bells-whistles. Followed the KISS principle - I couldn't believe MS created it. The only thing to come out of the "Windows Live" era that was any good.
I liked it because I did most of my writing offline (disconnected) - plus it produced "real" HTML without lots of frames-in-frames.
As for MS open sourcing it - why not? The new sheriff has committed MS to Open Source - so rather than kill off something that many liked - just upload it on SourceFor^H^H^H^H....github and enjoy the independent life.
I've watched a lot of his videos over the years - great entertainment. He makes a lot of bold statements about lock companies to stay away from - seems almost libelous.
But when is YouTube going to sue him for stealing their logo? Lock Tube down to the color and shape of the logo. :-)
Seriously - his videos are a lot of fun to watch.
The monkeys on the internet have been active !!!
Thanks for the link. It is amazing how far technology has progressed. To think that it took a WHOLE PC to run Windows/DOS and now it can run (pretty well) in a scripted language hosted by another app. I took a look at the source of one of these JS emulation projects and it is amazing the level at which it works - pretty darned cool. I played DOOM in a browser a few years ago - worked better than my 486 of yesteryear.
I'll bet if I looked I'd find one as a VBA macro in Excel.
I'm pretty sure they put it on a shelf for now - and that developers can still take a look at it. I don't think open source - but it is still available for people to play with and take a look at it. Gosh - can't remember my source, maybe a recent Dotnetrocks episode?
Apparently there were parts that they couldn't figure out - and the implementation was becoming ugly.
Sounds like the approach was never going to work out - so they are taking time to rethink it.
Very true I'm sure. But I also believe in "where there's a will, there's a way"
I've been in these kinds of discussions. The Cost to figure out or build such a gap-device is too-large, or equal to "just rewrite it in modern tech." So everyone waits for another 10 years while the rewrite doesn't happen. Rather than picking it apart and refactoring a bit here and there - wait for the big bang!!
> [ Or emulate ] ....In a Browser.
The ex-Top Gear hosts showed their excitement for the craft by attempting to Revive it with better technology (portable Van for commuters) - and in a later episode a race though a city.
Although - they may have crushed any hopes that the technology would catch on by mocking the noise & mess they create in front of a "high-class" restaurant.
While driving in the race Clarkson indirectly showed how dangerous the craft can be - tight turns and short stops were impossible. Of course his buffoonery amplified the problems.
I see a higher level of catering necessary for this desk.
Just push my Dr Pepper & Tuna sandwiches via a tube and I would never have to get up.
While the show needs to grow and match the desires of a modern audience - I look at the shows that they reference the director/producers having been a part of. Would I want to watch a Star Trek that looked and felt like Scorpion? Fast conclusion jumping & non-plausible stories? (I watched 1 episode of Scorpion this year and it seemed more of a comedy/don't-take-this-serious than the few I watched last year).
And is it Abrams? Great question. It was supposed to be a Reboot Franchise film - you can't have the TV show straying from the now New-Original that started it all :-P
I find that the films have been Action Adventure ala Die Hard and lower on Thought process.
Yeah - I liked Voyager too. Enterprise didn't get good until the last season - maybe the fire of cancellation allowed them to Go Boldly !
Granted Voyager did have a few weak seasons and slow story arcs. Overall I liked it.
Enterprise though suffered from being weirdly outside the 'Verse. The whole Kinder Gentler thing was weak. Just thinking about the World and current state - I expect we'd be more Military in our approach to space exploration "v1" - not a bunch of scaredy cats. Sure I know that we as human's in Star Trek land have put aside monetary and other issues in society - but I don't believe that will happen pre-Star Trek. And no version of Star Trek has ever been kinder & gentle. All Captains have pushed the "fire" button when necessary.
In the final season they became angry and focused on a mission. That's when the show became good.
If I remember the baby book correctly - kids focus on the Largest thing they see. Their brain processes items in a priority order - big first, small last. (hmm.... now wondering if small print in Ads is related to this and not space limitations) So big text allows them to "see" the text over any pictures on the page. Of course - this is for small kids. Old people it's because they need a new prescription for glasses.
Aside from that - conceptually the JS example is certainly "small print" or too busy. When I'm first looking at something that interests me - but maybe I haven't made up my mind whether I want to commit, I like the examples to be simple. Conceptual. Interest me in the topic.
The JS/HTML example is full of syntax and crowded with markup. Yes HTML is complicated (lots of typing). But Hello World in HTML is different from Javascript. Honestly I might have lied a bit and shown just the JS - and used a pretty printer to fit the space (and maybe black&white code - colors are busy and what do they mean?)
I became interested in computers when I used a modem to direct-connect to a friend who also had one and we typed text back and forth. After that I learned BASIC and the AT commands for the modem. My fascination was in knowing that this Computer would obey my every command - I could make lights blink, or characters flash/blink on the display.
Stupid simple things - but they were cool to me. My first exposure wasn't even code. It was dumb terminal program that shipped with IBM PC BASIC. But it was Simple and there was a Concept that spoke to me.
Don't shoot the car - shoot the operator !!
no wait. that doesn't sound right.
The 4,000 lb car isn't hurting you (?!) the 150 lb person is ! Indirectly true. Physically, wrong.
Shoot the drone or find the operator and put the bird shot in their butt !! I'll take "shoot drone" for 100 Alex - get'r done.
I can see the future when Amazon buys FedEx or UPS (or an unknown). Sure it is all out-sourced to them - but they have all created huge distribution networks.
Walmart can become like those Delivery Only Pizza places...or dare I say.. Service Merchandise.
This is where Walmart can beat Amazon - they already have the local warehouse and future distribution center. Amazon is still building theirs.
For those who don't recall who/what Service Merchandise was - Catalog shopping. A mashup of online stores of today. You physically browsed the inventory/catalog and placed your order to pickup In-store. You didn't buy anything off the shelf - instead you placed your order at a computer and it would roll out at the front of the store for pickup, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Yes - I agree that they are still thinking about it wrong. The reason that I use local pickup is because I want it now - today - like in the next 30 minutes. And that's the only option the store provides.
Now - if I could get somebody to drive it over to my house and Deliver it, I would. I shop online to see what is available in a lower stress env (plus I'm thinking about the item Now! Not add to Shopping-List, but Add to Cart!). Of course - rarely do I actually need it Now -- rather today - by 5pm. So load up that truck and bring it today---I can wait for bulk delivery to my neighborhood. Save me the trip and the lines.
I don't *want* Local Pickup. But because that's all that is available when "I need it now" then that's what I use.
Besides - standing in line to checkout at Walmart sucks. My god they have long slow moving lines. So much so that I would rather use Amazon Prime and *wait* two days than shop locally. That's how much it rubs me the wrong way, I avoid Walmart because of the long lines. There are more people standing in the front of the store waiting to checkout than browsing the shelves - if Local Pickup means standing in line to ... pickup...ain't gonna use that either.
ah - thanks. I didn't make a living out of hardware at that level so the nomenclature is foggy. I could program better than I could solder. Making those little lights blink and obey my commands was so cool I just kept going with software. I shall stand on the shoulders of hardware engineers !!!! :-P
I recently bought a Raspberry Pi2 hoping to get back in on the fun.
Along similar lines I proposed that certain devices be locked. I approached as a consumer. Power output strength etc. Anything that the FCC governs to protect interference.
WiFi routers can't output beyond their class governance because some kids were having fun. Esp in this age where people can download this from others without understanding the impact. One person was experimenting with friends to see if they could send a signal 30 miles across Kansas - this can't be used in the middle of a big city.
General operation, features, etc need to remain dynamic. In this throw away world - I bought a router that never had updates beyond the day it was made. There were bugs - feature and security. Loading an open source code base onto it fixed my issues and gave life to the device.
But I also suggested that manufactures might be held accountable for this. Each new platform maybe needs a backward compat. Think of video card companies - at least one has a single driver that works with all hardware. Why are people doing this? Some are having fun, pushing the envelop, creating tomorrows tech... others because they paid $200 for a device that was obsolete when they got it home.
I don't know that I agree. IBM used to print the assembly source for their IBM PC BIOS and include it in the tech manual (I still have it - the PC and the manual).
Conceptually you are correct in the description of the firmware. But it is source code that created it. Although maybe there's a definition that is missing - one person's firmware is another's BIOS / EE-PROMs etc.
I used to have an old 8080 prototype kit. Think RaspPI of yester-year. The boot prom could be yanked out and stuck in a cradle attached to a PC w/ serial cable. I would write "code" that would burn the ROM and then plug it back onto the motherboard. While booting the second phase was to load my higher level code and execute it. The kit had push pin board with a EEPROM that could be written multiple times. But once it was working I'd write one with a ROM device that would make it permanent (true ROM). It's a been 30 years so I've forgotten all of the details. I just remember it having a little window on the top that the UV light would shine through to erase it.
I could have provided you a print out of my firmware boot ROM source-code. And if you understood the code - you'd understand what the firmware was doing.
ya-know - another idea might be to charge the device to a higher voltage - and then have metal edges exposed through the stick. So that the shock is delivered to the User when they attempt to pull it out.
The stick would do nothing to the computer - maybe even be empty or show an error. But zap the user could be the prank.
Kind of a whoopie cushion for computers. Oooh oooh - it could emit blue smoke !!
Yup - I see this being available for April 1 next year.
uhh, well. I would think using an Ad blocker is more like "Commons" than pay-as-you-want. Everyone consumes to the detriment of all.
With pay-what-you-want - people add to the system which (they believe) has value. Sure some sit out, but the cause is seen as important and many (enough) want to join in and support the system.
With ad blocking, people just consume.