Another way to read it would be that Americans are simply no longer competitive, due to a culture that promotes hostility towards intellectuals and secular values; which has done nothing over the last 50 years to make the educational standards competitive. Quite the contrary. Most college course material in the US these days is written at a third grade reading level.
Is it any wonder that foreigners, from countries where they do have reasonable primary education standards do well? Just seems kind of obvious.
I'm not saying we don't need these people. At least, right now. But I think the answer is bring back competitive educational standards, and change the culture of ignorance that fears education and educated people. If we can't do that, we're done.
Or, if you're into PHP, there are several no install apache web servers you can put on a pen drive. They're both great languages though. Truth be told, I think Python is more fun, but I've always found PHP more useful.
Right. Unless they're actually using source code from the original to do it. The implications of this kind of decision, if allowed to stand would change the whole landscape of the software industry.
Not only that, but copyright doesn't cover any of this stuff. Functionality is covered by patent, not copyright. Copyright only the actual physical code. This was established decades ago when Novell sued Microsoft over menus.
How can you say Windows phone is an immature os? It's been around since the early pda's. Microsoft was one of the first companies to jump on board with a mobile os that was exactly like it's pc os. The only thing that's changed is the interface and the name. Sure, it's gotten better, but I don't think that immature is the right word to describe it. Microsoft should be ten years ahead of Android and iOs by now. I think the fact that they aren't speaks volumes about the product.
Hate to point out the obvious, but.Net is not a language. It's platform that supports multiple languages. You know, there are an awful lot of bus drivers in.net world too.
I had someone in the middle of a programming interview ask my what the logical division of space on a hard drive is. It caught me off guard. I wasn't interviewing for the systems admin role. I'm a programmer. Got the job though. Worst interview I ever had was with a certain major Indiana based drug company. Jesus Christ, they broke every rule of decorum ever. There were questions about religion, sexual orientation, and political affiliation. And then she lambasted my skillset for half an hour. Turns out that the only reason I was there was because she thought I had a hot phone voice. Good times....
I'm at the top of my skillset and am pretty happy with it. I never finished school, and I'm also happy to admit it now. I used to think I was the exception, but I realize now, after sixteen years in the field that I am actually the rule when it comes to self made men. It can be done. Especially if you're in an American job market.
The key is that you need to be a good sales person, and you also need to have realistic expectations. The first five years in a new field are the hardest. If your friend can write a good resume, with a lot of good, juicy keywords, the jobs will find him. All he has to do is put himself out there. Oh, and totally fucking up a few a phone screens is actually a great way to get a feel for what the market is like. Tell him to apply for a few jobs, and be totally and absolutely honest (no punches) during these phone screens. I did this by accident, and someone actually wrote an article in PC-World about it. It was among the most embarrassing and humbling things I've ever experienced. Humility (but only when it's correctly applied) is an asset.
Because there is no legitimate reason to not do business. The relentless war mongering against fictional bogeymen is fascinating, too.
Isn't it? That one is a complete pathology. Even going back and looking at the newspapers of the last 30 years or so, it's interesting to watch the total and unwavering support of middle eastern dictators turn into an absolute and irrational fear of terrorism. As though the two aren't related. I wonder if we would have supported destroying the Democracy in Lebanon or the the rise of the Mullahs in Iran if we knew what we would have on our hands 30 years later. Or... maybe we did. Hard to know.
It's been my experience that the best way to solve this particular problem is to find a programmer with people skills, that can accompany your sales guys around. Sales people are not programmers, but programmers are often fantastic sales people. Think about it. As a programmer who has been doing this for any length of time, your resume is a thick obsessively intricate and well put together piece of marketing material.
You've been able to land multiple jobs at multiple Fortune 500 companies, and you've successfully managed to game Monster, Dice and Hot Jobs, so that your resume always shows up on top. You're so confident in a phone interview that you give yourself one in three odds before you've even touched the receiver. And you're going to successfully convince whoever is on the other side of that call that you are educated, brilliant, and prepared to answer tough questions. Come on people! If that's not sales, I don't know what is. We all have experience in it. Because we wouldn't be employed if we weren't great bullshitters.
The only difference between us and them is the dress code, our ability to solve complex problems. Unless you've got a programmer that has some kind of severe debilitating autism, there's absolutely no reason not to take him on your sales calls, if you know technical questions are going to be asked. Besides, they lock us in windowless rooms most of the time. I haven't met a programmer yet, who wouldn't be grateful for the sunlight.
I'm not criticizing anyone. Just thought it was odd, considering all the blanket sanctions that actually do ban software companies, and anyone else for that matter from working in the country.
Sure, all this business with Flame is absolutely fascinating. But even more fascinating: why are European and American software companies doing business with Iran in the first place?
That's actually not a bad idea. She's still paying me to maintain and gradually upgrade the thing though. Biggest problem with the thing is that it pre-dates PDO, and it's big enough that we end up spending a lot more time on securing the thing than we should. Suppose there are worse things to complain about.
One mistake I made in a contract awhile back was not defining the lifetime of an app as 2 years. 4 years later, I'm holding the thing together with Elmers and prayer.
But still, some things are a matter of good taste. Sure, you can do it on your own time, but I know I wouldn't want to know what my co-workers make. Not that I think I'm under paid or anything, but it's information that simply doesn't affect me. How is discussing it with anyone going to help me?
I think countries around the world should let these people travel and reside without a requirement for a visa. Countries should compete for these workers. When that happens, the workers will go to the countries that have the most amenable conditions. Ie: the best schools, best cost of living, etc. In exchange, they get the tax dollars or the reasonably paid. This would create a world wide middle class that could move wherever it wants. I fail to see the downside.
We all thought google was a fad, the same way Lycos and Altavista, and even Yahoo were before them. Google was easily the third major contender for the crown of most used search engine. Social networking has had about three leaders so far. There's been friendster, Myspace, and now Facebook. Unless there's a sudden shift in the way Americans behave (because lets face it, we're the only ones that matter), then Facebook is not going away anytime soon. The problem being that old people never change, and they're all finally migrated away from Yahoo groups. And it's not like that was an easy task mind you. Do you have any idea how many granbabies needed to be born, or how many teenagers had to beg their grandparents to get on Facebook for that to happen? Christ, it's almost unfathomable. That said, the market is about as big as it's going to get. At least domestically. So anyway, good luck getting people to change. Especially old people.
Slashdot Mirror
Netbeans CVS is also good for hosing projects.
Another way to read it would be that Americans are simply no longer competitive, due to a culture that promotes hostility towards intellectuals and secular values; which has done nothing over the last 50 years to make the educational standards competitive. Quite the contrary. Most college course material in the US these days is written at a third grade reading level.
Is it any wonder that foreigners, from countries where they do have reasonable primary education standards do well? Just seems kind of obvious.
I'm not saying we don't need these people. At least, right now. But I think the answer is bring back competitive educational standards, and change the culture of ignorance that fears education and educated people. If we can't do that, we're done.
Or, if you're into PHP, there are several no install apache web servers you can put on a pen drive. They're both great languages though. Truth be told, I think Python is more fun, but I've always found PHP more useful.
Right. Unless they're actually using source code from the original to do it. The implications of this kind of decision, if allowed to stand would change the whole landscape of the software industry.
Not only that, but copyright doesn't cover any of this stuff. Functionality is covered by patent, not copyright. Copyright only the actual physical code. This was established decades ago when Novell sued Microsoft over menus.
The best part of the article is in how they came up with the zero dollar figure. You can't make this stuff up. Well, I suppose you could...
How can you say Windows phone is an immature os? It's been around since the early pda's. Microsoft was one of the first companies to jump on board with a mobile os that was exactly like it's pc os. The only thing that's changed is the interface and the name. Sure, it's gotten better, but I don't think that immature is the right word to describe it. Microsoft should be ten years ahead of Android and iOs by now. I think the fact that they aren't speaks volumes about the product.
Why would it even matter? Unless you're some kind of right wing, neo nazi freak - oh, wait... never mind.
Hate to point out the obvious, but .Net is not a language. It's platform that supports multiple languages. You know, there are an awful lot of bus drivers in .net world too.
I had someone in the middle of a programming interview ask my what the logical division of space on a hard drive is. It caught me off guard. I wasn't interviewing for the systems admin role. I'm a programmer. Got the job though. Worst interview I ever had was with a certain major Indiana based drug company. Jesus Christ, they broke every rule of decorum ever. There were questions about religion, sexual orientation, and political affiliation. And then she lambasted my skillset for half an hour. Turns out that the only reason I was there was because she thought I had a hot phone voice. Good times....
I'm at the top of my skillset and am pretty happy with it. I never finished school, and I'm also happy to admit it now. I used to think I was the exception, but I realize now, after sixteen years in the field that I am actually the rule when it comes to self made men. It can be done. Especially if you're in an American job market.
The key is that you need to be a good sales person, and you also need to have realistic expectations. The first five years in a new field are the hardest. If your friend can write a good resume, with a lot of good, juicy keywords, the jobs will find him. All he has to do is put himself out there. Oh, and totally fucking up a few a phone screens is actually a great way to get a feel for what the market is like. Tell him to apply for a few jobs, and be totally and absolutely honest (no punches) during these phone screens. I did this by accident, and someone actually wrote an article in PC-World about it. It was among the most embarrassing and humbling things I've ever experienced. Humility (but only when it's correctly applied) is an asset.
Because there is no legitimate reason to not do business. The relentless war mongering against fictional bogeymen is fascinating, too.
Isn't it? That one is a complete pathology. Even going back and looking at the newspapers of the last 30 years or so, it's interesting to watch the total and unwavering support of middle eastern dictators turn into an absolute and irrational fear of terrorism. As though the two aren't related. I wonder if we would have supported destroying the Democracy in Lebanon or the the rise of the Mullahs in Iran if we knew what we would have on our hands 30 years later. Or... maybe we did. Hard to know.
It's been my experience that the best way to solve this particular problem is to find a programmer with people skills, that can accompany your sales guys around. Sales people are not programmers, but programmers are often fantastic sales people. Think about it. As a programmer who has been doing this for any length of time, your resume is a thick obsessively intricate and well put together piece of marketing material.
You've been able to land multiple jobs at multiple Fortune 500 companies, and you've successfully managed to game Monster, Dice and Hot Jobs, so that your resume always shows up on top. You're so confident in a phone interview that you give yourself one in three odds before you've even touched the receiver. And you're going to successfully convince whoever is on the other side of that call that you are educated, brilliant, and prepared to answer tough questions. Come on people! If that's not sales, I don't know what is. We all have experience in it. Because we wouldn't be employed if we weren't great bullshitters.
The only difference between us and them is the dress code, our ability to solve complex problems. Unless you've got a programmer that has some kind of severe debilitating autism, there's absolutely no reason not to take him on your sales calls, if you know technical questions are going to be asked. Besides, they lock us in windowless rooms most of the time. I haven't met a programmer yet, who wouldn't be grateful for the sunlight.
A very literate answer. Thank you.
I'm not criticizing anyone. Just thought it was odd, considering all the blanket sanctions that actually do ban software companies, and anyone else for that matter from working in the country.
Sure, all this business with Flame is absolutely fascinating. But even more fascinating: why are European and American software companies doing business with Iran in the first place?
That's actually not a bad idea. She's still paying me to maintain and gradually upgrade the thing though. Biggest problem with the thing is that it pre-dates PDO, and it's big enough that we end up spending a lot more time on securing the thing than we should. Suppose there are worse things to complain about.
Despite Slashdot's popular opinion, most police officers are decent people.
That's true. But they did say the same thing about Nazi storm troopers. Despite popular opinion, mostly good people.
Oh the things and people I've googled over the years...
One mistake I made in a contract awhile back was not defining the lifetime of an app as 2 years. 4 years later, I'm holding the thing together with Elmers and prayer.
But still, some things are a matter of good taste. Sure, you can do it on your own time, but I know I wouldn't want to know what my co-workers make. Not that I think I'm under paid or anything, but it's information that simply doesn't affect me. How is discussing it with anyone going to help me?
I think countries around the world should let these people travel and reside without a requirement for a visa. Countries should compete for these workers. When that happens, the workers will go to the countries that have the most amenable conditions. Ie: the best schools, best cost of living, etc. In exchange, they get the tax dollars or the reasonably paid. This would create a world wide middle class that could move wherever it wants. I fail to see the downside.
I would rather be an eccentric old man than a stuffy old Republican any day of the week.
My time machine broke, and I accidentally irradiated Italy.
We all thought google was a fad, the same way Lycos and Altavista, and even Yahoo were before them. Google was easily the third major contender for the crown of most used search engine. Social networking has had about three leaders so far. There's been friendster, Myspace, and now Facebook. Unless there's a sudden shift in the way Americans behave (because lets face it, we're the only ones that matter), then Facebook is not going away anytime soon. The problem being that old people never change, and they're all finally migrated away from Yahoo groups. And it's not like that was an easy task mind you. Do you have any idea how many granbabies needed to be born, or how many teenagers had to beg their grandparents to get on Facebook for that to happen? Christ, it's almost unfathomable. That said, the market is about as big as it's going to get. At least domestically. So anyway, good luck getting people to change. Especially old people.
No no no. It was obviously the Cybermen. Or maybe the Borg. It all depends on which side of the Atlantic you're talking about.