- clear cables to allow you to SEE your bits coursing to and fro
- finger ports so you can FEEL your bits coursing to and fro
This is silly. I've taken apart dead hard drives and said "Cool!" and then tossed it in the trash - end of story. Let's not waste any more time on this.
First of all, its not IMPOSSIBLE to get software right.
I used to write ladder logic for programmable controllers in automobile plants. The complete program would get up into the 1000's of lines. We would be compelled contractually to test and simulate every possible scenario and problem for every single line of code before the customer would assume ownership. I am amazed that M$ and others can release software that OBVIOUSLY hasn't been tested.
Delivering a quality product that you will stand behind seems to have taken a lower priority. Maybe subjecting lax products to some liability tests wouldn't be a bad thing. The other side of the coin is the Open Source products - where do you attach liability there? And who would be willing to stick their neck out and write a module that could cost them dearly if they missed something.
Hey, hold on now... Richochet solves the problem of providing cheap bandwidth for those of us in rural areas with no cable TV access, and who live too far from a Telco switch for DSL. Don't lump it in with Iridium.
Ten years ago, I was training for my private pilot's license. I soloed (what a rush!) and was given clearance by my instructor to leave the vicinity of the airport to go ten miles north to a practice area. One day, after practicing figure-8's, I turned south to head back to the airport. This was in the pre-GPS days, so navigation was all visual. I got lost and (unknowingly) ended up approaching the local military airbase. I heard the air-traffic controller call out to the airplane headed toward him to squawk a code on the transponder and thought to myself "What idiot is flying that close to the base?" The next thing I know, I see the airbase straight ahead! A quick 180, proper squawk, and an apologetic call to the controller straightened that out.
If I was flying an air-car and my GPS or computer went out, I'd have to depend on my "seat-of-the-pants" ability to get me safely down. My story illustrates how easy it is to get in trouble in the air. I'm usually a cautious and courteous driver. Seeing the morons on the road today, I'd be pretty nervous about flying with them, let alone have them fly over me!
I agree - air-cars are a LONG way off. Don't hold your breath.
I've been there/done that. I've been out of school for 14 years, now. (Damn!) There have been times where I couldn't wait to get to work, and other times where I considered quitting on the spot.
Sure, it sucks, but, what are your alternatives?
1. Stay home with Mom and Dad (no, Dad, I WON'T watch Gilligan's Island with you again!)
2. Marry someone rich (you can get a new computer AFTER you watch my poodle for the weekend)
3. Travel on a LOW budget to see the world (senor, I can only let you ride in back with the chickens)
4. Invent the next "big" thing and strike it rich (online window-washing will be huge - I'm certain of it!)
You're going through a low-period. Stick it out. Realize that there is more to life than work. My family and friends are now priority 1, and everything else is secondary. I hope you get to that point some day. It makes life so much more worth living.
Something else that makes life more interesting: do things wrong. I'm not saying drive the wrong way down the street, but question everything you do, even if it seems trivial. You will laugh at things you've always done a certain way for no reason at all, and you just might stumble across a better way to do something. (Can you say "business opportunity"?)
This video reminds me of a day I spent at the beach as a kid, chasing my beach ball as it blew away across the sand. There was no way I was going to catch it as it approached a highway. I cried my eyes out when it got smashed by a truck.
Also, I love stories of inspiration like this one. A tire came off and rolled for 3/4 of a mile, and they said "hey! Check that out!" Isn't that how it goes? Your "baby" just disintegrates before your eyes, but as you watch it happen - between sobs - you are smacked in the head with a touch of "genius".
I'm with you on a free market, but I see where things are going right now. Having goverment intervention isn't a good thing, but sometimes it's necessary. I'm not sure that the marketplace, as it stands now, is going to wash out in our best interests. We may need some sort of governmental intervention.
Maybe we shouldn't own the info infrastructure forever. There are private entities that are much better equipped to manage it than the government. I think that this would be a good starting point, though.
The railways, by the way, were well on their way out before the Interstates. The Interstates were a response to the millions of cars on the road already. People loved the independence they provided, unlike trains. The Interstates were a late response to a growing problem.
Also, think back to the late 1800's, and the monopolies the railroads had. They wrote the book on predatory practices!
Take all of the wires in the street, and all of the telco switch facilities and give them back to the people. Make the whole infrastructure of monopoly regulated telcos belong to the people who have paid for them. They are too valuable a resource to allow to remain in the hands of a few unscrupulous companies any longer. These companies were paid a GUARANTEED profit for decades. They actually made more money because they over-built their systems. Since we already paid for it, it is righfully ours.
A cool idea! I'm all for keeping government out of our lives, but, there are times when it's necessary. We own most of the roads, most of the water and sewage distribution and treatment facilities in the U.S., why not information distribution? Look at the Interstate highway System. That was a long-term project designed to enhance our infrastructure. This sounds pretty close, if not identical, to the digital information distribution troubles we're having now. A far-sighted approach to wider bandwidth distribution to the masses might be something that the government needs to get in on.
According to NASA scientists, the agency hopes to prove that private companies could fly a Helios indefinitely, providing the telecommunications services of a satellite at a fraction of the cost.
Ok,/.'ers, let's get our pennies together, buy a fleet of those bad boys, hang some Yagi's from the wings, and get things moving!
Seriously, this has potential. I don't know what the payload would be on this bird, but you would get the advantages of satellite communication, without the latency.
(Yeah, I know, it's hanging only 19 miles AGL, which really limits its coverage, but it's a start!)
You're not getting hired because of your lack of life experience, not your technical expertise. You'll be amazed at how much you'll learn over the next few years (I know I was), and how much smarter your parents will get, too!;) To your credit, having a resume at 16 is pretty impressive. The problem is, though, that alone won't get you hired. I was getting shot down left and right back in the mid '80's after getting a EE degree (mediocre GPA - 2.7) at a good school. Once I did manage to squeak in a door, I found out what was up: places that are hiring want experienced help!
Well, shit. How can I get the experience without getting hired? (age-old question)
Lower your standards. Don't apply to just a few top places. Pepper everyone with your resume. Someone is bound to take a chance on you eventually. (Like it or not, that's what their thinking will be...you're unproven.) If you're really good, word will get around quick, and you can move up.
My family was a "Nielsen family" in the late 70's. (I always left for school with my TV on PBS, just to help them out.) They connected the tuner via some encoder to a proprietary modem, and hooked up our house with a second phone line. Well, my brother and I got a Commodore VIC-20 with a modem for Christmas soon after. Just for fun, I unplugged the Nielsen equipment and plugged in the VIC, and VOILA! We were online!
We found BBS's, which led to passwords into corporate computers, etc. We didn't hack anything, we were just seeing where we could go. An account on a GM computer was a lot of fun. We had visions of redesigning next year's model, but it never came to fruition.
The funny part of this is that years later, we recalled all of this to our parents. They got a big laugh out of it. They said that the local Nielsen rep said that there were a number of strange phone calls on that second line, and they suspected computer hackers! Of course, they knew nothing at the time, so we got away with it.
I can't remember anything as thrilling as seeing "Welcome to General Motors" popping up on the screen back then. Well, wait a minute...yes, I can...but that's off topic.;)
Slashdot Mirror
Do ex-managers make good programmers?
A small number of these submissions are simply advertisements or, in at least one case, pornography.
It also said that all submitters of comments will have their names listed in the Federal Register.
Cool! I'll be famous!
I submitted a comment...did you?
- clear cables to allow you to SEE your bits coursing to and fro
- finger ports so you can FEEL your bits coursing to and fro
This is silly. I've taken apart dead hard drives and said "Cool!" and then tossed it in the trash - end of story. Let's not waste any more time on this.
- hire Britney Spears to be your spokesperson.
- get the local TV station to do an expose on how your adversaries can't cut/copy/paste.
I used to write ladder logic for programmable controllers in automobile plants. The complete program would get up into the 1000's of lines. We would be compelled contractually to test and simulate every possible scenario and problem for every single line of code before the customer would assume ownership. I am amazed that M$ and others can release software that OBVIOUSLY hasn't been tested.
Delivering a quality product that you will stand behind seems to have taken a lower priority. Maybe subjecting lax products to some liability tests wouldn't be a bad thing. The other side of the coin is the Open Source products - where do you attach liability there? And who would be willing to stick their neck out and write a module that could cost them dearly if they missed something.
Yes, ClipIt - I will obey.
Alright bud, I'm gonna open all my ports for ddos - stand back!
Hey, ClipIt - tell me about Cut/Copy/Paste again, please?
God, I love ClipIt!
It could be extended to /. submissions, as well.
Hey, hold on now... Richochet solves the problem of providing cheap bandwidth for those of us in rural areas with no cable TV access, and who live too far from a Telco switch for DSL. Don't lump it in with Iridium.
Offtopic, mod me down - blah, blah, blah...
The article you link to is great! Thanks very much!
I've got the KPMG theme song stuck in my head now!Stupid, stupid links! ARRRGGGHHH!!!
(Score: +4, Got A Life)
Honey! Can I change my Christmas list from socks to a 4-port wall...
Huh?
Oh, it's so you can connect four computers in one location.
Yeah....yeah....
But...
Someday the dog might need an Ethernet port, too.
Oh, whatever! Get me the damned tie then!
Women! Grrrr....
Ten years ago, I was training for my private pilot's license. I soloed (what a rush!) and was given clearance by my instructor to leave the vicinity of the airport to go ten miles north to a practice area. One day, after practicing figure-8's, I turned south to head back to the airport. This was in the pre-GPS days, so navigation was all visual. I got lost and (unknowingly) ended up approaching the local military airbase. I heard the air-traffic controller call out to the airplane headed toward him to squawk a code on the transponder and thought to myself "What idiot is flying that close to the base?" The next thing I know, I see the airbase straight ahead! A quick 180, proper squawk, and an apologetic call to the controller straightened that out.
If I was flying an air-car and my GPS or computer went out, I'd have to depend on my "seat-of-the-pants" ability to get me safely down. My story illustrates how easy it is to get in trouble in the air. I'm usually a cautious and courteous driver. Seeing the morons on the road today, I'd be pretty nervous about flying with them, let alone have them fly over me!
I agree - air-cars are a LONG way off. Don't hold your breath.
It's too bad those midshipmen with the satellite with the Radio Shack components couldn't hook up with these guys. Give them your satellite, a slingshot and $ 500, and - you're in orbit!
I've been there/done that. I've been out of school for 14 years, now. (Damn!) There have been times where I couldn't wait to get to work, and other times where I considered quitting on the spot.
Sure, it sucks, but, what are your alternatives?
1. Stay home with Mom and Dad (no, Dad, I WON'T watch Gilligan's Island with you again!)
2. Marry someone rich (you can get a new computer AFTER you watch my poodle for the weekend)
3. Travel on a LOW budget to see the world (senor, I can only let you ride in back with the chickens)
4. Invent the next "big" thing and strike it rich (online window-washing will be huge - I'm certain of it!)
You're going through a low-period. Stick it out. Realize that there is more to life than work. My family and friends are now priority 1, and everything else is secondary. I hope you get to that point some day. It makes life so much more worth living.
Something else that makes life more interesting: do things wrong. I'm not saying drive the wrong way down the street, but question everything you do, even if it seems trivial. You will laugh at things you've always done a certain way for no reason at all, and you just might stumble across a better way to do something. (Can you say "business opportunity"?)
Good luck.
I've seen Cidco Mailstations for $19.99. Are there any good hacks out there for it?
Also, I love stories of inspiration like this one. A tire came off and rolled for 3/4 of a mile, and they said "hey! Check that out!" Isn't that how it goes? Your "baby" just disintegrates before your eyes, but as you watch it happen - between sobs - you are smacked in the head with a touch of "genius".
Maybe we shouldn't own the info infrastructure forever. There are private entities that are much better equipped to manage it than the government. I think that this would be a good starting point, though.
The railways, by the way, were well on their way out before the Interstates. The Interstates were a response to the millions of cars on the road already. People loved the independence they provided, unlike trains. The Interstates were a late response to a growing problem.
Also, think back to the late 1800's, and the monopolies the railroads had. They wrote the book on predatory practices!
Take all of the wires in the street, and all of the telco switch facilities and give them back to the people. Make the whole infrastructure of monopoly regulated telcos belong to the people who have paid for them. They are too valuable a resource to allow to remain in the hands of a few unscrupulous companies any longer. These companies were paid a GUARANTEED profit for decades. They actually made more money because they over-built their systems. Since we already paid for it, it is righfully ours.
A cool idea! I'm all for keeping government out of our lives, but, there are times when it's necessary. We own most of the roads, most of the water and sewage distribution and treatment facilities in the U.S., why not information distribution? Look at the Interstate highway System. That was a long-term project designed to enhance our infrastructure. This sounds pretty close, if not identical, to the digital information distribution troubles we're having now. A far-sighted approach to wider bandwidth distribution to the masses might be something that the government needs to get in on.
Ok, /.'ers, let's get our pennies together, buy a fleet of those bad boys, hang some Yagi's from the wings, and get things moving!
Seriously, this has potential. I don't know what the payload would be on this bird, but you would get the advantages of satellite communication, without the latency.
(Yeah, I know, it's hanging only 19 miles AGL, which really limits its coverage, but it's a start!)
You win.
see http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/jargon.html#crac ker
Well, shit. How can I get the experience without getting hired? (age-old question)
Lower your standards. Don't apply to just a few top places. Pepper everyone with your resume. Someone is bound to take a chance on you eventually. (Like it or not, that's what their thinking will be...you're unproven.) If you're really good, word will get around quick, and you can move up.
Yes, it was hacking, but it wasn't CRACKING, which is what I should have said.
Thanks for clearing that up.
My family was a "Nielsen family" in the late 70's. (I always left for school with my TV on PBS, just to help them out.) They connected the tuner via some encoder to a proprietary modem, and hooked up our house with a second phone line. Well, my brother and I got a Commodore VIC-20 with a modem for Christmas soon after. Just for fun, I unplugged the Nielsen equipment and plugged in the VIC, and VOILA! We were online!
We found BBS's, which led to passwords into corporate computers, etc. We didn't hack anything, we were just seeing where we could go. An account on a GM computer was a lot of fun. We had visions of redesigning next year's model, but it never came to fruition.
The funny part of this is that years later, we recalled all of this to our parents. They got a big laugh out of it. They said that the local Nielsen rep said that there were a number of strange phone calls on that second line, and they suspected computer hackers! Of course, they knew nothing at the time, so we got away with it.
I can't remember anything as thrilling as seeing "Welcome to General Motors" popping up on the screen back then. Well, wait a minute...yes, I can...but that's off topic. ;)