as one of the biggest 2001 crash victims. The original owners sold their company to Lernout-Hauspie for what was then several hundred million dollars worth of stock, and is now about ten cents worth of stock. No exaggeration here.
At least, though, they're better off than Messrs. Lernout and Hauspie, who are in jail.
The last I heard of Dragon was that the technology was sold off in the L&H bankruptcy proceedings to some software discounter.
Wait a couple of months until the massive layoffs and outsourcing begins. Anyone smart at IBM RTP will have started looking for a new job back when the rumors of this buyout started.
This sale will kill what's left of the RTP economy.
HR does nothing for the benefit of a company's employees. Nothing. They are agents of management, they are your enemies, and anything you say to them orally or in writing will be given to management to be used against you. This includes requests for "workplace improvement", suggestion boxes, and exit interviews. Do not give them anything.
>why would they only allocate 8 [actually 16] bits of memory
Because the guys who wrote that piece of crap software didn't know that an "integer" in the programming environment they were using would overflow at 32767. They didn't bother to check, either because they didn't know about overflows, didn't anticipate a vote count over 32767, or (most likely to me) thought "integer" behaved the same as in the 32-bit environment they were used to.
From other information I've seen about this system it looks like it was written in an obsolete version of Visual Basic and Access, probably something that had been on the manufacturer's shelf for years. No one wanted to spend the money to upgrade to something current. I suspect the source code no longer exists. And, yes, this does happen in the real world.
Clean-cut handsome quiz show champion goes on from record-breaking run to work for an encyclopedia company.
Does anyone else think this reeks?
(And for those who haven't heard of van Doren - look him up on Google, or watch the movie on the 50s quiz show scandals that Showtime is (by coincidence?) running this month.)
And why should they go on to a PhD or Masters when all the jobs are going to H1Bs or to Bangalore?
Kids today aren't stupid. They know that MBA and sales is where the money is, and engineering advanced degrees are a direct route to living in your car.
Any programmer that tries to "convince" management that quality assurance checking is desirable will be first on the outsource-to-India list.
Management doesn't want any backtalk about "quality". They expect the programmers to do things right the first time; that's what they're paide to do. When management has compliant workers in India that work cheap, follow instructions, don't talk back, and aren't around the manager's office geeking up the place, they're not going to bother with "quality assurance" insubordination. In particular, programming methodologies such as Extreme Programming that require greater management involvement in the coding process will be treated with scorn; management wants less involvement, not more. As to whether or not the code actually works - once it's out the door and bonuses are in hand, who cares?
Isn't that the thing I see at those temporary "book sale" shops that rent vacant shopping mall space to sell remaindered books? And isn't it on the same table with all the rest of the 1990s "make money fast in dotcoms" tomes?
It's because too many IT people think that they are Randian supermen rather than what they really are, the equivalents - in management eyes - of janitors.
I'd never hire anyone that used "Uncle Bob" as part of his professional name. What in the world is this guy thinking? That companies want childish behavior?
Well, not exactly a "failure". It appears to have been a project that was never necessary in the first place. Once management saw that nothing happened on January 1, 2000, they started wondering exactly what they had been spending all their money on - especially when they still didn't have a working system that would have solved the alleged "problem". It's a wonder that it took them as long as a month to cut their losses and stop the ongoing waste.
It's been replaced by the new methodology: "Offshore Programming":
(a) None of this "customer user story" crap that has management need to have regular contact with the development staff. Instead you give them the specs and they do the work without talking back to you. Management's time is valuable and can't be wasted on petty programming implementation details. (b) Wasting time on testing is foolish. You pay people to do the work, so they should do it right the first time. If not there are plenty of others to replace them. (c) Pair programming doesn't go far enough. If you can put two people in a cube, why not more? And reduce the space, too. But having a person looking over a cube-mate's shoulder is wasteful. Everyone should be busy producing code.
The new methodology also has these advantages: (d) You don't have to see the developers. Having a group of geeks in your office detracts from the image you want to present to clients: those people can never be part of your social group. (e) You save money by hiring people that work cheap.
Extreme Programming - so nineties. We're in a new decade now.
Slashdot Mirror
He's on the board of directors of at least one Indian outsourcing firm.
Every three or four years he finds The Next Big Hysterical Issue, promotes the hell out of it, and takes his profit.
China controls manufacturing and India IT. But America will always remain #1 in penis enlargement.
Early Silicon Valley VC, best known for being Bill Gates' ex-girlfriend.
Only living people are on this list, so Grace Hopper, Ada Lovelace, and Alan Turing are disqualified.
OTOH, the only reason to have Ann Winblad is to piss off Bill Gates - his ex-girlfriend is here; he isn't.
as one of the biggest 2001 crash victims. The original owners sold their company to Lernout-Hauspie for what was then several hundred million dollars worth of stock, and is now about ten cents worth of stock. No exaggeration here.
At least, though, they're better off than Messrs. Lernout and Hauspie, who are in jail.
The last I heard of Dragon was that the technology was sold off in the L&H bankruptcy proceedings to some software discounter.
4. Profit!
Wait a couple of months until the massive layoffs and outsourcing begins. Anyone smart at IBM RTP will have started looking for a new job back when the rumors of this buyout started.
This sale will kill what's left of the RTP economy.
HR does nothing for the benefit of a company's employees. Nothing. They are agents of management, they are your enemies, and anything you say to them orally or in writing will be given to management to be used against you. This includes requests for "workplace improvement", suggestion boxes, and exit interviews. Do not give them anything.
>why would they only allocate 8 [actually 16] bits of memory
Because the guys who wrote that piece of crap software didn't know that an "integer" in the programming environment they were using would overflow at 32767. They didn't bother to check, either because they didn't know about overflows, didn't anticipate a vote count over 32767, or (most likely to me) thought "integer" behaved the same as in the 32-bit environment they were used to.
From other information I've seen about this system it looks like it was written in an obsolete version of Visual Basic and Access, probably something that had been on the manufacturer's shelf for years. No one wanted to spend the money to upgrade to something current. I suspect the source code no longer exists. And, yes, this does happen in the real world.
Clean-cut handsome quiz show champion goes on from record-breaking run to work for an encyclopedia company.
Does anyone else think this reeks?
(And for those who haven't heard of van Doren - look him up on Google, or watch the movie on the 50s quiz show scandals that Showtime is (by coincidence?) running this month.)
Unless your degree is from India Institute of Technology, of course.
Give up on the CS degree. Study economics, go to business school, and become a manager. Then hire lots of Indians cheap.
And why should they go on to a PhD or Masters when all the jobs are going to H1Bs or to Bangalore?
Kids today aren't stupid. They know that MBA and sales is where the money is, and engineering advanced degrees are a direct route to living in your car.
Any programmer that tries to "convince" management that quality assurance checking is desirable will be first on the outsource-to-India list.
Management doesn't want any backtalk about "quality". They expect the programmers to do things right the first time; that's what they're paide to do. When management has compliant workers in India that work cheap, follow instructions, don't talk back, and aren't around the manager's office geeking up the place, they're not going to bother with "quality assurance" insubordination. In particular, programming methodologies such as Extreme Programming that require greater management involvement in the coding process will be treated with scorn; management wants less involvement, not more. As to whether or not the code actually works - once it's out the door and bonuses are in hand, who cares?
Watch as Seven of Nine is trapped inside a kinky sex club!
...
Uh, wait a minute
At current textbook prices (over $100/book) ...
Not as easily replaceable?
McDonalds fry cooks can't be replaced by workers in Bangalore.
Cluetrain Manifesto?
Isn't that the thing I see at those temporary "book sale" shops that rent vacant shopping mall space to sell remaindered books? And isn't it on the same table with all the rest of the 1990s "make money fast in dotcoms" tomes?
Spirit
Opportunity
I say "Ugly bags of mosty water" all the time to refer to some of the larger people at work
Ladies and gentlemen, today's "encouraging his management to outsource his job to India" example.
Screenwriters are stupid and need protection. They don't compare to an IT guy.
Post again in six months, after your management has sent your job off to Bangalore. Please.
if not, why not?
It's because too many IT people think that they are Randian supermen rather than what they really are, the equivalents - in management eyes - of janitors.
Tech support is in India.
I'd never hire anyone that used "Uncle Bob" as part of his professional name. What in the world is this guy thinking? That companies want childish behavior?
Well, not exactly a "failure". It appears to have been a project that was never necessary in the first place. Once management saw that nothing happened on January 1, 2000, they started wondering exactly what they had been spending all their money on - especially when they still didn't have a working system that would have solved the alleged "problem". It's a wonder that it took them as long as a month to cut their losses and stop the ongoing waste.
It's been replaced by the new methodology: "Offshore Programming" :
(a) None of this "customer user story" crap that has management need to have regular contact with the development staff. Instead you give them the specs and they do the work without talking back to you. Management's time is valuable and can't be wasted on petty programming implementation details.
(b) Wasting time on testing is foolish. You pay people to do the work, so they should do it right the first time. If not there are plenty of others to replace them.
(c) Pair programming doesn't go far enough. If you can put two people in a cube, why not more? And reduce the space, too. But having a person looking over a cube-mate's shoulder is wasteful. Everyone should be busy producing code.
The new methodology also has these advantages:
(d) You don't have to see the developers. Having a group of geeks in your office detracts from the image you want to present to clients: those people can never be part of your social group.
(e) You save money by hiring people that work cheap.
Extreme Programming - so nineties. We're in a new decade now.