My suggestion is you look at your current list of contractors, order them by how well they cooperate with you, and make the "best" an offer. You won't find anybody perfect, better the developer you know than the genius you don't!
This is the (beginning of the) age of maturity of mankind: interpret scripture yourself.
Before the return of Christ, there were rabbis, priests, mullahs, gurus, etc to guide the faithful. But now, God expects us to grow up and deal with multiple interpretations, seek out truth independently, consult with others as equals, and come to our own understanding.
A literal interpretation of holy writings soon leads to confusion, obscures the truth, and makes it unnecessarily hard for rational individuals to realize the spiritual truths enshrined therein.
The stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses provide spiritual teachings, such as: “God the Creator”, “God the Protector”, “God the Provider” - they are not historical accounts.
In this day, now that Christ has returned, such stories, and the teachings they provide can be viewed as the necessary steps and fundamental building blocks of our current task: to build the Kingdom of God on Earth.
Definitely take a look at the Alfresco Community Edition, which is free but without support: http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Download_and_Install_Alfresco Just install it and try it out, it's an easy install and quick to learn, but full of the options used in enterprise document management systems that you can master when you need them. We use the Share interface to manage the documents in each of our projects.
VisiNav looks very interesting, with a strong focus on class/object hierarchies that could work well on clean, well-structured data sets -- and may be exactly what the poster needs!
Could you explain here how to continue with VisiNav past the demo? How would the poster adapt VisiNav to his needs: set up his own system and use his own dataset?
Is VisiNav a research experiment, an open source project, or a commercial product? What licences is it available with? Is it open source?
Yes, Google's Search Appliance (GSA) could be used, I have seen it used with limited success. The main problem was how to respect access control on documents: either you index them or you don't, and if you index them with GSA, sensitive data may show up in search results. Also, we had a lot of trouble "taming" GSA: it would regularly take down servers that were dimensioned for light loads.
I would suggest using Alfresco http://www.alfresco.com/ as a CIFS (Common Internet File System) or WebDav store for all those documents. This would give you the simplicity of a shared folder and the opportunity to enrich the documents with searchable metadata such as tags, etc. Each folder (or any item, in fact) could have the correct access control that would be respected by the search engine, Lucene. http://lucene.apache.org/java/docs/
Alfresco comes in both Enterprise and Community Edition, it's very easy to try out -- even our non-techie project manager could install it on his PC within 10 minutes. Try that with Documentum, FileNet or IBM DB2 Content Manager!
I guess you will be deleting you Slashdot account as well, then? Are you talking seriousity?:-)
Might as well cut yourself out of society. Facebook et al are minuscule steps toward the singularity - do you think that will happen without loss of privacy? It will be painful.
Stand up and sing out: "YES! I cut my finger today! Revel in the mundane details of my life, will you?" And the discordant songs shall melt in the fire of onrushing destiny until we are all united as one melody, beating in harmony with the pain and dreams of an entire civilization.
Linux friendly hardware is on it's way -- I have pre-ordered an ARM based Touch Book from Always Innovating that will never run Windows, it runs Linux and has a 8.9 inches 1024x600 A+ ressure sensitive touch screen
The Touch Book from Always Innovating has a detachable keyboard and a touchscreen. I've pre-ordered one, and expect to have it by September. Looks like it may be part of the future you speak of -- though it won't play Planetscape Torment on it's ARM processor...:-)
The manufacturer or supplier has already provided a useful, unique ID: the Service Tag. Just keep track of them yourself for accounting and support purposes, and the Service Tag gives the additional benefit of providing the self-supported end-user with direct access to correct support on the suppliers' web site.
I think "intelligent people" realize that there are other intelligent people out there that have more experience than them selves -- and some of them write books.
Now, learning from books may be fine for many things, but marriage is a more practical matter. Our illusions about marriage are colored "love", or rather infatuation, as the initial phase is called. Love is beautiful, but infatuation builds dangerous illusions.
I've pre-ordered the Touch Book from Always Innovating, and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it. Should be shipping as-we-speak, so hands-on reviews should be showing up any day now!
I cant wait to get my hands on my own Touch Book!:-)
Good references, thanks! Made me think: how could making a digital copy be understood as "permanently depriving"? Obviously, the original copy has not been permanently deprived from the owner. But the copy you see has been permanently deprived. The owner can no longer sell you your "first look" at the content when you have already had a first look. So what is "stolen" is not the content itself, but that first look -- which must be the content owner's property. Hm. Hope they don't read slashdot!:-)
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_crystal_display LCD displays are graded "A" or "B" according to how few pixel defects to expect. I'm guessing "A+" is a better grade. But who knows? Of course in C 'A'++ would actually be 'B', so A+ must be somewhere between A and B? Floating point chars, anyone?:-)
The internal USB is for system upgrade type stuff. I.e the Touch Book's WiFi is provided by a replaceable internal USB dongle. Say next year WiMax comes of age - what do you do? Simply replace the internal WiFi on USB to WiMax on USB. Pure genius! Say you want to want to watch movies on a long trip: load them onto a USB stick, put it inside, and your movie collection is now an integral part of the Touch Book - can't fall off, can't snag, will always work. Perfect mobility!
As they say:
The Touch Book is built to last!
Built by open people on an open platform supporting (open) standards running an open OS (or any you choose). I'm hyped!:-)
Archivista seems to be be a solution worth looking into for him. I guess he has to try and install the software and test it himself, because the explanation on the (English) website is almost incomprehensible -- I understand spoken German, but mixing German and English, ugh! I work with Alfresco, which is a nice DMS, but without the integrated OCR that Archivista seems to provide. Alfresco can integrate with various OCR solutions though, has a very active community -- and a comprehensible website!
Wow, I really like this post. You hit the nail on the head: The CIO is absolutey not clueless, he has some other objective in mind that he keeps secret. My CIO just got voted "CIO of the year" and we all went "WTF!?" because he seems so clueless. Thinkning about it (and having your post help) he just knows how to be a "good CIO". It's a game I don't think I want to play (nor am I good at it), but the pay is good. I think I'll stay with what I enjoy, in the trenches.
There are many examples of industries like bakery that have changed radically - my father worked with type setting in his youth (he's a master typographer) but now that occupation is almost extinct. He had to start over from scratch three times, simply because technology made what he was doing obsolete. But the product is still alive: people still need nice-looking printed material, it's just made in a different way these days. At one time he was king of typesetting, now anyone can do a half-decent job with a PC.
Music - and also IT - will, I believe, change in radical ways as well. Music will never die, but how it is produced and sold will change - perhaps in the same way bakery has: factories produce high-volume, low quality stuff, and individual (not-for-profit) artists will continue to create home-baked music. Maybe!
Code is changed over time by the programmers who devote their energies to it. In effect, code is alive - each time code is changed, that change betters the code in a way that is similar to evolution. Each "generation" is "better" than the preceding (or it dies) at serving the needs of the users. The GPL helps code to evolve - to live - by forcing all changes to remain in the "gene pool". That is why code must be free, so that users may enjoy the fruit of the living code.
Now, if "some company" chooses to keep its changes to the code out of the "gene pool", how does that improve the "life" of the code? How many users benefit? How long-lived is that fork of the code? I weep to think of all the code that has been lost due to "some company" keeping them proprietary - and I've written plenty of it myself.
Now, this is certainly not the same definition of "freedom" as one that pertains to people. The freedom of software is the freedom to be better, to exist, to live.
From the above link, by Kathy Sierra (read the rest on that site):
Here's my little unofficial guide to creating passionate users for those working in Big Companies. Most is from things a maverick (but cleverly disguised as compliant) group of us did at Sun, while we could. Only one of our original disruption team remains a badged Sun employee, but our legacy persists today in areas that won't make us famous, but do make a substantial difference in the experience that users get within the sphere we influenced.
In no particular order, here's a collection of tools used by our formerly underground User Liberation Army:
Language matters. Frame everything in terms of the user's experience.
Be annoyingly persistent.
Capture user stories.
Speak for real users... not fake abstract "profiles".
Be afraid of Six Sigma. Be very afraid. Ditto for most other "quality programs".
Never underestimate the power of paper.
Get your hands on a video camera, and record some users.
Start a subversive club. Right there on campus, recruit and organize your fellow ULA guerillas.
Put pictures of real users on your walls. Act like they're as important to you as pictures of family members and pets.
When product features are discussed without taking into account how it helps (or hinders) the user kicking ass, adopt a slightly confused, mildly annoyed look...
Blog about it
Challenge user-unfriendly assumptions every day.
Gather facts. Build a rational, logical case that maps a user-centric approach to real business issues.
Look for first-person language from users about their own experience. Challenge others to solicit first-person, user-as-subject language.
Don't give up.
[Be warned, though, that I was asked or rather urged to leave Sun as a result of some of what's in here so... I wouldn't be taking advice from me if I were you ; ) I finally got the "you're not a team player" warning and put on probation (and eventually asked to leave), but my response was, "Oh, I AM a team player. It's just that I'm on the user's team." (I left out the part about, "Since clearly nobody ELSE around here is...") ]
Slashdot Mirror
My suggestion is you look at your current list of contractors, order them by how well they cooperate with you, and make the "best" an offer. You won't find anybody perfect, better the developer you know than the genius you don't!
Jeg kan nu godt lide at kalde landet for "Tyskland" :-)
This is the (beginning of the) age of maturity of mankind: interpret scripture yourself.
Before the return of Christ, there were rabbis, priests, mullahs, gurus, etc to guide the faithful. But now, God expects us to grow up and deal with multiple interpretations, seek out truth independently, consult with others as equals, and come to our own understanding.
A literal interpretation of holy writings soon leads to confusion, obscures the truth, and makes it unnecessarily hard for rational individuals to realize the spiritual truths enshrined therein.
The stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses provide spiritual teachings, such as: “God the Creator”, “God the Protector”, “God the Provider” - they are not historical accounts.
In this day, now that Christ has returned, such stories, and the teachings they provide can be viewed as the necessary steps and fundamental building blocks of our current task: to build the Kingdom of God on Earth.
PS. The return of Christ: http://www.uhj.net/bahaullah.html
Definitely take a look at the Alfresco Community Edition, which is free but without support: http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Download_and_Install_Alfresco
Just install it and try it out, it's an easy install and quick to learn, but full of the options used in enterprise document management systems that you can master when you need them. We use the Share interface to manage the documents in each of our projects.
VisiNav looks very interesting, with a strong focus on class/object hierarchies that could work well on clean, well-structured data sets -- and may be exactly what the poster needs!
Could you explain here how to continue with VisiNav past the demo? How would the poster adapt VisiNav to his needs: set up his own system and use his own dataset?
Is VisiNav a research experiment, an open source project, or a commercial product? What licences is it available with? Is it open source?
Yes, Google's Search Appliance (GSA) could be used, I have seen it used with limited success. The main problem was how to respect access control on documents: either you index them or you don't, and if you index them with GSA, sensitive data may show up in search results. Also, we had a lot of trouble "taming" GSA: it would regularly take down servers that were dimensioned for light loads.
I would suggest using Alfresco http://www.alfresco.com/ as a CIFS (Common Internet File System) or WebDav store for all those documents. This would give you the simplicity of a shared folder and the opportunity to enrich the documents with searchable metadata such as tags, etc. Each folder (or any item, in fact) could have the correct access control that would be respected by the search engine, Lucene. http://lucene.apache.org/java/docs/
Alfresco comes in both Enterprise and Community Edition, it's very easy to try out -- even our non-techie project manager could install it on his PC within 10 minutes. Try that with Documentum, FileNet or IBM DB2 Content Manager!
I guess you will be deleting you Slashdot account as well, then? Are you talking seriousity? :-)
Might as well cut yourself out of society. Facebook et al are minuscule steps toward the singularity - do you think that will happen without loss of privacy? It will be painful.
Stand up and sing out: "YES! I cut my finger today! Revel in the mundane details of my life, will you?" And the discordant songs shall melt in the fire of onrushing destiny until we are all united as one melody, beating in harmony with the pain and dreams of an entire civilization.
Man, what am I smoking today?
Linux friendly hardware is on it's way -- I have pre-ordered an ARM based Touch Book from Always Innovating that will never run Windows, it runs Linux and has a 8.9 inches 1024x600 A+ ressure sensitive touch screen
The Touch Book from Always Innovating has a detachable keyboard and a touchscreen. I've pre-ordered one, and expect to have it by September. Looks like it may be part of the future you speak of -- though it won't play Planetscape Torment on it's ARM processor... :-)
The manufacturer or supplier has already provided a useful, unique ID: the Service Tag. Just keep track of them yourself for accounting and support purposes, and the Service Tag gives the additional benefit of providing the self-supported end-user with direct access to correct support on the suppliers' web site.
I think "intelligent people" realize that there are other intelligent people out there that have more experience than them selves -- and some of them write books.
Now, learning from books may be fine for many things, but marriage is a more practical matter. Our illusions about marriage are colored "love", or rather infatuation, as the initial phase is called. Love is beautiful, but infatuation builds dangerous illusions.
I suggest the poster and his wife-to-be get out of the books and into a practical course, perhaps like this: http://relationshipcentral.org/marriage-preparation-course
I've pre-ordered the Touch Book from Always Innovating, and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it. Should be shipping as-we-speak, so hands-on reviews should be showing up any day now!
I cant wait to get my hands on my own Touch Book! :-)
Good references, thanks! :-)
Made me think: how could making a digital copy be understood as "permanently depriving"? Obviously, the original copy has not been permanently deprived from the owner. But the copy you see has been permanently deprived. The owner can no longer sell you your "first look" at the content when you have already had a first look. So what is "stolen" is not the content itself, but that first look -- which must be the content owner's property.
Hm. Hope they don't read slashdot!
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_crystal_display LCD displays are graded "A" or "B" according to how few pixel defects to expect. I'm guessing "A+" is a better grade. But who knows? :-)
Of course in C 'A'++ would actually be 'B', so A+ must be somewhere between A and B? Floating point chars, anyone?
The internal USB is for system upgrade type stuff. I.e the Touch Book's WiFi is provided by a replaceable internal USB dongle. Say next year WiMax comes of age - what do you do? Simply replace the internal WiFi on USB to WiMax on USB. Pure genius!
Say you want to want to watch movies on a long trip: load them onto a USB stick, put it inside, and your movie collection is now an integral part of the Touch Book - can't fall off, can't snag, will always work. Perfect mobility!
As they say:
The Touch Book is built to last!
Built by open people on an open platform supporting (open) standards running an open OS (or any you choose). I'm hyped! :-)
I have pre-ordered a Touch Book from Always Innovating for just this kind of thing.
http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/
Runs Linux on:
Texas Instruments OMAP3530 with Micron 256MB (RAM) + 256MB (NAND) Memory
8.9 inches 1024x600 A+ ressure sensitive touch screen
Main storage: 8GB SD card (replaceable!)
USB: internal and external
Should be shipping this month!
Archivista seems to be be a solution worth looking into for him. I guess he has to try and install the software and test it himself, because the explanation on the (English) website is almost incomprehensible -- I understand spoken German, but mixing German and English, ugh!
I work with Alfresco, which is a nice DMS, but without the integrated OCR that Archivista seems to provide. Alfresco can integrate with various OCR solutions though, has a very active community -- and a comprehensible website!
What are the exact specs of the the PC you are building? What is the price? Did you consider how loud it will be? Linux hardware compatibility?
Wow, I really like this post. You hit the nail on the head: The CIO is absolutey not clueless, he has some other objective in mind that he keeps secret. My CIO just got voted "CIO of the year" and we all went "WTF!?" because he seems so clueless. Thinkning about it (and having your post help) he just knows how to be a "good CIO". It's a game I don't think I want to play (nor am I good at it), but the pay is good. I think I'll stay with what I enjoy, in the trenches.
Great comment, I agree completely!
There are many examples of industries like bakery that have changed radically - my father worked with type setting in his youth (he's a master typographer) but now that occupation is almost extinct. He had to start over from scratch three times, simply because technology made what he was doing obsolete. But the product is still alive: people still need nice-looking printed material, it's just made in a different way these days. At one time he was king of typesetting, now anyone can do a half-decent job with a PC.
Music - and also IT - will, I believe, change in radical ways as well. Music will never die, but how it is produced and sold will change - perhaps in the same way bakery has: factories produce high-volume, low quality stuff, and individual (not-for-profit) artists will continue to create home-baked music. Maybe!
Code is changed over time by the programmers who devote their energies to it. In effect, code is alive - each time code is changed, that change betters the code in a way that is similar to evolution. Each "generation" is "better" than the preceding (or it dies) at serving the needs of the users. The GPL helps code to evolve - to live - by forcing all changes to remain in the "gene pool". That is why code must be free, so that users may enjoy the fruit of the living code.
Now, if "some company" chooses to keep its changes to the code out of the "gene pool", how does that improve the "life" of the code? How many users benefit? How long-lived is that fork of the code? I weep to think of all the code that has been lost due to "some company" keeping them proprietary - and I've written plenty of it myself.
Now, this is certainly not the same definition of "freedom" as one that pertains to people. The freedom of software is the freedom to be better, to exist, to live.
I went through a lot of the tutorials available via their site, and had absolutly no problems -- on my Windows XP Professional (at work).
From the above link, by Kathy Sierra (read the rest on that site):
Here's my little unofficial guide to creating passionate users for those working in Big Companies. Most is from things a maverick (but cleverly disguised as compliant) group of us did at Sun, while we could. Only one of our original disruption team remains a badged Sun employee, but our legacy persists today in areas that won't make us famous, but do make a substantial difference in the experience that users get within the sphere we influenced.
In no particular order, here's a collection of tools used by our formerly underground User Liberation Army:
[Be warned, though, that I was asked or rather urged to leave Sun as a result of some of what's in here so... I wouldn't be taking advice from me if I were you ; ) I finally got the "you're not a team player" warning and put on probation (and eventually asked to leave), but my response was, "Oh, I AM a team player. It's just that I'm on the user's team." (I left out the part about, "Since clearly nobody ELSE around here is...") ]
Hi Thomas,
c / :-)
Your homepage is not correct, it should be http://www.diku.dk/hjemmesider/studerende/zensoni