Microsoft takes advantage of this, but awards the best helpers as MVPs and gives them a certain level of benefits (some $$ to spend on MS stuff, a conference, advance software, etc).
It seems like a decent trade, especially as people in the field can often better answer questions than people at MS that don't really use the end product in a real environment.
As a corporate worker for years, it seemed that this was more prevalent in the upper management areas where directors, VPs, the "Crackberry class" always wanted to know what was happening.
And like everything else, they succeeded or failed wildly. Some can handle two things at once and some couldn't.
But more, they never had a life, being too connected. That was one thing I hated and refused to get a Blackberry for that reason. I don't like being "live" on the network all the time. There's a time for it (when I'm on call), but many other times I want to work on something else. We even had a wireless service inside the campus where your desk phone would be forwarded to your cell phone anywhere in the building, which worked great in the data center. But when I'm away from my desk, I usually don't want to be interrupted because I'm doing something, so I never used it.
I see this at home as well, and as mentioned in the other posts so far. My wife will call me like 4 or 5 times on the way home, for these little snippets, "did you hear?" or "stop and get this" or "what about this?" and it's annoying.
The mobile phone doesn't mean that we are always available. It's a tool and should be used as a tool when appropriate. Not for every little whim or distraction.
I agree with this, but not necessarily for the same reason.
It's good to know something about a person's past. History doesn't necessarily predict the future, but it gives a good indication. There's more to a position than you sitting in a cube by yourself cutting code. You interact with others and need a synergy for the entire team to succeed. An interview doesn't necessarily tell the whole story and it may not be long enough to get a feel for the person.
I've Google'd interviewees before they interviewed me to try and understand who they are more. I've also Google'd prospective employees, but after I've met them. If I find something, I can then determine if it is that person or if it's someone else. Helps to round out the picture and understand more about who you are.
If you are a party animal, that's not necessarily a problem, but it is a red flag. Makes me wonder if you'll miss work or miss on-call pages. If you post a blog where you rant about how bad your current employer is, it's another red flag that makes me wonder if you have problems getting along, taking orders, etc. Most likely I'd ask you if something I saw was true to get your reaction. You can defend what you post, and I have before. It may cost me a job, but if so, then I probably didn't want it.
None of these is a deal breaker, but with the interview (personal and technical), they help to get a better opinion of what type of employee you'll be. And that's all I have: my opinion and the other employees' opinions. Too many strange-odd-rude-enter-your-own-offensive-item-her e posts or articles are hard to get around and they tend to explain your character better than you think.
I think it's good to have an online presence, but be careful of what you post. Posting in the heat of the moment can get you in trouble. After all, you are responsible for your actions.
Actually, I have to disagree with the 4.0 review item, at least for some stores.
Doing some woodworking as a hobby, I check the reviews of tools there before deciding to buy from Amazon or some local guy. I've seen a few best selling items not rated well, but they sell because of the price.
I do, at least the DVDs. I have young kids and while they have been taught how to hold DVDs, center and edge, they bang them into things, drop them, etc. We scratched 3 DVDs that were less than a week old and I'd had it. We have a car player and they tend to both scratch them in there as well as request DVDs that are in the house instead of the car and vice versa.
So we now buy a DVD, make a backup copy and put it in the car. The oringinal is in the house. The kids don't watch two at once, so I'm legal, but I'm also protected.
All of my CDs are on my computer, iPod and in physical form. Now some are on my wife's iPod as well, so maybe we're sometimes illegal, but probably pretty rare.
I used to work at a US reactor in IT. At the time I was both amazed and stunned by the 1960's erz technology in use in the plant.
Because it had to be "certified" and documented, the cost was outrageous. Each section of pipe had to come from a certified company built by a certified company and using materials (ore, etc) from a certified place, all documented of course. Makes you feel better about the construction, but costs a lot and requires lots of maintenance.
At the time I saw some specs for a new, simple design to be used in Asia and submitted to the NRC. It used less people, more gravity fed pumps and flows, and should have lowered the cost of plants from billions to hundreds or even tens of millions.
Nothing came of it and it was a larger scale than this, but it was a good idea. Nuclear has a place when built well and conservatively, which it seems this design is.
i.e., ran out of money and the investors declined to send more. The IP, which included the code was owned proportionally by the investors. It was sold to another company whose business model was to buy IP and then license it out at a fraction of the cost the company sold the products for.
I don't have the name handy, but I wouldn't doubt if all Chiliware IP was owned by some other company. You need to contact a corporate executive, preferebly a legal counsel.
As a SQL DBA (11+ years) I agree with lots of what's written above. If you're getting those scale numbers you need some development help.
MS stuff has issues. T-SQL is limited in many places (string handling, error handling to name a few), but it is a MUCH better choice for triggers. If you need some crazy trigger solution, and very, very few people do, handle it differently. Lots of silly stuff that's put into trigger should be handled outside the trigger. BTW, I dislike triggers and rarely use them. I tend to find the "it always has to happen" stuff usually doesn't and someone wants an exception at some point. Write better stored procs or use the app logic to implement a decent transaction to fix this.
From above 1. Agree 2. agree (despite the spelling errors) 3. Ab-so-lutely 4. not sure of the other load, but 200 / sec is some fine smelling horse droppings. I've got a dual 1.4GHz with IIS and I've gotten 12,000/sec from a couple hundred connections. Acutally around 170 on average, but I've seen this multiple times. Queries are indexed and well written and avg around 50ms of duration. 5. 50k buys a lot of hardware 6. can't speak to this. 7. haven't tested enough 8. fine smelling bull remnants 9. ridiculous. Not thrilled with replication, but a DBA buddy has 1 db running multiple tables to over 250 databases. Works like a charm in real time. I'd love to know who your DBA is.
I primarily work in an Operations role, but spent some time with Dot Com Bombs and larger companies, both as an admin and a software developer/maintainer. In the last 12 years, I've learned a few things.
First, users don't know what they want, by and large. It's a gross generalization, but it tends to be true (IMHO and experience). They have an idea, but as soon as they see something, they want it a little different. Hence all the custom software.
Are businesses all that different? Not really, but it seems each manager/owner/CEO wants things a little different. Maybe it gives them an advantage, maybe not, but they want it and are willing to pay for it (to a point).
That being said (and you must keep that in mind as a developer). They want results quickly and cheaply. But quickly more than cheaply in general. It doesn't matter if it isn't the best solution, or the most elegant, or even the fastest. "I want it now, Daddy" (insert best Willy Wonka movie imitation).
I've worked on large, managed, planned, projects and worked on impromptu, "hey that would be cool" projects. Some have failed, some succeeded, but there wasn't a correlation between the failure and success (from a business standpoint) and the method of coding/developing.
In fact, I've come to favor the quick and dirty method kind of mixed with XP. Do it quickly, do small changes and GET FEEDBACK immediately. If you've gotten some experience, you can coddle something together as a proof of concept, but something that still is coded well and is maintainable. Keep in mind, often you're doing the maintenence, so hopefully you learn over time that functions are better than cut and paste, classes simplify future development, etc.
Also, you will maintain it. Or extend it. Turn bugs into features (hopefully not vice versa) and keep users happy by showing progress. And responding to their needs and whims. That's what we get paid for. Want to write elegant, efficient, perfect code, head over to SoundForge and help out.
You've got to walk the line between writing good code and GETTING THINGS DONE. Results count. Not elegance.
I understand this doesn't work for shrink wrap or large deployment software, which can't really work with a rapid development model (more gross generalities), but it doesn't seem like that is what the poster was working on.
I'd highly dispute this for a few reasons. I've worked in few large companies (> 5000 employees) and here a few reasons why this is an issue for someone that cares.
1. People are lazy - They will use easy to guess passwords most of the time, especially developers. Not to slam them, but since they tend to set things up quickly, often for testing, they take the easy way out. Since they are not audited as much as admins, they aren't as strict.
2. Passwords don't get changed - Systems get complex, people change, people are lazy (#1) and so passwords don't get changed that often. EVEN ON CRITICAL (Sales, Finance) systems. People don't like change and I constantly see passwords that have been in use for years, including admin passwords. Try to change them and people scream.
So, find an access point then search Monster and Dice for ex employees. How much do you think it would take for them to drop you a password? How many disgruntled GE/M$/Oracle/etc. employees are out there?
We have deployed one phase of Vignette and are working on the second. It seems to work well in spurts, but we have issues.
For the $$, I'm not sure it's a great system. It does allow marketing people to work with content and not worry about layout, templates, etc which are handled by a separate group of developers.
Not having used other systems, I can't comment on how it compares, but I'm not overly impressed. I can say that it is allowing dozens of people to work with all our sites (multinational, different languages, etc) through a single system on a relatively few number of servers (all non Oriental and Middle East sites are on a couple servers, those on a couple different servers) and stage the data for approval and then release to the world.
I've had DSL from USWest/Qwest for nearly 4 years now. It's had a couple ups and downs (routers down in the USW days sometimes, 1/2 day lost, water in boxes, etc), but over the 4 years, I've had probably 45-60 days of downtime total. Worst was a 22 day stretch.
That being said, the service has for the most part been very reliable. I upgraded to business service a couple years ago, got 5 IPs (static) and things have been great. No IP issues, rarely down. Got 5 computers behind a firewall running with very few issues. In 4 years, I'm on my 2nd Cisco 675, but can't really complain. Didn't pay for the 2nd one.
I just started with a new company, and a larger one. After 2 startup dot-com bombs, I'm with a 5000 person company and one of the things I did in my first month was fill out a quarterly goals (rolled up into departments) and a development plan. They view the development plan as a living document that grows with the employee.
I've talked to others and most of them have gotten good training. We have in house training on our product (software), as well as formal training. After not had anything in 4 years, this is nice.
I'm in the operations group, so most of these guys are leaning more towards certs. However, coming from a mixed (ops/dev) background, I'm doing some geek-geek training, which is better received by the others than the formal training. Tends to move faster.
That being said, going outside the company gives people a different perspective and helps to incorporate theory and fresh knowledge back into the group. A few of the guys are shooting for MS in CS degrees; something that is forcing them to think differently. While not always directly applicable, the knowledge forces them to work, expand their horizons and try new things.
In the past, though, even at smaller companies, I've pushed for one conference a year as my training. I need the break and if you can't spare the time, I'm looking to move. There is more to life than sitting in a 6x8. I go more for the after seminar, after hours geek-geek meetings. This is where I learn, get new ideas, etc.
After getting started on the process, I think it's a good idea to have every employee moving for something. If you're not moving forward you are moving backward in this business.
we also got 2 days a month off to compensate. It was a last ditch attempt to save the company by reducing cash flow. This was a startup and we couldn't get any additional funding and failed 2 months later. This was a couple weeks ago.
I think it's a poor method of handling things in general and it does show poor management. It also really dropped morale. If you want to do this then you should compensate the employees. give htem a reason to help save the company. Give up a larger percentage of the company. It might not be worth anything, but if you want people to gamble their future and try to believe in a company, you have to reward them in good times, not just take away $$ in bad.
I'm not sure it should apply everywhere. The search warrant was too broad from what I've read (IANAL) and they wanted evidence of anyone who'd purchased the books. I choose to disclose what I read on my website, but that's my choice. I don't think Amazon or anyone else should be disclosing what I've bought.
However, if the search warrant was seeking purchase records for specific books by a specific individual for whom there was other INDEPENDENT evidence of criminal activity, then I think the record request is justified and should be released.
Not records of everyone who purchased that book and probably not evidence of other books you've purchased. But if you are arrested for counterfeiting. You have books in your possession that relate to counterfeiting (like Counterfieting for Dummies) and a bookstore receipt, the police have a duty to relate that book to you through a purchase record.
Quit bitching. Pay to remove some ads or click through a few of them to support this site. Are you that cheap!!! Are you that upset that you cannot support this site? You are the same people who spend $300 to get a TIVO and remove commericials. NOTHING is free. Everything costs something, either money or time. Pay to support the things you like. Most of the complainers are probably the same people who *steal* music using Kaaza and justify it with "the artists don't get the money", "I support the artists by going to concerts". Then support Slash with either a subscription or some click throughs.
These shows are broadcast with the intent that there will be commercials viewed. These commercials provide the payment for most of these shows. I know it's different for HBO or Showtime, but that also is paid for by subscription. If too many people "trade" these shows, then the economics of the system get upset and less stuff get's produced.
None of the excuses I've seen listed are valid. And they are excuses. Don't give me this "most tv is crap" stuff. If you don't like it, don't consume it. "They don't rebroadcast it for xx years" or "they don't sell VHS/DVDs" are also not excuses. That is what the networks and producers/distributors have chosen to do.
Timeshifting has been declared legal. For personal use, not re-broadcast or re-distribution. Even giving a copy to your neighbor is illegal. And morally wrong. Your neighbor can come watch your copy. Or you can lend him your copy. But to give it to him and keep your own is "re-broadcasting" or "re-distributing" or whatever. If you remove the commercials, then you are altering the content and definitely breaking a copyright. If it's illegal to do with someone you know, it's definitely illegal to send copies to people you don't know.
If you don't like it, don't consume it. That's the best solution. That is how you let them know. By stealing it or violating copyrights (not sure of the best definition for it), you are creating a different problem and breaking the law.
Now before I get flamed, I agree with you. There are missed opportunities for the networks. If they could do pay-on-demand for episodes, maybe $1 a show, they'd make a good killing. Even if they sold the DVDs, there would be $$ to be made. Personally I don't record things or burn copies or collect episodes. I have kids and no time to worry about it. But that doesn't mean I shouldnt be able to timeshift things and watch them later. It doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to save a copy of "Barney" from a broadcast for my kid to watch over and over. However, I shouldn't be providing this for every kid in the neighborhood.
It's ridiculous to read in the article that this young lady doesn't get cable because it's too difficult. Big, steaming pile of horse excrement. She's cheap. You have NO right to tv or entertainment. You have to pay (for the TV, the cable, whatever). And by the way, you pay for TV with the commercials.
By violating copyrights, you are impeding the progress of the system. Stop consuming and write the networks. They will learn to "sell" copies of the shows cheap, and in a more efficient manner to make money. Right now, with all the digital stealing/violating of the content, they barely want to sell in legitimate channels, let alone develop new ways to distibute content.
Congressman: Is that a letter about the IP and copyright hearings?
Staffer: Yes it is,. We've received quite a few today.
Congressman: Wait a minute, is that some white stuff on the envelope.
Staffer: No, I don't see anything. Are you sure?
Congressman: Yes I think it is, quick throw it out.
Staffer: Uh, are you sure? We've gotten quite a few letters about the hearings
Congressman: Yes, quick throw out all the mail. We can't take any chances.
A few days later...
AP Wire: pparently slashdot.org is reporting that it's readers have sent over one million letters to their congressman, but none ever received a reply.
Actually, quite a few sites are making money, but only those that manage themselves well. In other words, as a real business.
I used to write for a site that paid very well. However, they "restructured" their payments in the middle of my deal becuase they were not making money. As a result, I started my own site with some friends. We make money at www.sqlservercentral.com, but we can't pay anywhere near what some other sites pay. Of course, some of those are still "restructuring" because they are not making money.
I think many.coms would still be doing well if they had managed their business like a business and not thrown money away.
I've worked with some companies that had beta testers, but for a closed system (B2B) not shrink wrapped software. No one ever brought this up, but I'm not surprised. It's such a hot topic and so many people want to make a buck the easy way.
They may have an argument if they contributed a idea with substantial information about how to implement it. However, this might be hard to prove. If they suggested a feature and you implemented it without their assistance, I wouldn't think that they have any rights.
IMHO, the best bet would to have some sort of NDA that included a disclaimer of IP rights.
I used to manage the IT department for a small company with a subsidiary in Canada. I became good friends with my counterpart in Canada, and our bosses wanted our click all electronic imaging/fax/email system deployed in Canada. We were on Windows with some custom software and some third party. They were on SCO with lots of custom software, but with Windows desktops. Why because most of the Office software that they needed to create and exchange business documents was on Windows. You can argue the "need" portion, but this is shown time and time again for the average user that Windows is a choice most managers feel they need.
This was 7-8 years ago. I left, but kept in touch with my friend. Now they are a manufacturing plant and eventually switched to Solaris for some things because of the slide of SCO.
Last week he sent some emails to me looking for some products that might run on Linux. Over the last year he has begun porting his desktops from Windows to Linux using Star Office. It's not easy and not smooth, but it does the job and the $$ saved from software upgrades (no XP for him) are spent in support and training. Of course, these are soft $$ because it's his (and his departments) time, not a direct expenditure (which MS software would be).
He's been looking at iPlanet, but the solution proposed for his needs is CN$100K . I sent him a link for ZOPE, which he checked out with a local VAR. Cost for that implementation: CN$25K. Quite a difference!
He's not sold, but he is seriously looking for an Open Source solution.
Like many posters, I've had low wge and menial jobs. I've worked hard and now have a great living, making 100K in the computer field.
However, not everyone can succeed. The advice to learn, get better, and you will succeed is good advice, but it doesn't work for everyone. Not only that, but there are many more important things than $$ or pesos or yen.
I wish the entertainment and sports world would learn this.
There are more important things than money. Now everyone needs to pay the rent, feed their family, etc. And doing that may be a problem, but and life may stink while you do it, but there is something to be said for a day's work and a day's pay. Be happy with your life. If you don't like your job, work to get another one, but also enjoy your life and your family. I wouldn't work twice the hours for twice the pay, but I'm in a good position. Hell, I wouldn't work 50% more for twice the pay.
I had the same attitude when I worked in a restaurant and worked 50 hours a week and barely made rent. While I tend to work more than the average joe, I need some free time and that time has a value. Often a value above that of my wage or salary.
I hate to have to say it again, but there are more important things than money. Even if you make $8 an hour.
I think the cheatfinder is a good idea. When I was a freshman in college, I studied CS and the first two courses were LISP and APL. Both designed to quickly weed our class of 150 CS majors down to 50 or so.
It worked well, especially since most people had not had much CS work prior to freshman college. I had, and (I apologize and ask forgiveness here) I wrote a couple assignments for a pretty girl in my class. I admonished her and strongly suggested she change majors after the first semester as the work would get harder, and she did.
Not to disparage any other product, open source or not, but if Word is crashing on you regularily, you are doing something wrong.
I've use all versions of Word from v2.0 to 2000 (no XP) and while I have had crashes, they are rare. I have written over a hundred articles, averaging 1300 words and a book using Word and have lost very little.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft takes advantage of this, but awards the best helpers as MVPs and gives them a certain level of benefits (some $$ to spend on MS stuff, a conference, advance software, etc).
It seems like a decent trade, especially as people in the field can often better answer questions than people at MS that don't really use the end product in a real environment.
As a corporate worker for years, it seemed that this was more prevalent in the upper management areas where directors, VPs, the "Crackberry class" always wanted to know what was happening.
And like everything else, they succeeded or failed wildly. Some can handle two things at once and some couldn't.
But more, they never had a life, being too connected. That was one thing I hated and refused to get a Blackberry for that reason. I don't like being "live" on the network all the time. There's a time for it (when I'm on call), but many other times I want to work on something else. We even had a wireless service inside the campus where your desk phone would be forwarded to your cell phone anywhere in the building, which worked great in the data center. But when I'm away from my desk, I usually don't want to be interrupted because I'm doing something, so I never used it.
I see this at home as well, and as mentioned in the other posts so far. My wife will call me like 4 or 5 times on the way home, for these little snippets, "did you hear?" or "stop and get this" or "what about this?" and it's annoying.
The mobile phone doesn't mean that we are always available. It's a tool and should be used as a tool when appropriate. Not for every little whim or distraction.
I agree with this, but not necessarily for the same reason.
r e posts or articles are hard to get around and they tend to explain your character better than you think.
It's good to know something about a person's past. History doesn't necessarily predict the future, but it gives a good indication. There's more to a position than you sitting in a cube by yourself cutting code. You interact with others and need a synergy for the entire team to succeed. An interview doesn't necessarily tell the whole story and it may not be long enough to get a feel for the person.
I've Google'd interviewees before they interviewed me to try and understand who they are more. I've also Google'd prospective employees, but after I've met them. If I find something, I can then determine if it is that person or if it's someone else. Helps to round out the picture and understand more about who you are.
If you are a party animal, that's not necessarily a problem, but it is a red flag. Makes me wonder if you'll miss work or miss on-call pages. If you post a blog where you rant about how bad your current employer is, it's another red flag that makes me wonder if you have problems getting along, taking orders, etc. Most likely I'd ask you if something I saw was true to get your reaction. You can defend what you post, and I have before. It may cost me a job, but if so, then I probably didn't want it.
None of these is a deal breaker, but with the interview (personal and technical), they help to get a better opinion of what type of employee you'll be. And that's all I have: my opinion and the other employees' opinions. Too many strange-odd-rude-enter-your-own-offensive-item-he
I think it's good to have an online presence, but be careful of what you post. Posting in the heat of the moment can get you in trouble. After all, you are responsible for your actions.
Can't speak for SSL, but SQL Server 2005 has AES, RC4 (128 bit) RSA, and Triple DES built in for it's internal encryption possibilities.
Actually, I have to disagree with the 4.0 review item, at least for some stores.
Doing some woodworking as a hobby, I check the reviews of tools there before deciding to buy from Amazon or some local guy. I've seen a few best selling items not rated well, but they sell because of the price.
I do, at least the DVDs. I have young kids and while they have been taught how to hold DVDs, center and edge, they bang them into things, drop them, etc. We scratched 3 DVDs that were less than a week old and I'd had it. We have a car player and they tend to both scratch them in there as well as request DVDs that are in the house instead of the car and vice versa.
So we now buy a DVD, make a backup copy and put it in the car. The oringinal is in the house. The kids don't watch two at once, so I'm legal, but I'm also protected.
All of my CDs are on my computer, iPod and in physical form. Now some are on my wife's iPod as well, so maybe we're sometimes illegal, but probably pretty rare.
I used to work at a US reactor in IT. At the time I was both amazed and stunned by the 1960's erz technology in use in the plant.
Because it had to be "certified" and documented, the cost was outrageous. Each section of pipe had to come from a certified company built by a certified company and using materials (ore, etc) from a certified place, all documented of course. Makes you feel better about the construction, but costs a lot and requires lots of maintenance.
At the time I saw some specs for a new, simple design to be used in Asia and submitted to the NRC. It used less people, more gravity fed pumps and flows, and should have lowered the cost of plants from billions to hundreds or even tens of millions.
Nothing came of it and it was a larger scale than this, but it was a good idea. Nuclear has a place when built well and conservatively, which it seems this design is.
i.e., ran out of money and the investors declined to send more. The IP, which included the code was owned proportionally by the investors. It was sold to another company whose business model was to buy IP and then license it out at a fraction of the cost the company sold the products for.
I don't have the name handy, but I wouldn't doubt if all Chiliware IP was owned by some other company. You need to contact a corporate executive, preferebly a legal counsel.
As a SQL DBA (11+ years) I agree with lots of what's written above. If you're getting those scale numbers you need some development help.
MS stuff has issues. T-SQL is limited in many places (string handling, error handling to name a few), but it is a MUCH better choice for triggers. If you need some crazy trigger solution, and very, very few people do, handle it differently. Lots of silly stuff that's put into trigger should be handled outside the trigger. BTW, I dislike triggers and rarely use them. I tend to find the "it always has to happen" stuff usually doesn't and someone wants an exception at some point. Write better stored procs or use the app logic to implement a decent transaction to fix this.
From above
1. Agree
2. agree (despite the spelling errors)
3. Ab-so-lutely
4. not sure of the other load, but 200 / sec is some fine smelling horse droppings. I've got a dual 1.4GHz with IIS and I've gotten 12,000/sec from a couple hundred connections. Acutally around 170 on average, but I've seen this multiple times. Queries are indexed and well written and avg around 50ms of duration.
5. 50k buys a lot of hardware
6. can't speak to this.
7. haven't tested enough
8. fine smelling bull remnants
9. ridiculous. Not thrilled with replication, but a DBA buddy has 1 db running multiple tables to over 250 databases. Works like a charm in real time. I'd love to know who your DBA is.
I primarily work in an Operations role, but spent some time with Dot Com Bombs and larger companies, both as an admin and a software developer/maintainer. In the last 12 years, I've learned a few things.
First, users don't know what they want, by and large. It's a gross generalization, but it tends to be true (IMHO and experience). They have an idea, but as soon as they see something, they want it a little different. Hence all the custom software.
Are businesses all that different? Not really, but it seems each manager/owner/CEO wants things a little different. Maybe it gives them an advantage, maybe not, but they want it and are willing to pay for it (to a point).
That being said (and you must keep that in mind as a developer). They want results quickly and cheaply. But quickly more than cheaply in general. It doesn't matter if it isn't the best solution, or the most elegant, or even the fastest. "I want it now, Daddy" (insert best Willy Wonka movie imitation).
I've worked on large, managed, planned, projects and worked on impromptu, "hey that would be cool" projects. Some have failed, some succeeded, but there wasn't a correlation between the failure and success (from a business standpoint) and the method of coding/developing.
In fact, I've come to favor the quick and dirty method kind of mixed with XP. Do it quickly, do small changes and GET FEEDBACK immediately. If you've gotten some experience, you can coddle something together as a proof of concept, but something that still is coded well and is maintainable. Keep in mind, often you're doing the maintenence, so hopefully you learn over time that functions are better than cut and paste, classes simplify future development, etc.
Also, you will maintain it. Or extend it. Turn bugs into features (hopefully not vice versa) and keep users happy by showing progress. And responding to their needs and whims. That's what we get paid for. Want to write elegant, efficient, perfect code, head over to SoundForge and help out.
You've got to walk the line between writing good code and GETTING THINGS DONE. Results count. Not elegance.
I understand this doesn't work for shrink wrap or large deployment software, which can't really work with a rapid development model (more gross generalities), but it doesn't seem like that is what the poster was working on.
I'd highly dispute this for a few reasons. I've worked in few large companies (> 5000 employees) and here a few reasons why this is an issue for someone that cares.
1. People are lazy - They will use easy to guess passwords most of the time, especially developers. Not to slam them, but since they tend to set things up quickly, often for testing, they take the easy way out. Since they are not audited as much as admins, they aren't as strict.
2. Passwords don't get changed - Systems get complex, people change, people are lazy (#1) and so passwords don't get changed that often. EVEN ON CRITICAL (Sales, Finance) systems. People don't like change and I constantly see passwords that have been in use for years, including admin passwords. Try to change them and people scream.
So, find an access point then search Monster and Dice for ex employees. How much do you think it would take for them to drop you a password? How many disgruntled GE/M$/Oracle/etc. employees are out there?
We have deployed one phase of Vignette and are working on the second. It seems to work well in spurts, but we have issues.
For the $$, I'm not sure it's a great system. It does allow marketing people to work with content and not worry about layout, templates, etc which are handled by a separate group of developers.
Not having used other systems, I can't comment on how it compares, but I'm not overly impressed. I can say that it is allowing dozens of people to work with all our sites (multinational, different languages, etc) through a single system on a relatively few number of servers (all non Oriental and Middle East sites are on a couple servers, those on a couple different servers) and stage the data for approval and then release to the world.
I've had DSL from USWest/Qwest for nearly 4 years now. It's had a couple ups and downs (routers down in the USW days sometimes, 1/2 day lost, water in boxes, etc), but over the 4 years, I've had probably 45-60 days of downtime total. Worst was a 22 day stretch.
That being said, the service has for the most part been very reliable. I upgraded to business service a couple years ago, got 5 IPs (static) and things have been great. No IP issues, rarely down. Got 5 computers behind a firewall running with very few issues. In 4 years, I'm on my 2nd Cisco 675, but can't really complain. Didn't pay for the 2nd one.
I just started with a new company, and a larger one. After 2 startup dot-com bombs, I'm with a 5000 person company and one of the things I did in my first month was fill out a quarterly goals (rolled up into departments) and a development plan. They view the development plan as a living document that grows with the employee.
I've talked to others and most of them have gotten good training. We have in house training on our product (software), as well as formal training. After not had anything in 4 years, this is nice.
I'm in the operations group, so most of these guys are leaning more towards certs. However, coming from a mixed (ops/dev) background, I'm doing some geek-geek training, which is better received by the others than the formal training. Tends to move faster.
That being said, going outside the company gives people a different perspective and helps to incorporate theory and fresh knowledge back into the group. A few of the guys are shooting for MS in CS degrees; something that is forcing them to think differently. While not always directly applicable, the knowledge forces them to work, expand their horizons and try new things.
In the past, though, even at smaller companies, I've pushed for one conference a year as my training. I need the break and if you can't spare the time, I'm looking to move. There is more to life than sitting in a 6x8. I go more for the after seminar, after hours geek-geek meetings. This is where I learn, get new ideas, etc.
After getting started on the process, I think it's a good idea to have every employee moving for something. If you're not moving forward you are moving backward in this business.
we also got 2 days a month off to compensate. It was a last ditch attempt to save the company by reducing cash flow. This was a startup and we couldn't get any additional funding and failed 2 months later. This was a couple weeks ago.
I think it's a poor method of handling things in general and it does show poor management. It also really dropped morale. If you want to do this then you should compensate the employees. give htem a reason to help save the company. Give up a larger percentage of the company. It might not be worth anything, but if you want people to gamble their future and try to believe in a company, you have to reward them in good times, not just take away $$ in bad.
I'm not sure it should apply everywhere. The search warrant was too broad from what I've read (IANAL) and they wanted evidence of anyone who'd purchased the books. I choose to disclose what I read on my website, but that's my choice. I don't think Amazon or anyone else should be disclosing what I've bought.
However, if the search warrant was seeking purchase records for specific books by a specific individual for whom there was other INDEPENDENT evidence of criminal activity, then I think the record request is justified and should be released.
Not records of everyone who purchased that book and probably not evidence of other books you've purchased. But if you are arrested for counterfeiting. You have books in your possession that relate to counterfeiting (like Counterfieting for Dummies) and a bookstore receipt, the police have a duty to relate that book to you through a purchase record.
Besides, only users lose drugs :)
Quit bitching. Pay to remove some ads or click through a few of them to support this site. Are you that cheap!!! Are you that upset that you cannot support this site? You are the same people who spend $300 to get a TIVO and remove commericials. NOTHING is free. Everything costs something, either money or time. Pay to support the things you like.
Most of the complainers are probably the same people who *steal* music using Kaaza and justify it with "the artists don't get the money", "I support the artists by going to concerts". Then support Slash with either a subscription or some click throughs.
it's not legal.
These shows are broadcast with the intent that there will be commercials viewed. These commercials provide the payment for most of these shows. I know it's different for HBO or Showtime, but that also is paid for by subscription. If too many people "trade" these shows, then the economics of the system get upset and less stuff get's produced.
None of the excuses I've seen listed are valid. And they are excuses. Don't give me this "most tv is crap" stuff. If you don't like it, don't consume it. "They don't rebroadcast it for xx years" or "they don't sell VHS/DVDs" are also not excuses. That is what the networks and producers/distributors have chosen to do.
Timeshifting has been declared legal. For personal use, not re-broadcast or re-distribution. Even giving a copy to your neighbor is illegal. And morally wrong. Your neighbor can come watch your copy. Or you can lend him your copy. But to give it to him and keep your own is "re-broadcasting" or "re-distributing" or whatever. If you remove the commercials, then you are altering the content and definitely breaking a copyright. If it's illegal to do with someone you know, it's definitely illegal to send copies to people you don't know.
If you don't like it, don't consume it. That's the best solution. That is how you let them know. By stealing it or violating copyrights (not sure of the best definition for it), you are creating a different problem and breaking the law.
Now before I get flamed, I agree with you. There are missed opportunities for the networks. If they could do pay-on-demand for episodes, maybe $1 a show, they'd make a good killing. Even if they sold the DVDs, there would be $$ to be made. Personally I don't record things or burn copies or collect episodes. I have kids and no time to worry about it. But that doesn't mean I shouldnt be able to timeshift things and watch them later. It doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to save a copy of "Barney" from a broadcast for my kid to watch over and over. However, I shouldn't be providing this for every kid in the neighborhood.
It's ridiculous to read in the article that this young lady doesn't get cable because it's too difficult. Big, steaming pile of horse excrement. She's cheap. You have NO right to tv or entertainment. You have to pay (for the TV, the cable, whatever). And by the way, you pay for TV with the commercials.
By violating copyrights, you are impeding the progress of the system. Stop consuming and write the networks. They will learn to "sell" copies of the shows cheap, and in a more efficient manner to make money. Right now, with all the digital stealing/violating of the content, they barely want to sell in legitimate channels, let alone develop new ways to distibute content.
Congressman: Is that a letter about the IP and copyright hearings?
Staffer: Yes it is,. We've received quite a few today.
Congressman: Wait a minute, is that some white stuff on the envelope.
Staffer: No, I don't see anything. Are you sure?
Congressman: Yes I think it is, quick throw it out.
Staffer: Uh, are you sure? We've gotten quite a few letters about the hearings
Congressman: Yes, quick throw out all the mail. We can't take any chances.
A few days later...
AP Wire: pparently slashdot.org is reporting that it's readers have sent over one million letters to their congressman, but none ever received a reply.
Actually, quite a few sites are making money, but only those that manage themselves well. In other words, as a real business.
I used to write for a site that paid very well. However, they "restructured" their payments in the middle of my deal becuase they were not making money. As a result, I started my own site with some friends. We make money at www.sqlservercentral.com, but we can't pay anywhere near what some other sites pay. Of course, some of those are still "restructuring" because they are not making money.
I think many
I've worked with some companies that had beta testers, but for a closed system (B2B) not shrink wrapped software. No one ever brought this up, but I'm not surprised. It's such a hot topic and so many people want to make a buck the easy way.
They may have an argument if they contributed a idea with substantial information about how to implement it. However, this might be hard to prove. If they suggested a feature and you implemented it without their assistance, I wouldn't think that they have any rights.
IMHO, the best bet would to have some sort of NDA that included a disclaimer of IP rights.
I used to manage the IT department for a small company with a subsidiary in Canada. I became good friends with my counterpart in Canada, and our bosses wanted our click all electronic imaging/fax/email system deployed in Canada. We were on Windows with some custom software and some third party. They were on SCO with lots of custom software, but with Windows desktops. Why because most of the Office software that they needed to create and exchange business documents was on Windows. You can argue the "need" portion, but this is shown time and time again for the average user that Windows is a choice most managers feel they need.
This was 7-8 years ago. I left, but kept in touch with my friend. Now they are a manufacturing plant and eventually switched to Solaris for some things because of the slide of SCO.
Last week he sent some emails to me looking for some products that might run on Linux. Over the last year he has begun porting his desktops from Windows to Linux using Star Office. It's not easy and not smooth, but it does the job and the $$ saved from software upgrades (no XP for him) are spent in support and training. Of course, these are soft $$ because it's his (and his departments) time, not a direct expenditure (which MS software would be).
He's been looking at iPlanet, but the solution proposed for his needs is CN$100K . I sent him a link for ZOPE, which he checked out with a local VAR. Cost for that implementation: CN$25K. Quite a difference!
He's not sold, but he is seriously looking for an Open Source solution.
Like many posters, I've had low wge and menial jobs. I've worked hard and now have a great living, making 100K in the computer field.
However, not everyone can succeed. The advice to learn, get better, and you will succeed is good advice, but it doesn't work for everyone. Not only that, but there are many more important things than $$ or pesos or yen.
I wish the entertainment and sports world would learn this.
There are more important things than money. Now everyone needs to pay the rent, feed their family, etc. And doing that may be a problem, but and life may stink while you do it, but there is something to be said for a day's work and a day's pay. Be happy with your life. If you don't like your job, work to get another one, but also enjoy your life and your family. I wouldn't work twice the hours for twice the pay, but I'm in a good position. Hell, I wouldn't work 50% more for twice the pay.
I had the same attitude when I worked in a restaurant and worked 50 hours a week and barely made rent. While I tend to work more than the average joe, I need some free time and that time has a value. Often a value above that of my wage or salary.
I hate to have to say it again, but there are more important things than money. Even if you make $8 an hour.
I think the cheatfinder is a good idea. When I was a freshman in college, I studied CS and the first two courses were LISP and APL. Both designed to quickly weed our class of 150 CS majors down to 50 or so.
It worked well, especially since most people had not had much CS work prior to freshman college. I had, and (I apologize and ask forgiveness here) I wrote a couple assignments for a pretty girl in my class. I admonished her and strongly suggested she change majors after the first semester as the work would get harder, and she did.
And I got a date!
Not to disparage any other product, open source or not, but if Word is crashing on you regularily, you are doing something wrong.
I've use all versions of Word from v2.0 to 2000 (no XP) and while I have had crashes, they are rare. I have written over a hundred articles, averaging 1300 words and a book using Word and have lost very little.