I work for the US Army Corps of Engineers, and we use the heck out of.NET and everyone loves it.
You probably see a small facet of the whole organization. Basically, your office might use.NET, but I can't imagine that "everyone [in the whole organization] loves it."
Quite frankly, by using Microsoft products, you are doing a disservice the the U.S. taxpayers.
....NET has been proving rather damn good so far... if a better linux version were available, I could forget java except in Sun locked-in companies.
So...you'd be more comfortable being locked into Microsoft? Sure, C# works in Mono and on FreeBSD, but.NET, the framework, is 100% pure Microsoft lock-in.
"but Dad, I need Word for my schoolwork, teacher says"
Do teachers say this? If I ever heard something like this from a teacher, especially one in a public school, I would yell at them so fiercely that they would want to terminate themselves to make it end.
No teacher should expect families to buy expensive and optional technology for their class. Families don't often have the money, nor do they need to.
In the range of $375 per credit hour, so a single course ends up costing about $1125. Thats a lot to take a course.
Private universities are well over $1,000 per credit. I figured (and now regret) that I paid at least $1,250 per credit where I went to school.
Actually, the most important thing I learned from a private university is that I should have gone to a state school (at least, for the type of degree I chose). In the tech sector, I don't think anyone cares--buzzwords are much more important than highty-flighty universities.
Their purpose is to make money. So, don't be surprised if you are simply given a passing grade with little work.
Some private primary and secondary schools are like this. They won't do anything to risk making parents angry, because parents are the ones writing the checks each term. Private Universities are slightly different, because they are arrogant enough to not care (as much) about making everyone happy.
While these are obviously good books, I think the grandparent post was referring to the fact that Software Engineering, in practice, is pretty much a joke. Most software projects are designed with religious fervor rather than rational judgements, and they become highly tuned to the particular tastes of the programmers. Software Engineering is more like the fashion or entertainment industries than any other real engineering discipline.
As a "Software Engineer", I see the irony in my own job title, where "Medieval Alchemist" might be more appropriate. Yes, we are definitely pre-Renaissance with respect to software. A thought: Microsoft and its followers is somewhat like the Church long ago...
I think the only reason Oracle would want to buy Sun is to control Java.
Plausible, but, then, Oracle would end up in a bidding war with IBM. BEA and the other smaller players would get to sit nearby and watch the suspensful action.
Having run an "advertising supported" site, I can safely say that advertising *does not* even come close to paying the bills.
What fraction does advertising cover? 1/2? 1/3? 1/10?
Perhaps GameFAQs could stir up some non-interventionist sponsorship from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. GameFAQs is seriously good marketing for the big-hit games out there...but perhaps a bit too honest about the duds.
I NEVER was able to get anywhere close to the vision quality I got with glasses when wearing contacts, thanks to severe astigmatism.
Hard contacts are best for astigmatism...but no where close to the comfort of soft contacts. There are hybrid soft/hard contacts, but they are also very expensive. I agree that astimatism makes contacts a real pain in the ass (or eyes).
Sun is not going to last long, rumors say it will be bought by Oracle
(OT) Does that buyout even make sense? Sun+Oracle would essentially become an IBM clone (but smaller), with Oracle potentially alienating its non-Solaris customers.
at least at some point in time. For example, our solar system has been around for only a fraction of the life of the Universe. Whole ecosystems and, sometimes, civilizations can come and go in a moment's time (from the Universe's point of view...if it had a point of view...well, you understand).
It is actually very unlikely that we would witness a civilization in a state similar to our own. They would most likely be millions or billions of years behind or ahead of us. Would we even be able to recognize one even a million years ahead of us? It seems life forms like to do things exponentially...
Free sites that are as popular as gameFaqs cost the owner a hell of a lot of money.
An indispensible gaming site like GameFAQs should have no problem making this popularity turn into profit. They are an integral part of the gaming economy (reviews, walkthroughs, codes, game lists), and, the best part, most of their content is provided by volunteers for free.
That's right, GameFAQs is largely getting a free ride by the very gaming community it supports. So, with minimal content expenses, they just need administration and bandwidth.
With popularity on its side, I propose: advertising. It seems to be working for Slashdot, for example. Just a clearly visible--but not intrusive--banner might just be everything they need.
I absolutely hated IM at college. Not because I used it, but because, in a lab of 50 computers, several people would be using it with the speakers turned on.
Imagine, every three seconds at random positions in the lab a "Boop beep" followed a few seconds later by a "Beep boop". It was immensely irritating. And the worst thing: the students doing it couldn't have cared less they were disrupting everyone else.
I guess this post is actually on topic, where technology allows people (at college) to continue being assholes, only louder.
You may have eye problems because you aren't eating well, aren't fit or don't get enough sleep on a regular basis.
Also, the author of the article didn't mention exactly the contacts/glasses combinations he/she tried. At one point several years ago, I had to go several days without contacts just to get my eyes back to normal. A couple years ago, I had to give up on contacts entirely after one especially irritating episode (I'm happy enough with glasses, anyway).
If contacts are the source of irritation, just trying something different for a day isn't necessarily going to make any difference. Sometimes three or more days is needed for healing to become noticible.
I must admit, I've never been very good at setting up printers in Unix.
Don't feel bad. Almost no one is good at setting up printers in UNIX, unless they have PostScript-enabled printers on the network or those HP JetDirect things.
The UNIX printing facilities were really created for paid full-time printer administrators who need to feel their job is somehow justified.
There is also a lot of historical cruft that only complicates everything. In fact, UNIX printing documentation might just be a good primer on computing history.
BTW, this isn't a troll. I really enjoy working with Solaris, Linux, BSD, etc., but printing and terminal emulation are really a sore spot for me.
NMCI forces MS on everything that touches that friggen network and all other Operating Systems are considered "legacy".
How many backs got scratched and patted on this deal? I bet the local Microsoft sales office just bought Porches for all its employees...as a bonus...just because.
One of the people that "approved" the move was father-in-law for a local Microsoft sales person.
Is there any way to make a case out of this blatant--and distrurbing--conflict of interest? Some defense contractors make a really big deal out of having employees disclose potential conflicts of interest, just to avoid legal problems and situations like the one you described.
Beyond arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and intro calculus, the math starts becoming very specialized. Each of your examples are just fine, but 99% of working engineers surveyed would say the exact same thing about three other significant equations or methods.
In practice, this can become very stressful for college graduates or people looking for career changes. Everyone seems to want what school didn't cover or what the last job didn't do.
In software engineering, it can be even worse, because employers are often interested in what software development religion a person subscribes to, even though they never admit it.
Slashdot Mirror
Ah, gee, you can't afford $100 for software for your kid, but you can afford a lawsuit?
The cost of a lawsuit might be worth it if it sets the school's prioritys straight.
I work for the US Army Corps of Engineers, and we use the heck out of .NET and everyone loves it.
.NET, but I can't imagine that "everyone [in the whole organization] loves it."
You probably see a small facet of the whole organization. Basically, your office might use
Quite frankly, by using Microsoft products, you are doing a disservice the the U.S. taxpayers.
....NET has been proving rather damn good so far... if a better linux version were available, I could forget java except in Sun locked-in companies.
.NET, the framework, is 100% pure Microsoft lock-in.
So...you'd be more comfortable being locked into Microsoft? Sure, C# works in Mono and on FreeBSD, but
"but Dad, I need Word for my schoolwork, teacher says"
Do teachers say this? If I ever heard something like this from a teacher, especially one in a public school, I would yell at them so fiercely that they would want to terminate themselves to make it end.
No teacher should expect families to buy expensive and optional technology for their class. Families don't often have the money, nor do they need to.
This leads me to suspect that you simply want to bash Microsoft, and don't really care about or understand the underlying issue at all.
Microsoft creates barriers for users, such as proprietary default file formats, because it is in their interest to do so.
OpenOffice.org uses open file formats by default, because it is in their interest to do so.
It is appropriate to blame Microsoft, because their position of conflict of interest cannot be ignored.
In the range of $375 per credit hour, so a single course ends up costing about $1125. Thats a lot to take a course.
Private universities are well over $1,000 per credit. I figured (and now regret) that I paid at least $1,250 per credit where I went to school.
Actually, the most important thing I learned from a private university is that I should have gone to a state school (at least, for the type of degree I chose). In the tech sector, I don't think anyone cares--buzzwords are much more important than highty-flighty universities.
Their purpose is to make money. So, don't be surprised if you are simply given a passing grade with little work.
Some private primary and secondary schools are like this. They won't do anything to risk making parents angry, because parents are the ones writing the checks each term. Private Universities are slightly different, because they are arrogant enough to not care (as much) about making everyone happy.
May I suggest...
While these are obviously good books, I think the grandparent post was referring to the fact that Software Engineering, in practice, is pretty much a joke. Most software projects are designed with religious fervor rather than rational judgements, and they become highly tuned to the particular tastes of the programmers. Software Engineering is more like the fashion or entertainment industries than any other real engineering discipline.
As a "Software Engineer", I see the irony in my own job title, where "Medieval Alchemist" might be more appropriate. Yes, we are definitely pre-Renaissance with respect to software. A thought: Microsoft and its followers is somewhat like the Church long ago...
First post! Two hours, and even the trolls don't care.
...the price of that money is freedom.
True. However, one person's freedom is another person's hell.
If I could only become a software-contractor-whore...but, then, I would have to do positions that I find immoral...sigh.
/me sighs at wasted irony
Sorry.
I think the only reason Oracle would want to buy Sun is to control Java.
Plausible, but, then, Oracle would end up in a bidding war with IBM. BEA and the other smaller players would get to sit nearby and watch the suspensful action.
Having run an "advertising supported" site, I can safely say that advertising *does not* even come close to paying the bills.
What fraction does advertising cover? 1/2? 1/3? 1/10?
Perhaps GameFAQs could stir up some non-interventionist sponsorship from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. GameFAQs is seriously good marketing for the big-hit games out there...but perhaps a bit too honest about the duds.
I NEVER was able to get anywhere close to the vision quality I got with glasses when wearing contacts, thanks to severe astigmatism.
Hard contacts are best for astigmatism...but no where close to the comfort of soft contacts. There are hybrid soft/hard contacts, but they are also very expensive. I agree that astimatism makes contacts a real pain in the ass (or eyes).
Sun is not going to last long, rumors say it will be bought by Oracle
(OT) Does that buyout even make sense? Sun+Oracle would essentially become an IBM clone (but smaller), with Oracle potentially alienating its non-Solaris customers.
at least at some point in time. For example, our solar system has been around for only a fraction of the life of the Universe. Whole ecosystems and, sometimes, civilizations can come and go in a moment's time (from the Universe's point of view...if it had a point of view...well, you understand).
It is actually very unlikely that we would witness a civilization in a state similar to our own. They would most likely be millions or billions of years behind or ahead of us. Would we even be able to recognize one even a million years ahead of us? It seems life forms like to do things exponentially...
Free sites that are as popular as gameFaqs cost the owner a hell of a lot of money.
An indispensible gaming site like GameFAQs should have no problem making this popularity turn into profit. They are an integral part of the gaming economy (reviews, walkthroughs, codes, game lists), and, the best part, most of their content is provided by volunteers for free.
That's right, GameFAQs is largely getting a free ride by the very gaming community it supports. So, with minimal content expenses, they just need administration and bandwidth.
With popularity on its side, I propose: advertising. It seems to be working for Slashdot, for example. Just a clearly visible--but not intrusive--banner might just be everything they need.
Technologies like IM...
I absolutely hated IM at college. Not because I used it, but because, in a lab of 50 computers, several people would be using it with the speakers turned on.
Imagine, every three seconds at random positions in the lab a "Boop beep" followed a few seconds later by a "Beep boop". It was immensely irritating. And the worst thing: the students doing it couldn't have cared less they were disrupting everyone else.
I guess this post is actually on topic, where technology allows people (at college) to continue being assholes, only louder.
You may have eye problems because you aren't eating well, aren't fit or don't get enough sleep on a regular basis.
Also, the author of the article didn't mention exactly the contacts/glasses combinations he/she tried. At one point several years ago, I had to go several days without contacts just to get my eyes back to normal. A couple years ago, I had to give up on contacts entirely after one especially irritating episode (I'm happy enough with glasses, anyway).
If contacts are the source of irritation, just trying something different for a day isn't necessarily going to make any difference. Sometimes three or more days is needed for healing to become noticible.
I must admit, I've never been very good at setting up printers in Unix.
Don't feel bad. Almost no one is good at setting up printers in UNIX, unless they have PostScript-enabled printers on the network or those HP JetDirect things.
The UNIX printing facilities were really created for paid full-time printer administrators who need to feel their job is somehow justified.
There is also a lot of historical cruft that only complicates everything. In fact, UNIX printing documentation might just be a good primer on computing history.
BTW, this isn't a troll. I really enjoy working with Solaris, Linux, BSD, etc., but printing and terminal emulation are really a sore spot for me.
NMCI forces MS on everything that touches that friggen network and all other Operating Systems are considered "legacy".
How many backs got scratched and patted on this deal? I bet the local Microsoft sales office just bought Porches for all its employees...as a bonus...just because.
One of the people that "approved" the move was father-in-law for a local Microsoft sales person.
Is there any way to make a case out of this blatant--and distrurbing--conflict of interest? Some defense contractors make a really big deal out of having employees disclose potential conflicts of interest, just to avoid legal problems and situations like the one you described.
Darth Vader eating in the cafeteria
The Vader-on-the-can cam: only on Fox!
Math you never use... hehe.
Beyond arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and intro calculus, the math starts becoming very specialized. Each of your examples are just fine, but 99% of working engineers surveyed would say the exact same thing about three other significant equations or methods.
In practice, this can become very stressful for college graduates or people looking for career changes. Everyone seems to want what school didn't cover or what the last job didn't do.
In software engineering, it can be even worse, because employers are often interested in what software development religion a person subscribes to, even though they never admit it.
...could change all postal codes in the world to a simpler, more universal format.
What's that sound?
It's the sound of millions of database application programmers screaming in agony.
The Normalization Monkey says, "Who's laughing now! Bwahahaha!"
We weren't allowed to use Macs...
It is ironic how the nurserys of the captitalistic economy line up behind the banner of Microsoft without a second thought.