This kind of thing is not new and is common practice for spies from the US and elsewhere. Not only can the "key-clicks" be heard but there is a practice of listening to the spaces between key-clicks of practiced typists to determine which keys they are typing (for example, most people type the word "the" quite quickly with spaces on each side - simple to pick out).
I've heard that some agencies actually recruit non-touch-typists to type up their reports to foil this kind of eavesdropping.
This author is using a series of flawed assumptions/myths that I'd like to debunk:
1) Outsourcing is only happening to menial jobs. The author first states that "the activities that will migrate offshore are predominantly those that can be viewed as requiring low skill since process and repeatability are key underpinnings of the work"
Software Development is not "low-skill". Repeatability for complex processes is a complex achievement. Nearly all of technology/science is concerned with repeatability.
2) What is better for the global economy is better for the American economy.
Let's say that China becomes even more of an economic powerhouse, the world economy becomes more efficent, and America gets beat out of many major corporate and employment deals to EU companies. America will go into decline. This is neither good for American business nor is it good for American workers.
3) What is good for American corporations is good for American citizens.
These two ideas are increasingly at odds. Let's say Joe CEO, an American citizen, starts a car-building company and outsources everything but the CEO spot. Let's then say that he beats out every major American car manufacturer and takes their marketshare. THIS WOULD BE A DISASTER FOR EVERY AMERICAN WORKER BUT JOE. Joe might get rich, he might make a bunch of foreign outsources rich, but he has helped suck both money and jobs out of the country.
4) Protectionism would hurt our economy because it makes the world economy less efficient.
WRONG! This would only be true if America was an equal consumer of goods world-wide. America is, by far, largest world consumer of most goods. Channeling that purchasing-power back towards American goods and services would be a huge boon.
5) Protecting globalization at the expense of American jobs will help american citizens by creating more jobs.
The author's whole argument about outsourcing of jobs towards America is completely false. His numbers are made up, as well.
6) It is the U.S. government's job to protect the global economy.
WRONG! It is the U.S. government's job to protect US citizens in both the short-term and the long-term.
7) It is patriotic to support free-market economies.
WRONG! It is patriotic to support the well-being of your fellow countrymen and women. Supporting slave-labor in China that forces inequitable economies of scale in labor is tantamount to economic treason.
People need to stop thinking in blindered terms of "free-markets are good" and need to start thinking at a more sophisticated level about these problems. I'm ashamed at the trite cliches and hackneyed arguments put forth in this poorly-written article.
This has been working in Portugal for at least 10 years (along with EZpass). The trick is that the lights turn red well ahead of the speeding car. There is no way to run a yellow light, because your speeding probably stopped traffic ahead of you too.
Once people understood it, speeding stopped and traffic-flow improved. Chronic speeders figured out that they can't beat the system and they started obeying the traffic laws to get to places faster.
This post is misleading. IBM has always been close to Suse (probably closer than with Redhat):
IBM was one of the main investors in Suse from the beginning.
They shipped Suse for their Zseries (mainframe) boxes as the only option.
Many of the suse executives were ex-IBMers
I think that Suse was the distro they pitched in Munich (although I'm not as sure about this one)
So. . . this should surprise no-one. IBM is omnipresent in Linux these days, but they have traditionally been the biggest force behind Suse (and now they are backing Novell).
My Guess As to Why? There are things that IBM can do hiding behind the names "Suse" and "Novell" that they cannot do as "IBM".
There is an easy way to get relief over the controversies with Mono. Since Microsoft owns it, (only the C# spec is ECMA) someone should ask Microsoft if we can use it. ..
Novell should ask Microsoft to issue a statement or enter into a contract that they won't pull the rug out from under Mono by enforcing patent/trademark/etc. protections and adversely affect the Mono community. If they refuse, then you know Mono is doomed. If they comply and their answer is legally binding, then have at it.
Mono is excellent technology but it is in a very dark shadow. I wouldn't base my software on an architecture that is under patent threat by one of the most powerful companies in the world -- What's the point of speculating since all we have to do to verify its safty is ask Microsoft ?
This is only proper. . . most of the runtime and forms libraries are proprietary property of Microsoft -- we need to ask them if we can use it if we are worried about backlash.
Please do not reply with anyting about GTK# not being property of Microsoft. . . the "#" trademarks and the runtime technology (CLR) certainly are their undisputed property. Playing games with their IP without asking their permission is unwise.
The bad java 1.4.2 performance in trig is entirely due to the default trig functions in Java being StrictMath (much higher precision and better IEEE compliance than the other languages tested).
One can turn off IEEE compliance in Java 1.4.2, do sloppy math (like the other languages do in this test) and Java will rank among the top performers there too.
. . . therefore Java 1.4.2 is objectively as fast or faster than all other contenders. This has always been theoritically possible, and now it is true in practice.
Java's problem is NOT speed, it is its lack of being free. Stop griping about the wrong thing so that we can keep pushing Sun to open it up further to the computing community.
Ebooks should be a stripped-down version of the OpenOffice.org format. By "stripped-down" I mean, exactly the same, just down allow all of the non-essential text enhancements and embedding. Wanna add encryption and DRM? Add it to the OpenOffice.org format so that in can be used everywhere.
This reminds me of WAP vs. HTML debocle. . . just because a device is embedded doesn't mean that you need completely new formats.
It's actually. "Embrace, extend, destroy." and it is a BAD thing. It is the idea of taking a standard, implementing it and then extending the implementation once you have enough marketshare to destroy its compatibility with the rest of the market. It is how you "take over" what others have worked hard to create as a community.
On an off note, Billy Gates' "Road to the future" is actually an insightful book, you know.
The first revision of the book didn't even include the Internet. Basically this book wasn't insightful at all and has been revised to include events that Gates completely missed when he wrote it in the first place. This book is really a piece of corporate revisionist history.
And funny, I also write a lot of code for Linux. Makes you rethink how safe this whole Open Source thing is, ah?
Just kidding, although I do write a lot of things for Linux...
No seriously folks. . . I'm writing a Linux app right now. Did I mention how great Microsoft is?
My Linux app is almost done, I can smell it now!. . . Wow is Bill Gates smart -- he sure is going to love all that Linux development I've been doin' lately!
Did the buzzer go off? I can smell my latest fresh Linux app now! Is Ballmer good looking or what! I'm really concerned about being fair to all OSes . . . and writing a lot of Linux apps. ..
. . . oh hell, who am I kidding. . . Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers!
FirstEnergy used to be CEI. . . a horrible company in Cleveland that allowed a nuclear core failure through negligence and then tried to bully the government of Cleveland into selling its municipal power supply to it thereby granting it monopoly status in the region.
Check out the story here: http://kucinich.us/powertothepeople.htm
The presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was Mayor of Cleveland at the time and endured a browbeating when he refused to sell the Municipal power company to these scoundrels.
I'm not necessarily pro-Kucinich, but I am VERY anti-FirstEnergy. They have a track record of irresponsibility and dishonesty that should be enough to have the government dismantle them.
Don't feel too smug about this. Appgen sold one of the few real accounting packages for Linux. Remember the Guitar-String maker that switched to linux (Ernie Ball) ? This was the accounting software they used.
Now, which accounting backend is available for Linux?
We NEED a replacement for this, open-source or not.
Since when did it become acceptable for adult executives of important corporations to act like children?
Not only is his argument a blatant lie, but it is a poorly constructed one founded at the logic-level of a 3rd grader who just got caught doing something obviously wrong. Even HE knows that he is being dishonest but he seems to be hoping that by using important-sounding cliches that he's read in the paper, that his company will get away with it.
At first I thought. ..well they thought they could get away with something stupid, but hopefully they'll come back to their senses and make things right. Now, I think. . . what a lot of NERVE for this brash imbecile to think that he can not only violate the public trust, but can come up with a lazier set of schoolyard lies than I'd expect from a middle-school truant-in-training.
If Verisign is run by immature imbeciles like this buffoon, they should have their charter revoked. [period] I don't want to depend on ANYONE who lacks such a basic level of respect and sense of responsibility that they can't even conduct themselves at a minimal level expected of any high-school senior.
To think: we live in a world where Dan Geer is fired for trying to protect the public trust and this subhuman dolt maintains an important post that we HAVE to rely on. Who the hell is in charge of this damn country?
Then I can ask the geek to do things like "round up all of the coolest geek gadgets and let me know what they are". I will force my pet geek to address me as a "VIP" and interface with slashdot when they can't ask my questions (which makes me feel like I own many more geeks by proxy).
I will keep my geek in a cubicle next to my aquarium full of scuba-divers.
What they give you. The proof of a good headhunter is if they can give you introductions directly to the hiring managers for jobs you want. You are leveraging their contacts and thats it. They're not your friends or your family, so only trust them as far as their introductions. Fire ones that guilt-trip you and only be loyal to the ones that perform.
What they don't give you - sound career advice. Headhunters can't give you good career advice. How could they?. ..they aren't in the same field as you. Furthermore, their advice often incents you to switch jobs often. . . which helps them line their pockets and hurts your career. They can give good resume-design advice. . . that's about all the advice they CAN give you and you should probably take it -- short of lying (at least doctor-up a resume format that they like for their sales-job -- keep your original for other purposes if you feel so compelled).
When should you [not] use them? Use them when you don't have personal contacts that can help you get in the door. At that point they are worth the money. Avoid using them to get you into a company that you already have an "in" with. They can screw up your salary negotiation and collect a fee if they've already submitted your resume where you could have been hired directly. Be up-front about having them avoid those companies you have an "in" with.
Never sign an exclusive. This is good life advice and extends outside of headhunting. You should always be in contact with a few headhunters and then force them to compete. (although let them know which companies you are already submitted to so you don't get submitted more than once.)
They should work all the time. Happily employed? Hoping for that big bonus? How do you know what is a good bonus and what isn't? Headhunters tell you by coming up with new job opportunities even when you aren't looking. (although they shouldn't show your resume unless they ask you first) Knowing what the market will bear is good for you career. What if you are unhappy?. . . well it sure doesn't hurt to have people beating the street for you ahead of time.
Don't work with agents that don't respect your privacy. Good headhunters don't submit your resume without asking you first. If one submits your paper without asking you, then fire them immediately.
Don't work with fools. Keep getting submitted for Javascript jobs when you wanted Java jobs? Stop using that headhunter. Not everyone is that inept, and it isn't worth your time to spend time on educating people who should care more about their jobs.
Good luck. . . just remember - headhunters are your suppliers (they are "contact" suppliers). They aren't your friends, and they aren't your supporters - they work for you and they only care about getting money for placing you. Treat them that way and push them to work hard and do a good job.
Why even bother speculating? It is not for anyone to decide but Microsoft.
The community should ask Microsoft to issue a direct agreement and public announcement that they will not pursue patent attacks against Mono and DotGnu for any part of the.NET platform.
If they won't do it, then the projects aren't safe and people have enough information to know to avoid them. Even if the lawsuits don't have merit, who wants to spend time in court that they could be spending on something more constructure (Like Parrot or OSS Java later this year if Sun follows through on its promise)
Until they clarify their position (and theirs is the ONLY one that matters), I would just assume they are doomed.
This goes a long way towards explaining attitudes in the office.
People would rather have a servant helping them avoid work that they have to do, rather than have a partner helping them achieve new things that they cannot do themselves.
In this case, they'd rather give orders to computers rather than struggle to learn something new with them.
Why doesn't Aun open-source the technology and keep the rights to the name "Java" and the JCP standards? That, way, people could look at the code and even fork it. . . they just couldn't call it official JAVA. (Kinda like now, but they get a lot of cred and development help for open sourcing it)
If Sun's version is the best and its the only one that is Certified 100% Java, then great. If it isn't the best then everyone will use the better one, then great. Either way, Java wins.
if it ain't broke, don't fix it [annoying phrase - orig. rural american] - phrase used by those who lack vision or initiative to either justify continued laziness (usually involving budget wastefulness) or advertise lack of full understanding of requirements. Often confused with wisdom but unrelated. see cowardice, or reactive management.
Slashdot Mirror
This kind of thing is not new and is common practice for spies from the US and elsewhere. Not only can the "key-clicks" be heard but there is a practice of listening to the spaces between key-clicks of practiced typists to determine which keys they are typing (for example, most people type the word "the" quite quickly with spaces on each side - simple to pick out).
I've heard that some agencies actually recruit non-touch-typists to type up their reports to foil this kind of eavesdropping.
This author is using a series of flawed assumptions/myths that I'd like to debunk:
1) Outsourcing is only happening to menial jobs. The author first states that "the activities that will migrate offshore are predominantly those that can be viewed as requiring low skill since process and repeatability are key underpinnings of the work"
Software Development is not "low-skill". Repeatability for complex processes is a complex achievement. Nearly all of technology/science is concerned with repeatability.
2) What is better for the global economy is better for the American economy.
Let's say that China becomes even more of an economic powerhouse, the world economy becomes more efficent, and America gets beat out of many major corporate and employment deals to EU companies. America will go into decline. This is neither good for American business nor is it good for American workers.
3) What is good for American corporations is good for American citizens.
These two ideas are increasingly at odds. Let's say Joe CEO, an American citizen, starts a car-building company and outsources everything but the CEO spot. Let's then say that he beats out every major American car manufacturer and takes their marketshare. THIS WOULD BE A DISASTER FOR EVERY AMERICAN WORKER BUT JOE. Joe might get rich, he might make a bunch of foreign outsources rich, but he has helped suck both money and jobs out of the country.
4) Protectionism would hurt our economy because it makes the world economy less efficient.
WRONG! This would only be true if America was an equal consumer of goods world-wide. America is, by far, largest world consumer of most goods. Channeling that purchasing-power back towards American goods and services would be a huge boon.
5) Protecting globalization at the expense of American jobs will help american citizens by creating more jobs.
The author's whole argument about outsourcing of jobs towards America is completely false. His numbers are made up, as well.
6) It is the U.S. government's job to protect the global economy.
WRONG! It is the U.S. government's job to protect US citizens in both the short-term and the long-term.
7) It is patriotic to support free-market economies.
WRONG! It is patriotic to support the well-being of your fellow countrymen and women. Supporting slave-labor in China that forces inequitable economies of scale in labor is tantamount to economic treason.
People need to stop thinking in blindered terms of "free-markets are good" and need to start thinking at a more sophisticated level about these problems. I'm ashamed at the trite cliches and hackneyed arguments put forth in this poorly-written article.
This has been working in Portugal for at least 10 years (along with EZpass). The trick is that the lights turn red well ahead of the speeding car. There is no way to run a yellow light, because your speeding probably stopped traffic ahead of you too.
Once people understood it, speeding stopped and traffic-flow improved. Chronic speeders figured out that they can't beat the system and they started obeying the traffic laws to get to places faster.
So. . . this should surprise no-one. IBM is omnipresent in Linux these days, but they have traditionally been the biggest force behind Suse (and now they are backing Novell).
My Guess As to Why? There are things that IBM can do hiding behind the names "Suse" and "Novell" that they cannot do as "IBM".
There is an easy way to get relief over the controversies with Mono. Since Microsoft owns it, (only the C# spec is ECMA) someone should ask Microsoft if we can use it. . .
Novell should ask Microsoft to issue a statement or enter into a contract that they won't pull the rug out from under Mono by enforcing patent/trademark/etc. protections and adversely affect the Mono community. If they refuse, then you know Mono is doomed. If they comply and their answer is legally binding, then have at it.
Mono is excellent technology but it is in a very dark shadow. I wouldn't base my software on an architecture that is under patent threat by one of the most powerful companies in the world -- What's the point of speculating since all we have to do to verify its safty is ask Microsoft ?
This is only proper. . . most of the runtime and forms libraries are proprietary property of Microsoft -- we need to ask them if we can use it if we are worried about backlash.
Please do not reply with anyting about GTK# not being property of Microsoft. . . the "#" trademarks and the runtime technology (CLR) certainly are their undisputed property. Playing games with their IP without asking their permission is unwise.
The bad java 1.4.2 performance in trig is entirely due to the default trig functions in Java being StrictMath (much higher precision and better IEEE compliance than the other languages tested).
One can turn off IEEE compliance in Java 1.4.2, do sloppy math (like the other languages do in this test) and Java will rank among the top performers there too.
. . . therefore Java 1.4.2 is objectively as fast or faster than all other contenders. This has always been theoritically possible, and now it is true in practice.
Java's problem is NOT speed, it is its lack of being free. Stop griping about the wrong thing so that we can keep pushing Sun to open it up further to the computing community.
Ebooks should be a stripped-down version of the OpenOffice.org format. By "stripped-down" I mean, exactly the same, just down allow all of the non-essential text enhancements and embedding. Wanna add encryption and DRM? Add it to the OpenOffice.org format so that in can be used everywhere.
This reminds me of WAP vs. HTML debocle. . . just because a device is embedded doesn't mean that you need completely new formats.
. . . Next problem. . .
I am a bit bothered by two of your points.
Embrace and extend.
It's actually. "Embrace, extend, destroy." and it is a BAD thing. It is the idea of taking a standard, implementing it and then extending the implementation once you have enough marketshare to destroy its compatibility with the rest of the market. It is how you "take over" what others have worked hard to create as a community.
On an off note, Billy Gates' "Road to the future" is actually an insightful book, you know.
The first revision of the book didn't even include the Internet. Basically this book wasn't insightful at all and has been revised to include events that Gates completely missed when he wrote it in the first place. This book is really a piece of corporate revisionist history.
a day on Mars is 39.5 minutes longer than a day on Earth.
Great. This is a project-planner's fantasy. Forget offshore, we should move our software projects off-planet.
. . . that's just the slashdot effect. . .
And funny, I also write a lot of code for Linux. Makes you rethink how safe this whole Open Source thing is, ah?
.
Just kidding, although I do write a lot of things for Linux...
No seriously folks. . . I'm writing a Linux app right now. Did I mention how great Microsoft is?
My Linux app is almost done, I can smell it now!. . . Wow is Bill Gates smart -- he sure is going to love all that Linux development I've been doin' lately!
Did the buzzer go off? I can smell my latest fresh Linux app now! Is Ballmer good looking or what! I'm really concerned about being fair to all OSes . . . and writing a lot of Linux apps. .
. . . oh hell, who am I kidding. . . Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers!
Here's a timely link. . .
FirstEnergy used to be CEI. . . a horrible company in Cleveland that allowed a nuclear core failure through negligence and then tried to bully the government of Cleveland into selling its municipal power supply to it thereby granting it monopoly status in the region.
Check out the story here:
http://kucinich.us/powertothepeople.htm
The presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was Mayor of Cleveland at the time and endured a browbeating when he refused to sell the Municipal power company to these scoundrels.
I'm not necessarily pro-Kucinich, but I am VERY anti-FirstEnergy. They have a track record of irresponsibility and dishonesty that should be enough to have the government dismantle them.
Don't feel too smug about this. Appgen sold one of the few real accounting packages for Linux. Remember the Guitar-String maker that switched to linux (Ernie Ball) ? This was the accounting software they used.
Now, which accounting backend is available for Linux?
We NEED a replacement for this, open-source or not.
It isn't easy to get started, and most people only do enough to get finished quickly.
Even if you are extremely careful you'll probably end up with a big mess.
If you look at Perl long enough, you wish you'd done it with something else.
You and your partner are fantasizing about better equipment (Python) and/or gemstones (Ruby).
It can be constantly interrupted by poorly constructed arguments and (de)referencing past mistakes
It doesn't scale well beyond two developers. (and usually not past one).
Since when did it become acceptable for adult executives of important corporations to act like children?
.well they thought they could get away with something stupid, but hopefully they'll come back to their senses and make things right. Now, I think. . . what a lot of NERVE for this brash imbecile to think that he can not only violate the public trust, but can come up with a lazier set of schoolyard lies than I'd expect from a middle-school truant-in-training.
Not only is his argument a blatant lie, but it is a poorly constructed one founded at the logic-level of a 3rd grader who just got caught doing something obviously wrong. Even HE knows that he is being dishonest but he seems to be hoping that by using important-sounding cliches that he's read in the paper, that his company will get away with it.
At first I thought. .
If Verisign is run by immature imbeciles like this buffoon, they should have their charter revoked. [period] I don't want to depend on ANYONE who lacks such a basic level of respect and sense of responsibility that they can't even conduct themselves at a minimal level expected of any high-school senior.
To think: we live in a world where Dan Geer is fired for trying to protect the public trust and this subhuman dolt maintains an important post that we HAVE to rely on. Who the hell is in charge of this damn country?
My ultimate geek gadget would be: a geek.
Then I can ask the geek to do things like "round up all of the coolest geek gadgets and let me know what they are". I will force my pet geek to address me as a "VIP" and interface with slashdot when they can't ask my questions (which makes me feel like I own many more geeks by proxy).
I will keep my geek in a cubicle next to my aquarium full of scuba-divers.
- What they give you. The proof of a good headhunter is if they can give you introductions directly to the hiring managers for jobs you want. You are leveraging their contacts and thats it. They're not your friends or your family, so only trust them as far as their introductions. Fire ones that guilt-trip you and only be loyal to the ones that perform.
-
What they don't give you - sound career advice. Headhunters can't give you good career advice. How could they?. .
.they aren't in the same field as you. Furthermore, their advice often incents you to switch jobs often. . . which helps them line their pockets and hurts your career. They can give good resume-design advice. . . that's about all the advice they CAN give you and you should probably take it -- short of lying (at least doctor-up a resume format that they like for their sales-job -- keep your original for other purposes if you feel so compelled).
- When should you [not] use them? Use them when you don't have personal contacts that can help you get in the door. At that point they are worth the money. Avoid using them to get you into a company that you already have an "in" with. They can screw up your salary negotiation and collect a fee if they've already submitted your resume where you could have been hired directly. Be up-front about having them avoid those companies you have an "in" with.
-
Never sign an exclusive. This is good life advice and extends outside of headhunting. You should always be in contact with a few headhunters and then force them to compete. (although let them know which companies you are already submitted to so you don't get submitted more than once.)
-
They should work all the time. Happily employed? Hoping for that big bonus? How do you know what is a good bonus and what isn't? Headhunters tell you by coming up with new job opportunities even when you aren't looking. (although they shouldn't show your resume unless they ask you first) Knowing what the market will bear is good for you career. What if you are unhappy?. . . well it sure doesn't hurt to have people beating the street for you ahead of time.
- Don't work with agents that don't respect your privacy. Good headhunters don't submit your resume without asking you first. If one submits your paper without asking you, then fire them immediately.
- Don't work with fools. Keep getting submitted for Javascript jobs when you wanted Java jobs? Stop using that headhunter. Not everyone is that inept, and it isn't worth your time to spend time on educating people who should care more about their jobs.
Good luck. . . just remember - headhunters are your suppliers (they are "contact" suppliers). They aren't your friends, and they aren't your supporters - they work for you and they only care about getting money for placing you. Treat them that way and push them to work hard and do a good job.. . . when you tell the truth about Microsoft, your job could be @stake.
bah-dum-bum,
Even though they're told not to 100 times, they still click on the attachments. . .
Why even bother speculating? It is not for anyone to decide but Microsoft.
.NET platform.
The community should ask Microsoft to issue a direct agreement and public announcement that they will not pursue patent attacks against Mono and DotGnu for any part of the
If they won't do it, then the projects aren't safe and people have enough information to know to avoid them. Even if the lawsuits don't have merit, who wants to spend time in court that they could be spending on something more constructure (Like Parrot or OSS Java later this year if Sun follows through on its promise)
Until they clarify their position (and theirs is the ONLY one that matters), I would just assume they are doomed.
How can you voluntarily sign on to a law? Does that imply I can opt out of the laws I don't like?
. . . only if you are Microsoft.
Actually, I think that antitrust law is "opt-in" for them.
This goes a long way towards explaining attitudes in the office.
People would rather have a servant helping them avoid work that they have to do, rather than have a partner helping them achieve new things that they cannot do themselves.
In this case, they'd rather give orders to computers rather than struggle to learn something new with them.
1:15. . . press return
Why doesn't Aun open-source the technology and keep the rights to the name "Java" and the JCP standards? That, way, people could look at the code and even fork it. . . they just couldn't call it official JAVA. (Kinda like now, but they get a lot of cred and development help for open sourcing it)
If Sun's version is the best and its the only one that is Certified 100% Java, then great. If it isn't the best then everyone will use the better one, then great. Either way, Java wins.
One of my least favorite cliches:
if it ain't broke, don't fix it [annoying phrase - orig. rural american] - phrase used by those who lack vision or initiative to either justify continued laziness (usually involving budget wastefulness) or advertise lack of full understanding of requirements. Often confused with wisdom but unrelated. see cowardice, or reactive management.