The same was true at the last place I worked. Not only did they have password aging, they had password history, so I kept choosing easier passwords to remember, instead of my "default" password that's hard to guess but memorized.
I fully agree with ISPs taking down the accounts of compromised machines, and calling the owner to let them know that they won't be allowed back online until they get the machine cleaned (which will likely cost money.)
I do not agree with the idea of a general "tax" to pay for the stupidity of people who insist on breaking the above common-sense rules. Why should I pay for someone else's ignorant behaviour?
How in the world can a bug exist for 17 years when they've released so many versions of Windows in that time? Hasn't the kernel been revamped three times? (Win98/ME, WinNT/Win2K/WinXP, Vista/7)
The value of the college degree isn't so much the subject matter mastered, but as a signal that the holder has the aptitude and perseverance necessary to succeed in the job.
Exactly! Going to college or university isn't about the details you learn, but rather about learning how to learn so you can continually educate yourself (and hopefully others) while on your career path. The technical aspects of what I learned in university are now extremely dated and useless, but the theory and techniques I learned are still valuable.
The great inconsistency I see is that when a book is lent out through a library, only n copies can be lent out at a time, depending on how many copies the library bought. But with electronic distribution, any number of copies can be "lent" at a time.
The whole patent only makes sense if you can select which packets to download. If, as with a regular torrent, you have to download the whole file, you're sucking up the bandwidth for a 1080p video while only being able to watch 480i (for example.)
Personally I grew out of contracting. I spent 20 years doing C/C++/Unix/Windows contracting, and enjoyed myself immensely. But eventually I got tired of moving from job to job, and have opted for working for a small business. The money is only half what I used to make, but it's enough to live comfortably, the team is skilled, the employer is very understanding and forgiving of my health issues, and I no longer have to put in 60+ hour weeks.
Free coffee: I don't care. It's nice if it's there, but it's such a minor issue that if they want to save the shockingly huge amount of money that goes into rent and support of these machines, by all means do so, I'm not going to work less hard if I have to buy my own drinks.
Apparently you've not noticed that it costs $5-10/day to buy coffee at a coffee shop or other takeout joint, plus the lost productivity, vs. the $5-10/WEEK it costs to chip in to a "coffee club" at work.
The sad thing is I've worked for companies who signed "exclusive" provider deals with cafeteria companies, making it illegal to run coffee clubs in the office. Even sadder were the places that claimed coffee machines are a "hazard" and therefore not allowed on the floors.
The most disgusting I ran across was one company that allowed smokers to take breaks whenever they wanted, but only allowed one coffee break in the morning and afternoon. Why? 3/4 of the managers smoked.
The Nazis gained their power by inciting paranoia over a fake "terrorist" attack.
The Nazis leveraged the paranoia of the population to come down on scapegoats (Jews and immigrants vs. Muslims and immigrants.)
There are endless similarities between the way the politicians of Nazi Germany manipulated the law and the population and the way the US is doing the same. If you prefer to stick your head up your arse and claim it's not so, that's your prerogative, but it won't change the facts or the similarities.
The terrorists won -- the US is now the land of paranoia, over-regulation, and overzealous government agencies.
You're not even downloading the.torrent from Canada -- IsoHunt links to various trackers. They're just a database of.torrent files, not the actual.torrent providers. Note that they provide multiple links to sources of the.torrent when it's hosted by more than one tracker.
Zieg Hiel! to the new Fuhrer: The President of the United States.
Sorry if that sounds like flamage, but the US is not the country it once was. It's the land of the paranoid, home of the nanny state. No more "free" or "brave".
I've been a hard core C/C++ programmer for years, but over the past few years I ended up working with 4GLs and "smart" frameworks. For the things they did well, they were great. You could spew out functionality at a much faster rate than with C/C++ or Java. But if you tried to do anything "out of the box", you tore your hair out trying to get around the limitations of the 4GL.
Most recently I took up functional programming with Erlang. It's taken me about 6 months to become truly proficient with the language, but it's very powerful for developing concurrent systems and services. Like any other language, it has it's limitations (for example, the ODBC interface casts 64-bit integers from the database to strings instead of true 64-bit integers. Integers are "unlimited" in Erlang, but when you have to send things over the wire the lack of true 64-bit integers is a real pain.)
I've worked with innumerable frameworks over my career. Each had certain tasks they were well-suited for. None was a generic "solves all problems" toolkit.
The one thing I did learn is that programming with "smart" frameworks and 4GL's is boring. Only the most technically-challenged programmers seem to stick with them, for the simple fact that there is nothing to make the job challenging or interesting when using such tools. They don't "dumb down" programming -- they just simplify their set of special cases and drive away the programmers who actually understand how machines work and how they process data. Unfortunately that also means that the teams of 4GL programmers are left helpless when they have to tackle an out-of-the-box problem, because they simply don't have the skills and experience to "bend" the tool to their will.
Payphones get used by people who can't afford a cell phone. It's easy to come up with $0.50 for a call, but $30-40/month is beyond a lot of people's budgets around here. Plus there are people like me who don't want a cell phone and need to make a call from time to time.
As long as DSL is "bundled" by the phone company, land lines aren't going anywhere either. Around here (Saskatchewan), long distance "bundles" just aren't available for cell phones, so you need a land line if you make a lot of long distance calls, especially if they're overseas calls. A couple of cell providers have "free" long distance, but charge you for air time instead (often more expensive than the per-minute long distance charges.)
The only thing I see cell phones managing to eliminate are the hand-held gaming units, but even that will only happen if they start getting some real games on cell phones. All I ever seem to see on them are "retro" arcade games and adventure games.
Novell did a good job with their Linux-based network server OS, too. They just don't have a growing market share anymore. But all they really did is bundle in Samba with a GUI.
The government of Saskatchewan mandated that SaskTel has to provide high speed access to the population of the province within another year or two, whether it be via DSL, wireless, or satellite. The key point is not that it will be free, but available.
Pricing is actually pretty reasonable, too, though if you're stuck with a satellite link you'll never get around the "lag" for anything like gaming.
It would seem that he's referring to slow-changing "durable" systems as having better "survival" than individual humans. Anyone who's ever "fought the system" already knows that it takes an incredible amount of effort to cause even the slightest change unless you already have the authority to change the system arbitrarily (e.g. legislators can pass a bill.)
I think we've got another case of Slashdot story editors getting "creative" with the summary to attract readers. Now there's a system that's "resilient".:)
Well I can tell you that oil is a really bad idea. I had a container of motor oil spill on some CDs of mine, and it literally etched the plastic (it went flaky.) 100% loss on the disks that had even a drop of oil on them.
Since I switched to Taiyo Yuden DVD-R media, I'm down to about a 2% bad burn rate.:)
Unfortunately there is a great deal of compatability issue between the drive (Pioneer) and the media, especially with DVDs. Some of the other media I've used (Verbatim, Memorex, Maxell, etc.) have had as high as a 25% failure rate.
And I refuse to burn media at a slower speed than it's rated for. I also refuse to buy media if it turns out to be incompatible with my drive (Memorex sucks in my books!)
Slashdot Mirror
The same was true at the last place I worked. Not only did they have password aging, they had password history, so I kept choosing easier passwords to remember, instead of my "default" password that's hard to guess but memorized.
I fully agree with ISPs taking down the accounts of compromised machines, and calling the owner to let them know that they won't be allowed back online until they get the machine cleaned (which will likely cost money.)
I do not agree with the idea of a general "tax" to pay for the stupidity of people who insist on breaking the above common-sense rules. Why should I pay for someone else's ignorant behaviour?
How in the world can a bug exist for 17 years when they've released so many versions of Windows in that time? Hasn't the kernel been revamped three times? (Win98/ME, WinNT/Win2K/WinXP, Vista/7)
The value of the college degree isn't so much the subject matter mastered, but as a signal that the holder has the aptitude and perseverance necessary to succeed in the job.
Exactly! Going to college or university isn't about the details you learn, but rather about learning how to learn so you can continually educate yourself (and hopefully others) while on your career path. The technical aspects of what I learned in university are now extremely dated and useless, but the theory and techniques I learned are still valuable.
The great inconsistency I see is that when a book is lent out through a library, only n copies can be lent out at a time, depending on how many copies the library bought. But with electronic distribution, any number of copies can be "lent" at a time.
The whole patent only makes sense if you can select which packets to download. If, as with a regular torrent, you have to download the whole file, you're sucking up the bandwidth for a 1080p video while only being able to watch 480i (for example.)
Personally I grew out of contracting. I spent 20 years doing C/C++/Unix/Windows contracting, and enjoyed myself immensely. But eventually I got tired of moving from job to job, and have opted for working for a small business. The money is only half what I used to make, but it's enough to live comfortably, the team is skilled, the employer is very understanding and forgiving of my health issues, and I no longer have to put in 60+ hour weeks.
Apparently you've not noticed that it costs $5-10/day to buy coffee at a coffee shop or other takeout joint, plus the lost productivity, vs. the $5-10/WEEK it costs to chip in to a "coffee club" at work.
The sad thing is I've worked for companies who signed "exclusive" provider deals with cafeteria companies, making it illegal to run coffee clubs in the office. Even sadder were the places that claimed coffee machines are a "hazard" and therefore not allowed on the floors.
The most disgusting I ran across was one company that allowed smokers to take breaks whenever they wanted, but only allowed one coffee break in the morning and afternoon. Why? 3/4 of the managers smoked.
It's a legal high, so tough shit.
The Nazis gained their power by inciting paranoia over a fake "terrorist" attack.
The Nazis leveraged the paranoia of the population to come down on scapegoats (Jews and immigrants vs. Muslims and immigrants.)
There are endless similarities between the way the politicians of Nazi Germany manipulated the law and the population and the way the US is doing the same. If you prefer to stick your head up your arse and claim it's not so, that's your prerogative, but it won't change the facts or the similarities.
The terrorists won -- the US is now the land of paranoia, over-regulation, and overzealous government agencies.
You're not even downloading the .torrent from Canada -- IsoHunt links to various trackers. They're just a database of .torrent files, not the actual .torrent providers. Note that they provide multiple links to sources of the .torrent when it's hosted by more than one tracker.
Zieg Hiel! to the new Fuhrer: The President of the United States.
Sorry if that sounds like flamage, but the US is not the country it once was. It's the land of the paranoid, home of the nanny state. No more "free" or "brave".
I've been a hard core C/C++ programmer for years, but over the past few years I ended up working with 4GLs and "smart" frameworks. For the things they did well, they were great. You could spew out functionality at a much faster rate than with C/C++ or Java. But if you tried to do anything "out of the box", you tore your hair out trying to get around the limitations of the 4GL.
Most recently I took up functional programming with Erlang. It's taken me about 6 months to become truly proficient with the language, but it's very powerful for developing concurrent systems and services. Like any other language, it has it's limitations (for example, the ODBC interface casts 64-bit integers from the database to strings instead of true 64-bit integers. Integers are "unlimited" in Erlang, but when you have to send things over the wire the lack of true 64-bit integers is a real pain.)
I've worked with innumerable frameworks over my career. Each had certain tasks they were well-suited for. None was a generic "solves all problems" toolkit.
The one thing I did learn is that programming with "smart" frameworks and 4GL's is boring. Only the most technically-challenged programmers seem to stick with them, for the simple fact that there is nothing to make the job challenging or interesting when using such tools. They don't "dumb down" programming -- they just simplify their set of special cases and drive away the programmers who actually understand how machines work and how they process data. Unfortunately that also means that the teams of 4GL programmers are left helpless when they have to tackle an out-of-the-box problem, because they simply don't have the skills and experience to "bend" the tool to their will.
Payphones get used by people who can't afford a cell phone. It's easy to come up with $0.50 for a call, but $30-40/month is beyond a lot of people's budgets around here. Plus there are people like me who don't want a cell phone and need to make a call from time to time.
As long as DSL is "bundled" by the phone company, land lines aren't going anywhere either. Around here (Saskatchewan), long distance "bundles" just aren't available for cell phones, so you need a land line if you make a lot of long distance calls, especially if they're overseas calls. A couple of cell providers have "free" long distance, but charge you for air time instead (often more expensive than the per-minute long distance charges.)
The only thing I see cell phones managing to eliminate are the hand-held gaming units, but even that will only happen if they start getting some real games on cell phones. All I ever seem to see on them are "retro" arcade games and adventure games.
There isn't much you learn in university that you can't learn by reading books.
Novell did a good job with their Linux-based network server OS, too. They just don't have a growing market share anymore. But all they really did is bundle in Samba with a GUI.
Sometimes there are advantages to "state run" infrastructure. :)
Finland is a little slow to the gate.
The government of Saskatchewan mandated that SaskTel has to provide high speed access to the population of the province within another year or two, whether it be via DSL, wireless, or satellite. The key point is not that it will be free, but available.
Pricing is actually pretty reasonable, too, though if you're stuck with a satellite link you'll never get around the "lag" for anything like gaming.
To hell with "sanctions" already. They've had years to respond to sanctions, and have refused to do so.
Time to turn Iran into a glass parking lot.
It would seem that he's referring to slow-changing "durable" systems as having better "survival" than individual humans. Anyone who's ever "fought the system" already knows that it takes an incredible amount of effort to cause even the slightest change unless you already have the authority to change the system arbitrarily (e.g. legislators can pass a bill.)
I think we've got another case of Slashdot story editors getting "creative" with the summary to attract readers. Now there's a system that's "resilient". :)
I find I get all the "old school" fun I can handle buying $10 used games. :)
I was more impressed that the facility just happened to have a molecular modelling tool installed, and that Scotty learned how to use it in seconds. :)
Crash. Tinkle. Boom.
The executable that wouldn't execute.
Well I can tell you that oil is a really bad idea. I had a container of motor oil spill on some CDs of mine, and it literally etched the plastic (it went flaky.) 100% loss on the disks that had even a drop of oil on them.
Since I switched to Taiyo Yuden DVD-R media, I'm down to about a 2% bad burn rate. :)
Unfortunately there is a great deal of compatability issue between the drive (Pioneer) and the media, especially with DVDs. Some of the other media I've used (Verbatim, Memorex, Maxell, etc.) have had as high as a 25% failure rate.
And I refuse to burn media at a slower speed than it's rated for. I also refuse to buy media if it turns out to be incompatible with my drive (Memorex sucks in my books!)