i always thought it was an equal mix: The Destruction of Property, The Defiance of Authority, and The Removal of Clothing. Someone got paid for this? I'm in the wrong business.
geeks and comic books seem to have come a long way since Action No.1, from social misfits to uber-hip trendsetters. Having been through the mocking-and-teasing routine, i'm glad to be on the other side. Rock on, graphic novelists.
qouoldn't you know that when a really good threaded comment comes along, i'm out of mod points. thanks for this -- there are so few comments that keep things in perspective.
Re:It's happening at other corporations, as well
on
Microsoft Caste System
·
· Score: 2, Informative
In fact, the eat coast is no stranger to using a permatemp 'solution' to the 'i.t. question.'
i have been in more than one permatemp situation, each of which started as a few weeks' assignment, all while i was looking for a permanent job. the real heartbreaker of these assignments and others like them is that the corporations always make great talk about hiring a contractor permanently once the hiring freeze is lifted, or at the end of the fiscal year, or some other when-my-ship-comes-in time frame.
Frequently, I was as meaningful a team member as the full-time employees. Because the teams i worked with treated me well, reflecting their own dignity, I continued to stay in a contract situation. Financial matters in the tech downturn or receipt of certification ended my contract, and i would be looking for work once again.
The real loser in this schema is not the contractor: they actually get paid very well while being ostracized. Rather, the teams that continue to welcome and participate with a contractor in a meaningful way and the product they develop suffer far more than the contractor.
The permatemp situation is destroying not only good code, but good employees. Many of the team members i worked with feared increasing temp and foreign contracts would land them unemployed or underemployed.
My advice? take it into our own hands. There is more than one Programmers Union going strong these days, despite the downturn. Unions not only are more reliable than a corporate employer, they serve to stop this carousel of a better-faster-cheaper approach to employees. Unions did bring us the weekend, after all.
is it any real surprise that microsoft has stepped up measures to keep their permatemp structure while mitigating lawsuits? since the monopoly trial, they don't innovate any more than they did before; they simply hire better lawyers (and judges) -- for the season.
Separately, Sharp is announcing it will use the exisiting TM5800 in one of the thinnest notebooks on the market.
hmmm, i wonder if i could get the boss to srping for one of these just so i could test it. [yup, after two month's intense scrutiny, i can tell you it runs games very well.]
the words "privacy" and "democracy" are not in the constitution. not anywhere. that doesn't mean that the right to be treated with dignity isn't protected.
I agree: the corporate media conglomerate is Very Scary Indeed.
How long will it be before AOLtimeWarner merges with AT&T and Wal-Mart and makes all internet connection go through one portal?
not only is it scary from a control point of view, the security nighmare that a single-providership (at the hands of the media moguls) presents is enough to make any real geek lose sleep.
Five companies control what we watch and what we read. And they are all best friends. shudder
Thanks for reminding me that the media are putting the "well" in orwell.
" I fear that Digital Rights Management today is Political Rights Management tomorrow. That embedding these kinds of technological controls into the very architecture of computing has the capacity to become a form of political control in the not so distant future."
this is a great article that sums up some of the most importantn issues concerning our own willingness (as a culture) to trade control for convenience. even more, it highlights why this is such a dangerous idea.
its true, doctor: i'm a Your Rights Online addict.
That did not stop music publishers from suing Bertelsmann for $17 billion last week, arguing that by throwing Napster a lifeline in 2002 it was responsible for the service continuing its illegal infringement.
this reminds me of when the photocopiers in the libraries had to have huge disclaimers about copying any material that was copyrighted.
i can only hope that personal use will extend to purchased music as much as it did to purchased books. as much as i hate these lawsuits, it is in the courts that the personal use issue actually finds some teeth.
i have thought of giving my 386 running 6.x to my four-year-old (and letting him have my 2400b modem to connect to the net). i have a 200mHz running mandrake 7. but i really like my friend's 233 running Red Hat 8. it's so simple, even my mother could use it.
For my part, i enjoy fairly technial reading, but most people do not, and they are the ones who have so very much to benefit from making science reporting interesting.
some of the most approachable science and environmental reporting i've found yet is from The Worldwatch Institute.
i thin kit'swonderful that someone inside the industry is talking about the limitations and pitfalls. it gives their conclusions more credibility, while the anti-everQuest folks often sound like whiners.
This is a well-done study the highlights not only a proposed better use of the back button, but illustrates the hard science and methodology of usability studies. If we plan to break free of the standard keyboard-and-screen interface, studies such as these are the foundation.
and what pretty pictures, too!
Slashdot Mirror
we are becoming Ender's Hive Queen. Does this mean i'll have a job before the unemployment runs out?
i always thought it was an equal mix: The Destruction of Property, The Defiance of Authority, and The Removal of Clothing. Someone got paid for this? I'm in the wrong business.
and you are Very Cool Indeed for pointing this out, o courageous one. just because you insult something or someone doesn't make you insightful.
geeks and comic books seem to have come a long way since Action No.1, from social misfits to uber-hip trendsetters. Having been through the mocking-and-teasing routine, i'm glad to be on the other side. Rock on, graphic novelists.
qouoldn't you know that when a really good threaded comment comes along, i'm out of mod points. thanks for this -- there are so few comments that keep things in perspective.
In fact, the eat coast is no stranger to using a permatemp 'solution' to the 'i.t. question.'
i have been in more than one permatemp situation, each of which started as a few weeks' assignment, all while i was looking for a permanent job. the real heartbreaker of these assignments and others like them is that the corporations always make great talk about hiring a contractor permanently once the hiring freeze is lifted, or at the end of the fiscal year, or some other when-my-ship-comes-in time frame.
Frequently, I was as meaningful a team member as the full-time employees. Because the teams i worked with treated me well, reflecting their own dignity, I continued to stay in a contract situation. Financial matters in the tech downturn or receipt of certification ended my contract, and i would be looking for work once again.
The real loser in this schema is not the contractor: they actually get paid very well while being ostracized. Rather, the teams that continue to welcome and participate with a contractor in a meaningful way and the product they develop suffer far more than the contractor.
The permatemp situation is destroying not only good code, but good employees. Many of the team members i worked with feared increasing temp and foreign contracts would land them unemployed or underemployed.
My advice? take it into our own hands. There is more than one Programmers Union going strong these days, despite the downturn. Unions not only are more reliable than a corporate employer, they serve to stop this carousel of a better-faster-cheaper approach to employees. Unions did bring us the weekend, after all.
is it any real surprise that microsoft has stepped up measures to keep their permatemp structure while mitigating lawsuits? since the monopoly trial, they don't innovate any more than they did before; they simply hire better lawyers (and judges) -- for the season.
to heck with the influence of capitalism; wait til the Chinese go wireless!
Separately, Sharp is announcing it will use the exisiting TM5800 in one of the thinnest notebooks on the market.
hmmm, i wonder if i could get the boss to srping for one of these just so i could test it. [yup, after two month's intense scrutiny, i can tell you it runs games very well.]the words "privacy" and "democracy" are not in the constitution. not anywhere. that doesn't mean that the right to be treated with dignity isn't protected.
filtering is just such an ineffective idea, no matter how it's implemented.
I agree: the corporate media conglomerate is Very Scary Indeed.
How long will it be before AOLtimeWarner merges with AT&T and Wal-Mart and makes all internet connection go through one portal?
not only is it scary from a control point of view, the security nighmare that a single-providership (at the hands of the media moguls) presents is enough to make any real geek lose sleep. Five companies control what we watch and what we read. And they are all best friends. shudderThanks for reminding me that the media are putting the "well" in orwell.
" I fear that Digital Rights Management today is Political Rights Management tomorrow. That embedding these kinds of technological controls into the very architecture of computing has the capacity to become a form of political control in the not so distant future." this is a great article that sums up some of the most importantn issues concerning our own willingness (as a culture) to trade control for convenience. even more, it highlights why this is such a dangerous idea. its true, doctor: i'm a Your Rights Online addict.
it seems to handle a number of games as well, though of course we're not into things like Quake around here. Chess rox.
yeah. they'll even go get a library card.
That did not stop music publishers from suing Bertelsmann for $17 billion last week, arguing that by throwing Napster a lifeline in 2002 it was responsible for the service continuing its illegal infringement.
this reminds me of when the photocopiers in the libraries had to have huge disclaimers about copying any material that was copyrighted.
i can only hope that personal use will extend to purchased music as much as it did to purchased books. as much as i hate these lawsuits, it is in the courts that the personal use issue actually finds some teeth.
heh. it just keeps his ability to load graphics-intensive sites and play MUDs to a minimum until he's out of kindergarten.
i have thought of giving my 386 running 6.x to my four-year-old (and letting him have my 2400b modem to connect to the net). i have a 200mHz running mandrake 7. but i really like my friend's 233 running Red Hat 8. it's so simple, even my mother could use it.
For my part, i enjoy fairly technial reading, but most people do not, and they are the ones who have so very much to benefit from making science reporting interesting. some of the most approachable science and environmental reporting i've found yet is from The Worldwatch Institute.
i thin kit'swonderful that someone inside the industry is talking about the limitations and pitfalls. it gives their conclusions more credibility, while the anti-everQuest folks often sound like whiners.
there goes all that increased productivity my iPac was supposed to give me.
they take a lot of grief for duplicate stories, but let's face it: in web time a year is forever. How many stories have they posted in that time?
what they need is not (in)efficiency studies or any workshop of any kind. what they need is a librarian.
thanks for this: being a contractor in 'questionable economic times,' you can't imagine the amount f doublespeak i've encountered.
i look forward to seeing the future posts for jobs with a forward-looking scope on back-ness.
it took them eight years to figure out that people use the Back button even though they don't understand it???
puh-leez. i want a job on this team.
This is a well-done study the highlights not only a proposed better use of the back button, but illustrates the hard science and methodology of usability studies. If we plan to break free of the standard keyboard-and-screen interface, studies such as these are the foundation. and what pretty pictures, too!