Linux is now the second most popular operating system for servers, supplanting the decades-old operating system UNIX; Microsoft holds the top spot.
(MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)
I really never noticed it before. It fascinates me how MSNBC constantly reminds us that they are partly owned by Microsoft. It seems to be in every story that contains the word "Microsoft".
Is it a disclaimer? Or an sublimital advertisement?;-)
ever since I started to see local bands, musicians, and orchestras. Some of these guys have real talent. I would support them anyday by purchasing their CD, if they even had one. Some of them even offer their music in Mp3 and Ogg. Most of them do not even care if you copy them and sent it to your friends. To them, it's the exposure that makes them happy, so they can drive up demand and popularity, and they can get booked for local concerts. That's what real music is!
Until I got my degree, I worked for this one company a few years back, I was the same as you. I was in fire protection engineering, which I loved, and not IT. I used computers more than anyone else at my division. (Windows, Linux, and the like.) Therefore, I was the most qualified when it was time to migrate from DOS to Windows 95 in 1996 (yes, that's about two years after the release of Windows 95). I insisted that they hire a full time person to be responsible for computing matters in this division, but that was shot down because the high salaries. Plus there was no budget for computing resources.
Anyway, after I setup a simple Windows network, I insisted that they start using a WYSIWYG word processor (Microsoft Word 95). Before Windows 95, the office people used a DOS text editor to create documents. (I kid you not). The office loved the fact that we could now create professional documents. The main problem was document management. I kept on getting requests to search for lost files. It was clear that users were placing files in different directories throughout the network. There was no centralized location to place documents. So, I end up creating a file share on one of the computers for a rudimentary file storage area. All goes well until the first virus plagued the network.
This virus basically wiped out all of the important documents in our network. There was no backups, and even the floppy copies were infected. The division manager asked why this happened. I told him: "I am not qualified to be a system administrator. You need to hire one. You also need to put more money into your IT budget. We could not afford the licenses for virus scanners." Man, that was pathetic.
To this day, some other joe at that company is the "computer guy". I learned a lot:
My ex-employer thinks they can manage without a budget for IT.
My ex-employer does not value the company's priceless data.
My ex-employer wanted to take advantage of my knowledge without just compensation.
I just got sick of it. I left that company in 1998. I was not going to be responsible their lack of good judgement. Today, I am no longer in fire protection engineering. I was that disgruntled.
If this sounds like you, then your SOL. If you are in a good position to make recommendations, then you should recommend to hire a couple of good system administrators.
when you had like one or two big sponsors? My father (who is in his 70's) use to say that when he was a kid, they had great radio programs that had interesting stories. Each program had one big sponsor, and they paid big bucks for it (i.e Ovaltine). The only commercials you would hear were from that sponsor. Sometimes, they even had show hosts doing live commercials. When TV first came to be, they did they tried to do the same thing. If they still did that for television, that would be great.
But I am dreaming. Let's face it, everyone and their mothers needs to dip into the honeypot. You need to allocate commercial time on the national level, then allocate time on the regional level, until there are dozens of sponsors that hog all the time.
TV exec's are insane!! Who want's to see 20 minutes worth of commercial in an hour time slot???? Gimme a break!
Well, let's put it this way:
Your VB6 application will be created quicker.
Your VB6 application will look prettier in the same amount of time.
My employer has the same requirements also...
However, whenever your employer needs real performance, who do they go to? Certainly NOT the VB monkeys doing kiddie scripts. They go to real programmers, that do real programming to solve more important issues. Just like my employer, your employer may prototype in your precious Visual Basic for a sense of getting applications off the ground, but your managers know that, eventually, they would need to harvest real performance gains to be successful. As a result, they use a real language like C++ or Smalltalk to get the performance that your company needs...
giving access to source code so I can implement my own personal ORBZ server??
Ex-employer is 10x better in a similar situation
on
Loki Aftermath Looks Bad
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I was happily employed by a local, family-owned tech company, call it company 'X'. Because of a non-payment of a large sum for goods and services, provided by company X, to a company in another state, the company fell into deep debt.
Upon this fiasco, company X notified all employees that the owners of the company, a few employees (the management is mostly related to each other) decided that they will take a cut in salary to keep key employees. I was one of them. Some employees left voluntarily to pursue new business opportunities. However, I was starting a family and was looking for an upgrade in pay. It was obvious that I was not going the get it.
However, I stayed until September of 2001, about 9 months after the fiasco started. Right before I left though, I check the quarterly financials. What the management of company X actually DID what they said they were going to do. The president of company X did not draw a salary for 2001. The vice president drew around $10000. Some of the upper management worked part-time. They all made sacrifices just to keep a team on the payroll. They are still in business today, trying to survive in a tight market. I would respect company X forever.
The point is that Loki had a decent business model, and they had a niche market where they could be revolutionary. They got greedy, and cheated their hard-working employees, and ran their company into the ground. I have no respect for that.
Suppose I have source code X, and a translated version Y. If I compile both X and Y on the same machine, it would produce the exact object code? No?
On that note, suppose I modify Y a little bit more, making source code Z. The chages may string references aim toward my company (trademarks, wording, etc). I would have slightly different code, but the code Z would be, let's say, 90% compatible with codes X and Y.
If that's the case, I could prove copyright violations because 90% of source code Z is exactly like my original code X. It's no different that copyright violations seen in the music industry, right? If I write a song that sounds like another, it's a copyright violation.
Any lawyers out there, please comment!
>> Sure Linux can be downloaded for free but some of us do not have broadband yet and support still costs money.
1) $150?? Get a copy of Linux from a friend, or buy it cheaply from some discount distributor....
2) Support? Do you actually pay for support of Microsoft products?
Re:Starting your own business is the way to go..
on
Do You Like Your Job?
·
· Score: 1
I agree with defile. If you get to the point where you have cool ideas that no one will implement because of cost or timing, then it is time to fly the coop and try it on your own. If your skill merit, then you should be successful. If you do not have the skills (like business skills) then partner with someone, or hire someone, etc.
Well, I do not think you manager was *that* wise. If he has choosen Apache on NT, there must have been some reason in his mind, right? If your technical skill sets on Apache are good, does it really matter if it is on NT or Linux? However, the skills they needed may not have been technical, but professional....
Just my $0.025
I would not call the basic internet access a 'right'. However, the suppression of other freedoms, like free-speech, is the real issue.
Is free speech a human right? I would think so. The Internet, like newspapers, books, magazines, are mediums used to transmit speech. Censoring the Internet is like censoring newspapers, or banning books, and the like. Therefore, they are taking away a method of free speech.
My $0.02.
RWX
I don't know about anyone else, I have little need for PC games now.
In the beginning, it was simple games like Lemmings that dominated the market. It was simple and it took little space on my hard drive (what little I had at the time anyway.). This was about the time Atari, then Nintendo was big. PC games were better.
I used to buy cool games like Command and Conquer, and Quake. After a while, it seem to lost it's edge because these games bloat the hard drive and just waste space. So I made the switch to console games for my entertainment, and use my computer as a tool instead of a gaming system (exception: Quake3 for Linux... I had to check it out).
So today, I use the likes of PS2 or Dreamcast for my gaming entertainment. The consoles will continue to dominate and PC games will fade like arcades. (Remember: You hear it from me first...)
Uhhh..
Man, I guess I just wasted my talents of 3 calculus courses, differential equations, linear algebra, statistics, and numerical methods just for a computer science degree....
Anyway, more useful information for you:
I know a friend of my wife who is in the Management of Information Systems cirriculum at some obscure state university in Ohio (think May 4, 1970). She was having extreme trouble with Java. She is a nice person and all, but have no skills in real computer science. Eventually, I took a look at the cirriculum at this university. It seem to have little to do with the "science" (math, programming, comp. architecture) and more like the "business" (accounting, marketing, management). I have a feeling they just added minute hint of "science", just to make them feel as part of the industry. As a general disclaimer, Isome "MIS" people are smart in the "science", but you are in the minority.
So in summary:
If you like the science behind computers / technology, then go for a computer science degree.
If you like the business management of computers, then go for an MIS/CIS degree.
I played Chu Chu Rocket also. It's fun to solve te puzzles. Recently, I played Mr. Driller for Dreamcast. Initially, I thought it looked stupid, but my fiancee bought it, so I played with her. I must admit, it caught my interest.
I learned a new card game called 'fluxx' (http://www.wunderland.com/LooneyLabs/Fluxx/Defaul t.html). It's neat because the rules and goal change dynamically. Good fun!
Considering that TLD are controlled by ICANN, I went searching for other TLD domains. I found out that there is underground (i.e. not official) heirarchies of alternative TLD's. It did not surprise me. The Internet DNS is, presumably, ONE large, distributed database. However, who says you cannot have many large, distributed DNS database. These "alternative" DNS heirarchies also has the ICANN TLD's (.com,.net,.org) in them for backward compatibility, but introduce 100's of other TLD's (.radio,.hotel,.god,.etc). The downsides are the fact that potential visitors must have their DNS configured to use the heirarchy, and the collision of the namespace with ICANN, mainly the.biz TLD. Check it out at the You Cann Site.
This is the exact reason that I do not use Java anymore. The Sun Community Source License (SCSL) is a farce. Is it *really* open-source? Not in my opinion. It could be closed at anytime, anyplace, without notice, leaving the community behind. It definitely *not* GPL compatible(see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#GPLI ncompatibleLicenses), so it is not promoting software freedom. So, why does not Sun leave Java as proprietary and closed-source? It is a hell of a lot better than upsetting a bunch of dedicated developers.
If the "next big thing" is web services, Java does not have to be the only alternative to Microsoft.NET. There are others out there....
Slashdot Mirror
In addition to detecting and filtering out great site like SourceForge, how about trying to detect when your corporate computers try to send me this.
I really never noticed it before. It fascinates me how MSNBC constantly reminds us that they are partly owned by Microsoft. It seems to be in every story that contains the word "Microsoft". Is it a disclaimer? Or an sublimital advertisement?
ever since I started to see local bands, musicians, and orchestras. Some of these guys have real talent. I would support them anyday by purchasing their CD, if they even had one. Some of them even offer their music in Mp3 and Ogg. Most of them do not even care if you copy them and sent it to your friends. To them, it's the exposure that makes them happy, so they can drive up demand and popularity, and they can get booked for local concerts. That's what real music is!
Anyway, after I setup a simple Windows network, I insisted that they start using a WYSIWYG word processor (Microsoft Word 95). Before Windows 95, the office people used a DOS text editor to create documents. (I kid you not). The office loved the fact that we could now create professional documents. The main problem was document management. I kept on getting requests to search for lost files. It was clear that users were placing files in different directories throughout the network. There was no centralized location to place documents. So, I end up creating a file share on one of the computers for a rudimentary file storage area. All goes well until the first virus plagued the network.
This virus basically wiped out all of the important documents in our network. There was no backups, and even the floppy copies were infected. The division manager asked why this happened. I told him: "I am not qualified to be a system administrator. You need to hire one. You also need to put more money into your IT budget. We could not afford the licenses for virus scanners." Man, that was pathetic.
To this day, some other joe at that company is the "computer guy". I learned a lot:
I just got sick of it. I left that company in 1998. I was not going to be responsible their lack of good judgement. Today, I am no longer in fire protection engineering. I was that disgruntled.
If this sounds like you, then your SOL. If you are in a good position to make recommendations, then you should recommend to hire a couple of good system administrators.
I suppose he likes Free Software, right?
D'oh!
When are we goona be like the Jetsons? When are we gonna fly in cars? Or have robotic maids? Or living in the sky? When?
Business 2.0 certainly does not know....
when you had like one or two big sponsors? My father (who is in his 70's) use to say that when he was a kid, they had great radio programs that had interesting stories. Each program had one big sponsor, and they paid big bucks for it (i.e Ovaltine). The only commercials you would hear were from that sponsor. Sometimes, they even had show hosts doing live commercials. When TV first came to be, they did they tried to do the same thing. If they still did that for television, that would be great.
But I am dreaming. Let's face it, everyone and their mothers needs to dip into the honeypot. You need to allocate commercial time on the national level, then allocate time on the regional level, until there are dozens of sponsors that hog all the time.
TV exec's are insane!! Who want's to see 20 minutes worth of commercial in an hour time slot???? Gimme a break!
Well, let's put it this way:
Your VB6 application will be created quicker.
Your VB6 application will look prettier in the same amount of time.
My employer has the same requirements also...
However, whenever your employer needs real performance, who do they go to? Certainly NOT the VB monkeys doing kiddie scripts. They go to real programmers, that do real programming to solve more important issues. Just like my employer, your employer may prototype in your precious Visual Basic for a sense of getting applications off the ground, but your managers know that, eventually, they would need to harvest real performance gains to be successful. As a result, they use a real language like C++ or Smalltalk to get the performance that your company needs...
Yes! Without Bresenham, I could not have spent a good portion of my life playing Quake... ;-)
giving access to source code so I can implement my own personal ORBZ server??
I was happily employed by a local, family-owned tech company, call it company 'X'. Because of a non-payment of a large sum for goods and services, provided by company X, to a company in another state, the company fell into deep debt.
Upon this fiasco, company X notified all employees that the owners of the company, a few employees (the management is mostly related to each other) decided that they will take a cut in salary to keep key employees. I was one of them. Some employees left voluntarily to pursue new business opportunities. However, I was starting a family and was looking for an upgrade in pay. It was obvious that I was not going the get it.
However, I stayed until September of 2001, about 9 months after the fiasco started. Right before I left though, I check the quarterly financials. What the management of company X actually DID what they said they were going to do. The president of company X did not draw a salary for 2001. The vice president drew around $10000. Some of the upper management worked part-time. They all made sacrifices just to keep a team on the payroll. They are still in business today, trying to survive in a tight market. I would respect company X forever.
The point is that Loki had a decent business model, and they had a niche market where they could be revolutionary. They got greedy, and cheated their hard-working employees, and ran their company into the ground. I have no respect for that.
Suppose I have source code X, and a translated version Y. If I compile both X and Y on the same machine, it would produce the exact object code? No?
On that note, suppose I modify Y a little bit more, making source code Z. The chages may string references aim toward my company (trademarks, wording, etc). I would have slightly different code, but the code Z would be, let's say, 90% compatible with codes X and Y.
If that's the case, I could prove copyright violations because 90% of source code Z is exactly like my original code X. It's no different that copyright violations seen in the music industry, right? If I write a song that sounds like another, it's a copyright violation.
Any lawyers out there, please comment!
>> Sure Linux can be downloaded for free but some of us do not have broadband yet and support still costs money.
1) $150?? Get a copy of Linux from a friend, or buy it cheaply from some discount distributor....
2) Support? Do you actually pay for support of Microsoft products?
I agree with defile. If you get to the point where you have cool ideas that no one will implement because of cost or timing, then it is time to fly the coop and try it on your own. If your skill merit, then you should be successful. If you do not have the skills (like business skills) then partner with someone, or hire someone, etc.
Well, I do not think you manager was *that* wise. If he has choosen Apache on NT, there must have been some reason in his mind, right? If your technical skill sets on Apache are good, does it really matter if it is on NT or Linux? However, the skills they needed may not have been technical, but professional.... Just my $0.025
I would not call the basic internet access a 'right'. However, the suppression of other freedoms, like free-speech, is the real issue. Is free speech a human right? I would think so. The Internet, like newspapers, books, magazines, are mediums used to transmit speech. Censoring the Internet is like censoring newspapers, or banning books, and the like. Therefore, they are taking away a method of free speech. My $0.02. RWX
I don't know about anyone else, I have little need for PC games now. In the beginning, it was simple games like Lemmings that dominated the market. It was simple and it took little space on my hard drive (what little I had at the time anyway.). This was about the time Atari, then Nintendo was big. PC games were better.
I used to buy cool games like Command and Conquer, and Quake. After a while, it seem to lost it's edge because these games bloat the hard drive and just waste space. So I made the switch to console games for my entertainment, and use my computer as a tool instead of a gaming system (exception: Quake3 for Linux... I had to check it out).
So today, I use the likes of PS2 or Dreamcast for my gaming entertainment. The consoles will continue to dominate and PC games will fade like arcades. (Remember: You hear it from me first...)
Anyway, more useful information for you: I know a friend of my wife who is in the Management of Information Systems cirriculum at some obscure state university in Ohio (think May 4, 1970). She was having extreme trouble with Java. She is a nice person and all, but have no skills in real computer science. Eventually, I took a look at the cirriculum at this university. It seem to have little to do with the "science" (math, programming, comp. architecture) and more like the "business" (accounting, marketing, management). I have a feeling they just added minute hint of "science", just to make them feel as part of the industry. As a general disclaimer, Isome "MIS" people are smart in the "science", but you are in the minority.
I played Chu Chu Rocket also. It's fun to solve te puzzles. Recently, I played Mr. Driller for Dreamcast. Initially, I thought it looked stupid, but my fiancee bought it, so I played with her. I must admit, it caught my interest.
I learned a new card game called 'fluxx' (http://www.wunderland.com/LooneyLabs/Fluxx/Defaul t.html). It's neat because the rules and goal change dynamically. Good fun!
Considering that TLD are controlled by ICANN, I went searching for other TLD domains. I found out that there is underground (i.e. not official) heirarchies of alternative TLD's. It did not surprise me. The Internet DNS is, presumably, ONE large, distributed database. However, who says you cannot have many large, distributed DNS database. These "alternative" DNS heirarchies also has the ICANN TLD's (.com, .net, .org) in them for backward compatibility, but introduce 100's of other TLD's ( .radio, .hotel, .god, .etc). The downsides are the fact that potential visitors must have their DNS configured to use the heirarchy, and the collision of the namespace with ICANN, mainly the .biz TLD. Check it out at the You Cann Site.
This is the exact reason that I do not use Java anymore. The Sun Community Source License (SCSL) is a farce. Is it *really* open-source? Not in my opinion. It could be closed at anytime, anyplace, without notice, leaving the community behind. It definitely *not* GPL compatible(see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#GPLI ncompatibleLicenses), so it is not promoting software freedom. So, why does not Sun leave Java as proprietary and closed-source? It is a hell of a lot better than upsetting a bunch of dedicated developers.
If the "next big thing" is web services, Java does not have to be the only alternative to Microsoft .NET. There are others out there....