Cheap and fully functional = means it will take a long, long, long, long time for the average and inexpensive programmers to build it
It could also mean having a single, or small group of, exceptional programmers do it. For a complicated project you'll get relatively cheap (compared to having a large team of exceptional programmers), fully functional, and a long timeline.
The author of the article talks as though evaluating software objectively were a problem unique to adopters of Open Source:
Good point, it's a problem with all software, and even moreso with proprietary software, I would argue. Open Source has the advantage that you can try/evaluate it indefinitely, inspect the source code yourself, and it rarely comes with a spiel from some idiot salesman that has never coded a day in his life yet says it can do everything you ask if it can do, even when it can't.
This rating system is not necessarily a bad thing though, especially if it helps non-techies become less intimidated by the still-techie-centric OSS world. However, it would be nice to apply it to all software, not just OSS. If the metrics could be made reasonably impartial, then it could be quite useful.
proving once again that AMD was right all along: increasing the "megahurtz" while lowering IPC count was a boneheaded idea
Intel used to be run by engineers; now it's run by marketers. AMD is still run by engineers, and very good ones like Dirk Meyer, from the DEC Alpha team.
The GPS-based sun-tracking mechanism uses very little energy.
Bah, that's nothing. I've designed a similar system and my sunflower-based sun-tracking mechanism uses even less energy! None at all in fact, other than a little bit of water. And these guys think they're environmentally conscious, hah!
The House struggled with compromising other NASA initiatives against new manned exploration, eventually deciding to expand the budget enough to accommodate both prerogatives.
S.R. Hadden: "First rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price?"
Most OS X users probably don't even know they're running a flavor of Linux, but they can slowly get more involved with that world while as they feel comfortable.
If your manager can't agree to this, then you need to tell him this next part: "I cannot implement what you need unless you give me the tools and resources to do it...
Be up-front, bold, and clear as heck with your manager, and don't try to hide anything from them.
As an IT professional I certainly agree with your take on this, however I would take a different approach to informing my manager. Instead of saying "I cannot", I would couch the dilemna in terms of risk. Explain the difficulty of the problem in a way a reasonably intelligent but non-techicnal manager can understand or at least appreciate. Explain what it will take to do it right the first try, and explain how doing it right will mitigate the risk of failure/incorrect data/etc. Then explain that we can also hack something together quickly and *relatively* inexpensively that may address his immediate needs, but which will have a greater risk of failure / inaccurate data/etc. Delineate the ways in which it is at risk of failing, explain how doing it right can mitigate those risks, and document all of this. Then let your manager decide. Whatever you do, don't be stand-offish and negative about what the manager wants, no matter how unreasonable; rather try to be informative, helpful, and can-do, yet wisely cautious based on experience.
I've also had success in explaining to my manager (a smart numbers guy, but no systems/development experience) that some things in IT can slapped together quickly and incremented/evolved over time (a la Paul Graham's Incremental Development), while others must be done right/correctly from the start. As a rule, databases fall into the latter category. Many applications fall into the former.
Approaching your manager like this educates him in a respectful way to which he will likely be more receptive, ensures that you are doing your job to the best of your ability and meeting your professional responsibilities, covers your ass in case the manager knowlingly decides on the riskier course and fails, and prevents you from being seen, as managers tend to do, as a complaining, "can't do", negative IT guy.
If you do not, the inevitable outcome will be further degradation of your personal safety. You can not afford to let this happen.
Looks like Al Queada has infiltrated/. Did you get that, Agent Johnson? Write up the subpoena and we'll arrest Cowboy Neal, torture FFFish's info out of him, and pay FFFish a little 3am visit tonight... with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.
...
Oops, did I post that live on/.? Goddammed Carnivore bugs, the Homeland Security IT guys are gonna pay for this one!
So many of/. comments on this story are about how Western companies are immoral for bending to the Chinese government. The problem for Western companies is that none of their goods and services are irreplaceable in China, they all have homegrown Chinese substitutes - Red Flag Linux, Sina.com, etc. Western companies can choose to either compete in China on China's terms, or be kicked out. Period. There's no idealistic wiggle room to appease high-minded slashdotters and Western notions of morality. The only real hope is for Western companies to bend to the Communist party's rules in the short-term in the hopes of building influential long-term (all-important in China) relationships with business and politicians there. Over time those relationships may allow the West to influence China in positive ways. Or maybe not, but that's the only strategy with any chance. So my challenge to slashdotters is, if you want to post a moral critique of Western companies for their dealings with China, also supply an alternative, *viable* course of action that they should have done instead of whatever you're criticizing them for. I doubt many will be able to do that.
and even if they are proved, by the time years have passed and the judgement is made, the market will be way down the road. Look at the Microsoft browser case: while there was relief granted, did it really make a difference by the time it was given?
The difference is, AMD has revenue, Netscape didn't, or any revenue to speak of at least. AMD's roadmap is competitive, and they've also been competing against Intel for so long that they know how to run lean. There's no comparison b/t this case and the MS anti-trust case.
How can you hope for another David Souter after his recent ruling on eminent domain??? People don't seem to understand that both the Democrats and Republicans are now statist parties. Just b/c the Democrats oppose the Republicans doesn't mean they're suddenly libertarian good guys.
"I refuse to prove that I am real," say the Jedi's, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," says random/. hack, "the midichlorians are a dead giveaway aren't they? They could not have evolved by chance, but rather only as some cheap, ill-considered plot device. They prove that you are real, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you aren't. Q.E.D."
"Oh dear," say the Jedi, "We hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanish in a puff of logic.
"Oh, that was easy," says/. hack, and for an encore goes on to prove that lemon is lime and gets himself fatally poisoned with his next homemade Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.
The ring could be comprised of particles which would scatter the sunlight, or be built by an interconnected ring of spaceships aligned to block the light.
I thought we already had this, or at least the beginnings. No need to spend so much money on purposely putting up a protective ring of stuff, as soon as China and India really ramp up their space programs, presto, global warming solved.
Slashdot Mirror
Cheap and fully functional = means it will take a long, long, long, long time for the average and inexpensive programmers to build it
It could also mean having a single, or small group of, exceptional programmers do it. For a complicated project you'll get relatively cheap (compared to having a large team of exceptional programmers), fully functional, and a long timeline.
Second, one of the few major differences is that there is no MS equivalent banner or other flashing indication that it is an MS site.
True, but I'm sure the MSN results page will clue most people in...
My question is this: if you find a security vulnerability in linux, do you inform the linux community about it?
I'll get back to you on that once we find some vulnerabilities in Linux.
Regards,
Bill Hilf
The author of the article talks as though evaluating software objectively were a problem unique to adopters of Open Source:
Good point, it's a problem with all software, and even moreso with proprietary software, I would argue. Open Source has the advantage that you can try/evaluate it indefinitely, inspect the source code yourself, and it rarely comes with a spiel from some idiot salesman that has never coded a day in his life yet says it can do everything you ask if it can do, even when it can't.
This rating system is not necessarily a bad thing though, especially if it helps non-techies become less intimidated by the still-techie-centric OSS world. However, it would be nice to apply it to all software, not just OSS. If the metrics could be made reasonably impartial, then it could be quite useful.
proving once again that AMD was right all along: increasing the "megahurtz" while lowering IPC count was a boneheaded idea
Intel used to be run by engineers; now it's run by marketers. AMD is still run by engineers, and very good ones like Dirk Meyer, from the DEC Alpha team.
The GPS-based sun-tracking mechanism uses very little energy.
Bah, that's nothing. I've designed a similar system and my sunflower-based sun-tracking mechanism uses even less energy! None at all in fact, other than a little bit of water. And these guys think they're environmentally conscious, hah!
How about "Windows Fiasco!"?
Or "Windows Feces!"?
Or Windows XP ME...
... the ability to rapidly deploy large liquid drops by rupturing an enclosing membrane.
Quick, somebody patent that! They were even nice enough to work out the lawlerly language for us!
The House struggled with compromising other NASA initiatives against new manned exploration, eventually deciding to expand the budget enough to accommodate both prerogatives.
S.R. Hadden: "First rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price?"
Most OS X users probably don't even know they're running a flavor of Linux, but they can slowly get more involved with that world while as they feel comfortable.
Since no one explicitly why OS X is not Linux: OS X is based on the Mach Microkernel and FreeBSD (a BSD Unix variant, not Linux (see section "What is Linux?").
For some interesting anecdotes involving Alan
If your manager can't agree to this, then you need to tell him this next part: "I cannot implement what you need unless you give me the tools and resources to do it...
/etc. Delineate the ways in which it is at risk of failing, explain how doing it right can mitigate those risks, and document all of this. Then let your manager decide. Whatever you do, don't be stand-offish and negative about what the manager wants, no matter how unreasonable; rather try to be informative, helpful, and can-do, yet wisely cautious based on experience.
Be up-front, bold, and clear as heck with your manager, and don't try to hide anything from them.
As an IT professional I certainly agree with your take on this, however I would take a different approach to informing my manager. Instead of saying "I cannot", I would couch the dilemna in terms of risk. Explain the difficulty of the problem in a way a reasonably intelligent but non-techicnal manager can understand or at least appreciate. Explain what it will take to do it right the first try, and explain how doing it right will mitigate the risk of failure/incorrect data/etc. Then explain that we can also hack something together quickly and *relatively* inexpensively that may address his immediate needs, but which will have a greater risk of failure / inaccurate data
I've also had success in explaining to my manager (a smart numbers guy, but no systems/development experience) that some things in IT can slapped together quickly and incremented/evolved over time (a la Paul Graham's Incremental Development), while others must be done right/correctly from the start. As a rule, databases fall into the latter category. Many applications fall into the former.
Approaching your manager like this educates him in a respectful way to which he will likely be more receptive, ensures that you are doing your job to the best of your ability and meeting your professional responsibilities, covers your ass in case the manager knowlingly decides on the riskier course and fails, and prevents you from being seen, as managers tend to do, as a complaining, "can't do", negative IT guy.
Will we get it before or after Duke Nukem Forever?
Before, of course. This is what they're waiting on.
Whatever speeds its adoption is a good thing, because it is technically superior.
The branding sure failed with VHS and Betamax though...
If you do not, the inevitable outcome will be further degradation of your personal safety. You can not afford to let this happen.
/. Did you get that, Agent Johnson? Write up the subpoena and we'll arrest Cowboy Neal, torture FFFish's info out of him, and pay FFFish a little 3am visit tonight... with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.
/.? Goddammed Carnivore bugs, the Homeland Security IT guys are gonna pay for this one!
Looks like Al Queada has infiltrated
...
Oops, did I post that live on
So many of /. comments on this story are about how Western companies are immoral for bending to the Chinese government. The problem for Western companies is that none of their goods and services are irreplaceable in China, they all have homegrown Chinese substitutes - Red Flag Linux, Sina.com, etc. Western companies can choose to either compete in China on China's terms, or be kicked out. Period. There's no idealistic wiggle room to appease high-minded slashdotters and Western notions of morality. The only real hope is for Western companies to bend to the Communist party's rules in the short-term in the hopes of building influential long-term (all-important in China) relationships with business and politicians there. Over time those relationships may allow the West to influence China in positive ways. Or maybe not, but that's the only strategy with any chance. So my challenge to slashdotters is, if you want to post a moral critique of Western companies for their dealings with China, also supply an alternative, *viable* course of action that they should have done instead of whatever you're criticizing them for. I doubt many will be able to do that.
WTF is the world coming to when 10 year olds immitate managers and chief execs for fun?!
;)
Utopia? Erm, you wouldn't happen to be a manager or chief exec, would you?
and even if they are proved, by the time years have passed and the judgement is made, the market will be way down the road. Look at the Microsoft browser case: while there was relief granted, did it really make a difference by the time it was given?
The difference is, AMD has revenue, Netscape didn't, or any revenue to speak of at least. AMD's roadmap is competitive, and they've also been competing against Intel for so long that they know how to run lean. There's no comparison b/t this case and the MS anti-trust case.
Of course, they plan to leave the exploding parts out of their next versions.
Too bad, I guess it will never even get off the ground then...
I can hope we get another David Souter.
How can you hope for another David Souter after his recent ruling on eminent domain??? People don't seem to understand that both the Democrats and Republicans are now statist parties. Just b/c the Democrats oppose the Republicans doesn't mean they're suddenly libertarian good guys.
And to set the record straight, it was the conservative, Republican-appointed judges who opposed this decision - three of Reagan's four judges (Rehnquist, Scalia, Connor, but not Kennedy) and one of Bush Sr's two judges (Thomas, but not Souter) opposed the ruling[pdf]. Furthermore, it is Congressional Republicans introducing legislation to mitigate its damage, while Congressional Democrats state both their opposition to that legislation and support of the Kelo decision. Of course, there are plenty of examples of people on both sides of political spectrum opposing this, even socialists, so it's much more complex than the typical dumbed-down Democrat-vs-Republican football match. So enough of the uninformed, knee-jerk reactions please, and we'll take two more Rehnquists President Bush, thank you very much.
"I refuse to prove that I am real," say the Jedi's, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
/. hack, "the midichlorians are a dead giveaway aren't they? They could not have evolved by chance, but rather only as some cheap, ill-considered plot device. They prove that you are real, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you aren't. Q.E.D."
/. hack, and for an encore goes on to prove that lemon is lime and gets himself fatally poisoned with his next homemade Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.
"But," says random
"Oh dear," say the Jedi, "We hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanish in a puff of logic.
"Oh, that was easy," says
The ring could be comprised of particles which would scatter the sunlight, or be built by an interconnected ring of spaceships aligned to block the light.
I thought we already had this, or at least the beginnings. No need to spend so much money on purposely putting up a protective ring of stuff, as soon as China and India really ramp up their space programs, presto, global warming solved.
I followed you until those last two. How are they wrong?
lol, yes I think we've discovered a worthy successor to the "I for one welcome our new x overlords" and "In Soviet x..." jokes...