Yeah. Anal types. Like those smug know-it-alls who read the books. They've got a lot of nerve. Don't they? Besides, books are no fun anyways. All those annoying words everywhere.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch Dune. Geez but I *love* that movie. Going to follow that up with Starship Troopers.
Not directly around the airport, no. But in the surrounding areas there are loads of cornfields. Everywhere from Kent to Canton. Especially around Uniontown and Hartville. Loads of Amish/Mennonite folks around there. Every so often I'll sneak out that way and shop the local groceries there for better produce than I can find in the city.
When I think of AC's surrounding area that's what I think of. Hartville. Lots of flat land and corn. Like down Route 43.
I didn't know it was night though - that does make a difference.
I live near Akron Canton airport. This happened maybe 15 miles from my house.
Most of the land around Akron and North Canton is farmland. There is a sizable Amish and Mennonite population in that area. It's a lot of cleared land and cornfields around AC.
If you were to run out of gas on approach there are dozens of places to set down a single engine airplane. It's mostly cornfields.
That was the part that first struck me about this story. If you knew you wouldn't make the airport...you'd have to be pretty damn unlucky to not find a decent place to set down. With any luck you might even manage an old county access road and salvage the plane.
Most of copyright law has nothing to do with the general public, but everything to do with contract negotiations and relations between creative artists and distributors, and between different distributors. Most of it is an internal legal framework. And frankly, it works extremely well.
These days, there is a strong sense that piracy is an entitlement, and that extends to campaigning to get rid of anything standing in the way of that entitlement.
I think you'd have a hard time proving that assertion. The campaigning you see could have another interpretation - that people are sick of paying large useless corporations a premium to get at their content.
I know that if I go out and buy an album maybe a nickel of that money goes to the artist that I like. So the next logical step would be "why bother?" What good is that? 99.9% of the money is going to people in suits who are going to use that money to erode our rights.
My personal solution is that I simply don't buy or copy any new media. But I can understand how copyright violation would be appealing in the face of that.
Replace that system with something that pays content creators directly and you'll see people behaving differently. It isn't about "re-educating" people. It's about realizing that more duct tape isn't going to keep the battleship afloat. You need something new.
Mac and PC are arguing in the foreground, while the whole time they debate there is a guy in the background in coveralls and a hard hat digging a ditch with a large spool of cable nearby.
They argue for a while then eventually notice the third guy.
I understand your concern. But the interesting thing about the industry is that it fails utterly to understand all things digital. Completely. It's unreal that they have not a single person who can explain these matters to them.
Sure, they want the ISPs to do their jobs for them. "Stop those pirates! They're on your nets, so you stop 'em!" What they fail to understand is that it is impossible.
I invite the whole of Slashdot to think of a way to absolutely block piracy that will work short of yanking your cable out of the wall. I propose that it cannot be done.
So let them chase after this mythical solution. It'll keep them busy. With any luck it will take them ten or so years to discover this and by then they'll hopefully be bankrupt.
1) Not Bunk. I wrote a program under the 2.0 binaries. It runs with 2.0 binaries installed. Remove the 2.0 binaries from Windows CE and add the 3.5 component and it does not run.
Conversely, app dev team is writing under 3.5. If they use the 2.0 binaries, it does not run. If they use the 3.5 binaries that come with PB, it does not run. If they install the 3.5.NET that comes with VS, it runs. You can use some exe (I forget the name at the moment) to check your version. It will look like 3.5.xxxx. The one in PB is 4xxx and the one in VS is 5xxx I think. So a minor revision breaks their stuff, and a major revision breaks mine.
But I don't care - all I know is that it breaks. Not Bunk. I have seen this with my own eyes, and so has every single developer in the app team. That's about a half a dozen witnesses.
2) Not my experience, but I'm happy it works for you.
3) I agree. But the OP was talking about switching datatypes, and incompatibility would certainly be a result.
4) A shortcut of speaking. Replace that with "compiled and run in an environment with 3.5.NET being present".
5) With all due respect, get bent.
This stuff should just work. Backwards compatibility works just fine with Java, and it doesn't with C#/.NET. That's my experience.
Get something running, add a patch - then it stops running. That would certainly imply it's the patch, Sherlock. And not every engineering effort has the time allocated to it to figure out exactly what the hell Bill and Company just loaded on your machine, and why it breaks stuff.
No source code, minimal documentation, and a limited schedule = bogus crap like having to have two sets of binaries on your platform. Not my fault.
Someone is certainly incompetent, I'll agree with that. But it's not me.
Write some stuff in C#/.NET sometime. Especially the embedded version. You'll see why. Every time MS puts out some patch...stuff breaks. Why? Because they do crap like this.
I have an embedded platform that has the.NET 2.0 binaries on it, as well as a 3.5 version. And I had to hack that one in from binaries from Visual Studio manually. The 2.0 binaries don't run on 3.5. The 3.5 binaries don't run on 2.0. It *sucks*.
So - if you suddenly doubled the size of an int it would break backwards compatibility and do this sort of horrible crap to Java. People who use java 1.2-1.6 would need their 32 bit ints. If you wanted the same box to run your 64 bit int Java, you'd need two sets of binaries. And a way to switch between them.
Oh, I agree totally. I thought it was greatly funny. I wouldn't have a problem with it at all. A trig problem on how to stare up a woman's skirt at her panties. I mean really - how manga can you get? =)
It's a shame that we have this cultural hangover about stuff like this. My pet theory is that it is because we were originally founded by Puritans and for some reason we've never gotten over it. People absolutely lose their minds over trivial stuff like this. It's bizarre.
Not me though. My kid will grow up watching all kinds of good stuff. For instance, Ranma 1/2. Very cute cartoon, lots of fun. And I think the occasional nudity will impress upon the kid that there isn't anything wrong with it. I think if we all treated it like it was no big deal, it would eventually become no big deal.
And you treat your kids like they're your friends rather than your kids?
A poor metaphor. You and your children are not equals. Not in any way. Not legally, not in terms of experience, nada. They need stern guidance. Most grown-ups (meaning both engineers and managers) do not. If they do, they need fired, not managed.
That being said, I do my best to be a friend to my son. 99% of the time a kind word works as well (or better) than punishment. I won't hold back though if punishment is called for though. I'm not soft. Just thoughtful.
Your statement about status reports would come across as BSing to me.
If you're incapable of responding to adult conversation and honest communication, that's your problem not mine.
Status reports help engineers focus their minds and keep their attention on track of what they need or have agreed to do.
Maybe if you have ADD it does. I know what my tasks are without having to explain them to someone every other day.
For the managers they help reassure them that they've understood that the engineers understand the requirements and direction
Only if the engineers you've hired are morons who have to have things explained to them over and over and over. If that is the case, go to careerbuilder and hire yourself a new batch of engineers. What you've got there aren't engineers, they're idiots.
They still have to talk to each other between reports though.
If you have motivated adult workers, this is certainly enough. Reports gathered from engineers who don't respect you won't add up to jack. I know this for a fact.
I once had a job where - for reasons too complicated to get into - the head of engineering had me working on a secret project. It was something we were working on, his boss said to stop it, but he told me to keep going on it. That meant I had to falsify status reports every week.
Yes, I was paid to lie. And from that experience, I learned two things.
1) You can lie your ass off on status reports. Either nobody reads them, or nobody understands them. My boss eventually admitted it was the first case. Too much work to babysit everyone. It's a psychological trick to make you work harder because you think you're being watched. Odds are, you aren't.
2) Because nobody is getting anything of value from them, they are generally useless.
I'm sure there are exceptions to this, and there may be a manager out there who actually reads his team's status reports. Probably as rare as hen's teeth, and I've never met one, but it's not impossible.
People always bring up the McDonalds coffee suit as an example of frivolous lawsuits, but if you read up on it - it is anything but. Here, read this.
Here are some noteworthy bits from the link:
For years, McDonald's had known they had a problem with the way they make their coffee - that their coffee was served much hotter (at least 20 degrees more so) than at other restaurants.
McDonald's knew its coffee sometimes caused serious injuries - more than 700 incidents of scalding coffee burns in the past decade have been settled by the Corporation - and yet they never so much as consulted a burn expert regarding the issue.
The woman involved in this infamous case suffered very serious injuries - third degree burns on her groin, thighs and buttocks that required skin grafts and a seven-day hospital stay.
So the lawsuit actually did make sense, McDonalds really did screw up. They knew they were hurting people, they had a history of hurting people, and they didn't care. And the lady in question had third degree burns around her genitals from a cup of coffee. Dunno about you, but $480k minus hospital bills isn't *nearly* enough to have someone do burn grafts around my genitals.
I'm not meaning to stomp on you, and I hope it doesn't come off that way. Honest. It's just that the McDonalds coffee case is always quoted as an example of frivolous litigation, and it absolutely isn't. I used to say the same thing you did and someone (in fact, it happened here on/.) corrected me about it. So I do the same whenever it seems appropriate.
Have you ever been in a position where this isn't possible, where your boss has passed on requirements that need to be passed on to your staff?
Thanks for the compliment, but I have no staff. I am not a manager, I am the managed.
You make it sound so easy, but the truth of the matter is that it's not always feasible to let your developers do as they wish... the good manager will find the way to satisfy management, the project timelines, and their team. This usually means convincing the team of the need for whatever the constraints are -- and a single slashdot post is not going to be able to explain the various strategies for making it happen.
Oh, I'm certain of that. Entire shelves of books have been written on the topic.
Having been managed though, I can tell you what I've seen work and what doesn't work.
My current manager is a good one. He gives me requests for work and I produce him results. If anything comes down the trail that is unusual, he always explains the reasons why. He is honest and open. He never talks down to me. In return I like him a lot and will move heaven and earth to keep him happy. He holds the leash loosely, and I return that kindness to him in kind by not yanking on the chain. Mutual respect. It's a wonderful thing.
I've had crappy managers too. Had a bad one at my last job. Elitist and dishonest. And he got the bare minimum out of me. If his schedule crashed I cared not one whit. Enjoyed it even. My job ended at 5pm, to hell with the consequences.
Contrast that with my current manager. I plan on working off the clock a bit over my Christmas break helping a customer with a software problem they're having. I like my manager, I like this company, and their problems are my problems. I want us to do well, because the people here are my friends. I like this place and wish to see it prosper.
And that's the difference, at least to me. Be honest and open. Tell me your needs. Don't jerk me around. I'm a faithful employee, but only when that faith is founded in something worthwhile.
It's my opinion that a good manager understands their actual job function. Which can be summed up in one word - HELP.
It is their job to help. Two parts to that.
First part: Help the company get what it needs out of engineering. If sales promises a customer something, it is the managers job to help the sales staff get what it needs out of engineering. If manufacturing needs that new rom by Friday, it is the manager's job to help them get it from engineering.
Second part: Help engineering meet those requirements. Do they want to be an Agile shop? Set it up. Do they not want it? Don't force it on them. Do they need new equipment? Move heaven and earth to try to get it.
Sometimes these will conflict. Engineering might want a 4000 dollar logic analyzer. Accounting will say it's not in the budget. The solution? Tell engineering what the budget is, and let them choose. "We are allocated 1500 a quarter for engineering supplies. If we skip the planned PC upgrades you can have that probe in the third quarter of next year. I'll leave it up to you guys to decide which is more important."
If you can phrase the problems the company has in such a way as to make them personal, engineers will see them as their problems and not the company's problems. They'll become personal problems and they'll begin to solve them.
Really, it all just boils down to being honest, open, communicative and not elitist. The best managers have these traits, and the worst ones lack them entirely.
Be honest with your team. Tell them what you need and when you need it. Take advice from them on the best way to arrange that. If they're experienced (read that as set in their ways) forcing some oddball paradigm on them will send you permanently to PHB land. They'll never listen to you after that. You'll be regarded as an obstacle rather than a help.
You're herding cats - never forget that. Let them do what they want in the way they want to do it and all should be well. Just make sure they know what your expectations are.
And if you want something Lumbergh-like from them, say so. Then do the unusual thing and say why you want it. Don't just demand status reports from them. Ask for them, tell them you need these reports "because of pressure you're getting from your supervisor about this certain customer, and if we make schedule with this project they will potentially select us for the next project, and that means more revenue for the company."
Talk to them as equals. Explain your concerns to them. NEVER talk down to them or enforce some odd idea that the manager caste is above the programmer caste. You are all equals on a team, sink or swim together.
Do these things, ignore the buzzwords and manager-hype, be their fellow employee and the details will solve themselves. If these guys decide they like you your job will become a thousand times easier. You will always have loyal allies, rather than disgruntled drones.
And best of luck. Don't just be a manager - be a good one.
The whole Prince of Darkness bit reminded me of this:
Thus he came alone to Angband's gates, and he sounded his horn, and smote once more upon the brazen doors, and challenged Morgoth to come forth to single combat. And Morgoth came.
That was the last time in those wars that he passed the doors of his stronghold, and it is said that he took not the challenge willingly; for though his might was greatest of all things in this world, alone of the Valar he knew fear. But he could not now deny the challenge before the face of his captains; for the rocks rang with the shrill music of Fingolfin's horn, and his voice came keen and clear down into the depths of Angband; and Fingolfin named Morgoth craven, and lord of slaves. Therefore Morgoth came, climbing slowly from his subterranean throne, and the rumour of his feet was like thunder underground. And he issued forth clad in black armour; and he stood before the King like a tower, iron-crowned, and his vast shield, sable unblazoned, cast a shadow over him like a stormcloud. But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it as a star; for his mail was overlaid with silver, and his blue shield was set with crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like ice.
Possibly a bit too poetic, and we're hoping Robertson does better than Fingolfin...but it's the first thing that popped into my head.
I think the last thing any gamer wants is to discourage Rockstar from making more GTA games!
Well, maybe. I know of two people who have GTA4 for the Xbox. Neither one likes it. They took the fun bits out and replace it with realism is the complaint I hear.
San Andreas had a lot of silly crap in it, but IMHO that's what defined the series. Jetpacks in a secret military base, climbing on board a Navy carrier and somehow being able to kill everyone and steal a Harrier, falling off a motorcycle at 200mph and being ok, beating someone to death with a dildo while wearing a gimp suit - that sort of stuff. Things that definitely say "yeah, you're in a videogame". Goofy fun.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah. Anal types. Like those smug know-it-alls who read the books. They've got a lot of nerve. Don't they? Besides, books are no fun anyways. All those annoying words everywhere.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch Dune. Geez but I *love* that movie. Going to follow that up with Starship Troopers.
I just love movie night. Pass the popcorn!
Don't most store security systems use VHS tapes for their security cameras?
If they switch to non-erasable DVD, there's going to be a metric ton of these that just go to waste every day.
Not directly around the airport, no. But in the surrounding areas there are loads of cornfields. Everywhere from Kent to Canton. Especially around Uniontown and Hartville. Loads of Amish/Mennonite folks around there. Every so often I'll sneak out that way and shop the local groceries there for better produce than I can find in the city.
When I think of AC's surrounding area that's what I think of. Hartville. Lots of flat land and corn. Like down Route 43.
I didn't know it was night though - that does make a difference.
I live near Akron Canton airport. This happened maybe 15 miles from my house.
Most of the land around Akron and North Canton is farmland. There is a sizable Amish and Mennonite population in that area. It's a lot of cleared land and cornfields around AC.
If you were to run out of gas on approach there are dozens of places to set down a single engine airplane. It's mostly cornfields.
That was the part that first struck me about this story. If you knew you wouldn't make the airport...you'd have to be pretty damn unlucky to not find a decent place to set down. With any luck you might even manage an old county access road and salvage the plane.
Most of copyright law has nothing to do with the general public, but everything to do with contract negotiations and relations between creative artists and distributors, and between different distributors. Most of it is an internal legal framework. And frankly, it works extremely well.
Steve Albini disagrees with you.
These days, there is a strong sense that piracy is an entitlement, and that extends to campaigning to get rid of anything standing in the way of that entitlement.
I think you'd have a hard time proving that assertion. The campaigning you see could have another interpretation - that people are sick of paying large useless corporations a premium to get at their content.
I know that if I go out and buy an album maybe a nickel of that money goes to the artist that I like. So the next logical step would be "why bother?" What good is that? 99.9% of the money is going to people in suits who are going to use that money to erode our rights.
My personal solution is that I simply don't buy or copy any new media. But I can understand how copyright violation would be appealing in the face of that.
Replace that system with something that pays content creators directly and you'll see people behaving differently. It isn't about "re-educating" people. It's about realizing that more duct tape isn't going to keep the battleship afloat. You need something new.
Mac and PC are arguing in the foreground, while the whole time they debate there is a guy in the background in coveralls and a hard hat digging a ditch with a large spool of cable nearby.
They argue for a while then eventually notice the third guy.
"Who's that?"
"Oh, that's Linux. Wow...he really looks busy, doesn't he?"
With puzzled looks on their faces they watch him busily dig for a while longer, then cut to the logo.
"Linux. Working hard to bring you the net since 1991."
That's not because Bulgaria rocks - it's because you're from Utah.
He may be an AC, but he's spot-on.
Remember this? That's in our future if the RIAA has its way.
I understand your concern. But the interesting thing about the industry is that it fails utterly to understand all things digital. Completely. It's unreal that they have not a single person who can explain these matters to them.
Sure, they want the ISPs to do their jobs for them. "Stop those pirates! They're on your nets, so you stop 'em!" What they fail to understand is that it is impossible.
I invite the whole of Slashdot to think of a way to absolutely block piracy that will work short of yanking your cable out of the wall. I propose that it cannot be done.
So let them chase after this mythical solution. It'll keep them busy. With any luck it will take them ten or so years to discover this and by then they'll hopefully be bankrupt.
1) Not Bunk. I wrote a program under the 2.0 binaries. It runs with 2.0 binaries installed. Remove the 2.0 binaries from Windows CE and add the 3.5 component and it does not run.
Conversely, app dev team is writing under 3.5. If they use the 2.0 binaries, it does not run. If they use the 3.5 binaries that come with PB, it does not run. If they install the 3.5 .NET that comes with VS, it runs. You can use some exe (I forget the name at the moment) to check your version. It will look like 3.5.xxxx. The one in PB is 4xxx and the one in VS is 5xxx I think. So a minor revision breaks their stuff, and a major revision breaks mine.
But I don't care - all I know is that it breaks. Not Bunk. I have seen this with my own eyes, and so has every single developer in the app team. That's about a half a dozen witnesses.
2) Not my experience, but I'm happy it works for you.
3) I agree. But the OP was talking about switching datatypes, and incompatibility would certainly be a result.
4) A shortcut of speaking. Replace that with "compiled and run in an environment with 3.5 .NET being present".
5) With all due respect, get bent.
This stuff should just work. Backwards compatibility works just fine with Java, and it doesn't with C#/.NET. That's my experience.
Get something running, add a patch - then it stops running. That would certainly imply it's the patch, Sherlock. And not every engineering effort has the time allocated to it to figure out exactly what the hell Bill and Company just loaded on your machine, and why it breaks stuff.
No source code, minimal documentation, and a limited schedule = bogus crap like having to have two sets of binaries on your platform. Not my fault.
Someone is certainly incompetent, I'll agree with that. But it's not me.
Write some stuff in C#/.NET sometime. Especially the embedded version. You'll see why. Every time MS puts out some patch...stuff breaks. Why? Because they do crap like this.
I have an embedded platform that has the .NET 2.0 binaries on it, as well as a 3.5 version. And I had to hack that one in from binaries from Visual Studio manually. The 2.0 binaries don't run on 3.5. The 3.5 binaries don't run on 2.0. It *sucks*.
So - if you suddenly doubled the size of an int it would break backwards compatibility and do this sort of horrible crap to Java. People who use java 1.2-1.6 would need their 32 bit ints. If you wanted the same box to run your 64 bit int Java, you'd need two sets of binaries. And a way to switch between them.
Trust me, you don't actually want this.
Go check out Abandonia.
Loads of certified abandonware. It was all good enough to sell once long ago. Now it's free.
And since it's for older PCs it should run on your Celerons just fine.
Oh, I agree totally. I thought it was greatly funny. I wouldn't have a problem with it at all. A trig problem on how to stare up a woman's skirt at her panties. I mean really - how manga can you get? =)
It's a shame that we have this cultural hangover about stuff like this. My pet theory is that it is because we were originally founded by Puritans and for some reason we've never gotten over it. People absolutely lose their minds over trivial stuff like this. It's bizarre.
Not me though. My kid will grow up watching all kinds of good stuff. For instance, Ranma 1/2. Very cute cartoon, lots of fun. And I think the occasional nudity will impress upon the kid that there isn't anything wrong with it. I think if we all treated it like it was no big deal, it would eventually become no big deal.
Here, check out this gem. Possibly NSFW.
Translation here.
Answers my question perfectly - thank you.
Wrong.
Could you please explain that a bit?
It's my understanding that high throughput drivers usually use DMA.
In my experience polled mode drivers are pretty rare. Especially in high throughput.
And you treat your kids like they're your friends rather than your kids?
A poor metaphor. You and your children are not equals. Not in any way. Not legally, not in terms of experience, nada. They need stern guidance. Most grown-ups (meaning both engineers and managers) do not. If they do, they need fired, not managed.
That being said, I do my best to be a friend to my son. 99% of the time a kind word works as well (or better) than punishment. I won't hold back though if punishment is called for though. I'm not soft. Just thoughtful.
Your statement about status reports would come across as BSing to me.
If you're incapable of responding to adult conversation and honest communication, that's your problem not mine.
Status reports help engineers focus their minds and keep their attention on track of what they need or have agreed to do.
Maybe if you have ADD it does. I know what my tasks are without having to explain them to someone every other day.
For the managers they help reassure them that they've understood that the engineers understand the requirements and direction
Only if the engineers you've hired are morons who have to have things explained to them over and over and over. If that is the case, go to careerbuilder and hire yourself a new batch of engineers. What you've got there aren't engineers, they're idiots.
They still have to talk to each other between reports though.
If you have motivated adult workers, this is certainly enough. Reports gathered from engineers who don't respect you won't add up to jack. I know this for a fact.
I once had a job where - for reasons too complicated to get into - the head of engineering had me working on a secret project. It was something we were working on, his boss said to stop it, but he told me to keep going on it. That meant I had to falsify status reports every week.
Yes, I was paid to lie. And from that experience, I learned two things.
1) You can lie your ass off on status reports. Either nobody reads them, or nobody understands them. My boss eventually admitted it was the first case. Too much work to babysit everyone. It's a psychological trick to make you work harder because you think you're being watched. Odds are, you aren't.
2) Because nobody is getting anything of value from them, they are generally useless.
I'm sure there are exceptions to this, and there may be a manager out there who actually reads his team's status reports. Probably as rare as hen's teeth, and I've never met one, but it's not impossible.
People always bring up the McDonalds coffee suit as an example of frivolous lawsuits, but if you read up on it - it is anything but. Here, read this.
Here are some noteworthy bits from the link:
For years, McDonald's had known they had a problem with the way they make their coffee - that their coffee was served much hotter (at least 20 degrees more so) than at other restaurants.
McDonald's knew its coffee sometimes caused serious injuries - more than 700 incidents of scalding coffee burns in the past decade have been settled by the Corporation - and yet they never so much as consulted a burn expert regarding the issue.
The woman involved in this infamous case suffered very serious injuries - third degree burns on her groin, thighs and buttocks that required skin grafts and a seven-day hospital stay.
So the lawsuit actually did make sense, McDonalds really did screw up. They knew they were hurting people, they had a history of hurting people, and they didn't care. And the lady in question had third degree burns around her genitals from a cup of coffee. Dunno about you, but $480k minus hospital bills isn't *nearly* enough to have someone do burn grafts around my genitals.
I'm not meaning to stomp on you, and I hope it doesn't come off that way. Honest. It's just that the McDonalds coffee case is always quoted as an example of frivolous litigation, and it absolutely isn't. I used to say the same thing you did and someone (in fact, it happened here on /.) corrected me about it. So I do the same whenever it seems appropriate.
Have you ever been in a position where this isn't possible, where your boss has passed on requirements that need to be passed on to your staff?
Thanks for the compliment, but I have no staff. I am not a manager, I am the managed.
You make it sound so easy, but the truth of the matter is that it's not always feasible to let your developers do as they wish... the good manager will find the way to satisfy management, the project timelines, and their team. This usually means convincing the team of the need for whatever the constraints are -- and a single slashdot post is not going to be able to explain the various strategies for making it happen.
Oh, I'm certain of that. Entire shelves of books have been written on the topic.
Having been managed though, I can tell you what I've seen work and what doesn't work.
My current manager is a good one. He gives me requests for work and I produce him results. If anything comes down the trail that is unusual, he always explains the reasons why. He is honest and open. He never talks down to me. In return I like him a lot and will move heaven and earth to keep him happy. He holds the leash loosely, and I return that kindness to him in kind by not yanking on the chain. Mutual respect. It's a wonderful thing.
I've had crappy managers too. Had a bad one at my last job. Elitist and dishonest. And he got the bare minimum out of me. If his schedule crashed I cared not one whit. Enjoyed it even. My job ended at 5pm, to hell with the consequences.
Contrast that with my current manager. I plan on working off the clock a bit over my Christmas break helping a customer with a software problem they're having. I like my manager, I like this company, and their problems are my problems. I want us to do well, because the people here are my friends. I like this place and wish to see it prosper.
And that's the difference, at least to me. Be honest and open. Tell me your needs. Don't jerk me around. I'm a faithful employee, but only when that faith is founded in something worthwhile.
Thanks. =)
It's my opinion that a good manager understands their actual job function. Which can be summed up in one word - HELP.
It is their job to help. Two parts to that.
First part: Help the company get what it needs out of engineering. If sales promises a customer something, it is the managers job to help the sales staff get what it needs out of engineering. If manufacturing needs that new rom by Friday, it is the manager's job to help them get it from engineering.
Second part: Help engineering meet those requirements. Do they want to be an Agile shop? Set it up. Do they not want it? Don't force it on them. Do they need new equipment? Move heaven and earth to try to get it.
Sometimes these will conflict. Engineering might want a 4000 dollar logic analyzer. Accounting will say it's not in the budget. The solution? Tell engineering what the budget is, and let them choose. "We are allocated 1500 a quarter for engineering supplies. If we skip the planned PC upgrades you can have that probe in the third quarter of next year. I'll leave it up to you guys to decide which is more important."
If you can phrase the problems the company has in such a way as to make them personal, engineers will see them as their problems and not the company's problems. They'll become personal problems and they'll begin to solve them.
Really, it all just boils down to being honest, open, communicative and not elitist. The best managers have these traits, and the worst ones lack them entirely.
Don't tell him that. He'll actually believe it.
Here's what you should actually do: Manage.
Be honest with your team. Tell them what you need and when you need it. Take advice from them on the best way to arrange that. If they're experienced (read that as set in their ways) forcing some oddball paradigm on them will send you permanently to PHB land. They'll never listen to you after that. You'll be regarded as an obstacle rather than a help.
You're herding cats - never forget that. Let them do what they want in the way they want to do it and all should be well. Just make sure they know what your expectations are.
And if you want something Lumbergh-like from them, say so. Then do the unusual thing and say why you want it. Don't just demand status reports from them. Ask for them, tell them you need these reports "because of pressure you're getting from your supervisor about this certain customer, and if we make schedule with this project they will potentially select us for the next project, and that means more revenue for the company."
Talk to them as equals. Explain your concerns to them. NEVER talk down to them or enforce some odd idea that the manager caste is above the programmer caste. You are all equals on a team, sink or swim together.
Do these things, ignore the buzzwords and manager-hype, be their fellow employee and the details will solve themselves. If these guys decide they like you your job will become a thousand times easier. You will always have loyal allies, rather than disgruntled drones.
And best of luck. Don't just be a manager - be a good one.
2) Follow the checklist and eliminate the 1% error that kills 28,000 patients a day.
I know this is /. and you're not expected to read the article. But could you at least read the summary?
The whole Prince of Darkness bit reminded me of this:
Thus he came alone to Angband's gates, and he sounded his horn, and smote once more upon the brazen doors, and challenged Morgoth to come forth to single combat. And Morgoth came.
That was the last time in those wars that he passed the doors of his stronghold, and it is said that he took not the challenge willingly; for though his might was greatest of all things in this world, alone of the Valar he knew fear. But he could not now deny the challenge before the face of his captains; for the rocks rang with the shrill music of Fingolfin's horn, and his voice came keen and clear down into the depths of Angband; and Fingolfin named Morgoth craven, and lord of slaves. Therefore Morgoth came, climbing slowly from his subterranean throne, and the rumour of his feet was like thunder underground. And he issued forth clad in black armour; and he stood before the King like a tower, iron-crowned, and his vast shield, sable unblazoned, cast a shadow over him like a stormcloud. But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it as a star; for his mail was overlaid with silver, and his blue shield was set with crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like ice.
Possibly a bit too poetic, and we're hoping Robertson does better than Fingolfin...but it's the first thing that popped into my head.
I think the last thing any gamer wants is to discourage Rockstar from making more GTA games!
Well, maybe. I know of two people who have GTA4 for the Xbox. Neither one likes it. They took the fun bits out and replace it with realism is the complaint I hear.
San Andreas had a lot of silly crap in it, but IMHO that's what defined the series. Jetpacks in a secret military base, climbing on board a Navy carrier and somehow being able to kill everyone and steal a Harrier, falling off a motorcycle at 200mph and being ok, beating someone to death with a dildo while wearing a gimp suit - that sort of stuff. Things that definitely say "yeah, you're in a videogame". Goofy fun.
GTA4, by all accounts is missing this.