You develop on a low rent laptop? Ok, but how do you ensure your software runs properly on higher end spec machines?
I can understand the question in the inverse direction, but this is the strangest concern I've ever seen. Software written for a low end machine wouldn't run faster on a beefed up machine?!?
I must be missing something, care to expand a bit on the issue?
I've always been/for/ the idea on giving developers 5-year old machines so they start to care a bit for performance. Heck, and I am a developer....
Actually, yes, I am... Both me and my wife use Firefox and it rarely goes above 120Meg. At idle, her machine boots at ~180Meg used. Counting two times 120Meg (once for her session, once for mine) on top of that brings us to 420Meg Used.... We're still way below the stated maximum of 620Meg used.
Have you considered that 512Meg is sufficient for his needs? I also have 512Meg systems running Ubuntu and they're snappy and work well. Heck, my wifes computer (WinXP) has 2Gig and it rarely uses more than 620Meg or so.... That's with both of us logged in.
512Meg for a normal desktop doing a bit surfing email, word processing, spreadsheet and similar "light" task is sufficient. (Clue in the 640k is enough for anyone commenters)
For him, the choice might be between "spending money on something he doesn't really need" and "not spending money at all".
Please, do.... As a non-native speaker (and writer, obviously), I can use all constructive criticism. Do keep in mind that English is just my third language, so it is obvious that I do make a lot of errors.
It sounds like you're the type of person this test should root out.
Yes, being able to learn is a very important skill, but so is coming prepared with the necessary knowledge to do the job.
I think you have misunderstood the problem. I have done C in the past and I have done Java in the past. I just don't find it sensible to remember everything about the language. That's what looking up is for. I'm not trying to learn either language while on the job, I'm just not going to remember whether >>> is a right-shift taking into account the sign-bit or not. Of course, I wouldn't even submit my CV to a ASP/.NET shop, but I'd most certainly would for a C++ position even though the last time I did any C++ was during College, about 10 years ago.
If you want to learn a new language, do so on your own time before taking the position, rather than looking up code snippets on google and accidentally coding a gaping security hole into the app
You say, that... Try getting a job for a language you learned on your own. (Heck, land a administrator job for an operating system you have learned on your own!) It's not going to work when you're "experienced in $SOMETHING_ELSE". First thing you get asked (if they even invite you for an interview) is "Hey, you apply for a PHP position, but your CV is only Java... Do you have any professional experience?". Then you reply sheepishly: "No, I learnt it on my own time". That's a sure: "Thank you, don't call us, we'll call you". Been there, done that: if it is not professional experience, it does not count.
Oh, and I never said "copy/paste" from Google. I said "look up gaps in your knowlegde". I would never copy/paste code from Google without understanding it. Doing that is recipe for disaster.
But hey, you don't need to agree with me and you most certainly don't.
if you don't know that language, you should say it
Of course, I didn't say I'd apply for a language I have never worked in. The problem is that, even for a language that you have worked in, they ask detail-questions. What does >>> do in Java? I know it's a shift operator, but was it right-shift with or without taking into account the sign-bit? I wouldn't know without looking up.
That's a good question.... It really depends, because the car guy might only have worked on Toyota, and you're a Mercedes shop. In that case, the more generic guy would probably be the better choice.
Odd, isn't it?
This is doubly true if you're a Honda shop and have both motorcycles and car customers (heck, they even have a marine section). In the long run, the guy with more diversified experience is going to be more valuable. Of course, if you plan to fire him after 6 months, take the car guy.
Long rant for a small correction. The fact is that there is a difference. If many people start using it your way, it will eventually become the default. As for now, you're wrong. Any dictionary will confirm that.
Oh, and the day, "effect" as a verb replaces "affect" as a verb, then the English language will have lost something.
What, however, baffles me is that a self proclaimed Math Geek, doesn't want to follow "rules" even though Math pretty much is only about rules. So, breaking rules in spelling is okay, but in maths it's not. I call double standard.
(My first language isn't even English, just in case you wondered.)
There are plenty of us that aren't CS majors that also pick up things quickly
I know. One of the best programmers I knew was a biologist. However, don't ask things like "what's the difference between public and protected" (Some interviewers don't even know that there is a "default", which is neither public, protected or private). Ask to solve a small problem.... hence the bubble sort question. Someone being around computers since 1975 ought to have heard of it, same for non-CS people having worked for a while in the industry. If they don't know what bubble sort is, then ask them to "sort" a list. They're most likely going to come up with bubble sort or similar and that's okay. (I "invented" bubble sort when I was 14, so it's probably not too hard)
What I object to are memorization questions. What parameter does grep use to do a case insensitive search? Sure, that's an easy one (-i), but exactly for these things we have man pages. In order to look it up.
I don't think I have aspergers, but do you really think you need to remember any nitty gritty detail to be effective at your job?
To go for the typical car analogy. Do you really think a mechanic knows the engine of every car he can maintain inside out? Of course not! There are whole books to look up the parts and how the parts fit together. To give you an example I had last year when helping someone to start a car where the battery had gone dry. I expected the battery to be under the hood. Wrong! I did however, know where to look: took the users manual, looked up "battery" and there it was. It was in the floor under the passenger side of the car (it was a Mercedes A-class).
This is not aspergers.... I'd expect someone with aspergers to actually know these nitty gritty details.
I have to look it up on wikipedia, because I've never heard of it (link). Is that considered "hard" these days? I'm utterly amazed that this is used as an interview question. I'd at least have expected something like a bubble sort (which is easy, and after that you can ask why you shouldn't use it)
When IT systems fail, they can fail spectacularly and effect wide numbers of people.
You may be an obsessive maths freak, but spelling isn't your thing, eh? It would be "affect". Take a look at Common Mistakes and Confusing Words in English, and have something else to be obsessive about;-)
It's even worse than that: As a computer scientist, I pick up new stuff up quickly. So what that I've been doing Java for the last N years, give me a C project and I'll do it (without memory leaks, I know what a pointer is and can use valgrind --- Oh, and exactly this happened this year and I delivered.). That however, seems to be beyond the comprehension of anyone hiring people. Getting a well rounded computer scientist is better than getting someone who knows the buzzwords and can code a bit in one language.
However, I'm sure I'd fail on any Java test or C test. The details (what's usually asked in such tests) do not matter, you'll find them quickly with a Google search because you're trained to know what to search for. Frankly, I don't get it.
ISDN is simply copper over normal phone line. Essentially it's digital packets over POTS (that's simplified and not 100% true, but it's enough). I have ISDN *and* ADSL. It's no problem at all: the hardware was a bit more expensive (less demand), but I have a nice fallback 64kbp and instant-on (single B-Line ISDN) and I can still call. Well, if my ADSL line drops which is, ehm, pretty much never.
ISDN itself was great during the days ADSL was not yet on the market. The line was faster, reliable, and instant on. These days, for the consumer with 1 phone and 1 internet connection (DSL) it doesn't make a difference.
Have you even read the second link? I quote "Today, platform sharing may be less noticeable, however, it is still very apparent. Vehicle architectures primarily consist of "under the skin" components, and shared platforms can show up in unusual places"
I'll add in a third link for your convenience. Notice quite a few automobile manufacturers, including US ones?
Anyway, I would really be surprised if other manufacturers don't do it, simply because it would be extremely uneconomical not to do so.
As for the battery.... Ehm, if that happens your battery has been in need for a replacement for ages. The worst I've seen is a board-computer reset after three weeks of non-usage, but the engine would still start. While I do find three weeks a bit short the battery was at end-of-life and and "three weeks" doesn't qualify as "a few days".
Or even a car from the same manufacturer most of the time....
*blink* ?!? You really need to inform yourself about the Volkswagen Platforms. I cannot imagine that other manufacturers do not do this. (No surprise!)
My car recently got scheduled for a repair... they told me they do that repair to all cars of the platform. The tech underneath is pretty much the same, it's just the bodyworks and interior that varies.
Oh, and then there's those certain portraits that have depressions on the eyes so that seem to follow you everywhere. Like they're painted on the inside of spoons.
That's not even required. It is just a matter of perception. A painting with a figure staring straight again, that's it... (link)
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I can understand the question in the inverse direction, but this is the strangest concern I've ever seen. Software written for a low end machine wouldn't run faster on a beefed up machine?!?
I must be missing something, care to expand a bit on the issue?
I've always been /for/ the idea on giving developers 5-year old machines so they start to care a bit for performance. Heck, and I am a developer....
Actually, yes, I am... Both me and my wife use Firefox and it rarely goes above 120Meg. At idle, her machine boots at ~180Meg used. Counting two times 120Meg (once for her session, once for mine) on top of that brings us to 420Meg Used.... We're still way below the stated maximum of 620Meg used.
Nothing suspicious here either. (Debian/Iceweasel)
Wouldn't "Microsoft Vixen" be even better? ;-)
Have you considered that 512Meg is sufficient for his needs? I also have 512Meg systems running Ubuntu and they're snappy and work well. Heck, my wifes computer (WinXP) has 2Gig and it rarely uses more than 620Meg or so.... That's with both of us logged in.
512Meg for a normal desktop doing a bit surfing email, word processing, spreadsheet and similar "light" task is sufficient. (Clue in the 640k is enough for anyone commenters)
For him, the choice might be between "spending money on something he doesn't really need" and "not spending money at all".
Actually, I'd rather have the performance of Windows 2000, the functionality of Windows XP and the GUI of.... Windows 2000.
Please, do.... As a non-native speaker (and writer, obviously), I can use all constructive criticism. Do keep in mind that English is just my third language, so it is obvious that I do make a lot of errors.
I think you have misunderstood the problem. I have done C in the past and I have done Java in the past. I just don't find it sensible to remember everything about the language. That's what looking up is for. I'm not trying to learn either language while on the job, I'm just not going to remember whether >>> is a right-shift taking into account the sign-bit or not.
Of course, I wouldn't even submit my CV to a ASP/.NET shop, but I'd most certainly would for a C++ position even though the last time I did any C++ was during College, about 10 years ago.
You say, that... Try getting a job for a language you learned on your own. (Heck, land a administrator job for an operating system you have learned on your own!) It's not going to work when you're "experienced in $SOMETHING_ELSE". First thing you get asked (if they even invite you for an interview) is "Hey, you apply for a PHP position, but your CV is only Java... Do you have any professional experience?". Then you reply sheepishly: "No, I learnt it on my own time". That's a sure: "Thank you, don't call us, we'll call you". Been there, done that: if it is not professional experience, it does not count.
Oh, and I never said "copy/paste" from Google. I said "look up gaps in your knowlegde". I would never copy/paste code from Google without understanding it. Doing that is recipe for disaster.
But hey, you don't need to agree with me and you most certainly don't.
Of course, I didn't say I'd apply for a language I have never worked in. The problem is that, even for a language that you have worked in, they ask detail-questions. What does >>> do in Java? I know it's a shift operator, but was it right-shift with or without taking into account the sign-bit? I wouldn't know without looking up.
Of course they aren't, but you might consider using the common accepted rules instead of your own.
I feared so....
That's a good question.... It really depends, because the car guy might only have worked on Toyota, and you're a Mercedes shop. In that case, the more generic guy would probably be the better choice.
Odd, isn't it?
This is doubly true if you're a Honda shop and have both motorcycles and car customers (heck, they even have a marine section). In the long run, the guy with more diversified experience is going to be more valuable. Of course, if you plan to fire him after 6 months, take the car guy.
Great for you, but I fear you're in a minority testing that way. I really was just talking about my experiences being interviewed.
Long rant for a small correction. The fact is that there is a difference. If many people start using it your way, it will eventually become the default. As for now, you're wrong. Any dictionary will confirm that.
Oh, and the day, "effect" as a verb replaces "affect" as a verb, then the English language will have lost something.
What, however, baffles me is that a self proclaimed Math Geek, doesn't want to follow "rules" even though Math pretty much is only about rules. So, breaking rules in spelling is okay, but in maths it's not. I call double standard.
(My first language isn't even English, just in case you wondered.)
I know. One of the best programmers I knew was a biologist. However, don't ask things like "what's the difference between public and protected" (Some interviewers don't even know that there is a "default", which is neither public, protected or private). Ask to solve a small problem.... hence the bubble sort question. Someone being around computers since 1975 ought to have heard of it, same for non-CS people having worked for a while in the industry. If they don't know what bubble sort is, then ask them to "sort" a list. They're most likely going to come up with bubble sort or similar and that's okay. (I "invented" bubble sort when I was 14, so it's probably not too hard)
What I object to are memorization questions. What parameter does grep use to do a case insensitive search? Sure, that's an easy one (-i), but exactly for these things we have man pages. In order to look it up.
That's really what annoys me about these tests...
I don't think I have aspergers, but do you really think you need to remember any nitty gritty detail to be effective at your job?
To go for the typical car analogy. Do you really think a mechanic knows the engine of every car he can maintain inside out? Of course not! There are whole books to look up the parts and how the parts fit together. To give you an example I had last year when helping someone to start a car where the battery had gone dry. I expected the battery to be under the hood. Wrong! I did however, know where to look: took the users manual, looked up "battery" and there it was. It was in the floor under the passenger side of the car (it was a Mercedes A-class).
This is not aspergers.... I'd expect someone with aspergers to actually know these nitty gritty details.
I have to look it up on wikipedia, because I've never heard of it (link). Is that considered "hard" these days? I'm utterly amazed that this is used as an interview question. I'd at least have expected something like a bubble sort (which is easy, and after that you can ask why you shouldn't use it)
Hey, stop insulting hairdressers!
You may be an obsessive maths freak, but spelling isn't your thing, eh? It would be "affect". Take a look at Common Mistakes and Confusing Words in English, and have something else to be obsessive about ;-)
It's even worse than that: As a computer scientist, I pick up new stuff up quickly. So what that I've been doing Java for the last N years, give me a C project and I'll do it (without memory leaks, I know what a pointer is and can use valgrind --- Oh, and exactly this happened this year and I delivered.). That however, seems to be beyond the comprehension of anyone hiring people. Getting a well rounded computer scientist is better than getting someone who knows the buzzwords and can code a bit in one language.
However, I'm sure I'd fail on any Java test or C test. The details (what's usually asked in such tests) do not matter, you'll find them quickly with a Google search because you're trained to know what to search for. Frankly, I don't get it.
What do birds have to do with this?
Hint: it's "falls foul".
ISDN is simply copper over normal phone line. Essentially it's digital packets over POTS (that's simplified and not 100% true, but it's enough). I have ISDN *and* ADSL. It's no problem at all: the hardware was a bit more expensive (less demand), but I have a nice fallback 64kbp and instant-on (single B-Line ISDN) and I can still call. Well, if my ADSL line drops which is, ehm, pretty much never.
ISDN itself was great during the days ADSL was not yet on the market. The line was faster, reliable, and instant on. These days, for the consumer with 1 phone and 1 internet connection (DSL) it doesn't make a difference.
Have you even read the second link? I quote "Today, platform sharing may be less noticeable, however, it is still very apparent. Vehicle architectures primarily consist of "under the skin" components, and shared platforms can show up in unusual places"
I'll add in a third link for your convenience. Notice quite a few automobile manufacturers, including US ones?
Anyway, I would really be surprised if other manufacturers don't do it, simply because it would be extremely uneconomical not to do so.
As for the battery.... Ehm, if that happens your battery has been in need for a replacement for ages. The worst I've seen is a board-computer reset after three weeks of non-usage, but the engine would still start. While I do find three weeks a bit short the battery was at end-of-life and and "three weeks" doesn't qualify as "a few days".
*blink* ?!? You really need to inform yourself about the Volkswagen Platforms. I cannot imagine that other manufacturers do not do this. (No surprise!)
My car recently got scheduled for a repair... they told me they do that repair to all cars of the platform. The tech underneath is pretty much the same, it's just the bodyworks and interior that varies.
That's not even required. It is just a matter of perception. A painting with a figure staring straight again, that's it... (link)
If followers of astronomy are gullible, I would like to know how you call followers of astrology. ;-)