Lets hope today's failure doesn't pay off tomorrow
on
Passport to Nowhere
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· Score: 2, Interesting
.NET Passports like.NET in general are not merely about today. Many of these sorts of projects are part of a larger scheme of Microsoft, so today's 'failure' is also an investment for the future of their corporation.
Microsoft is one of many companies that would like to one day see us subscribing for software monthly rather than merely suffering through outlandish licenses, having little knowledge of what is actually going on inside of our infrastructure and ultimately making them into another 'ma Bell'.
Their goal is seamless computing, controlled entirely by monopolies. I think the advantages of this are clear: Configuration of software could be done automatically based on users preferences, licenses could be validated behind the scenes, displays of resources similar to what you have shown an interest in can be compiled by their networks.
This future will be dominated by web based resources and applications. Just as Windows allows them to dominate the desktop,.NET was their plan for domination of net commerce and secure applications.
The downside to all of this is clear I assume.
I'm glad it is presently considered a failure, I merely hope their long term investment doesn't pay off.
People seem to be oversimplifying things here by claiming IT people are nerds and nerds are unhappy, IT is heavily stressful because geeks are maladapted to social stress and that many IT professionals got into IT for the money alone.
In the end I think most people are not very happy in our culture and IT is no exception. Also most people don't honestly deal well with others even if they are good at putting up a facade. I have met very few people who actually love their job, dealing with their coworkers and their bosses. Some people are satisfied professionally, but on average people have an average level of happiness.
I think a major source of this unhappiness is that people more often than not have expectations about themselves and their professions that are initially not representative of reality. Some jobs are misrepresented in popular opinion while others are well understood.
The plumbers for example are known for doing work that many find unpleasant, no one pretends the pay is amazing compared to the work or that it is a get rich quick scheme; this scares away people who are completely and utterly unfit for the job.
An analogous situation is college. Look at what people major in, at first everyone in my school was either pre-med, some sort of engineering or a computer science major. By the end of freshman year quite of few of those people find themselves in business or psychology BA programs.
The same thing happens in the world of work and the higher the possible benefits the more people are willing to suffer through (while bitching and moaning) before giving up.
A fine IRL example of this is when I was a teaching assistant for a professor. Most TAs didn't show up for their office hours and gave lectures that no one wanted to attend. I on the other hand never missed my office hours and my students sometimes brought friends from other lectures to my sessions. The reason is simple: I assumed I would have to work, I didn't expect a free ride and I was ok with people being who they are. I kept this in mind and tried to meet their needs.
I had to help people fix accounts they couldn't log into, explain a for loop for the 10^6th time and find a huge influx of people always showed up around midterms and finals,but in the end I enjoyed it because it was exactly what I expected might happen and I was OK with that fact.
I apologize if I am being a bit stoic but I think a little stoic philosophy can be helpful when you are dealing with humans.
First a small Pun...
Linux WAS dead, it is now UNDEAD... www.undeadlinux.com
Linux isnt doing that great, because too many of its users/developers are elitest in mindset. While linux is very powerful and useful when it works, it can be too difficult to configure/upgrade/install for the average PC users. This cannot be ignored or retorted to with statements such as "well you should know how to use a computer...". I am a Linux user, but I am rather new to it, and would have left it long ago, if not for an academic interest.
But I think in a few years, Redhat, SuSe and Mandrake, will be competitive as desktop OS's. But for not linux is a server/network/acidemic/1337 affair.
There are many things in our world that were once merely imaginings of creative minds. In order for these dreams to become realities people need to become excited about them. This will lead to young scientists inventing these nonexistant technologies that the futures devices require.
Therefore it really doesnt matter if the realities of such projects are six months away or six decades, tech grows very quickly in recent history, and we need fresh, and enthused minds to help keep the pace going.
Bio-feedback tech, space-travel and a hydrogen economy? If enough people focus their energies, certainly.
Our main concern should be making certain that these new technologies are used ethically, and efficiantly.
Get out there and invent people. Ill try and do my part, and you do yours.
Slashdot Mirror
.NET Passports like .NET in general are not merely about today. Many of these sorts of projects are part of a larger scheme of Microsoft, so today's 'failure' is also an investment for the future of their corporation.
.NET was their plan for domination of net commerce and secure applications.
Microsoft is one of many companies that would like to one day see us subscribing for software monthly rather than merely suffering through outlandish licenses, having little knowledge of what is actually going on inside of our infrastructure and ultimately making them into another 'ma Bell'.
Their goal is seamless computing, controlled entirely by monopolies. I think the advantages of this are clear: Configuration of software could be done automatically based on users preferences, licenses could be validated behind the scenes, displays of resources similar to what you have shown an interest in can be compiled by their networks.
This future will be dominated by web based resources and applications. Just as Windows allows them to dominate the desktop,
The downside to all of this is clear I assume.
I'm glad it is presently considered a failure, I merely hope their long term investment doesn't pay off.
People seem to be oversimplifying things here by claiming IT people are nerds and nerds are unhappy, IT is heavily stressful because geeks are maladapted to social stress and that many IT professionals got into IT for the money alone.
,but in the end I enjoyed it because it was exactly what I expected might happen and I was OK with that fact.
In the end I think most people are not very happy in our culture and IT is no exception. Also most people don't honestly deal well with others even if they are good at putting up a facade. I have met very few people who actually love their job, dealing with their coworkers and their bosses. Some people are satisfied professionally, but on average people have an average level of happiness.
I think a major source of this unhappiness is that people more often than not have expectations about themselves and their professions that are initially not representative of reality. Some jobs are misrepresented in popular opinion while others are well understood.
The plumbers for example are known for doing work that many find unpleasant, no one pretends the pay is amazing compared to the work or that it is a get rich quick scheme; this scares away people who are completely and utterly unfit for the job.
An analogous situation is college. Look at what people major in, at first everyone in my school was either pre-med, some sort of engineering or a computer science major. By the end of freshman year quite of few of those people find themselves in business or psychology BA programs.
The same thing happens in the world of work and the higher the possible benefits the more people are willing to suffer through (while bitching and moaning) before giving up.
A fine IRL example of this is when I was a teaching assistant for a professor. Most TAs didn't show up for their office hours and gave lectures that no one wanted to attend. I on the other hand never missed my office hours and my students sometimes brought friends from other lectures to my sessions. The reason is simple: I assumed I would have to work, I didn't expect a free ride and I was ok with people being who they are. I kept this in mind and tried to meet their needs.
I had to help people fix accounts they couldn't log into, explain a for loop for the 10^6th time and find a huge influx of people always showed up around midterms and finals
I apologize if I am being a bit stoic but I think a little stoic philosophy can be helpful when you are dealing with humans.
Thanks for an awesome recommendation. I wish things like this were mentioned here even more often. I will definately be checking that out.
First a small Pun... Linux WAS dead, it is now UNDEAD... www.undeadlinux.com Linux isnt doing that great, because too many of its users/developers are elitest in mindset. While linux is very powerful and useful when it works, it can be too difficult to configure/upgrade/install for the average PC users. This cannot be ignored or retorted to with statements such as "well you should know how to use a computer...". I am a Linux user, but I am rather new to it, and would have left it long ago, if not for an academic interest. But I think in a few years, Redhat, SuSe and Mandrake, will be competitive as desktop OS's. But for not linux is a server/network/acidemic/1337 affair.
There are many things in our world that were once merely imaginings of creative minds. In order for these dreams to become realities people need to become excited about them. This will lead to young scientists inventing these nonexistant technologies that the futures devices require. Therefore it really doesnt matter if the realities of such projects are six months away or six decades, tech grows very quickly in recent history, and we need fresh, and enthused minds to help keep the pace going. Bio-feedback tech, space-travel and a hydrogen economy? If enough people focus their energies, certainly. Our main concern should be making certain that these new technologies are used ethically, and efficiantly. Get out there and invent people. Ill try and do my part, and you do yours.