" I think 90-100% of ad clicks are fake and internet advertising is a scam. Stupid companies that don't track ROIs don't realize that it's a complete waste of money or they assign some made up number like "value gained from visitors that at least came to the website via the ad" without realizing they're clickbots. "
I think the 90% - 100% number is exaggerated, but there is tons of fraud out there. This has directly led to some of the recent algo changes which I think also contributes to the CPC drop (remember all those content farms that got killed?).
But also as the article mentions, mobile has been killing internet advertising. People always talk about iPhone in terms of hurting guys like Nokia/Microsoft, etc. They don't realize it's also hurts Google's ad business too.
It doesn't matter WHAT time or money constraints they were under.
Why wouldn't this matter? Yes this is a "simple mistake", but when you try to get people to do too much, too fast, for too cheap then "simple mistakes" WILL happen.
BTW, I would not be the least surprised if this exact same vulnerability is in many other sites, but just hasn't been reported (possibly sites built by the same people who built Citi's).
"You don't understand Doom 3's goal. Doom 3, as well as every other id game,"
I'd say the goal of id's games dramatically changed after Romero was forced out. Yes, they were always a bit of a tech demo, BUT Romero at least tried to push the boundaries of the tech. This struggle is covered in "Masters of Doom". Many of the later designers didn't have Romero's enthusiasm to push the boundaries of Carmack's tech.
"I disagree. A terrible idea with a beautifully executed development goes no where. A great idea that is hacked together with shell scripts and kilometers of spaghetti code can make someone a fortune and (lame as it sounds) change the world."
From the linked article
"Many "idea people" tend to think most or all of the value inheres to having the idea. Programmers are a commodity, pulled off the shelf to clean up the details. It's just a small matter of programming, right?
On the other side, some programmers tend to think that most or all of the value inheres to executing the idea. But you can't execute what you don't have."
So the professor definitely understands the value of the idea (though if one only read the slashdot summary, one might think he didn't). IMO ideas are "easier". It takes less effort and time to come up with one. It might takes months or years to implement it however.
That said, it doesn't mean ideas are not important. An example that people here can probably understand is id Software before and after Romero. To paraphrase, Romero was the "idea" guy and Carmack was the implementor. Carmack places/placed very little value in things like design/story (i.e ideas) in video games, while Romero put almost ALL value in ideas (see: Ion Storm, "design is law").
Using this example, one can surmise that a great idea in the absense of a good implemenation may result in a bad product (Daikatana)...or no product at all (Duke Nukem Forever). However, a bad/mediocre idea with a good implementation will result in a "good", but uninspiring product (Doom 3).
If you had to choose one, better to have the latter than the former. You just have to accept that fewer people will accept your product as being "great". The trap that many programmer fall into is in translating this to mean that ideas are not important at all. Not true. If you think this, you will be passed by your competitors just as id Software has (yes, I know some people still think id still makes the best FPS, but this is the minority opinion, these days).
Umm.. because it's written by programmers?:)
Seriously, this is standard no matter what the nationality.
Seriously. While I don't doubt that most outsourced code is crap, I do take issue with the implication that most American-written code is great. All the posts that imply this should be modded +5 Funny.
Like Americans, I'm sure Indian out-sourced firms are on projects allocated a fraction of the resources (in time, money, manpower, etc) as is actually needed. Under those conditions, you simply are not going to get great code from anyone.
"When I moved from Pascal to C++ to create Jill of the Jungle, it was a real shock that people would actually be using a programming language that was so bad for large-scale development. To think that operating systems are built in that sort of language was really terrifying. "
Very interesting point. I wish they'd gone into more detail around programming languages...
"The key to good software is contemplation. You can feel the social pressure at the workplace to be typing all the time, but it's wrong to give in."
Quote from a PM: You're not paid to think! (seriously)
Parent asks: "Gotta say that was a very long post that repeated a lot of conventional wisdom but said almost nothing to answer OP's question..."
"What is it specifically that requires us to lose consciousness to get what we need from sleep?"
The grandparent post answered that question with: "I think the biggest thing you need sooner or later is REM sleep, not just a lie down. Lack of REM sleep (which, as we'll see is possible while technically still getting some sleep) can result in actual brain damage, or in the very long run even death."
Sure he didn't say "The thing that specifically requires us to lose concious to get what we need from sleep is REM sleep", but he did answer the question.
"When I moved to Cali we started visiting my wife's parents every Sunday, like an hour away. I lived 1:30 from my parents (in Cincy) when I was in Columbus and going home was a huge weekend affair, not a afternoon trip. Strange how that all works out."
I too moved out to SoCal from a smaller city and have noticed the same thing. Once upon a time a 1 hour car drive was a Big Deal. Out here? Pfft, that counts as an OK (but not great) daily commute. SoCal warps the mind. And don't get me started on real estate prices...
"Why is it then that almost every recent college grad we get at the office tends to not understand high level math?
Also their English is atrocious."
Here's an experiment you should try - increase the offered salary by 50%. You'll still get people who don't understand "high level math" and don't speak good English, but if you can sift through those, you'll find good people. Perhaps your offered salary is too low for what you want. I want a 2007 BMW 5 Series, but nobody wants to sell me one for $15k. There must be a shortage!:)
This BW article, while very informative and well-written, isn't anything new. Philip Greenspun observed:
"Adjusted for IQ, quantitative skills, and working hours, jobs in science are the lowest paid in the United States."
Absolutely true. One of the beautiful things about the free market economy is you can differentiate between what people *claim* vs what people actually do. People claim that the US is facing massive shortages in the sciences, but all you have to do is look at the salaries. There's only a "shortage" if businesses wish to pay minimum wage.
It's also interesting how Business Week's research shows the U.S. near the top of lists in science and literacy when others claim we're falling back into the stone age. BW notes the cause of this discrepency:
"Why the sharp discrepancy? Salzman says that reports citing low U.S. international rankings often misinterpret the data. Review of the international rankings, which he says are all based on one of two tests, the Trends in International Mathematics & Science Study (TIMMS) or the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), show the U.S. is in a second-ranked group, not trailing the leading economies of the world as is commonly reported. In fact, the few countries that place higher than the U.S. are generally small nations, and few of these rank consistently high across all grades, subjects, and years tested. Moreover, he says, serious methodological flaws, such as different test populations, and other limitations preclude drawing any meaningful comparison of school systems between countries."
*Interpretation* and *validity* of testing data is almost always flawed on some level. That's why my cynicism gene kicks into overdrive when I hear of Brand New Research demonstrating...anything. If someone has an agenda, any data can be *made* to say whatever they want.
NOTE: NOT FLAMEBAIT!
There's often an assumption of moral superiority of the GPL from the GPL camp. The GPL spreads software "freedom" by way of sword, whereas BSD asks that derived works keep with the spirit of BSD (but you are free to walk in peace if you choose not to).
I'm glad Theo de Raadt is challenging the moral superiority of the GPL in a public way and not giving these guys a free pass. He has much more credibility than say, Steve Ballmer, and so people are more willing to listen to his points without dismissing them out of hand (though this still happens).
At the very least, his challenges will teach people that the GPL isn't the only "free" license (don't laugh: for many, the GPL is all they know) and consequently educate people so that they might choose the right license for themselves.
Food for thought: Maybe it's in a lawyer's best interest to support the spread of complicated licenses like GPL? Not trying to say Eben or anyone else is being deliberately underhanded, but there is at least an unintentional conflict of interests.
heh, exactly. Asking for the calibration records was the old way of getting out of speeding tickets, but now we can ask for both calibration records AND the source. And since NO software source is bug free, I predict an end to prosecutable crimes where the evidence is machine-based.
I wonder if I could setup a business with a lawyer where all I do is find bugs in software used to prosecute clients? Hmmm....:)
The other purpose, however, is to make someone who is completely ignorant of the system familiar with it. Most software documentation is terrible at this. Telling me how to do something isn't helpful if I don't know why I'd want to - or, worse, don't even know that such a thing can be done.
EXACTLY! I'd go so far as to say being the "best" software is less important than being able to communicate what your software does and why people should use it. Most "smart" programmers (or more accurately, they think they're smart) are too egotistical to understand this.
"A smart alec news reporter once asked Albert Einstein how many feet were in a mile. Einstein said he had no idea. The news reporter then berated him, because he didn't know. Einstein said that's what he had books for, to look up things like that. He didn't want to clutter his mind with facts."
Exactly. Richard Feynmen enrolled in some biology classes(he wasn't strictly a biology guy, but needed to understand some concepts) and asked some biology students about a "map of a cat".
" When it came time for me to give my talk on the subject, I started off by drawing an outline of the cat and began to name the various muscles.
The other students in the class interrupt me: "We know all that!"
"Oh," I say, "you do? Then no wonder I can catch up with you so fast after you've had four years of biology." They had wasted all their time memorizing stuff like that, when it could be looked up in fifteen minutes. "
It's interesting to note that absolutely nothing has changed in the mechanics of the biology curriculum since Feynman's time.
"It does not help that his comments are so obviously not well thought out. At least think it through before inserting your foot squarely in your mouth."
Are his comments "not well thought out" or do you simply disagree with what he's saying (or so conflict-averse that any disagreement is looked down upon)?
"There is nothing like media pitting two public figures against one another and, consequently, pitting supporters and detractors against each other, in order to generate some cheap polemic to exploit for some 15 minutes. Nothing to see here, move along."
No one has "pitted" anyone against anyone. These are two people giving opinions. People need to have the room to disagree with each other without being accused of "starting a fight".
"
Was Robotech. I can't wait. The future is Macross, baby."
heh, the first thing I thought of was Evangelion. I read very carefully for any mention of NERV, Instrumentality, or SEAL. Anyway, the chick in the picture doesn't look like she has a high sync with her Eva. She's screwed once the Angels attack.
Not inaccurate so much as short-sighted, because the criticisms are minor compared with their virtues.
So now calling something merely what it is (it's just a phone people!) is now construed as a criticism? I'm not criticizing the iPhone (heck I called it "neat"). But apparently anything short of adulation and excitement is construed as criticism. Again, I'm impressed by Steve's Reality Distortion Field.
A blurb from Wikipedia on the reality distortion field:
"In essence, RDF is the idea that Steve Jobs is able to convince people to believe almost anything with a mix of charm, charisma, exaggeration, and marketing. RDF is said to distort an audience's sense of proportion or scale. Small advances are applauded as breakthroughs. Interesting developments become turning points, or huge leaps forward. RDF focuses less on outright deception and more on warping the powers of judgment."
If that doesn't describe the insanity surrounding iPhone, I don't know what does. Again, it's not a knock on iPhone, which I'm sure is perfectly nice. But at the end of the day, it's still just a cellphone.
I mean, it's a phone for God's sake, not a cure for cancer.
This minor fact seems to be getting lost in the Slashdot hysteria. Yes, it's a neat phone, certainly. But it's...just...a...phone.
Add to that, it's a closed platform too. I always love to see the congitive dissonance here when people bash TiVo for wanting to keep their platform closed, but defend Apple to the death when they do the same thing. (No doubt the mental gymnastics and word smithing used to defend this is...entertaining.)
One thing is for sure though - Apple is basically nothing without Steve Jobs. You can see the reality distortion on Slashdot for all the proof you need. Woz was brilliant, but I'd be surprised if there weren't other people in the Bay Area doing work just as good at the same time as Woz. What allowed Apple to shine is Steve's ability to sell, even if he's occasionally a scumbag (though fanboys are convinced he's Christ reborn because he's a significant computer figure not named Bill Gates).
Besides that if your anything like me then Matrix III ruined them all for you, I just thought it sucked.
I used to be more in your camp (though not quite to your extreme) as far as Matrix 3 is concerned.
However, I must say that time has been kind to Matrix:Revolutions. I've caught in on rerun on HBO a few times and it's actually a pretty darn good movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. As the cliche says, the Wachowskis were victims of their own success following the release of Matrix. When you compare "pretty darn good" with "transcendent", "pretty darn good" ends up looking pretty darn bad(ironically).
Perhaps it's time to revisit the follow-up movies.
The problem is that there IS NO PLAN. I wasn't sure at first but there have been enough interviews now. RDM and the writers are pulling everything out of their asses. If you think of everything JMS did with B5 to lay foreshadowing, plan payoffs years in advance, just imagine the opposite and you have the RDM approach.
I disagree AND agree. I don't think there's a plan with every step set in stone, but I do think they have an idea for the overall arc the story takes. And there is most certainly TONS of foreshadowing in this series. Let's start with the Cylon's monotheistic God and the fact that the Colonists worship what appear to be Greek deities for starters. How about the fact that they're searching for mythological (for them) place called Earth? How can you say there's no foreshadowing...and then get modded up?:)
In other words, there is currently no explanation in mind for why:
1. The Cylons got religion in the first place.
2. What made them think attacking the Colonies would satisfy that religion.
3. What their motive is for pursuing the fleet
4. Why they want to breed when they are already capable of making clones.
5. Why the Cylons now want to find Earth
6. Why Cylons want to look human in the first place when they were fine as machines
7. How characters like Tigh, who was alive before the beginning of the first Cylon War and decades before skinjobs were invented, could in fact be a skinjob, especially when RDM already stated that skinjobs are not based on any preexisting colonial humans.
It's getting answers to these questions that keeps me (and others) interested in the show. I don't see how you can use this as ammo against the show. The reason I was excited about the announcement was that the answers will be answered within the next 22 eps.
Slashdot Mirror
I think the 90% - 100% number is exaggerated, but there is tons of fraud out there. This has directly led to some of the recent algo changes which I think also contributes to the CPC drop (remember all those content farms that got killed?). But also as the article mentions, mobile has been killing internet advertising. People always talk about iPhone in terms of hurting guys like Nokia/Microsoft, etc. They don't realize it's also hurts Google's ad business too.
Why wouldn't this matter? Yes this is a "simple mistake", but when you try to get people to do too much, too fast, for too cheap then "simple mistakes" WILL happen. BTW, I would not be the least surprised if this exact same vulnerability is in many other sites, but just hasn't been reported (possibly sites built by the same people who built Citi's).
I'd say the goal of id's games dramatically changed after Romero was forced out. Yes, they were always a bit of a tech demo, BUT Romero at least tried to push the boundaries of the tech. This struggle is covered in "Masters of Doom". Many of the later designers didn't have Romero's enthusiasm to push the boundaries of Carmack's tech.
From the linked article
So the professor definitely understands the value of the idea (though if one only read the slashdot summary, one might think he didn't). IMO ideas are "easier". It takes less effort and time to come up with one. It might takes months or years to implement it however.
That said, it doesn't mean ideas are not important. An example that people here can probably understand is id Software before and after Romero. To paraphrase, Romero was the "idea" guy and Carmack was the implementor. Carmack places/placed very little value in things like design/story (i.e ideas) in video games, while Romero put almost ALL value in ideas (see: Ion Storm, "design is law").
Using this example, one can surmise that a great idea in the absense of a good implemenation may result in a bad product (Daikatana)...or no product at all (Duke Nukem Forever). However, a bad/mediocre idea with a good implementation will result in a "good", but uninspiring product (Doom 3).
If you had to choose one, better to have the latter than the former. You just have to accept that fewer people will accept your product as being "great". The trap that many programmer fall into is in translating this to mean that ideas are not important at all. Not true. If you think this, you will be passed by your competitors just as id Software has (yes, I know some people still think id still makes the best FPS, but this is the minority opinion, these days).
Seriously. While I don't doubt that most outsourced code is crap, I do take issue with the implication that most American-written code is great. All the posts that imply this should be modded +5 Funny.
Like Americans, I'm sure Indian out-sourced firms are on projects allocated a fraction of the resources (in time, money, manpower, etc) as is actually needed. Under those conditions, you simply are not going to get great code from anyone.
Very interesting point. I wish they'd gone into more detail around programming languages...
"The key to good software is contemplation. You can feel the social pressure at the workplace to be typing all the time, but it's wrong to give in." Quote from a PM: You're not paid to think! (seriously)
Parent asks:
"Gotta say that was a very long post that repeated a lot of conventional wisdom but said almost nothing to answer OP's question..."
"What is it specifically that requires us to lose consciousness to get what we need from sleep?"
The grandparent post answered that question with:
"I think the biggest thing you need sooner or later is REM sleep, not just a lie down. Lack of REM sleep (which, as we'll see is possible while technically still getting some sleep) can result in actual brain damage, or in the very long run even death."
Sure he didn't say "The thing that specifically requires us to lose concious to get what we need from sleep is REM sleep", but he did answer the question.
Absolutely true. One of the beautiful things about the free market economy is you can differentiate between what people *claim* vs what people actually do. People claim that the US is facing massive shortages in the sciences, but all you have to do is look at the salaries. There's only a "shortage" if businesses wish to pay minimum wage.
It's also interesting how Business Week's research shows the U.S. near the top of lists in science and literacy when others claim we're falling back into the stone age. BW notes the cause of this discrepency:
*Interpretation* and *validity* of testing data is almost always flawed on some level. That's why my cynicism gene kicks into overdrive when I hear of Brand New Research demonstrating...anything. If someone has an agenda, any data can be *made* to say whatever they want.I'm glad Theo de Raadt is challenging the moral superiority of the GPL in a public way and not giving these guys a free pass. He has much more credibility than say, Steve Ballmer, and so people are more willing to listen to his points without dismissing them out of hand (though this still happens).
At the very least, his challenges will teach people that the GPL isn't the only "free" license (don't laugh: for many, the GPL is all they know) and consequently educate people so that they might choose the right license for themselves.
Food for thought: Maybe it's in a lawyer's best interest to support the spread of complicated licenses like GPL? Not trying to say Eben or anyone else is being deliberately underhanded, but there is at least an unintentional conflict of interests.
I wonder if I could setup a business with a lawyer where all I do is find bugs in software used to prosecute clients? Hmmm....
Ah yes I have fond memories of the Goliath, possibly the most useless of all Terran units. :)
A blurb from Wikipedia on the reality distortion field:
If that doesn't describe the insanity surrounding iPhone, I don't know what does. Again, it's not a knock on iPhone, which I'm sure is perfectly nice. But at the end of the day, it's still just a cellphone.Your check is in the mail. Well done!
Sincerely,
Apple Marketing Department
Add to that, it's a closed platform too. I always love to see the congitive dissonance here when people bash TiVo for wanting to keep their platform closed, but defend Apple to the death when they do the same thing. (No doubt the mental gymnastics and word smithing used to defend this is...entertaining.)
One thing is for sure though - Apple is basically nothing without Steve Jobs. You can see the reality distortion on Slashdot for all the proof you need. Woz was brilliant, but I'd be surprised if there weren't other people in the Bay Area doing work just as good at the same time as Woz. What allowed Apple to shine is Steve's ability to sell, even if he's occasionally a scumbag (though fanboys are convinced he's Christ reborn because he's a significant computer figure not named Bill Gates).
However, I must say that time has been kind to Matrix:Revolutions. I've caught in on rerun on HBO a few times and it's actually a pretty darn good movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. As the cliche says, the Wachowskis were victims of their own success following the release of Matrix. When you compare "pretty darn good" with "transcendent", "pretty darn good" ends up looking pretty darn bad(ironically).
Perhaps it's time to revisit the follow-up movies.
But I thought President Bush was the Decider. I believe SethJohnson will be getting a call from the Department of Homeland Security soon.