IT employment in the US is still high, but many of those jobs are now being filled by foreigners with H1-B work visas. That lowers starting salaries for everyone, and makes it difficult for college hires with no experience to find a job. Sure, the IT jobs are still there for folks with 5+ years experience, but it's hard to get that when no one is willing to hire you!
You're right about one thing, though... Simply being a code monkey isn't good enough anymore. Make sure to learn project management, systems analysis, and system administration skills to set yourself from the crowd. Java and VB programmer jobs are a dime a dozen now.
Yeah, you can add me to the list of folks that got "censored" on Slashdot. I totally lost moderator ability (despite my 40+ karma at the time), because I modded up a post that critized Slashdot's moderation system. I needed to create a new account to get it back.
That said, Digg's moderation system is far worse. If you DARE to make a critical opinion about Apple, for example, the Apple fanboys there will moderate your comment down to -20 in less than an hour. After that happened to me a few times, I now understand why Slashdot doesn't give EVERYONE moderator points all the time now.
People have been whining for years that Slashdot should redesign their home page. After seeing THIS, however, I think that a lot of people will know to keep their mouths shut rather than face the evil wrath of Slashdot's "alternative" design team again:)
I'm curious... What kinds of protections are built into this idea exchange to keep people from stealing one person's Billion dollar idea and then patenting it as their own? I'd hate to see some greedy bastards using this site, and end up creating the next SCO or Rambus style legal dispute.
I know where my IT job will be when I turn 40. I hope that I'll be in management by then, since my existing job will be outsourced to a foreign country. Hell, management has already assigned me some offshore "assistants" who are doing much of my grunt work like checking backups and updating audit records. It's only a matter of time before they start taking over my more complex projects, and I'll be out of a job.
Most of today's college students aren't stupid... they know which way the wind is blowing.
Seriously... Who's producing truly innovative technlogies anymore? Nowadays, the entire technology industry seems to be about:
1) Making some small and/or insignificant improvements to an existing product 2) Bumping up the version number, or adding something like "XL" or "GT" the product name. 3) Charging 10% more for it, and using some slick marketing to convince users that this is the Next Big Thing(TM).
I haven't seen any real major innovations in the computer industry since the start of mainstream Internet adoption about 10 years ago. Everything else was evolutionary, not revolutionary.
Windows is VERY easy to install initially, but making it work properly once it's installed is still a pain in the ass. You need register it, update a ton of drivers that need to be downloaded from all over the place, install the latest service packs and security updates, install Anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and then install a bunch of additional software that would have come pre-bundled with Mac OS or Linux.
It's going to take a lot more than this to make a true "iPod killer". To do it, not only would you need to create an media player that is cheaper, more powerful, and still easy to use... you would also need to create a new online music and video download service that can rival iTunes. THAT will be the hard part, because none the services that are based on Windows Media Player technology now come close to offering the media selection or player integration that iTunes has now.
Honestly, there are only a few companies out there with both the media influence and technological knowhow to pull that off. Perhaps Microsoft or Sony could pull it off if they REALLY decided to produce an better iPod than the iPod, or maybe even a big Internet company like Google or Yahoo could do it if they partnered up with a manufacturer like Samsung to produce the hardware. Samsung can't do it on their own any more than iRiver or Creative can.
Ten? I gave it three years, tops. Don't forget Quest and Lucent, though... You'll need ALL of the pieces to rebuild good 'ol "Ma Bell" back to it's original glory.
The best part? Now that cable companies offer phone service, they shouldn't run into any major anti-trust problems this time around.
IBM doesn't make ThinkPads anymore. Lenovo does. When you think ThinkPad, think Lenovo. Hmm... That sounds pretty catchy. Too bad I can't trademark that:)
Yeah, those speakers are a total rip off. At $349, they cost even MORE than the Bose Sounddock, and they don't even bother to include the batteries for it.
What's really scary when you think about it is how many songs have been downloaded illegally outside of the iTunes Music Store. Even now, many music trade groups estimate * that only 1 of 5 songs in the Internet are downloaded legally. That comes out to about 5 billion songs being downloaded through services like Limewire and eMule while iTMS existed. I can only imagine how many songs were downloaded through Napster and FTP sites before the RIAA started cracking down on such activities.
* Yeah, yeah I know. Most music trade groups are RIAA cheerleaders, so those numbers don't mean much. If you can find some unbiased research on this topic, please reply with some links.
Or, just use VMWare Server once it's out of beta. It supposedly will be free, so you'll be able to start consolidating all those Windows servers WITHOUT having to ask the pointy haired bosses for a $1,500 purchase approval for GSX.
I wonder if Microsoft will make or offically endorse a Firefox search add-on or toolbar for this special promotional version of the MSN search site? They might actually get some additional search traffic from Firefox users if they promoted one, since most Firefox users use the search box when they're looking for something. I usually leave my search box on the Google default, but I also added the A9 one recently to get that 1.57% amazon.com discount.
In short, Microsoft should offer more 3rd party browser support if they really want MSN search to be taken seriously.
Ah, it's nice to see that at least some people get it.
For those that do not, please remember this:
The RIAA is NOT the law. The RIAA is just a music trade group with some really screwed up opinions on copyright laws, and their opinions don't mean anything unless they are backed up with a favorable court ruling.
Sure, they have lobbyists working to turn their screwed up opinions into laws, but it's pretty safe to assume that they've already lost this battle. Millions of people already have iPods filled with music that they ripped from CD's, including a few congresscritters and wealthy campaign donors. Anyone who votes for a law turning all those people into criminals overnight is going have problems getting reelected.
For taking such good care of your servers! We picked up a bunch of them when the company went bust, and they're still running fine today. Hell... We even left the Enron asset tags on them for kicks.
How serious is the relationship with your girlfriend? If you're thinking marriage and children in the near future, that bigger paycheck is going to come in handy.
Of course, you shouldn't let money be the only issue, but it still should be a major factor depending on where your life is headed. Whatever you do, try not to become one of those mini-van driving soccer dads who loathe going to work every day.
That's not really true anymore, since most PC accessory companies make iPod accessories now. Logitech, Griffin, and Altec Lansing come to mind pretty quickly, and even higher-end producers like Bose and Coach make iPod add-ons now.
Instead of overpaying your utility bills, wouldn't it make more sense to put your money in a savings account? Your money could be earning 4% interest sitting in an ING Orange or HSBC online savings account, instead of giving that interest to Grandma Bell and Power & Light.
"Why is it relevant? IMHO, any consumer-oriented version of *nix would be much tighter secured by default than current Windows."
Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case so far. The Linux systems that Walmart has been shipping come with the Linspire distribution, which allows users to run as root by default. That's not exactly secure, is it?
Slashdot Mirror
IT employment in the US is still high, but many of those jobs are now being filled by foreigners with H1-B work visas.
That lowers starting salaries for everyone, and makes it difficult for college hires with no experience to find a job. Sure, the IT jobs are still there for folks with 5+ years experience, but it's hard to get that when no one is willing to hire you!
You're right about one thing, though... Simply being a code monkey isn't good enough anymore. Make sure to learn project management, systems analysis, and system administration skills to set yourself from the crowd. Java and VB programmer jobs are a dime a dozen now.
Yeah, you can add me to the list of folks that got "censored" on Slashdot. I totally lost moderator ability (despite my 40+ karma at the time), because I modded up a post that critized Slashdot's moderation system. I needed to create a new account to get it back.
That said, Digg's moderation system is far worse. If you DARE to make a critical opinion about Apple, for example, the Apple fanboys there will moderate your comment down to -20 in less than an hour. After that happened to me a few times, I now understand why Slashdot doesn't give EVERYONE moderator points all the time now.
Wow, this picture has more detail than the one in the video!
No, seriously, it does.
It's not PINK. either! Put some pink or purple glitter in there, dammit!
Will someone think of the poor pony fans who will be bummed out by this?!?
People have been whining for years that Slashdot should redesign their home page. After seeing THIS, however, I think that a lot of people will know to keep their mouths shut rather than face the evil wrath of Slashdot's "alternative" design team again :)
I'm curious... What kinds of protections are built into this idea exchange to keep people from stealing one person's Billion dollar idea and then patenting it as their own? I'd hate to see some greedy bastards using this site, and end up creating the next SCO or Rambus style legal dispute.
I know where my IT job will be when I turn 40. I hope that I'll be in management by then, since my existing job will be outsourced to a foreign country. Hell, management has already assigned me some offshore "assistants" who are doing much of my grunt work like checking backups and updating audit records. It's only a matter of time before they start taking over my more complex projects, and I'll be out of a job.
Most of today's college students aren't stupid... they know which way the wind is blowing.
Seriously... Who's producing truly innovative technlogies anymore? Nowadays, the entire technology industry seems to be about:
1) Making some small and/or insignificant improvements to an existing product
2) Bumping up the version number, or adding something like "XL" or "GT" the product name.
3) Charging 10% more for it, and using some slick marketing to convince users that this is the Next Big Thing(TM).
I haven't seen any real major innovations in the computer industry since the start of mainstream Internet adoption about 10 years ago. Everything else was evolutionary, not revolutionary.
Windows is VERY easy to install initially, but making it work properly once it's installed is still a pain in the ass. You need register it, update a ton of drivers that need to be downloaded from all over the place, install the latest service packs and security updates, install Anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and then install a bunch of additional software that would have come pre-bundled with Mac OS or Linux.
It's going to take a lot more than this to make a true "iPod killer". To do it, not only would you need to create an media player that is cheaper, more powerful, and still easy to use... you would also need to create a new online music and video download service that can rival iTunes. THAT will be the hard part, because none the services that are based on Windows Media Player technology now come close to offering the media selection or player integration that iTunes has now.
Honestly, there are only a few companies out there with both the media influence and technological knowhow to pull that off. Perhaps Microsoft or Sony could pull it off if they REALLY decided to produce an better iPod than the iPod, or maybe even a big Internet company like Google or Yahoo could do it if they partnered up with a manufacturer like Samsung to produce the hardware. Samsung can't do it on their own any more than iRiver or Creative can.
Ten? I gave it three years, tops. Don't forget Quest and Lucent, though... You'll need ALL of the pieces to rebuild good 'ol "Ma Bell" back to it's original glory.
The best part? Now that cable companies offer phone service, they shouldn't run into any major anti-trust problems this time around.
IBM doesn't make ThinkPads anymore. Lenovo does. When you think ThinkPad, think Lenovo. Hmm... That sounds pretty catchy. Too bad I can't trademark that :)
Yeah, those speakers are a total rip off. At $349, they cost even MORE than the Bose Sounddock, and they don't even bother to include the batteries for it.
What's really scary when you think about it is how many songs have been downloaded illegally outside of the iTunes Music Store. Even now, many music trade groups estimate * that only 1 of 5 songs in the Internet are downloaded legally. That comes out to about 5 billion songs being downloaded through services like Limewire and eMule while iTMS existed. I can only imagine how many songs were downloaded through Napster and FTP sites before the RIAA started cracking down on such activities.
* Yeah, yeah I know. Most music trade groups are RIAA cheerleaders, so those numbers don't mean much. If you can find some unbiased research on this topic, please reply with some links.
Or, just use VMWare Server once it's out of beta. It supposedly will be free, so you'll be able to start consolidating all those Windows servers WITHOUT having to ask the pointy haired bosses for a $1,500 purchase approval for GSX.
I wonder if Microsoft will make or offically endorse a Firefox search add-on or toolbar for this special promotional version of the MSN search site? They might actually get some additional search traffic from Firefox users if they promoted one, since most Firefox users use the search box when they're looking for something. I usually leave my search box on the Google default, but I also added the A9 one recently to get that 1.57% amazon.com discount.
In short, Microsoft should offer more 3rd party browser support if they really want MSN search to be taken seriously.
Ah, it's nice to see that at least some people get it.
For those that do not, please remember this:
The RIAA is NOT the law. The RIAA is just a music trade group with some really screwed up opinions on copyright laws, and their opinions don't mean anything unless they are backed up with a favorable court ruling.
Sure, they have lobbyists working to turn their screwed up opinions into laws, but it's pretty safe to assume that they've already lost this battle. Millions of people already have iPods filled with music that they ripped from CD's, including a few congresscritters and wealthy campaign donors. Anyone who votes for a law turning all those people into criminals overnight is going have problems getting reelected.
For taking such good care of your servers! We picked up a bunch of them when the company went bust, and they're still running fine today. Hell... We even left the Enron asset tags on them for kicks.
How serious is the relationship with your girlfriend? If you're thinking marriage and children in the near future, that bigger paycheck is going to come in handy.
Of course, you shouldn't let money be the only issue, but it still should be a major factor depending on where your life is headed. Whatever you do, try not to become one of those mini-van driving soccer dads who loathe going to work every day.
That's not really true anymore, since most PC accessory companies make iPod accessories now. Logitech, Griffin, and Altec Lansing come to mind pretty quickly, and even higher-end producers like Bose and Coach make iPod add-ons now.
Very true. If this guy isn't already working the occassional weekend, he already has a better job than most IT folks do.
Instead of overpaying your utility bills, wouldn't it make more sense to put your money in a savings account? Your money could be earning 4% interest sitting in an ING Orange or HSBC online savings account, instead of giving that interest to Grandma Bell and Power & Light.
Hey, this is Slashdot. Most people here would be happy to get at least one guaranteed date in 2007.
"Why is it relevant? IMHO, any consumer-oriented version of *nix would be much tighter secured by default than current Windows."
Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case so far. The Linux systems that Walmart has been shipping come with the Linspire distribution, which allows users to run as root by default. That's not exactly secure, is it?
*shrug* IBM is cost competitive in the low end.. they seem to be making money and are still on the short list of "laptops that just work"
IBM does NOT make Laptops and Desktops anymore, since Lenovo owns that part of the business now. When you think about an "IBM" Laptop... think Lenovo.