You know, I read these articles about Microsoft, and I start to wonder who actually cares. As opposed to 10 years ago, Microsoft just isn't a part of my day-to-day interactions.
* Laptop is a MacBook Pro
* Phone is Android
* Tablet is Android
At work:
* I work with very large e-commerce sites - everything is Linux
* No SharePoint
Outside of Outlook/Exchange at work, I just don't use anything Microsoft anymore.
Another thing I do not "get" - even if one was to believe in a "creator" (in particular, the Judo-Christian one), why would you worship it? Epicurus said it best:
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
Make sure programmers having documented unit tests is a standard at your work. Then watch him write tests for his uber-methods. Either he'll "get it" or he'll think testing is stupid. Having a programmer proclaim "testing is stupid" usually doesn't go over well with the rest of the department.
Reflecting back, it is sort of amazing how far Microsoft has fallen. From being nearly synonymous with everything computer related to now being the last one you think of when it comes to the technology that is nearest to us (our cell phones and tablets), it is stunning. And everything they make now looks like a desperate me-too move.
Even more broadly, just a few years ago I was working in all Microsoft platforms from server and web development to desktop and office automation. Now, with the exception of Exchange, I don't even see Microsoft products. Amazing.
Cool, it looks like I can go get a free Win8 license key! Then I thought about the time I'd have spend looking into it and realized that I cared so little about Win8 that I went back to whatever I was doing beforehand.
I really see this viewpoint eroding. I think a lot of it originally came from that old guys tended to be mainframe-centric, and young guys were cut on open systems. There is a HUGE difference between the development mentalities between the two. My experience has seen that for the most part, mainframe guys really struggle when they are taken out of that environment.
Between the fact that modern open systems have been around long enough for the young guys on them to become the old guys, and that many of those guys are now management making hiring decisions, I personally have seen this become much less of an issue.
All this word-wrangling about who-thought-of-what-first and who-made-who-do-what seems pretty infantile.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world is going to go about making shit that people want to buy while the US and the companies that are part of it sit here and argue in court with themselves. Such a waste of financial resources and productivity.
Stepping back a bit, does it strike anyone else as extremely strange that we have a system in place in which the bodies that understand what they are doing (Google, Apple, Moto, etc.) turn to a body that doesn't (the courts) for decisions of can-or-cannot do?
All I can do is shake my head at how far we still have to come as a species - not because of a lack of "belief" in evolution per se, but rather the insistence to not at least be trying to better think about and understand the world (and universe) we live in.
Although this would not have saved her (she had traditional surgery to have most of her stomach removed), one thing I noticed through the entire journey was that the research was geared towards more common cancers, like breast and colon. I'm happy to see that treatments of other cancers still being pursued.
NOTE: For Windows 8, a clean install also contains the extended Windows Defender technology, which, for the first time incorporates complete antimalware functionality – also optimized for memory and resource use per Jason’s blog about protecting you from malware. (This functionality does not exist on a clean install of Windows 7 where we would recommend that you add security software).
But most code reviews I have seen have been reduced to smaller items and standards enforcement (spacing, declaration, naming conventions, etc.) and not around anything that I consider significant enough to make the app "better." Usually those types of things are more in the application architecture, and a code review is much too late for that.
As an aside, we used to semi-jokingly refer to code reviews as the "revolving vendetta" in my previous company, as certain individuals would pick on certain others with more zest.
In healthcare, we called this approach "universal precautions" - everything you touched was infected with a super HIV/Ebola/cock-rotting-disease and should be treated as such. Trust nothing, ever.
Inconvenient, yes. Safe, yes.
The way universities advertise, they make it sound like getting a degree (specifically from them usually) is _the_ ticket to getting your dream job. This admittedly not too bright girl bought into that, and when cold hard reality came in and level-set her, here's where we land.
I'd like to see some positive impact to the "university business" based on this.
Since most Squeenix titles are so laden with cut-scenes and what-not already to the point that I don't need to have my hands on the controller anyway, I assumed this "mind control" thing was already pretty much implemented.
As others mentioned, this is crap. The point is to get the dollar amount out of your head, much like the carnival ticket example mentioned elsewhere.
It's even worse than the Wii's point system because MS points don't map to easily divisible dollar amounts. I believe 800 points equals $10, which isn't difficult math but certainly isn't as easy as they could've made it. Contrast that to the Wii, where a point equals a penny, which the aforementioned 800 points would be a much more quickly to see $8. Sony does one better and just has you pay in actual currency.
The whole system is set up to deceive the consumer
This isn't Microsoft's only (IMHO) deceitful money grab on the xbox 360. If you want rechargable controllers, that's an extra $20, making them $70 compared to $50 for a Sony Sixaxis (the stock controller for the system). Want wireless Internet? Extra $90-$100. Want to play online? Extra $50 per year.
Granted, Live's service is currently superior to Sony's, but I don't know if it is $50/year superior. You can argue the 360 controller is better out-of-the-box because it has rumble, but I'm just talking about the stock hardware that is currently available - it's not like Sony is excluding rumble from some sticks and not others to do some price differentiation. And I left out the extra cost on the 360 if you are interested in high-def movies - it's fine they left it optional but I think the HDDVD add-on is overpriced as well.
My main point is that at some point it becomes disingenuous to claim Microsoft is providing better or even similar value to its primary competitor.
As someone who has lost a significant amount of weight (70 pounds), this doesn't surprise me in the least bit. If you ever really looked at the ballpark number of calories that you burn while exercising versus how little food that amount of calories consists of, it really is a bad way to lose weight - an hour on the bike only burned a couple hundred calories at best, whereas two cookies would completely negate that. It made a heck of a lot more sense to simply address the problem at the source (what I was putting in my body) versus trying to work it off. Also, it is hard to exercise properly and with sufficient intensity if you are obese.
I did my weight loss strictly through diet - reduced quantity and elimination of sugars, starches, and white flour. Exercise never came into play.
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* Laptop is a MacBook Pro
* Phone is Android
* Tablet is Android
At work:
* I work with very large e-commerce sites - everything is Linux
* No SharePoint
Outside of Outlook/Exchange at work, I just don't use anything Microsoft anymore.
Another thing I do not "get" - even if one was to believe in a "creator" (in particular, the Judo-Christian one), why would you worship it? Epicurus said it best:
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
Make sure programmers having documented unit tests is a standard at your work. Then watch him write tests for his uber-methods. Either he'll "get it" or he'll think testing is stupid. Having a programmer proclaim "testing is stupid" usually doesn't go over well with the rest of the department.
Reflecting back, it is sort of amazing how far Microsoft has fallen. From being nearly synonymous with everything computer related to now being the last one you think of when it comes to the technology that is nearest to us (our cell phones and tablets), it is stunning. And everything they make now looks like a desperate me-too move. Even more broadly, just a few years ago I was working in all Microsoft platforms from server and web development to desktop and office automation. Now, with the exception of Exchange, I don't even see Microsoft products. Amazing.
Cool, it looks like I can go get a free Win8 license key! Then I thought about the time I'd have spend looking into it and realized that I cared so little about Win8 that I went back to whatever I was doing beforehand.
I really see this viewpoint eroding. I think a lot of it originally came from that old guys tended to be mainframe-centric, and young guys were cut on open systems. There is a HUGE difference between the development mentalities between the two. My experience has seen that for the most part, mainframe guys really struggle when they are taken out of that environment. Between the fact that modern open systems have been around long enough for the young guys on them to become the old guys, and that many of those guys are now management making hiring decisions, I personally have seen this become much less of an issue.
All this word-wrangling about who-thought-of-what-first and who-made-who-do-what seems pretty infantile. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is going to go about making shit that people want to buy while the US and the companies that are part of it sit here and argue in court with themselves. Such a waste of financial resources and productivity.
Stepping back a bit, does it strike anyone else as extremely strange that we have a system in place in which the bodies that understand what they are doing (Google, Apple, Moto, etc.) turn to a body that doesn't (the courts) for decisions of can-or-cannot do?
All I can do is shake my head at how far we still have to come as a species - not because of a lack of "belief" in evolution per se, but rather the insistence to not at least be trying to better think about and understand the world (and universe) we live in.
Main chorus of "Through the Fire and the Flames"
I lost my wife to stomach cancer.
Although this would not have saved her (she had traditional surgery to have most of her stomach removed), one thing I noticed through the entire journey was that the research was geared towards more common cancers, like breast and colon. I'm happy to see that treatments of other cancers still being pursued.
NOTE: For Windows 8, a clean install also contains the extended Windows Defender technology, which, for the first time incorporates complete antimalware functionality – also optimized for memory and resource use per Jason’s blog about protecting you from malware. (This functionality does not exist on a clean install of Windows 7 where we would recommend that you add security software).
This somehow made me frown.
But most code reviews I have seen have been reduced to smaller items and standards enforcement (spacing, declaration, naming conventions, etc.) and not around anything that I consider significant enough to make the app "better." Usually those types of things are more in the application architecture, and a code review is much too late for that. As an aside, we used to semi-jokingly refer to code reviews as the "revolving vendetta" in my previous company, as certain individuals would pick on certain others with more zest.
In healthcare, we called this approach "universal precautions" - everything you touched was infected with a super HIV/Ebola/cock-rotting-disease and should be treated as such. Trust nothing, ever. Inconvenient, yes. Safe, yes.
Until you have a baby. None of these kind of comments will be funny anymore. Seriously.
Wait until your babies grow up, then you will find these comments funny again. Seriously.
The way universities advertise, they make it sound like getting a degree (specifically from them usually) is _the_ ticket to getting your dream job. This admittedly not too bright girl bought into that, and when cold hard reality came in and level-set her, here's where we land.
I'd like to see some positive impact to the "university business" based on this.
You haven't played in awhile, I see. This was true in GH1 and GH2. Virtually all tracks in RB/RB2 are originals.
I've said this before - The problem with cell phones when driving (hands-free or not) is that it takes you mentally *out of the car*.
Since most Squeenix titles are so laden with cut-scenes and what-not already to the point that I don't need to have my hands on the controller anyway, I assumed this "mind control" thing was already pretty much implemented.
It's even worse than the Wii's point system because MS points don't map to easily divisible dollar amounts. I believe 800 points equals $10, which isn't difficult math but certainly isn't as easy as they could've made it. Contrast that to the Wii, where a point equals a penny, which the aforementioned 800 points would be a much more quickly to see $8. Sony does one better and just has you pay in actual currency.
The whole system is set up to deceive the consumer
This isn't Microsoft's only (IMHO) deceitful money grab on the xbox 360. If you want rechargable controllers, that's an extra $20, making them $70 compared to $50 for a Sony Sixaxis (the stock controller for the system). Want wireless Internet? Extra $90-$100. Want to play online? Extra $50 per year.
Granted, Live's service is currently superior to Sony's, but I don't know if it is $50/year superior. You can argue the 360 controller is better out-of-the-box because it has rumble, but I'm just talking about the stock hardware that is currently available - it's not like Sony is excluding rumble from some sticks and not others to do some price differentiation. And I left out the extra cost on the 360 if you are interested in high-def movies - it's fine they left it optional but I think the HDDVD add-on is overpriced as well.
My main point is that at some point it becomes disingenuous to claim Microsoft is providing better or even similar value to its primary competitor.
Disclaimer: I own a PS3, xbox360, and a Wii.
- Cooking Mama 1 & 2 (everyone seems to love these two)
- Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses
- Elite Beat Agents
Others that she plays from time to time:No. Someone here on /. summed up the stupidity of episode III perfectly awhile back with the plot summary:
Palpatine: Join me.
Anakin: No.
Palpatine: Do it.
Anakin: OK.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Don't let it be the one I'm supporting for the first time this year.
I did my weight loss strictly through diet - reduced quantity and elimination of sugars, starches, and white flour. Exercise never came into play.
... when I say "That's pretty fuckin neat".