Just remember Mr. Gates, that any device that does more than one thing, will do NONE of them well. The Ipod is a single function device and works well. I predict the only function your cell phone will be good at is spreading viruses.
As a fan of "The Daily Show" and all the fake-news put out by the Bush Adminstration, I have grown to love fake news. It is much more interesting and all the opinions, quotes, and facts always support the story. I say keep the fake news coming. It definately keeps life interesting, plus I don't have to watch the lame-local anchor man, who hasn't researched an original story in years. The local news stations just play propoganda aka fake-news tapes put out by government and the AP. It is so much better.:)
You should definately get the "Extra Insightful" modifier tonight. It's all about the Money. The old school music distribution system is in jeopardy. Seems like Steve Jobs figured out a way to sell music all by himself. I like Steve. He is a benevelont dictator who allows us to put plain old MP3's on our Ipod as well as his Itunes music. Unlike the RIAA's buddy's (*cough* SONY *cough* Microsoft).
I'll be the first to admit that Steve is a megalomaniac, driven by perfection, style, coolness, and ease of use. However, the IPOD (Of which I own a 4G) is a hit, and if the RIAA don't like it because Steve didn't ask them how he should do business, too bad. Does anyone have Hillary's email address? I'd like to tell her to just shutup and quit spreading FUD. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft hires her next.
What's the fuss? So RAW sockets aren't available in user mode. That will keep infected PC's from DDoS'ing the universe (temporarily), until the virus/spyware writers exploit holes in the O/S to escalate their priveledges.
MS is just temporarily making exploiting a machine harder, but it will ultimately be futile and lead to even more nefarious and hostile virus/worm/spyware applications. This is a bandaid at best.
Windows is architected so poorly from a security standpoint, that it's probably time to just start over. Security in Windows has always been a "bolt-on" hack. And just remember, no matter what you do, Security is an Illusion.
Is it time for developers at SlashDot provide an interface similar to GMAIL so that I don't have to put HTML tags in my comments?
Sometimes I think Excel should be de-installed from corporate PC's. Excel allows well-meaning employees to create little piles or "silos of information" which aren't shared in any type of sane manner. Since the silos of information are not connected in any centralized manner, people are just guessing at costs, numbers and estimates.
Using guesses to make key business decisions and can lead to very poor performance. Just ask the spreadsheet kings over at Enron and Worldcom. I wonder how many secret spreadsheets or silos these guys had lying around? However, thanks to Dick Cheney we may never know.
To illustrate how spreadsheets can kill, imagine you are working on a project proposal. Usually a typical Excel spreadsheet will get emailed, modified, emailed, modified, emailed, modified for weeks to many, many people. Until... one morning at 2:00AM, the day before the proposal is due, the final cut will need to be made. How do you know which spreadsheet contains the correct numbers? Maybe you needed to merge multiple master spreadsheets together. Maybe you were waiting on numbers from someone else. Have you ever been here? What do you do? What did you do?
Using Excel to manage a corporation reminds me of an old saying, "When the only tool you have is a hammer, every job looks like a nail." Instead of investing time into procedures and systems (to do things correctly and sanely), companies rely on managers with Excel to get numbers for proposals, projects, quotes, etc... I can see how spreadsheets can lead to lost revenue and bad decision making.
Wow, you make teaching sound so easy. The money and benefits flow like milk and honey:)
CNN Reported today that starting 2005 salaries for college grads majoring in computer science are $51,292 and Electrical Engineering $52,009.
Even if you adjust for summer break, the technology teacher still starts about $10,000 behind a computer science grad. This assumes that the teacher gets 10-weeks off in summer and the Computer Scientist works gets 2-weeks off.
Teaching salaries do progress with time, but only after going back to school and getting an expensive Master's degree. Additionally, teachers are required by most states to continually take college courses to maintain certification as an out of pocket expense.
Teachers are most definately subject to downsizing due to student population swings and tight school budgets. Teachers probably work more hours than the standard white collar job and there isn't much downtime. With a white collar job, if you are 30 minutes late, it's no big deal. If you take an extra 15 minutes for luch, no problem. Then after work teachers have to call parents, attend activities, and grade tests/papers.
I still say that attracting and retaining talent in the classroom is key to a good educational system. Compensating technology teachers who graduate with the same degrees as their corporate peers makes teaching much less attactive. Telling technology teachers to hang in there for 5-years and they can be at the same adjusted starting pay as their corporate peers is absurd. Also, most corporations reimburse continuing education where the teacher pays out of pocket.
The problem with education is that skilled High School technology teachers are very rare. It takes 4-6 years to get a bachelors followed by a teaching degree. This causes would-be teachers to rack-up a lot of debt for a job that will pay them $30,000/yr. to start if they are lucky. Try buying a house, driving a car, paying for insurance, getting married, and paying off a crushing college loan on $30,000 yr. I've seen lot's of people try and then leave teaching for industry just do they could afford to get married.
tty soon.
Conversely, I have seen people drop-out of industry after 10-years (after making a pile of cash and paying off debts) and then go on to become excellent High School Computer Science and Physics teachers. They are able to help students create real research projects using scientific instruments which collect data. I have seen excellent Robotics and Programming curriculums. However, these programs are far and few between.
Spending money on computers, infrastructure, and LCD projectors isn't the answer. We need compotent, skilled teachers to orchestrate education using the expensive technology. Otherwise, it's like buying an F-18 fighterjet and parking it on the deck of your aircraft carrier. Sure it looks impressive, but it is useless without a skilled pilot.
The only answer I see is to attract and retain excellent technology teachers by paying salaries similar to what these teachers would make if working in industry jobs. You get what you pay for and sometimes you don't even get that.
You can't run someone through a 4-year college program where they take about 4-5 programming and technology classes and expect them to go conquer the world.
Good Thread! I've learned a lot. To summarize, we could say that "everything we need to know about gene replacement therapy we have learned from Sesame street." when we learned the "One of these things is not like the other" song:)
I just really bugs that I can look at hex and turn it back into op codes and get a general idea of what the code does, but we can't do the same with DNA. Maybe one day someone will be able to read DNA gene sequences like the morning newspaper.
Back in High School, I thought we would have a DNA construction kit by now, where you could hook it up to your computer and make custom organism with a limit on genome complexity e.g. (Banana Tomato Plant) or custom pets e.g. (Pet dog with tiger stripes). I believed we would have a complete understanding of DNA by Y2K, but then again I also believed that in the future we would have flying cars and computers would be able to program themselves with voice commands from the end users making programmers obsolete. Now I am wondering if we will figure it all out before my life is over.
Re:In the case of specific genetic diseases
on
Precision Gene Editing
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
In certain isolated cases this has found to be true, but Dr. Richard Strohman, from UC Berkley wrote this.
"Genes exist in networks, interactive networks which have a logic of their own. The [gene] technology point of view does not deal with these networks. It simply addresses genes in isolation. But genes do not exist in isolation. And the fact that the [biotech] industry folks don't deal with these networks is what makes their science incomplete and dangerous."
Dr. Richard Strohman, Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California, Berkeley. From his article "Crisis position". [EL]
So does this mean that until we understand the environmental interactions between, you won't fully understand how the organism will express its genes. This is similar to programming, since a program may run differently based on the environment in which it is run.
Great, now the gene splicers have the equivalent of a hex editor, but still have no clue what they are editing. It's like hacking binary code out of one program and inserting into another program and somehow getting it to work.
Until we have a better handle on Gene Expression and how to actually interpret the genetic code we should proceed cautiously.
To quote Dr. J. Craig Venter, Time's Scientist of the year (2000).
"We know far less than one per cent of what will be known about biology, human physiology, and medicine.
My view of biology is 'We dont know shit.' "
If any am being overcautious or am ill-informed please feel free to correct me. I try to live by the motto, "Just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should." This applies to System Administration as much as it does to gene-hacking.
AS long as scope creep exists, IT projects will never come in on time. Scope creep comes in many forms. Developers like to try new coding toys and features which can cause delays. Customers change their mind about scope and implementation which causes delays, bugs, and total rewrites.
The only way to bring a project in on time and under budget is to say, "NO" to scope creep. If a customer wants a major change, explain that they can have it in the next version. If developers start dragging in new coding toys, stop them immediately. I know I know, easier said than done.
I left a 6 figure job after 7 years to go into teaching. The trick is that you must have cash banked away to survive the transition. If you are just quitting on a wing and a prayer, forget it. Have an understanding of what you want to do, a plan for doing it, the resources to do it (cash, education etc...) and then go do it!
Even though I am taking a 75% pay cut, I am looking forward to having fun with the kids, not carrying a pager, not driving into work at 2 A.M. because a backhoe operator caused a massive power outage (which caused database servers to go onto UPS power), and of course summers off.
Everything in life is a tradeoff. Figure out what you want and what you are willing to give in trade. Also, don't forget to think about retirement. Do you have enough put away in your 401K? Also, don't forget about Cobra (HealthCare) costs. Cobra is about $1000/mo. to maintain health benefits. I can't stress the importance of health insurance enough.
Good Luck...
My advice in a nutshell: research, plan, gather resources, and execute!
I am not sure if you grew up in a country with Sesame Street, but they used to sing this little song called, "One of these things in not like the other, one of these things doesn't belong, Ooohhh one of these things is not like the other. Which one of these things could it be?"
It's pretty sad when security comes down to running checksums and diffs. Why not install TRIPWIRE on all your boxes after you build them and just keep an eye on the reports? That way you don't have to boot from CD and run cumbersome tools.:)
1. It came FREE with the $30 case with the blinky lights. 2. The power supply came in a low end Gateway. 3. The power supply came in a low end Dell. 4. The power supply might cost less than $30.
I'm done with the el'cheapo powersupplies and only buy Antec these days.
I no longer have access to ISP weblogs, but I seem to remember taking a browser census and noting that vistors from MS were indeed running Mozilla under Linux.
This makes sense and is consistent with the CIO's statement. Since each user is their own administrator, they are allowed to wipeout windows and run any Linux distro they want. They probably use use VMWARE or VirtualPC to host their Windows OS and quickly switch to full screen whenever a manager is around.
I am attending college right now, I can definately tell you that XBOX + HALO2 + INTERNET = FAIL. The same can be said for EverQuest or EverQuest2 (aka EverCrack) on a PC. Computers are really, really bad for people with addictive personalities. Sorry, I write a longer comment, but my Guild needs me in battle........:)
It's too bad that computer games can't be more educational.
The PTC is not the problem. The PTC is just striving to have the current "decency" rules enforced. The FCC rules (as written) have been largely ignored for years.
An analogy might be the RIAA and MPAA popping up after years of unchecked P2P filesharing and saying to the FBI, "Ahem, excuse us, there are some copyright laws that need to be enforced and here is a list of the infringements and infringers, please go get them."
So either change the rules to allow profanity, Janet Jackson's Boobs, and full uncensored graphic sex scenes or quit whining. The rules are the rules and the law is the law. Like it or not we are a nation of laws not a nation of whiners.
Also worth noting, even though the PTC is one organization, it is composed of 28 national chapters. It's not a single person, but an organization representing thousands and thousands of people. According to their website, the PTC isn't about censorship, but is about making the FCC enforce the existing rules. Again, if you don't like the existing rules, start another organization to get the rules changed. As long as these rules exist the potential to stop LCD (lowest common denominator) entertainment exists.
Personally, I think the latest crop of reality TV shows and new sitcoms is as low as we need to go on the taste scale but hey, I'm not the majority and your tastes may differ. Maybe the majority wants even dumber shows with more potty humor and a compulsory laugh track (in case you forget to laugh). Personally, I am down to three shows these days (2 Network, 1 Cable). TV has retarded to the point where I believe the mere act of watching it lowers your IQ by the hour.
Yeah, but you forget one thing... "IT is special.":)
It's a double edged sword for companies. In fact it is more of a Paradox, "How can you commoditize IT and then leverage IT to do great things at the same time? After all, the holy grail of business computers is a seamlessly integrated infrastructure.
A good techie is worth more than his paycheck. Companies that commoditized IT are starting to get stuck and see more downtime and experience more frustration in moving forward. IT is pretty much the lifeblood of the modern company. Without your applications and DATA your are dead.
I have been in the tech game for 10 years and am very good at it and can say from experience, it is amazing that most computing infrastructures run at all. Infrastructures around the US are turning into a streaming trails of unsupportable crap and mark my words, the collapse is coming. Hopefully, there will still be enough good techies left to put everything back together when it does happen.
Wikipedia at its best is an example of the Socratic Teaching Method in action, assuming of course there are smart "teachers" who read and correct the Wikipedia.
Wikipedia at its worst is a "populist" encyclopedia. You could also say the Internet is a giant encyclopedia and a search engine is the index, however the Internet as a whole contains a much higher level of error that Wikipedia.
Comparing Wikipedia to a Public Restroom is just unfair. The Internet maybe. Slashdot definately. Fark is more of an alternate reality. I just prefer to think of Wikipedia as the Socratic Populist Encyclopedia, where TRUTH is, what you YOU believe it to be. After all, many of the things we hold true, especially is science are WRONG and will eventually be updated with the new TRUTH. Also, History is written by whoever won the war. Wikipedia will give the losers a chance to tell their side of the story just as soon as they get Internet connectivity and electricity back.
Last week Jon Stewart started the Daily show with this (It summarizes nearly every Linux/Windows thread on Slashdot):
If you're ever looking to start a fight. If you're ever looking to just to get into a real riotus situation, where you are sure violence must happen, just shout "I love a Linux based system that can plug into USB, but doesn't have the RAM of my ass!"
I don't know what any of it means, but clearly other people do and have very strong opinions about it. You put the Google people next to the MSN search people and the whole f*cking thing explodes.
Jon Stewart
Daily Show 11/11/04
(It's still on the Bit Torrents, if you want to see it.)
I am not from Canada and don't know the legal system there and was wondering what are the odds the plantiff will acutally collect the damages? In America you can sue and get a judgement, but collecting the judgement is a whole different matter.
In fact, the Goldman's still can't get O.J. Simpson to pay up the 33 million dollars they won from him in a civil trial after the death of their son. I know that a judge can issue a bench warrant or declare someone in contempt for not showing up or paying, but that never seems to amount to much since the police don't actively try to find and arrest the person.
It's good to see Microsoft playing, "me too" instead of spinning FUD. I remember the days when MS would announce a vaporware technology just so they could stave off competition and play catchup to avoid any loss of market share. However, it looks like MS has slipped a bit and is now playing the "me too" game.
It's really sad that MS should have to do this when they have for all practical purposes an infinite R&D budget. Somone should tell MS that creating a "good" search tool infrastructure with desktop integration is a bit more complex than playing catchup by writing a webbrowser application.
I'm glad to see MS join this competition since it will only serve to make Google even more innovative. I think the Google is going to own the search and webmail market. Maybe it's time for Google to buy Amazon, Ebay, or Yahoo and really put the pedal to to the metal! Go Google! Go Google! Show MS nothing but tail lights!
"What's really needed is more of a strategic planning process that involves business executives and technologists," Spinelli said. Instead, security managers all too often offer "nothing by way of a long-term strategy" for IT security.
In just the first two paragraphs alone I was able to fill up my BULLSH*T BINGO card. Let's see if I can write a useless statements containing lots of buzzwords. What's really needed is a short term strategy with long term synergestic goals that transcend all layers of the organization and implement proactive world-class security. Yep, I still got it.
Just think, if executives had more of a strageic planning process for the business in general, then US companies might be healthier and stronger, instead of sacrificing the future for short-term profits.
2. Enhancements and Updates
Other than any updates that Microsoft may publish at the URL location(s) for the Protocol(s) listed in Exhibit A, no other Microsoft enhancements or updates to Protocols and/or Technical Documentation are licensed under this Agreement. In the event Microsoft elects to make other such Microsoft enhancements or updates available, such enhancements or updates will only be licensed by Microsoft under a separate written agreement.
3. Licenses
3.1 Copyright License. To the extent Microsoft has copyrights in the Technical Documentation for the Licensed Protocols , Microsoft hereby grants You a non-exclusive, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, personal, worldwide license to make a reasonable number of complete copies of that Technical Documentation solely for use in developing Licensed Implementation(s).
3.2 Patent License. To the extent Microsoft has Necessary Claims, Microsoft hereby grants You a nonexclusive, royalty-free, non-sublicenseable, personal, worldwide license under those Necessary Claims to use the Technical Documentation for the Licensed Protocols to:
So in English, Microsoft is not claiming ownership of anything. They are just saying that they may or may not own something but you can license it from them anyway.
Additionally, this license offers no indemnifaction. Even if you license the 130 protocols listed from Microsoft, if there is a legal challenge on a patent, Microsoft isn't going to protect you (according this this agreement).
My last point is this does not cover Microsoft extensions or as them call them "updates" to protocols. Does this mean you are licensing whatever is in the public RFC from Microsoft and their version of the technical documentation?
It's all so strange.
Slashdot Mirror
Just remember Mr. Gates, that any device that does more than one thing, will do NONE of them well. The Ipod is a single function device and works well. I predict the only function your cell phone will be good at is spreading viruses.
As a fan of "The Daily Show" and all the fake-news put out by the Bush Adminstration, I have grown to love fake news. It is much more interesting and all the opinions, quotes, and facts always support the story. I say keep the fake news coming. It definately keeps life interesting, plus I don't have to watch the lame-local anchor man, who hasn't researched an original story in years. The local news stations just play propoganda aka fake-news tapes put out by government and the AP. It is so much better. :)
You should definately get the "Extra Insightful" modifier tonight. It's all about the Money. The old school music distribution system is in jeopardy. Seems like Steve Jobs figured out a way to sell music all by himself. I like Steve. He is a benevelont dictator who allows us to put plain old MP3's on our Ipod as well as his Itunes music. Unlike the RIAA's buddy's (*cough* SONY *cough* Microsoft).
I'll be the first to admit that Steve is a megalomaniac, driven by perfection, style, coolness, and ease of use. However, the IPOD (Of which I own a 4G) is a hit, and if the RIAA don't like it because Steve didn't ask them how he should do business, too bad. Does anyone have Hillary's email address? I'd like to tell her to just shutup and quit spreading FUD. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft hires her next.
What's the fuss? So RAW sockets aren't available in user mode. That will keep infected PC's from DDoS'ing the universe (temporarily), until the virus/spyware writers exploit holes in the O/S to escalate their priveledges.
MS is just temporarily making exploiting a machine harder, but it will ultimately be futile and lead to even more nefarious and hostile virus/worm/spyware applications. This is a bandaid at best.
Windows is architected so poorly from a security standpoint, that it's probably time to just start over. Security in Windows has always been a "bolt-on" hack. And just remember, no matter what you do, Security is an Illusion.
Is it time for developers at SlashDot provide an interface similar to GMAIL so that I don't have to put HTML tags in my comments?
Sometimes I think Excel should be de-installed from corporate PC's. Excel allows well-meaning employees to create little piles or "silos of information" which aren't shared in any type of sane manner. Since the silos of information are not connected in any centralized manner, people are just guessing at costs, numbers and estimates. Using guesses to make key business decisions and can lead to very poor performance. Just ask the spreadsheet kings over at Enron and Worldcom. I wonder how many secret spreadsheets or silos these guys had lying around? However, thanks to Dick Cheney we may never know.
... I can see how spreadsheets can lead to lost revenue and bad decision making.
To illustrate how spreadsheets can kill, imagine you are working on a project proposal. Usually a typical Excel spreadsheet will get emailed, modified, emailed, modified, emailed, modified for weeks to many, many people. Until... one morning at 2:00AM, the day before the proposal is due, the final cut will need to be made. How do you know which spreadsheet contains the correct numbers? Maybe you needed to merge multiple master spreadsheets together. Maybe you were waiting on numbers from someone else. Have you ever been here? What do you do? What did you do?
Using Excel to manage a corporation reminds me of an old saying, "When the only tool you have is a hammer, every job looks like a nail." Instead of investing time into procedures and systems (to do things correctly and sanely), companies rely on managers with Excel to get numbers for proposals, projects, quotes, etc
Wow, you make teaching sound so easy. The money and benefits flow like milk and honey :)
CNN Reported today that starting 2005 salaries for college grads majoring in computer science are $51,292 and Electrical Engineering $52,009.
Even if you adjust for summer break, the technology teacher still starts about $10,000 behind a computer science grad. This assumes that the teacher gets 10-weeks off in summer and the Computer Scientist works gets 2-weeks off.
Teaching salaries do progress with time, but only after going back to school and getting an expensive Master's degree. Additionally, teachers are required by most states to continually take college courses to maintain certification as an out of pocket expense.
Teachers are most definately subject to downsizing due to student population swings and tight school budgets. Teachers probably work more hours than the standard white collar job and there isn't much downtime. With a white collar job, if you are 30 minutes late, it's no big deal. If you take an extra 15 minutes for luch, no problem. Then after work teachers have to call parents, attend activities, and grade tests/papers.
I still say that attracting and retaining talent in the classroom is key to a good educational system. Compensating technology teachers who graduate with the same degrees as their corporate peers makes teaching much less attactive. Telling technology teachers to hang in there for 5-years and they can be at the same adjusted starting pay as their corporate peers is absurd. Also, most corporations reimburse continuing education where the teacher pays out of pocket.
The problem with education is that skilled High School technology teachers are very rare. It takes 4-6 years to get a bachelors followed by a teaching degree. This causes would-be teachers to rack-up a lot of debt for a job that will pay them $30,000/yr. to start if they are lucky. Try buying a house, driving a car, paying for insurance, getting married, and paying off a crushing college loan on $30,000 yr. I've seen lot's of people try and then leave teaching for industry just do they could afford to get married. tty soon.
Conversely, I have seen people drop-out of industry after 10-years (after making a pile of cash and paying off debts) and then go on to become excellent High School Computer Science and Physics teachers. They are able to help students create real research projects using scientific instruments which collect data. I have seen excellent Robotics and Programming curriculums. However, these programs are far and few between.
Spending money on computers, infrastructure, and LCD projectors isn't the answer. We need compotent, skilled teachers to orchestrate education using the expensive technology. Otherwise, it's like buying an F-18 fighterjet and parking it on the deck of your aircraft carrier. Sure it looks impressive, but it is useless without a skilled pilot.
The only answer I see is to attract and retain excellent technology teachers by paying salaries similar to what these teachers would make if working in industry jobs. You get what you pay for and sometimes you don't even get that.
You can't run someone through a 4-year college program where they take about 4-5 programming and technology classes and expect them to go conquer the world.
Good Thread! I've learned a lot. To summarize, we could say that "everything we need to know about gene replacement therapy we have learned from Sesame street." when we learned the "One of these things is not like the other" song :)
I just really bugs that I can look at hex and turn it back into op codes and get a general idea of what the code does, but we can't do the same with DNA. Maybe one day someone will be able to read DNA gene sequences like the morning newspaper.
Back in High School, I thought we would have a DNA construction kit by now, where you could hook it up to your computer and make custom organism with a limit on genome complexity e.g. (Banana Tomato Plant) or custom pets e.g. (Pet dog with tiger stripes). I believed we would have a complete understanding of DNA by Y2K, but then again I also believed that in the future we would have flying cars and computers would be able to program themselves with voice commands from the end users making programmers obsolete. Now I am wondering if we will figure it all out before my life is over.
In certain isolated cases this has found to be true, but Dr. Richard Strohman, from UC Berkley wrote this.
"Genes exist in networks, interactive networks which have a logic of their own. The [gene] technology point of view does not deal with these networks. It simply addresses genes in isolation. But genes do not exist in isolation. And the fact that the [biotech] industry folks don't deal with these networks is what makes their science incomplete and dangerous."
Dr. Richard Strohman, Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California, Berkeley. From his article "Crisis position". [EL]
So does this mean that until we understand the environmental interactions between, you won't fully understand how the organism will express its genes. This is similar to programming, since a program may run differently based on the environment in which it is run.
Great, now the gene splicers have the equivalent of a hex editor, but still have no clue what they are editing. It's like hacking binary code out of one program and inserting into another program and somehow getting it to work.
Until we have a better handle on Gene Expression and how to actually interpret the genetic code we should proceed cautiously.
To quote Dr. J. Craig Venter, Time's Scientist of the year (2000).
"We know far less than one per cent of what will be known about biology, human physiology, and medicine.
My view of biology is 'We dont know shit.' "
If any am being overcautious or am ill-informed please feel free to correct me. I try to live by the motto, "Just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should." This applies to System Administration as much as it does to gene-hacking.
AS long as scope creep exists, IT projects will never come in on time. Scope creep comes in many forms. Developers like to try new coding toys and features which can cause delays. Customers change their mind about scope and implementation which causes delays, bugs, and total rewrites.
The only way to bring a project in on time and under budget is to say, "NO" to scope creep. If a customer wants a major change, explain that they can have it in the next version. If developers start dragging in new coding toys, stop them immediately. I know I know, easier said than done.
I left a 6 figure job after 7 years to go into teaching. The trick is that you must have cash banked away to survive the transition. If you are just quitting on a wing and a prayer, forget it. Have an understanding of what you want to do, a plan for doing it, the resources to do it (cash, education etc...) and then go do it!
Even though I am taking a 75% pay cut, I am looking forward to having fun with the kids, not carrying a pager, not driving into work at 2 A.M. because a backhoe operator caused a massive power outage (which caused database servers to go onto UPS power), and of course summers off.
Everything in life is a tradeoff. Figure out what you want and what you are willing to give in trade. Also, don't forget to think about retirement. Do you have enough put away in your 401K? Also, don't forget about Cobra (HealthCare) costs. Cobra is about $1000/mo. to maintain health benefits. I can't stress the importance of health insurance enough.
Good Luck...
My advice in a nutshell: research, plan, gather resources, and execute!
I am not sure if you grew up in a country with Sesame Street, but they used to sing this little song called, "One of these things in not like the other, one of these things doesn't belong, Ooohhh one of these things is not like the other. Which one of these things could it be?"
:)
It's pretty sad when security comes down to running checksums and diffs. Why not install TRIPWIRE on all your boxes after you build them and just keep an eye on the reports? That way you don't have to boot from CD and run cumbersome tools.
Security is an Illusion. -me
Your power supply might fail if....
1. It came FREE with the $30 case with the blinky lights.
2. The power supply came in a low end Gateway.
3. The power supply came in a low end Dell.
4. The power supply might cost less than $30.
I'm done with the el'cheapo powersupplies and only buy Antec these days.
I no longer have access to ISP weblogs, but I seem to remember taking a browser census and noting that vistors from MS were indeed running Mozilla under Linux.
This makes sense and is consistent with the CIO's statement. Since each user is their own administrator, they are allowed to wipeout windows and run any Linux distro they want. They probably use use VMWARE or VirtualPC to host their Windows OS and quickly switch to full screen whenever a manager is around.
Hmmmmm, mine charges off USB just fine. If you use the small 4-wire firewire port, it won't charge. Are you sure you got your ports right?
I am attending college right now, I can definately tell you that XBOX + HALO2 + INTERNET = FAIL. The same can be said for EverQuest or EverQuest2 (aka EverCrack) on a PC. Computers are really, really bad for people with addictive personalities. Sorry, I write a longer comment, but my Guild needs me in battle........ :)
It's too bad that computer games can't be more educational.
The PTC is not the problem. The PTC is just striving to have the current "decency" rules enforced. The FCC rules (as written) have been largely ignored for years.
An analogy might be the RIAA and MPAA popping up after years of unchecked P2P filesharing and saying to the FBI, "Ahem, excuse us, there are some copyright laws that need to be enforced and here is a list of the infringements and infringers, please go get them."
So either change the rules to allow profanity, Janet Jackson's Boobs, and full uncensored graphic sex scenes or quit whining. The rules are the rules and the law is the law. Like it or not we are a nation of laws not a nation of whiners.
Also worth noting, even though the PTC is one organization, it is composed of 28 national chapters. It's not a single person, but an organization representing thousands and thousands of people. According to their website, the PTC isn't about censorship, but is about making the FCC enforce the existing rules. Again, if you don't like the existing rules, start another organization to get the rules changed. As long as these rules exist the potential to stop LCD (lowest common denominator) entertainment exists.
Personally, I think the latest crop of reality TV shows and new sitcoms is as low as we need to go on the taste scale but hey, I'm not the majority and your tastes may differ. Maybe the majority wants even dumber shows with more potty humor and a compulsory laugh track (in case you forget to laugh). Personally, I am down to three shows these days (2 Network, 1 Cable). TV has retarded to the point where I believe the mere act of watching it lowers your IQ by the hour.
Yeah, but you forget one thing... "IT is special." :)
It's a double edged sword for companies. In fact it is more of a Paradox, "How can you commoditize IT and then leverage IT to do great things at the same time? After all, the holy grail of business computers is a seamlessly integrated infrastructure.
A good techie is worth more than his paycheck. Companies that commoditized IT are starting to get stuck and see more downtime and experience more frustration in moving forward. IT is pretty much the lifeblood of the modern company. Without your applications and DATA your are dead.
I have been in the tech game for 10 years and am very good at it and can say from experience, it is amazing that most computing infrastructures run at all. Infrastructures around the US are turning into a streaming trails of unsupportable crap and mark my words, the collapse is coming. Hopefully, there will still be enough good techies left to put everything back together when it does happen.
Wikipedia at its best is an example of the Socratic Teaching Method in action, assuming of course there are smart "teachers" who read and correct the Wikipedia.
Wikipedia at its worst is a "populist" encyclopedia. You could also say the Internet is a giant encyclopedia and a search engine is the index, however the Internet as a whole contains a much higher level of error that Wikipedia.
Comparing Wikipedia to a Public Restroom is just unfair. The Internet maybe. Slashdot definately. Fark is more of an alternate reality. I just prefer to think of Wikipedia as the Socratic Populist Encyclopedia, where TRUTH is, what you YOU believe it to be. After all, many of the things we hold true, especially is science are WRONG and will eventually be updated with the new TRUTH. Also, History is written by whoever won the war. Wikipedia will give the losers a chance to tell their side of the story just as soon as they get Internet connectivity and electricity back.
Jon Stewart Daily Show 11/11/04 (It's still on the Bit Torrents, if you want to see it.)
I am not from Canada and don't know the legal system there and was wondering what are the odds the plantiff will acutally collect the damages? In America you can sue and get a judgement, but collecting the judgement is a whole different matter.
In fact, the Goldman's still can't get O.J. Simpson to pay up the 33 million dollars they won from him in a civil trial after the death of their son. I know that a judge can issue a bench warrant or declare someone in contempt for not showing up or paying, but that never seems to amount to much since the police don't actively try to find and arrest the person.
It's good to see Microsoft playing, "me too" instead of spinning FUD. I remember the days when MS would announce a vaporware technology just so they could stave off competition and play catchup to avoid any loss of market share. However, it looks like MS has slipped a bit and is now playing the "me too" game.
It's really sad that MS should have to do this when they have for all practical purposes an infinite R&D budget. Somone should tell MS that creating a "good" search tool infrastructure with desktop integration is a bit more complex than playing catchup by writing a webbrowser application.
I'm glad to see MS join this competition since it will only serve to make Google even more innovative. I think the Google is going to own the search and webmail market. Maybe it's time for Google to buy Amazon, Ebay, or Yahoo and really put the pedal to to the metal! Go Google! Go Google! Show MS nothing but tail lights!
"What's really needed is more of a strategic planning process that involves business executives and technologists," Spinelli said. Instead, security managers all too often offer "nothing by way of a long-term strategy" for IT security.
In just the first two paragraphs alone I was able to fill up my BULLSH*T BINGO card. Let's see if I can write a useless statements containing lots of buzzwords. What's really needed is a short term strategy with long term synergestic goals that transcend all layers of the organization and implement proactive world-class security. Yep, I still got it.
Just think, if executives had more of a strageic planning process for the business in general, then US companies might be healthier and stronger, instead of sacrificing the future for short-term profits.
I guess it is just a slooooow news day.
From the Microsoft License Agreement:
2. Enhancements and Updates
Other than any updates that Microsoft may publish at the URL location(s) for the Protocol(s) listed in Exhibit A, no other Microsoft enhancements or updates to Protocols and/or Technical Documentation are licensed under this Agreement. In the event Microsoft elects to make other such Microsoft enhancements or updates available, such enhancements or updates will only be licensed by Microsoft under a separate written agreement.
3. Licenses
3.1 Copyright License. To the extent Microsoft has copyrights in the Technical Documentation for the Licensed Protocols , Microsoft hereby grants You a non-exclusive, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, personal, worldwide license to make a reasonable number of complete copies of that Technical Documentation solely for use in developing Licensed Implementation(s).
3.2 Patent License. To the extent Microsoft has Necessary Claims, Microsoft hereby grants You a nonexclusive, royalty-free, non-sublicenseable, personal, worldwide license under those Necessary Claims to use the Technical Documentation for the Licensed Protocols to:
So in English, Microsoft is not claiming ownership of anything. They are just saying that they may or may not own something but you can license it from them anyway.
Additionally, this license offers no indemnifaction. Even if you license the 130 protocols listed from Microsoft, if there is a legal challenge on a patent, Microsoft isn't going to protect you (according this this agreement).
My last point is this does not cover Microsoft extensions or as them call them "updates" to protocols. Does this mean you are licensing whatever is in the public RFC from Microsoft and their version of the technical documentation?
It's all so strange.