Your suggestion is very likely a good one. However, he needs to clarify his question by answering mine:
What kind of work do you want to do?
For example, if he wants to code for embedded devices, then your suggestion is a good one and I'd recommend that he focus his efforts on learning a lower level (relatively speaking) language such as C. He should also make sure he has a good grasp of hardware design and algorithms.
On the other hand, if he wants to do web based coding, I'd recommend he try PHP, Ruby, Perl, and JSP to get a feel for each. Also, learn how to configure an Apache server, learn XHTML and CSS (don't need to be an expert), and learn your way around in all the popular DBMS's you can get your hands on. Make sure you know your RDBMS theory and algorithms pretty well. Learn about some of the common frameworks used for web programming (Rails, Struts, etc.)
If you want to do graphical coding for games or visual simulators, definitely dig into some of the more common libraries (OpenGL), etc, etc...
But, it is important to remember that my suggestions are going to be just as inaccurate as everyone else's suggestions because it really, REALLY depends on what kind of work you are looking for and what company you'd like to work for.
He'd better spend some time on specific training. Unless he plans to do graduate work, college is NOT meant for rounding out his knowledge. High school is getting a "well-rounded" education, not college. Perhaps you meant that he should study a diverse set of topics within his major, then I would agree with you. However, if his goal truly is to be as prepared as possible for a job once he leaves school, he should start by looking at the work involved and tracing back the skills from there.
"Sir, I'm sorry to inform you that this border does not support linux. You will have to return to your place of origin until such time that you install the latest version of Windows Vista Ultimate, Now With Extra Neato Security! (tm)."
/facepalm
My favorite was the time the Linksys tech support person told me that my router doesn't support linux. To which I responded, "The router is RUNNING linux, you know-nothing dweeb!" That call was not very productive...
The benefit would have gone to the democratic party. I really think that the SC democrats made a big mistake by turning him down. Think of how many additional viewers would have tuned in to watch the democratic debates in South Carolina just to see what happens. Think of how many more people would have heard the opinions and values of the democratic party. What would it have cost the democrats? The time that Colbert would have been allotted to speak is all I can think of. I doubt he would have been over the top or disrespectful. He would have been funny during his time to speak and that's it. I really think the democrats missed a good opportunity to get their message heard by more Americans.
I'm an avid Daily Show viewer, but I only watch the Colbert Report occasionally. I agree with one of my ancestor posts that he sometimes talks over his guests and that pisses me off. However, I think his other material is very funny and very valuable. Most people that "hate" Colbert don't understand his humor is all. They tune in expecting to see liberal clarity like what Jon Stewart provides and instead they get well hidden sarcasm preaching crazy conservativism. His show is a satire of Bill O'Reilly, plain and simple.
I saw an interview _of_ Colbert a few weeks after his show started (may have been Larry King) in which King out right asked, "Is this for real? Do you really believe this stuff?" Colbert didn't come right out and say it, but he basically said no. He even said that he doesn't allow his kids to watch his show because some of the things he says and the way he says them are things that he doesn't want his kids to mistakenly believe that their father really believes. Colbert does an excellent job of sharing views that are similar to most conservatives, but a little more warped, which should clue people in that he being satirical.
Take for instance his latest war on Halloween. He says that Halloween should be abolished because it is just a training ground for beggars. He calls Halloween the equivalent of a hobo Christmas. Very funny, in my opinion. But, he is making a bigger statement about the stupidity of some people who read too deeply into childish holiday traditions. Many conservatives despise Halloween because they equate it with the practices of pagan rituals, which must be evil since they don't believe in Christ.
What made Colbert really great in the beginning was that conservatives didn't understand that he was really satirical. They thought that he was just a conservative version of Jon Stewart, so they embraced him. They invited him to dinners and speaking engagements, only to have him do his bit of spouting off their beliefs, but in a twisted enough way that it made it difficult for anyone with a conscience to hold on to. The conservatives eventually wised up...
I think Colbert can be very funny at times. At times, he does go over the top and I want to tell him to STFU. But, for the most part he is very good for the American dialog.
If you really have an nvidia card, you should try 7.10. They make installing the drivers a breeze. Once you have the nvidia driver installed, install nvidia-config and use it to setup your funky display options. It is a great tool put out by nVidia. I have a side-by-side dual monitor setup at home set up with 7.04 (moving to 7.10 soon) and it works like a charm. Kudos to nVidia!
Admittedly, Clinton shouldn't have lied. But, impeaching him because he lied about a BJ is a waste of everyone's time. Bush lying about an illegal war and causing the deaths of thousands of American citizens and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths? Yeah, he should be drawn and quartered for that...
As near as I can tell, this not only requires you to be running either Windows or SUSE distros, it also requires you to run OpenOffice.org Novell Edition. "What the hell is that," you ask? That's a good question...
I have OO.o 2.3 installed and I tried using their extension anyway. Didn't seem to work...
I've always wondered how churches like that can rationalize spending money on a 20 foot screen with a nice projector and 18" subwoofer when that money could be applied to more useful pursuits such as helping the poor. Every time I drive past a church that is building a new multi-million dollar extension with fine architecture on expensive land I wonder the same thing. Why not give that money to single mothers trying to keep their families above water or drug rehabilitation programs or education programs for ex-convicts?
If you sit back and think of the dollars tied up in religious infrastructure, it is absolutely astounding. Ask yourself, if you combine the equity of all religious property within a 2 mile radius of your house, how much do you get? I know for me, I would estimate it at around 2 million...
I guess my first mistake was wondering how churches can _rationalize_ anything...
Obviously, you've never written a patch in your life... Submitting a bugfix via a text webform is akin to performing surgery by talking someone through it over a phone.
Is your patch "guaranteed to end up in main line code"? No, of course not. Is it likely to if your patch fixes a bug and works well with the rest of the system. Hell yes!
This "feedback" system is a joke and an insult to competent developers...
So right out of the bat, a standard nvidia video card, and the Intel a/b/g 3945, dont work out of the box.
The nvidia card not working in any way really isn't acceptable, I agree wholeheartedly. Are you sure you weren't hooked up to a KVM during install or didn't have the video plugged in during install? I've never had a problem like that happen with an nVidia card. nVidia truly has done nicely for the linux community and they should be applauded. Their drivers get easier and easier to install and once installed, their configuration utility is on par with any config utility in windows. I was easily able to set up a dual monitor setup using the Dell Ubuntu box I mentioned in the grandparent post. The only remaining thing I would ask of nVidia (and Ubuntu) is to work together to detect their GPU and install the nVidia driver at first installation. I mean, how hard would it be to do an lspci and then auto install the nVidia drivers. It would just take some coordination.
As for the Intel a/b/g 3945, that isn't really a fair assessment. I really recommend you install the latest Windows XP (or Vista) and see if that wireless card works. I'd bet you a bottle of wine that it doesn't! And, I bet you'd find all other wanky stuff not working in a fresh install of XP (sound, wired network card, touchpad, so on...).
Have you used windows lately and run into the "missing codec" type of error? Windows does NOT seek out the codec and automagically install it for you. You have to go through the same damn rigamarole that you do with Linux.
I purchased an XPS 410 box from Dell's Ubuntu page. I'm a pretty well versed Ubuntu user and I realized that if nothing else, I'd be buying a machine that I knew had linux compatible hardware. When I got the machine and started it up, I was very disappointed. Just like the parent said, there was NO configuration
done by Dell. They just installed the basic Ubuntu and shipped it with the system at the step where it asks for a user name and all that. I had to spend significant time configuring the NVidia drivers, sound card, and audio/video codecs (probably a few hours altogether). I would bet that it would take days for someone new to linux to figure out how to do all that. For shame Dell... How hard would it have been to configure Ubuntu with the right drivers at least and then ghost that system onto every box you shipped.
Another interesting note about comparing it to Windows and OS X... I installed Windows XP SP2 in a dual boot configuration so I could play some games. Good god almighty, setting up windows was painful. I must have visited a dozen different sites, downloading 200MB in drivers, before I got everything working. The damned network card didn't even work after the initial install. I had to boot into Ubuntu, save the network driver to a USB key and then boot back into Windows. Also, I've had the system set up for about 3 weeks now and I still can't get the sound to work in windows. I've looked all over the web for the right windows sound driver with 0 luck. As for OSX, I still haven't been able to even install it! Oh wait, OSX only runs on Apple hardware... My forgot. Seriously though, if anyone know how to get the sound working in windows on an XPS 410 box, please let me know!
For those of you who are touting this story as a demonstration of linux's failure on the desktop, sod off. This wasn't a failure on the part of linux or ubuntu. This was a failure on the part of Dell in not providing a fully installed and configured system.
As a review for the Dell XPS 410:
After a Windows XP fresh install:
Network card: not working
Video card: working but at 1024x768 with no 3d acceleration
Sound card: not working (still not working, even after weeks of trying to find a driver)
After a Ubuntu fresh install:
Network card: working
Video card: working, but at 1024x768 with no 3d acceleration
Sound card: working (although it was muted by default which may confuse some users)
But see, that's just it... They aren't creating an open standard. They are acting like they are creating an open standard, but since it requires several proprietary pieces to work, it is really proprietary. The result is a harder time explaining to non-technical folks the negatives of locking up your content in M$'s proprietary formats and more wasted time for OO.o developers who have to reverse engineer the proprietary elements in OOXML. OOXML is proprietary, plain and simple.
They should be rejected and beaten for trying to pull a fast one on consumers.
Umm, you make this sound like it is some game to be won... Do you really go around wearing a T-shirt that states your current Slashdot karma? Who cares who gets points and who doesn't? That is NOT the purpose of the moderation system...
Seriously, you should try to get out a bit more.
Just put normal scotch tape over it. It will absorb some of the intensity of LED's but still let you see the LED state when you want to know. I used to have a Shuttle XPC box in my room that kept me awake at night (their LED's are very bright). Just a little square of scotch tape and I was sleeping through the night again.
I know what you mean about calling Tech Support. Even companies like Linksys is guilty since configuring their routers has nothing to do with your OS. The fact of the matter is that tech support will adapt or lose customers. If an ISP starts getting calls for Linux support and they just say, "whoops we don't support linux," customers will respond with, "whoops my credit card doesn't support your monthly bills anymore..."
This comment thread is like finger nails on a chalk board. I bet 85% of the people in here bitching about OO.o not being a good enough office suite to use because it doesn't have feature X or it doesn't look nice have not used OO.o in the last 6 months!
Seriously, go download it and install it RIGHT NOW. It IS well polished and it DOES open M$ Office docs well. I think that the real problem in here is that you folks with diarrhea of the mouth used the BETA version of OO.o and have just assumed that the *now* 2.0 version has not improved on anything. Go try it out. The only part of it that isn't ready for the home or office is the Access replacement, and that's because it is really new.
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Your suggestion is very likely a good one. However, he needs to clarify his question by answering mine:
What kind of work do you want to do?
For example, if he wants to code for embedded devices, then your suggestion is a good one and I'd recommend that he focus his efforts on learning a lower level (relatively speaking) language such as C. He should also make sure he has a good grasp of hardware design and algorithms.
On the other hand, if he wants to do web based coding, I'd recommend he try PHP, Ruby, Perl, and JSP to get a feel for each. Also, learn how to configure an Apache server, learn XHTML and CSS (don't need to be an expert), and learn your way around in all the popular DBMS's you can get your hands on. Make sure you know your RDBMS theory and algorithms pretty well. Learn about some of the common frameworks used for web programming (Rails, Struts, etc.)
If you want to do graphical coding for games or visual simulators, definitely dig into some of the more common libraries (OpenGL), etc, etc...
But, it is important to remember that my suggestions are going to be just as inaccurate as everyone else's suggestions because it really, REALLY depends on what kind of work you are looking for and what company you'd like to work for.
He'd better spend some time on specific training. Unless he plans to do graduate work, college is NOT meant for rounding out his knowledge. High school is getting a "well-rounded" education, not college. Perhaps you meant that he should study a diverse set of topics within his major, then I would agree with you. However, if his goal truly is to be as prepared as possible for a job once he leaves school, he should start by looking at the work involved and tracing back the skills from there.
I can see it now...
"Please power on your laptop, sir"
*click*
"Sir, I'm sorry to inform you that this border does not support linux. You will have to return to your place of origin until such time that you install the latest version of Windows Vista Ultimate, Now With Extra Neato Security! (tm)."
/facepalm
My favorite was the time the Linksys tech support person told me that my router doesn't support linux. To which I responded, "The router is RUNNING linux, you know-nothing dweeb!" That call was not very productive...
The benefit would have gone to the democratic party. I really think that the SC democrats made a big mistake by turning him down. Think of how many additional viewers would have tuned in to watch the democratic debates in South Carolina just to see what happens. Think of how many more people would have heard the opinions and values of the democratic party. What would it have cost the democrats? The time that Colbert would have been allotted to speak is all I can think of. I doubt he would have been over the top or disrespectful. He would have been funny during his time to speak and that's it. I really think the democrats missed a good opportunity to get their message heard by more Americans.
I'm an avid Daily Show viewer, but I only watch the Colbert Report occasionally. I agree with one of my ancestor posts that he sometimes talks over his guests and that pisses me off. However, I think his other material is very funny and very valuable. Most people that "hate" Colbert don't understand his humor is all. They tune in expecting to see liberal clarity like what Jon Stewart provides and instead they get well hidden sarcasm preaching crazy conservativism. His show is a satire of Bill O'Reilly, plain and simple.
I saw an interview _of_ Colbert a few weeks after his show started (may have been Larry King) in which King out right asked, "Is this for real? Do you really believe this stuff?" Colbert didn't come right out and say it, but he basically said no. He even said that he doesn't allow his kids to watch his show because some of the things he says and the way he says them are things that he doesn't want his kids to mistakenly believe that their father really believes. Colbert does an excellent job of sharing views that are similar to most conservatives, but a little more warped, which should clue people in that he being satirical.
Take for instance his latest war on Halloween. He says that Halloween should be abolished because it is just a training ground for beggars. He calls Halloween the equivalent of a hobo Christmas. Very funny, in my opinion. But, he is making a bigger statement about the stupidity of some people who read too deeply into childish holiday traditions. Many conservatives despise Halloween because they equate it with the practices of pagan rituals, which must be evil since they don't believe in Christ.
What made Colbert really great in the beginning was that conservatives didn't understand that he was really satirical. They thought that he was just a conservative version of Jon Stewart, so they embraced him. They invited him to dinners and speaking engagements, only to have him do his bit of spouting off their beliefs, but in a twisted enough way that it made it difficult for anyone with a conscience to hold on to. The conservatives eventually wised up...
I think Colbert can be very funny at times. At times, he does go over the top and I want to tell him to STFU. But, for the most part he is very good for the American dialog.
If you really have an nvidia card, you should try 7.10. They make installing the drivers a breeze. Once you have the nvidia driver installed, install nvidia-config and use it to setup your funky display options. It is a great tool put out by nVidia. I have a side-by-side dual monitor setup at home set up with 7.04 (moving to 7.10 soon) and it works like a charm. Kudos to nVidia!
Admittedly, Clinton shouldn't have lied. But, impeaching him because he lied about a BJ is a waste of everyone's time. Bush lying about an illegal war and causing the deaths of thousands of American citizens and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths? Yeah, he should be drawn and quartered for that...
What's your take on http://www.openmoko.org/?
As near as I can tell, this not only requires you to be running either Windows or SUSE distros, it also requires you to run OpenOffice.org Novell Edition. "What the hell is that," you ask? That's a good question...
I have OO.o 2.3 installed and I tried using their extension anyway. Didn't seem to work...
Novell is losing browny points for this one...
I've always wondered how churches like that can rationalize spending money on a 20 foot screen with a nice projector and 18" subwoofer when that money could be applied to more useful pursuits such as helping the poor. Every time I drive past a church that is building a new multi-million dollar extension with fine architecture on expensive land I wonder the same thing. Why not give that money to single mothers trying to keep their families above water or drug rehabilitation programs or education programs for ex-convicts?
If you sit back and think of the dollars tied up in religious infrastructure, it is absolutely astounding. Ask yourself, if you combine the equity of all religious property within a 2 mile radius of your house, how much do you get? I know for me, I would estimate it at around 2 million...
I guess my first mistake was wondering how churches can _rationalize_ anything...
Who Would Jesus Frag?
I'd love to go to one of these things, name my guy Jesus, and then berate anyone who frags me. "How dare you slay the son of god!?!?!?!?!"
I was always partial to "Space Bucks"...
PIZZA THE HUT!
Or do you simply know WAAAAAAAY too much about Coolio and Weird Al?
Obviously, you've never written a patch in your life... Submitting a bugfix via a text webform is akin to performing surgery by talking someone through it over a phone.
Is your patch "guaranteed to end up in main line code"? No, of course not. Is it likely to if your patch fixes a bug and works well with the rest of the system. Hell yes!
This "feedback" system is a joke and an insult to competent developers...
The nvidia card not working in any way really isn't acceptable, I agree wholeheartedly. Are you sure you weren't hooked up to a KVM during install or didn't have the video plugged in during install? I've never had a problem like that happen with an nVidia card. nVidia truly has done nicely for the linux community and they should be applauded. Their drivers get easier and easier to install and once installed, their configuration utility is on par with any config utility in windows. I was easily able to set up a dual monitor setup using the Dell Ubuntu box I mentioned in the grandparent post. The only remaining thing I would ask of nVidia (and Ubuntu) is to work together to detect their GPU and install the nVidia driver at first installation. I mean, how hard would it be to do an lspci and then auto install the nVidia drivers. It would just take some coordination.
As for the Intel a/b/g 3945, that isn't really a fair assessment. I really recommend you install the latest Windows XP (or Vista) and see if that wireless card works. I'd bet you a bottle of wine that it doesn't! And, I bet you'd find all other wanky stuff not working in a fresh install of XP (sound, wired network card, touchpad, so on...).
Have you used windows lately and run into the "missing codec" type of error? Windows does NOT seek out the codec and automagically install it for you. You have to go through the same damn rigamarole that you do with Linux.
done by Dell. They just installed the basic Ubuntu and shipped it with the system at the step where it asks for a user name and all that. I had to spend significant time configuring the NVidia drivers, sound card, and audio/video codecs (probably a few hours altogether). I would bet that it would take days for someone new to linux to figure out how to do all that. For shame Dell... How hard would it have been to configure Ubuntu with the right drivers at least and then ghost that system onto every box you shipped.
Another interesting note about comparing it to Windows and OS X... I installed Windows XP SP2 in a dual boot configuration so I could play some games. Good god almighty, setting up windows was painful. I must have visited a dozen different sites, downloading 200MB in drivers, before I got everything working. The damned network card didn't even work after the initial install. I had to boot into Ubuntu, save the network driver to a USB key and then boot back into Windows. Also, I've had the system set up for about 3 weeks now and I still can't get the sound to work in windows. I've looked all over the web for the right windows sound driver with 0 luck. As for OSX, I still haven't been able to even install it! Oh wait, OSX only runs on Apple hardware... My forgot. Seriously though, if anyone know how to get the sound working in windows on an XPS 410 box, please let me know!
For those of you who are touting this story as a demonstration of linux's failure on the desktop, sod off. This wasn't a failure on the part of linux or ubuntu. This was a failure on the part of Dell in not providing a fully installed and configured system.
As a review for the Dell XPS 410:
After a Windows XP fresh install:- Network card: not working
- Video card: working but at 1024x768 with no 3d acceleration
- Sound card: not working (still not working, even after weeks of trying to find a driver)
After a Ubuntu fresh install:But see, that's just it... They aren't creating an open standard. They are acting like they are creating an open standard, but since it requires several proprietary pieces to work, it is really proprietary. The result is a harder time explaining to non-technical folks the negatives of locking up your content in M$'s proprietary formats and more wasted time for OO.o developers who have to reverse engineer the proprietary elements in OOXML. OOXML is proprietary, plain and simple.
They should be rejected and beaten for trying to pull a fast one on consumers.
Umm, you make this sound like it is some game to be won... Do you really go around wearing a T-shirt that states your current Slashdot karma? Who cares who gets points and who doesn't? That is NOT the purpose of the moderation system... Seriously, you should try to get out a bit more.
Don't forget the breathalyser! *hic*
They just announced the name of Vista's successor... Microsoft Vaporware. Vista was the end folks...
Just put normal scotch tape over it. It will absorb some of the intensity of LED's but still let you see the LED state when you want to know. I used to have a Shuttle XPC box in my room that kept me awake at night (their LED's are very bright). Just a little square of scotch tape and I was sleeping through the night again.
Probably just an old hang over from pre-Internet patch distribution methods... There's no excuse for them not to get with the times...
I know what you mean about calling Tech Support. Even companies like Linksys is guilty since configuring their routers has nothing to do with your OS. The fact of the matter is that tech support will adapt or lose customers. If an ISP starts getting calls for Linux support and they just say, "whoops we don't support linux," customers will respond with, "whoops my credit card doesn't support your monthly bills anymore..."
This comment thread is like finger nails on a chalk board. I bet 85% of the people in here bitching about OO.o not being a good enough office suite to use because it doesn't have feature X or it doesn't look nice have not used OO.o in the last 6 months!
Seriously, go download it and install it RIGHT NOW. It IS well polished and it DOES open M$ Office docs well. I think that the real problem in here is that you folks with diarrhea of the mouth used the BETA version of OO.o and have just assumed that the *now* 2.0 version has not improved on anything. Go try it out. The only part of it that isn't ready for the home or office is the Access replacement, and that's because it is really new.