A long time ago, I took a class examining SF and one of the core principles presented was that science fiction was not so much about technology but rather the interplay/impact of tech and society. It was more about predicting traffic jams that automobiles.
We've seen so much tech as plot device (e.g., ST:TNG) that we've forgotten why tech was compelling in the first place. IMO, it's somewhat analo.gous to the tech bubble in the stock market. People were creating formulaic e-businesses (Selling dog foot on the internet? really?) without really thinking about the business side of things. Similarly, we see a lot of technology-based stories where the emphasis was more on the technology than the story. What made HAL interesting wasn't that he could autonomously manage a space ship or had a voice interface. What was fascinating was that a computer could become neurotic to the point of being homocidal.
When writers start writing stories based on plot and characters rather than some twist on technology, that's when we'll see a resurgence of futurist SF, mainly because the stories will be compelling...to both readers and entrepreneurs.
"In what way does this company most resemble Dilbert?"
It's been my favorite question for over a decade for several reasons:
It's not one that the interviewer is prepared for (though I suppose I've given that one away sharing it here)
The interviewer's expression when asked the question is very telling
It's a polite way of forcing the interviewer to be critical of his company
I once had an interviewer (the guy who'd be my boss) tell me that he didn't read Dilbert. I failed to recognize that red flag and took the job. Needless to say, it didn't turn out so well.
Internal, in-house software is rarely important enough to justify hiring rock stars. Nobody hires Dolly Parton to sing at weddings. That's why the most satisfying careers, if you're a software developer, are at actual software companies, not doing IT for some bank.
Define "cheap". I recently got a Buffalo LinkStation (120 gigs + expandable via USB2 external drive) for $300 shipped - $50 rebate. You can get a non-expandable 80 gig NAS box for a bit over $200.
It's still a significant premium over a recycled Linux box with a big drive but it's a lot easier to provide uninterrupted power to a device that only draws 17W (and is the size of a largish book).
I got one last summmer. It had some nasty firmware bug that caused it to lock up. I exchanged it and the second one had a similar problem. It's a good thing that the open source community has written new firmware 'cause the OEM stuff was crap. Playlists sucked and navigation was a pain. My Creative Jukebox, though far from perfect, is much more usable. The one cool thing about the Archos was that you didn't need special software to move files around.
If you're looking something to run with, I'd go with a non disk-based player. You just put the files on CF, SD, MMC, etc and put it in the player and you don't have to worry about whether the player itself has Linux support.
Like you, I'm a longtime Palm owner (back when they were still PalmPilots). I've also owned a Palm V and M505. Actually, I've owned three 505s. The first one had the power button get stuck so I couldn't turn it off (and the auto-off feature doesn't work when the power button is pushed). The second one (the first was still under warrantee) never powered up. I sent it back and the third one worked until last week. It now seems to think that the top of the screen is about 128 pixels from the top so I effectively have a 160x32 screen. Not very useful.
I'm fed up with Palm's lack of quality and don't plan to own another Palm-manufactured device. Tomorrow I'm going to go out and buy a Clie. I like the Palm OS and figure that Sony knows how to build consumer electronics.
Where once project is broken down into may parts and when you use another part, you don't see source but just get a library.
Even when you don't have "source" you still have header files.
That being said, I hope I never have to use C++ again.
I'm a Java developer so all the arguments about VC++ (which I've used in the past) and Win32 APIs are pretty non-compelling. Since my preferred IDE is written in Java (Forte), I can run it on pretty much anything that runs Java 2. Even so, I'd rather develop on Windoze because of the availability of non-development software.
Let's face it, there's a lot more to being a professional software developer than just slinging code. Interfacing with "business" folks is as important as writing tight code. If you don't have the ability to do that efficiently, your product won't be successful.
If you're not writing platform-neutral code, you should be working on the target platform. Regardless of how you feel about VC++, if you're writing something that runs on Win32, you should develop on Win32, not Linux, regardless of how you feel about the tools and environment.
IANAL but I recall reading an article just this week warning employers that they are liable for the "malpractice" of the independently contracted security investigators.
Of course, litigation (or threats of litigation) doesn't exactly endear you to your new employer...
At least you were able to get their sales people on the phone. I left a sales dude a voice mail and an email message. It took an email to the president (president@flashcom.com) to get the lame excuse that their voice mail is unreliable and he didn't get my email. Lost email?!? Why would I want them as my ISP? At least I found out how crappy they were before I signed a contract with them.
Jon Bentley is undoubtedly the best speaker I've ever heard on programming topics. I believe that's a tall compliment since I also had the pleasure of attending a couple Grace Hopper lectures.
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A long time ago, I took a class examining SF and one of the core principles presented was that science fiction was not so much about technology but rather the interplay/impact of tech and society. It was more about predicting traffic jams that automobiles.
We've seen so much tech as plot device (e.g., ST:TNG) that we've forgotten why tech was compelling in the first place. IMO, it's somewhat analo.gous to the tech bubble in the stock market. People were creating formulaic e-businesses (Selling dog foot on the internet? really?) without really thinking about the business side of things. Similarly, we see a lot of technology-based stories where the emphasis was more on the technology than the story. What made HAL interesting wasn't that he could autonomously manage a space ship or had a voice interface. What was fascinating was that a computer could become neurotic to the point of being homocidal.
When writers start writing stories based on plot and characters rather than some twist on technology, that's when we'll see a resurgence of futurist SF, mainly because the stories will be compelling...to both readers and entrepreneurs.
"In what way does this company most resemble Dilbert?"
It's been my favorite question for over a decade for several reasons:
I once had an interviewer (the guy who'd be my boss) tell me that he didn't read Dilbert. I failed to recognize that red flag and took the job. Needless to say, it didn't turn out so well.
I don't think that net energy is the idea. Rather, it's a way to have an indoor fireplace that doesn't need a gas line or ventilation.
That's what the "Archive" feature is for. It'll appear under the label and under "All Mail" but not in your inbox.
Define "cheap". I recently got a Buffalo LinkStation (120 gigs + expandable via USB2 external drive) for $300 shipped - $50 rebate. You can get a non-expandable 80 gig NAS box for a bit over $200.
It's still a significant premium over a recycled Linux box with a big drive but it's a lot easier to provide uninterrupted power to a device that only draws 17W (and is the size of a largish book).
I got one last summmer. It had some nasty firmware bug that caused it to lock up. I exchanged it and the second one had a similar problem. It's a good thing that the open source community has written new firmware 'cause the OEM stuff was crap. Playlists sucked and navigation was a pain. My Creative Jukebox, though far from perfect, is much more usable. The one cool thing about the Archos was that you didn't need special software to move files around.
If you're looking something to run with, I'd go with a non disk-based player. You just put the files on CF, SD, MMC, etc and put it in the player and you don't have to worry about whether the player itself has Linux support.
Like you, I'm a longtime Palm owner (back when they were still PalmPilots). I've also owned a Palm V and M505. Actually, I've owned three 505s. The first one had the power button get stuck so I couldn't turn it off (and the auto-off feature doesn't work when the power button is pushed). The second one (the first was still under warrantee) never powered up. I sent it back and the third one worked until last week. It now seems to think that the top of the screen is about 128 pixels from the top so I effectively have a 160x32 screen. Not very useful.
I'm fed up with Palm's lack of quality and don't plan to own another Palm-manufactured device. Tomorrow I'm going to go out and buy a Clie. I like the Palm OS and figure that Sony knows how to build consumer electronics.
So they cancelled Lone Gunmen to bring back a previously-cancelled show whose triumphant return lasted all of one season. Brilliant.
We have the same thing going here in Denver. Any resolution failures default to attbi.com.
Not on TV right now but I'm gonna have to get the DVD sets.
Where once project is broken down into may parts and when you use another part, you don't see source but just get a library. Even when you don't have "source" you still have header files. That being said, I hope I never have to use C++ again.
I'm a Java developer so all the arguments about VC++ (which I've used in the past) and Win32 APIs are pretty non-compelling. Since my preferred IDE is written in Java (Forte), I can run it on pretty much anything that runs Java 2. Even so, I'd rather develop on Windoze because of the availability of non-development software.
Let's face it, there's a lot more to being a professional software developer than just slinging code. Interfacing with "business" folks is as important as writing tight code. If you don't have the ability to do that efficiently, your product won't be successful.
If you're not writing platform-neutral code, you should be working on the target platform. Regardless of how you feel about VC++, if you're writing something that runs on Win32, you should develop on Win32, not Linux, regardless of how you feel about the tools and environment.
IANAL but I recall reading an article just this week warning employers that they are liable for the "malpractice" of the independently contracted security investigators.
Of course, litigation (or threats of litigation) doesn't exactly endear you to your new employer...
At least you were able to get their sales people on the phone. I left a sales dude a voice mail and an email message. It took an email to the president (president@flashcom.com) to get the lame excuse that their voice mail is unreliable and he didn't get my email. Lost email?!? Why would I want them as my ISP? At least I found out how crappy they were before I signed a contract with them.
Jon Bentley is undoubtedly the best speaker I've ever heard on programming topics. I believe that's a tall compliment since I also had the pleasure of attending a couple Grace Hopper lectures.