Gone are the days when having a computer science degree was a license to riches. People in the service sector, eg. waiting tables can make more money than a grad. So what!
I've been programming etc for over 20 years and I could probably make more money by driving a truck; various trades such as plumbing, electrician,...
It takes a shitload of energy to make PV. First you need to mealt sand to make the silicon, then dope it (baking it in a furnace for hours)... This uses a lot of energy. The energy payback time for most PV processes is many years (this also keeps the $/W high). Hopefully though some of the lower cost processes will come to fruition some time. Who cares if they are low efficiency - I'd just tile my whole house with the stuff, so long as the $/W is right.
I live in an area with no coverage. When I get into coverage, my cell phone starts talking to the network and you hear various beeps etc come through the car audio system. This also happens when the phone acknowledges an incoming call. This still happens when there is a tape playing (ie radio off), which means that this signal is pretty huge.
About ten years ago there way a posting on sci.electronics where a guy who is an EE and a private pilot claimed that he could set up his autopilot to steer towards a radio beacon, then manipulate the plane's direction by playing with a regular FM radio. An FM radio only has a weak local oscillator.
So, personally I'd rather be a coward and keep those damn phones off.
As long as programmers are seen as a commodity there are going to be problems. This is not just an outsourcing problem. The problem has been with us (programmers) for a long time and in other industries forever. The solution is to find a way to add value and have it recognised.
For example let's look at the people making hazel nuts. If the buyers are just stuffing the nuts into chocolate bars to meet some percentage quota then they will source the cheapest nuts (from Turkey or wherever). That makes it hard for producers from other places, perhaps making superior nuts. Just saying "our nuts are better" is enough since the buyer is only buying on price. To get the buyer to buy your nuts means adding value in a way that the buyer actually sees and is wiling to pay for the advantage. eg. you could be selling organic nuts, which the buyer will pay a premium for, for inclusion in organic chocolate.
Now since programming began the commoditisation problem has been with us. Why should I pay for an experienced programmer when I can get a college grad for half the price? We all know that the best programmers outperform the worst programmers by a factor of at least 10:1 yet you won't find a 10:1 pay differential. Commoditisation is driven mainly by management models which like to think of standardised programmers and headcount since otherwise making those project charts etc is just too damn hard. This unfortunately means that we see a drive towards headcount oriented planning, budgeting and resourcing. I can get 10 Indians for the cost of a programmer in California, so I buy Indians.
The only way to decommoditise is to add value, in a way that the buyer can understand. Show how you saved the company $5 million last year by doing xxx. Know the stats of revenue/programmer and show that you outperform the average by a factor of 5:1. Part of decomoditising is to educate (or select) your buyer. This is hardest in large corporations. It is also important to be able to back your value statements with facts("Americans are better than Indians" is not enough). Good luck
Most insurance companies could not afford a huge bunch of claims caused by a common event and thus get underwriting from other insurance companies to spread the load. For example, a company that provides house insurance in a particular area could get completely wiped out by a tornado/earthquake whatever, so they reinsure with other companies to spread the load around.
The whole idea behingd insurance (like any biiz) is to make money. The insurance folk just do this by selling risk reduction. They then get reinsured by other companies. In effect you can think of the insurance companies providing this Linux service as just brokers since if there are claims, they won't be paying the whole sum directly.
No I don't think Edison invented the light bulb though he did make some improvements and perhaps made it into a practical system. Edison did have a wonderous PR system to try get his way over others. For example he proposed DC power to houses which is a very dumb idea. AC is way better for reticulation (though DC is quite handy for long distance [hundreds of miles]). To try get his way he laid on demos showing cats and dogs being killed with AC. He also pushed for the electric chair to be AC powered to prove that AC was deadly. At the same voltages, DC is way more dangerous than AC.
As for who invented powered flight, well I couldn't care, but insisting on photographic proof is pretty daft. I expect the photographic proof got lost in the same place as Bush's WDM.
Sure the patent was wrongly allowed. MS should never have been given the patent. However the USPTO did give them the patent and it stands, and is enforceable until successfully challenged and overturned.
I don't think the Unisys thing would be considered anti-trust since they did not use a position of power to influence the uptake of GIF. (ie. they didn't say "we own graphics so you better use GIF").
While the patent stands it impacts on any device/product that implements FAT. Examples: Operating systems that implement FAT; CDs with such software; PCs loaded with such software; cameras, MP3 players etc with Compact Flash/SmartMedia etc cards; media (floppy disks, Compact Flash, SmartMedia cards,...) pre-formatted with FAT.
Lieke Edison "inventing" the light bulb etc, the true history of invention can be adjusted by suitable PR. The problem with a patent is that it stands until it is overturned. That MS only got the patent in 1996 means that they must have fought a long hard battle (like the Texas Instrument microchip one) to get the patent.
Why wait until now to pursue it? Well if they'd kicked off an action in 1996 the mass of consumer electronic devices (cameras, MP3s etc) would likely not have adopted FAT.
Microsoft has actively participated in various forums to get the world hooked on FAT. Now they're wanting to charge for it.... Part of how they got there was by exerting their power over the desktops (which smells of anti-trust). For example FAT is part of the SmartMedia spec and has got incorporated into SmartMedia cards and hence the peripherals. I bet Microsoft would have refused to get involved with a non-FAT file system and essentiually the camera etc vendors had to choose between some other standard and being able to hook their cameras to Windows PCs.
Now there are a lot of other flash file systems out there that work with SmartMedia cards etc, but they are not supported by MS and never will be.
No they got screwed by MS. Novell put together some great systems on top of MS, but MS eroded their value by making it difficult for Novell technically as well as by releasing competitive product at lower costs etc.
Nobody else in Linuxland has the experience in corporate desktop system deployment that Novell has. Providing a full corporate service is more than just technology.
If anyone can make this happen it is Novell. They understand the corporate market better than anyone and can deliver corporate desktop solutions that work and have a name that people trust.
The things that nobody wants to do, but somebody has to.
That is very true, in fact is the truest statement I've seen on this matter. That extra bit of hand holding really makes a lot of difference.
I recently installed a new CDwrite. Old one croaked. It would not work with the version of cdrecord + xcdroast I had installed which then meant going scrounge around for a new version and installing it (took a while). With Winshit I've have got away with bunging in the CDROM that came in the box.
Maybe you should just be grateful you got to keep your overpaid position for so long and that you get to keep it for another month while you train your replacement.
You don't need a full blown OS to run a web server. Indeed Microchip has an appnote showing how you can run a web server on a PIC micro. The whole thing fits in the backshell of a D9 connector. (ie. less than 1sq inch of real estate). Sure it is limited, but is is a web server.
Considering people claim to be able to tell the difference between a Stratovarius (spelling?) and an inferior wooden violin, I'm sure phonophiles will be able to tell the difference between a wooden and titanium speaker (well, will at least be sucked up to by sales droids to open their wallets and pay for the wooden ones).
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Why would they be serious about a grad (ie. no experience). There is nothing "gotta have" about a grad.
I've been programming etc for over 20 years and I could probably make more money by driving a truck; various trades such as plumbing, electrician, ...
It takes a shitload of energy to make PV. First you need to mealt sand to make the silicon, then dope it (baking it in a furnace for hours)... This uses a lot of energy. The energy payback time for most PV processes is many years (this also keeps the $/W high). Hopefully though some of the lower cost processes will come to fruition some time. Who cares if they are low efficiency - I'd just tile my whole house with the stuff, so long as the $/W is right.
About ten years ago there way a posting on sci.electronics where a guy who is an EE and a private pilot claimed that he could set up his autopilot to steer towards a radio beacon, then manipulate the plane's direction by playing with a regular FM radio. An FM radio only has a weak local oscillator.
So, personally I'd rather be a coward and keep those damn phones off.
Getting PC with penguins? Flight challenged, swimming enhanced birds.
I'd give my left ball for getting only 32% spam. My current rate is over 70%.
For example let's look at the people making hazel nuts. If the buyers are just stuffing the nuts into chocolate bars to meet some percentage quota then they will source the cheapest nuts (from Turkey or wherever). That makes it hard for producers from other places, perhaps making superior nuts. Just saying "our nuts are better" is enough since the buyer is only buying on price. To get the buyer to buy your nuts means adding value in a way that the buyer actually sees and is wiling to pay for the advantage. eg. you could be selling organic nuts, which the buyer will pay a premium for, for inclusion in organic chocolate.
Now since programming began the commoditisation problem has been with us. Why should I pay for an experienced programmer when I can get a college grad for half the price? We all know that the best programmers outperform the worst programmers by a factor of at least 10:1 yet you won't find a 10:1 pay differential. Commoditisation is driven mainly by management models which like to think of standardised programmers and headcount since otherwise making those project charts etc is just too damn hard. This unfortunately means that we see a drive towards headcount oriented planning, budgeting and resourcing. I can get 10 Indians for the cost of a programmer in California, so I buy Indians.
The only way to decommoditise is to add value, in a way that the buyer can understand. Show how you saved the company $5 million last year by doing xxx. Know the stats of revenue/programmer and show that you outperform the average by a factor of 5:1. Part of decomoditising is to educate (or select) your buyer. This is hardest in large corporations. It is also important to be able to back your value statements with facts("Americans are better than Indians" is not enough). Good luck
The whole idea behingd insurance (like any biiz) is to make money. The insurance folk just do this by selling risk reduction. They then get reinsured by other companies. In effect you can think of the insurance companies providing this Linux service as just brokers since if there are claims, they won't be paying the whole sum directly.
As for who invented powered flight, well I couldn't care, but insisting on photographic proof is pretty daft. I expect the photographic proof got lost in the same place as Bush's WDM.
Sure the patent was wrongly allowed. MS should never have been given the patent. However the USPTO did give them the patent and it stands, and is enforceable until successfully challenged and overturned.
I don't think the Unisys thing would be considered anti-trust since they did not use a position of power to influence the uptake of GIF. (ie. they didn't say "we own graphics so you better use GIF").
While the patent stands it impacts on any device/product that implements FAT. Examples: Operating systems that implement FAT; CDs with such software; PCs loaded with such software; cameras, MP3 players etc with Compact Flash/SmartMedia etc cards; media (floppy disks, Compact Flash, SmartMedia cards,...) pre-formatted with FAT.
Why wait until now to pursue it? Well if they'd kicked off an action in 1996 the mass of consumer electronic devices (cameras, MP3s etc) would likely not have adopted FAT.
Microsoft has actively participated in various forums to get the world hooked on FAT. Now they're wanting to charge for it.... Part of how they got there was by exerting their power over the desktops (which smells of anti-trust). For example FAT is part of the SmartMedia spec and has got incorporated into SmartMedia cards and hence the peripherals. I bet Microsoft would have refused to get involved with a non-FAT file system and essentiually the camera etc vendors had to choose between some other standard and being able to hook their cameras to Windows PCs.
Now there are a lot of other flash file systems out there that work with SmartMedia cards etc, but they are not supported by MS and never will be.
Nobody else in Linuxland has the experience in corporate desktop system deployment that Novell has. Providing a full corporate service is more than just technology.
If anyone can make this happen it is Novell. They understand the corporate market better than anyone and can deliver corporate desktop solutions that work and have a name that people trust.
That is very true, in fact is the truest statement I've seen on this matter. That extra bit of hand holding really makes a lot of difference.
I recently installed a new CDwrite. Old one croaked. It would not work with the version of cdrecord + xcdroast I had installed which then meant going scrounge around for a new version and installing it (took a while). With Winshit I've have got away with bunging in the CDROM that came in the box.
The only thing I'd use this for is to run WINE to get my favourite Winshit apps running under .... wait a minute!
I switched to an energy efficient computer to save on CO2, but now I'm going to cut down a rail foreest to make the box?
Maybe you should just be grateful you got to keep your overpaid position for so long and that you get to keep it for another month while you train your replacement.
The PIC one can only handle one connection at a time I think. Not much challenge to /. it :-).
The PIC used only has 8 pins (SO8 package).
You don't need a full blown OS to run a web server. Indeed Microchip has an appnote showing how you can run a web server on a PIC micro. The whole thing fits in the backshell of a D9 connector. (ie. less than 1sq inch of real estate). Sure it is limited, but is is a web server.
Mainly a "because we can" thing. Now all them nerds can make a Beowulf cluster while riding the subway.
Considering people claim to be able to tell the difference between a Stratovarius (spelling?) and an inferior wooden violin, I'm sure phonophiles will be able to tell the difference between a wooden and titanium speaker (well, will at least be sucked up to by sales droids to open their wallets and pay for the wooden ones).
Drink enough sake and you will not see any cracks.