To be honest, it's stories like this that make my hesitant to go the IT route now that I'm in college, though I think I'd enjoy it. I wonder if there are others with me, and how big of an effect this might have in the supply of IT workers in coming decades?
Unfounded. You're better off worrying about how the job market will be about the time you graduate; you want to leave the "decades" part to, I don't know, Gartner analysts.:-)
Just be the best in whatever you do, have a head above the water, notice where things are headed, and maximise your returns from the situation. Trust me, this is one of those things that is actually easier than that it sounds; I, of course, speak as someone who graduated a year back in a reasonably bad downturn.
If you truly wanted to know more about someone, then open your mouth and ask that someone.
Heheh. I speak as an Indian of course, but I believe this is more a cultural thing than anything else; somehow, as the Brit-born Indian author Ruskin Bond puts it, being nosey is a sign of friendship among Indians. You can immediately notice it if you, say, enter an intra-city bus in India; you get scanned from head to toe by everyone around. Most international travellers get spooked by that, but really, curiousity is, apparently, a sign of friendship.
Of course, intra-bus cultural nuances get complicated once you extrapolate them to the Internet and get professional about all this snooping.
Focus on improving your technical skills [*], get some corporate experience and speak to (ie network with) people in the industry. And most of all, don't become despondent just because you've fucked up the first two (or three) years of college; yes, you will have to face up to consequences, but no, that does not mean it's the end of the road. Your numbers might not be good, but you can still get fairly decent careers if you stick at it.
*- While I don't really recommend you focus on 'learning' a particular platform or IDE, it does, nevertheless, help to find out what is the *second* most popular language HR personnel are looking out for in your economy and focus your efforts in that. That is to say, if a language J has the maximum "demand", then be proficient in it, but try getting some work-experience in the second-most popular language, CS, before you leave college. Post-dot-com boom, the commoditisation of "skillsets" is near complete; you could use it to your advantage if you play your cards right.
Like Lake Vostok, Jupiter's moons Europa and Callisto may hold liquid water beneath a thick, icy crust. Lake Vostok may hold clues to whether life could survive in a dark extraterrestrial ocean, and may allow scientists to practice looking for it.
Some weirdo analogous situation reasoning, it appears.
Last time I looked at my Dell, it had China stickers all over it.
Yes, which is why I think this article is misleading. IBM laptops, at least the ones we use here, have been manufactured by other companies (Acer?) for quite sometime now; just that, IBM tends to be rather strict in its quality requirements. That is, an Acer-branded computer (if indeed Acer were manufacturing it) would probably go through less stringent quality testing than an IBM-branded one, even though they are both manufactured by the same company. This is completely normal and logical; you pay more for better quality.
I really doubt IBM would want to let go of control over its brand, particularly when they have a very successful consulting business up. I think what is really happening is that IBM is changing its suppliers, or trying to re-negotiate its existing agreement(s).
India still is technically a socialist republic; it's part of the title we gave ourselves through the Constitution. ("The Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic of India"). The Emergency ended in 1977, with the democratic overthrow of the then PM, Indira Gandhi.
I believe Rajiv Gandhi became the PM by the time Bhopal happened.
(Disclaimer: I am Canadian. Yes, we make fun of ourselves.)
While the self-depracting angle is, I believe, a latent feature of all citizens of the British Commonwealth, the trick to successful Canook-istan humour, nevertheless, is to not crack these jokes when you're trying to date a Canadian girl.
I, uh, learnt this the hard way.
Re:"Could this be it?" NO.
on
HIV Vaccine
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
The fact is, HIV [sic] is the most daunting disease we have ever faced.
While I don't intend to convert this into a my-disease-is-more-dangerous-than-yours competition:-), I don't think you've been in any affected region during last year's SARS crisis. I was, and boy was it scary; streets once lively even at 3AM, turned ghostly.
Which, of course, is not to deny that AIDS is daunting.
If it had hit even 50 years earlier we may very well have faced an epidemic on the order of the Black Death.
One rather interesting point raised by a recent book I read, I forget if it was The Tipping Point or Linked, was that we probably had the virus with us in benign forms even in the 50's. The difference was that the HIV possibly underwent a mutation somewhere in the mid-70's / early-80's to become the virulent organism that it is today.
And ofcourse, people forget one other thing - not all Opensource alternatives are as good as the enterprise ones.
Which, of course, is true, and indeed, points to another interesting, if tangentially-related, observation: most 'industry-grade' OSS solutions actually have corporate backing. Take O.O or Eclipse for instance.
how open source software doesn't undermine programmers being able to earn a crust. I could be way off, but doesn't it undermine our industry?
This would be true if the IT industry doles out so-called "product" software only. It doesn't; the majority (if I remember an OSI paper correctly, 90%) of all software developed is for intra-company use. Companies require quick-fire solutions for automating their own individual workflows, and clearly, this is where OSS will have its maximum impact; you 'share' code-bases and thought between organisations while customising it for your own needs.
Indeed, in this context, it is beneficial to think of OSS as a 'development methodology', and not as a product (or a philosophy, if you will).
Every time someone compares the US to a dictatorship I just want to laugh, because they have no freaking idea what a real dictatorship is. If this WERE a dictatorship, you'd already be in jail, or more likely DEAD.
Which, of course, is true; quite clearly, you don't go to jail for accessing news.google.com/en, for instance.:-)
You obviously don't work in an academic setting, because people are STILL breaking down all the doors to get here, and do everything they can to stay.
Cant find it online, but there was a recent (Nov 2004?) IEEE Spectrum article that did say enrollment of international grad students is down in US universities over the last 2-3 years by, I believe, at least 20%. Then again, greater visa restrictions is only part of the problem; other issues include lesser job oppurtunities in the US, more competition from European, Australian and Canadian universities, and a critical shortage of scholarships/funding.
I'm a non-American who's currently weighing options for grad studies. My personal assessment is that, while the US is still fantastic for grad studies mostly for the faculty that is still there. This, of course, is a critical factor, but probably not for long, unless something drastic happens. In terms of infrastructure, funding and sheer access to educational resources, other countries have already caught up.
It's (apparently) called "open-proxy servers" and it's a way by which our network-proficient Chinese brethren apparently access censored websites.
While I fully understand the business compulsions Google operates, I think Google, of all companies, can definitely do better than this; they can, at the very least, give a non-obvious link to this third-party site. I mean, that's what they did with DMCA, didnt they?
Cyberport is a MASSIVE waste of government money and worse still was just a large luxury building
Heheh, I think it was fairly obvious from the article itself, despite its blatant pro-gov.hk slant; I mean, FOUR YEARS to build a facility?
Cyberport was nothing more or less than a gigantic gift to Li Ka Shing's estate (via his son the ever popular Richard Li).
My (Singaporean, but Cantonese) cab-driver yesterday night was ranting non-stop on the exploits of Li The Son; frankly, wasn't really bothered to follow his rant (mostly coz I was sleepy and wished he let me off for a while), so it's rather amusing in a stream-of-consciousness sort of a way that I get to hear again about this dude today morning on/. of all the places.:-)
I bet you guys think our partially state-owned Disney land is a good idea too. Seriously, if you like this stuff you can have Chief Executive Tung Che Hwa. Please, take him!
Just a random, macro-level observation from four years of travelling, but that's what I like about you Hong Kongers; you aren't afraid to take strong viewpoints and shout them out from rooftops. Singaporeans (or the Singaporean Mindset, so to speak) resemble you guys in every respect but this. Then again, there's always the trusted Tiger Beer to fall back on; not many sg'eans bother about OB markers (and Things So Political That They Shalt Not Be Discussed In Public) after two mugs of Tiger Beer.:-)
Atleast in the US when you spend a significant portion of your income on a car, you'll probably get something fairly new and [hopefully] reliable.
Oh, the car market is booming in India lately. We're building (or trying to build) some heavy-duty highways across the country, so all those noveau-riche types need something to spend on.
While I agree with your reasoning, I disagree on the conclusion; you really want to take a look at the numbers involved. We're not looking at damming the Colorado River here, it's more like trying to chlorinate Tuscon's water supply!:-)
In essence, I think it's good that Indian workplaces are beginning to open up to other cultures, and I certainly think the Indian job market is big enough to handle a few international applicants.
- how good your standard of living would be in India on a UK salary
One hypenated word: sky-high.
Your Indian co-workers (or subordinates) would probably think that you live in a different world altogether. This not counting public amenities like clogged roads/pollution/cramped airports and stuff though.
how long it would take for the Indian company to make you redundant (currently guess: 4 hours)
As I posted earlier, if it's plain code-grunt work, then yes. But if it is managerial, or techno-managerial, work, then perhaps not; that Indian company will probably need you more than you need them.
what the Indian employment laws are like
Depends on what you're looking at, really. Let's just say this for now:- you probably know that the Indian economy is in 'reform' mode? Well, one of the places that our reform-minded policymakers needs work is labour laws; apparently, it's currently too stifling for companies.
Which, of course, is not to say that labour laws are necessarily good; like I said, really depends on what you're looking at.
A word of advice though (and I say this not as an Indian but as a migrant worker who's worked in three different countries): if you're venturing out of home, always leave with a return ticket in hand. If shit really hits the ceiling, you know you can always return and start afresh among your people. Also remember that any new cultural experience will change you in many ways; whether you consider it to be enriching or punishing is something you'd have to decide for yourself.
(IAAIndian and all that) and we've been tracking reports of this type on blogsphere for over a year now. The overwhelming consensus is that it's great that the tourism industry is picking up in India.
That said, there is a definite surge in ex-pat hiring in a different sphere altogether; at a managerial level, to be precise. Many Indian companies are about to venture out of the traditionally-protectionist Indian market, and are finding themselves without the necessary managerial experience to survive in the global market.
Non-Indian/.-tters looking to work in India would be better off looking at PHB positions; you get all those cool perks (maid, driver, bungalow, club-memberships etc) AND international-level salaries. Indian software co's seem to be exclusively focussing on fresh grads, a demographic whose supply seems endless currently.
I'd bet that Microsoft can lean on enough people who can lean on the right people over in Asia to crack down.
Oh MS will, make no mistake on that. Over the years, they've not only convinced local governmental agencies into doing their bidding, they've also quietly expanded operations to include a whole new network of people tapping into the governmental pecking order at every point. And then you have this stuff on the US-Singapore FTA; piracy of software will be criminalised and software patented because of that. (As an aside, the huge sigh of despair that you heard from Singapore after Bush won was for the confirmed continuance of the FTA, not for Iraq or anything else).
The interesting bit here, though, is the battle that will be fought in big governmental organisations; as a poster had mentioned earlier, there are many big clients that have already moved en masse to OSS. Will be interesting to see how it plays out; really dont think they'll back down on their own turf.
Remember folks, sg is about to move to a US-like copyright regime starting this Jan, after a successful round of FTA talks with the US. Essentially, we're about to get a DMCA-like law here, which includes criminalisation of piracy (currently, only selling pirated software is illegal; now even possession is punishable by jail), and yup, you guessed it, patenting of software.
Gov.sg organisations, which have been MS-friendly so far, are therefore running scared, and are fast moving over to OSS; to cite another example, the sg library system has also moved its systems over to Linux now. Smalltime.net-only ISV's like mine are already feeling the pinch; I know of at least two other ISV's like ours who are seriously considering migrating their code-bases to Mono or something like that.
Ballmer's comments should be taken in this context here; he's basically telling us that we can, possibly, run, but not hide, from the MS-patents keiretsu.
Slashdot Mirror
Just be the best in whatever you do, have a head above the water, notice where things are headed, and maximise your returns from the situation. Trust me, this is one of those things that is actually easier than that it sounds; I, of course, speak as someone who graduated a year back in a reasonably bad downturn.
Of course, intra-bus cultural nuances get complicated once you extrapolate them to the Internet and get professional about all this snooping.
*- While I don't really recommend you focus on 'learning' a particular platform or IDE, it does, nevertheless, help to find out what is the *second* most popular language HR personnel are looking out for in your economy and focus your efforts in that. That is to say, if a language J has the maximum "demand", then be proficient in it, but try getting some work-experience in the second-most popular language, CS, before you leave college. Post-dot-com boom, the commoditisation of "skillsets" is near complete; you could use it to your advantage if you play your cards right.
I really doubt IBM would want to let go of control over its brand, particularly when they have a very successful consulting business up. I think what is really happening is that IBM is changing its suppliers, or trying to re-negotiate its existing agreement(s).
I believe Rajiv Gandhi became the PM by the time Bhopal happened.
You sir, have earned a follower to your cult.
I, uh, learnt this the hard way.
Which, of course, is not to deny that AIDS is daunting.
One rather interesting point raised by a recent book I read, I forget if it was The Tipping Point or Linked, was that we probably had the virus with us in benign forms even in the 50's. The difference was that the HIV possibly underwent a mutation somewhere in the mid-70's / early-80's to become the virulent organism that it is today.Indeed, in this context, it is beneficial to think of OSS as a 'development methodology', and not as a product (or a philosophy, if you will).
Some shit about copy-pasting and re-editting.
I'm a non-American who's currently weighing options for grad studies. My personal assessment is that, while the US is still fantastic for grad studies mostly for the faculty that is still there. This, of course, is a critical factor, but probably not for long, unless something drastic happens. In terms of infrastructure, funding and sheer access to educational resources, other countries have already caught up.
While I fully understand the business compulsions Google operates, I think Google, of all companies, can definitely do better than this; they can, at the very least, give a non-obvious link to this third-party site. I mean, that's what they did with DMCA, didnt they?
Bah, kids these days... they even want us to do their copy-pasting! Just take the damn word 'metre' and copy-paste it six times will ya?
In essence, I think it's good that Indian workplaces are beginning to open up to other cultures, and I certainly think the Indian job market is big enough to handle a few international applicants.
Your Indian co-workers (or subordinates) would probably think that you live in a different world altogether. This not counting public amenities like clogged roads/pollution/cramped airports and stuff though.
As I posted earlier, if it's plain code-grunt work, then yes. But if it is managerial, or techno-managerial, work, then perhaps not; that Indian company will probably need you more than you need them. Depends on what you're looking at, really. Let's just say this for now:- you probably know that the Indian economy is in 'reform' mode? Well, one of the places that our reform-minded policymakers needs work is labour laws; apparently, it's currently too stifling for companies.Which, of course, is not to say that labour laws are necessarily good; like I said, really depends on what you're looking at.
A word of advice though (and I say this not as an Indian but as a migrant worker who's worked in three different countries): if you're venturing out of home, always leave with a return ticket in hand. If shit really hits the ceiling, you know you can always return and start afresh among your people. Also remember that any new cultural experience will change you in many ways; whether you consider it to be enriching or punishing is something you'd have to decide for yourself.
That said, there is a definite surge in ex-pat hiring in a different sphere altogether; at a managerial level, to be precise. Many Indian companies are about to venture out of the traditionally-protectionist Indian market, and are finding themselves without the necessary managerial experience to survive in the global market.
Non-Indian /.-tters looking to work in India would be better off looking at PHB positions; you get all those cool perks (maid, driver, bungalow, club-memberships etc) AND international-level salaries. Indian software co's seem to be exclusively focussing on fresh grads, a demographic whose supply seems endless currently.
Okay, this officially is my first fan-boy post, but mod parent up and all that. Very informative, gracias!
The interesting bit here, though, is the battle that will be fought in big governmental organisations; as a poster had mentioned earlier, there are many big clients that have already moved en masse to OSS. Will be interesting to see how it plays out; really dont think they'll back down on their own turf.
Remember folks, sg is about to move to a US-like copyright regime starting this Jan, after a successful round of FTA talks with the US. Essentially, we're about to get a DMCA-like law here, which includes criminalisation of piracy (currently, only selling pirated software is illegal; now even possession is punishable by jail), and yup, you guessed it, patenting of software.
Gov.sg organisations, which have been MS-friendly so far, are therefore running scared, and are fast moving over to OSS; to cite another example, the sg library system has also moved its systems over to Linux now. Smalltime .net-only ISV's like mine are already feeling the pinch; I know of at least two other ISV's like ours who are seriously considering migrating their code-bases to Mono or something like that.
Ballmer's comments should be taken in this context here; he's basically telling us that we can, possibly, run, but not hide, from the MS-patents keiretsu.