Just got a Droid 2 and was transferring my old phone numbers over. I had just transferred the Google 411 number, and then jumped on Slashdot and determined I shouldn't bother!
It was nice to have, even though I suppose it's not as necessary with a smartphone. Still, cheaper than calling 411 on my carrier!
Heh, I see. Perhaps the old meme "^([0-9]*)(PB|GB|TB|MB|KB|B|Pb|Gb|Tb|Mb|Kb|b) should be enough for anyone$" needs to be revised since we're always running out of something, somewhere.
So the answer really comes down to.. need to boil the ocean? Get a bigger pot!
I was once told by another fellow Slashgeek, regarding the IPv6/IPv4 debate, that "one cannot boil the ocean"! I think we probably need these interim steps and solutions.. that's probably the only way things will continue working during the changeover. We do have to be careful not to fall into the trap of implementing an interim measure and getting stuck with it for a long time, when the better solution is almost never reached as soon as was desired. How many systems get implemented to be "temporary" and then become production for years?
At the same time, massive direct cutover changes almost never work. Although, that may not be entirely true - the recent change from analog to digital television seems to have gone reasonably well and that was a direct cutover.
Some professional associations offer group health insurance plans, like IEEE. I don't know how good the coverage is, but it might be worth researching.
I'm probably not the first person to say it, but thank GOODNESS somebody is pushing HTML and web markup tech forward again. Even though some folks don't like some of the new elements present in HTML5, at least it's progressing again. Let's hope this continues!
As someone who has tried to do exactly what this article suggests, I feel obligated to chime in and say that I think it's absolutely correct. People with the ability to apply technology skills to business or societal needs of a particular discipline are extremely valuable.
For example, in my case, I combined healthcare knowledge, social science and information systems and now work in a very interesting and challenging segment of the healthcare industry.
I would point out that it is very challenging and can be difficult to focus one's study when you are trying to learn something technically oriented, like writing software in C++, and combine it with something else very different, like building construction, for example. Some things simply take skill and raw ability, or a long time to learn. There might be a lot of similarities in building software and building a building, but being an expert in both takes a while. Still though, a person who can apply knowledge of software development (or even build or implement software) that makes the process of building a building more efficient is a good person to have around.
Perhaps, in other words, all this is saying is, having people who are cross-disciplinary and can apply their skills in more than one scenario is a good thing. That's not much of a stretch of the imagination, in my opinion. More skills are better than less, and people who can mix and match are helpful.
We must, however, also be leery of the "jack of all trades, master of none" issue.
It would be interesting to know if the technology includes any stipulation for nuclear pulse propulsion. From the sound of it, that tech was pretty far along over 30 years ago. Space is a big place - would it not be awesome to have a new space race, MINUS the aggression, this time? Or is that simply impossible?
I can't believe nobody has figured it out yet! The moon IS made of CHEESE! I think the Centaur and LCROSS just went straight through, and came out the opposite side in a stream of molten mozzarella!
I scoff at the "good data" NASA received - seriously, what do you expect lobbing a satellite into a hunk of gouda?
Golly, IANARS (not a rocket scientist) and even I figured that one out!
In a way, I think Joel might just be restating what I have always found to be a core axiom of software design/development:
"Use the right tool for the job".
I would add the corollary, if one is a master of a tool, the tool has reasonable support, and one can get a job done with that tool, then there is no need for anything else other than that tool for that specific job.
It's when you don't have the right tool in your toolkit that things get more difficult. Knowing when you have the right tool/approach, and when you don't and you need another person, approach, or tool makes all the difference.
I think the idea of saying 50% is good enough is about the fact that you can do a whole lot with just one tool, like using a screwdriver to hammer a nail. It's not the exact right tool for a job, but actually can also get it done too.
Microsoft demonstrated a similar application at CES 2008, although they called it "software camera recognition" (Bill Gates in fact did the demo at the keynote). There are pictures at Engadget
Looks like Apple and the iPhone are beating them to the punch for RTM!
IANAMFB (I am not a Microsoft fan-boy), but I have to admit that so far, it looks like it is at least a bit exciting (especially from the rock-solid RC). Pretty much what Vista should have been.
As a true technologist, I try to stay technology-agnostic because good things often come out of the strangest places. Truthfully, many flavors of Linux are great, Mac OS is great, and Windows 7 looks like it should be great. Considering all these various flavors of greatness, I'd say it's still as good a time as any to be a techie! Maybe I'm just tired of all the negative slant the world puts on everything and am being overly optimistic.
Let's enjoy this new tech, welcome it, evaluate it and let it find its place in our toolbox, like every other tool before.
No, I don't think so. I think this is a play to match the other vendors.. for example, Oracle has its huge enterprise version, and its tiny free lite version. Microsoft has SQL Server Standard and Enterprise, and its free SQL Server Express. If you noticed, even SAP is trying to get back into the database game, having rescinded its SAP MaxDB product that it had let MySQL offer via MySQL's website. DB2 as an enterprise database platform, and MySQL as a free/open source "lite" (although I know MySQL can scale to much higher levels) option for IBM could make sense, especially since IBM is also a big open source supporter.
I for one look forward to our new IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, overlords.
It may be an older, somewhat forgotten language (outside of the Veteran's Administration in the US), but lest we forget the ORIGINAL M programming language - MUMPS!?!?!
Sure, they aren't the same - but MUMPS was a very powerful language in it's time and it will be interesting to see if what is old becomes new again!
This might be a response to the fact that Microsoft recently purchased a company that sells integrated hardware/software for databases/data warehousing supporting massively parallel processing, named Datallegro. They are currently integrating it with SQL Server 2008. Somewhat exciting, in my opinion!
"When all was said and done, we hired someone... He was one of the two candidates that had expressively mentioned that programming was just picking up a language and using it".
IMHO, you got very lucky to find someone like this. I work for a company that is currently exclusively using C# and ASP.NET 2.0 by choice, but to be honest with you, in any situation, "REAL" programmers understand that you choose the right tool for the job, and can program in/learn any language. We chose.NET for various reasons based on our software environment, but by no means believe it to be the only tool available, and have no issue using any tool in particular - they are all just tools used to accomplish a goal!
I think it's ironic that in my company's interviewing/hiring, I find a majority of C#/ASP.NET 2.0 developer applicants are actually below average coders with inflated resumes (although there are a few good ones from time to time). These applicants often believe.NET is great and don't care about anything else but don't understand basic programming concepts or the willingness to learn or try new things. Some of that is because producing simple applications in ASP.NET can be so simple, people often believe they are "programming" when in reality, much of the work is drag and drop connect the dots (which sometimes IS good enough for some projects). We have found it much harder to find those "active learners" - they often tend to be new graduates, developers who are generally well-rounded, or people with a passion for learning/exploring in the development world.
My hunch is, there certainly must be a few of those kind in the Slashdot crowd!:)
One of my favorite books which tells some of the stories of cold-war era submarine operations is "Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage" (ISBN# 006103004X). One of the stories is about the USS Scorpion.
I haven't read it yet, but the story of the USS Thresher is also told in "The Death of the USS Thresher: The Story Behind History's Deadliest Submarine Disaster" (ISBN# 1592283926).
Nobody has yet mentioned that MySQL has a CSV storage engine - just create a table with type CSV and away you go. It does require the MySQL engine though.
Otherwise, I agree with most posters who say just use a simple text and/or xml file if the data volume is relatively small. That should be more than enough!
I haven't seen anybody else comment on the fact that the statement that the quality of the code had more to do with the engineering than the process through which the code was developed is quite interesting.
From my personal experiences, it typically seems code is written to solve a specific need. Said another way, in the pursuit of solving a given problem, whatever engineering is required to solve the problem must be accomplished - if existing solutions to problems can be recognized, they can be used (for example, Gang of Four/GOF patterns), otherwise, the problem must have a new solution engineered.
Seeing as how there are teams successfully developing projects (with both good, and bad code quality) using traditional OO/UML modeling, the software development life-cycle, capability maturity model, scrum, agile, XP/pair programming, and a myriad of other methods, it would seem to be that what the author is saying is, it didn't necessarily matter which method was used, it was how the solution was actually built (the.. robustness of the engineering) that mattered.
Further clarification on the difference between engineering and "process" would strengthen this paper.
I went to a Microsoft user group event some time ago - and the presenter described what they believed the process of development of code quality looked like. They suggested the progression of code quality was something like: crap -> slightly less crappy -> decent quality -> elegant code.
Sometimes, your first solution at a given problem is elegant.. sometimes, it's just crap.
Anyways, just my two cents. Maybe two cents too many..;)
1) Yahoo uses Google for ads 2) AOL and Yahoo partner 3) Microsoft and News Corp partner 4) Microsoft/News Corp buy AOL/Yahoo 5) Aomicrogoonewshoo Corp is formed?! 6)... 7) Profit!!
Just wanted to let you know, this has been added to Wikipedia if you are interested in enriching the definition further. You have been cited as the source!:)
See slide 3 of former Microsoft Research Jim Gray's (RIP) presentation on flash drives for the diagram referred to in the parent. This is a great summary of what one of the most informed individuals believed about the future of SSD. I'm waiting!:)
Slashdot Mirror
Just got a Droid 2 and was transferring my old phone numbers over. I had just transferred the Google 411 number, and then jumped on Slashdot and determined I shouldn't bother!
It was nice to have, even though I suppose it's not as necessary with a smartphone. Still, cheaper than calling 411 on my carrier!
So long and thanks for all the fish!
6d
Heh, I see. Perhaps the old meme "^([0-9]*)(PB|GB|TB|MB|KB|B|Pb|Gb|Tb|Mb|Kb|b) should be enough for anyone$" needs to be revised since we're always running out of something, somewhere.
So the answer really comes down to.. need to boil the ocean? Get a bigger pot!
I was once told by another fellow Slashgeek, regarding the IPv6/IPv4 debate, that "one cannot boil the ocean"! I think we probably need these interim steps and solutions.. that's probably the only way things will continue working during the changeover. We do have to be careful not to fall into the trap of implementing an interim measure and getting stuck with it for a long time, when the better solution is almost never reached as soon as was desired. How many systems get implemented to be "temporary" and then become production for years?
At the same time, massive direct cutover changes almost never work. Although, that may not be entirely true - the recent change from analog to digital television seems to have gone reasonably well and that was a direct cutover.
6d
Some professional associations offer group health insurance plans, like IEEE. I don't know how good the coverage is, but it might be worth researching.
SixD
Bada bing! Well played! :)
6d
Now if I could just get Windows Vista booting on my TI-82!
Hmm.. first complex HTML5 app maybe?
I'm probably not the first person to say it, but thank GOODNESS somebody is pushing HTML and web markup tech forward again. Even though some folks don't like some of the new elements present in HTML5, at least it's progressing again. Let's hope this continues!
-6d
Whatever happened to Internet2?
As someone who has tried to do exactly what this article suggests, I feel obligated to chime in and say that I think it's absolutely correct. People with the ability to apply technology skills to business or societal needs of a particular discipline are extremely valuable.
For example, in my case, I combined healthcare knowledge, social science and information systems and now work in a very interesting and challenging segment of the healthcare industry.
I would point out that it is very challenging and can be difficult to focus one's study when you are trying to learn something technically oriented, like writing software in C++, and combine it with something else very different, like building construction, for example. Some things simply take skill and raw ability, or a long time to learn. There might be a lot of similarities in building software and building a building, but being an expert in both takes a while. Still though, a person who can apply knowledge of software development (or even build or implement software) that makes the process of building a building more efficient is a good person to have around.
Perhaps, in other words, all this is saying is, having people who are cross-disciplinary and can apply their skills in more than one scenario is a good thing. That's not much of a stretch of the imagination, in my opinion. More skills are better than less, and people who can mix and match are helpful.
We must, however, also be leery of the "jack of all trades, master of none" issue.
It would be interesting to know if the technology includes any stipulation for nuclear pulse propulsion. From the sound of it, that tech was pretty far along over 30 years ago. Space is a big place - would it not be awesome to have a new space race, MINUS the aggression, this time? Or is that simply impossible?
I can't believe nobody has figured it out yet! The moon IS made of CHEESE! I think the Centaur and LCROSS just went straight through, and came out the opposite side in a stream of molten mozzarella!
I scoff at the "good data" NASA received - seriously, what do you expect lobbing a satellite into a hunk of gouda?
Golly, IANARS (not a rocket scientist) and even I figured that one out!
-SixD
In a way, I think Joel might just be restating what I have always found to be a core axiom of software design/development:
"Use the right tool for the job".
I would add the corollary, if one is a master of a tool, the tool has reasonable support, and one can get a job done with that tool, then there is no need for anything else other than that tool for that specific job.
It's when you don't have the right tool in your toolkit that things get more difficult. Knowing when you have the right tool/approach, and when you don't and you need another person, approach, or tool makes all the difference.
I think the idea of saying 50% is good enough is about the fact that you can do a whole lot with just one tool, like using a screwdriver to hammer a nail. It's not the exact right tool for a job, but actually can also get it done too.
IMHO, anyway,
SixD
P.S. Just don't get caught being a tool!
Microsoft demonstrated a similar application at CES 2008, although they called it "software camera recognition" (Bill Gates in fact did the demo at the keynote). There are pictures at Engadget
Looks like Apple and the iPhone are beating them to the punch for RTM!
SixD
IANAMFB (I am not a Microsoft fan-boy), but I have to admit that so far, it looks like it is at least a bit exciting (especially from the rock-solid RC). Pretty much what Vista should have been.
As a true technologist, I try to stay technology-agnostic because good things often come out of the strangest places. Truthfully, many flavors of Linux are great, Mac OS is great, and Windows 7 looks like it should be great. Considering all these various flavors of greatness, I'd say it's still as good a time as any to be a techie! Maybe I'm just tired of all the negative slant the world puts on everything and am being overly optimistic.
Let's enjoy this new tech, welcome it, evaluate it and let it find its place in our toolbox, like every other tool before.
Discuss freely.
6d
Hmm.. six dimensions? That sounds about right, should be enough for anybody! Just like 640K ought to be enough for anybody! :D
-6D
No, I don't think so. I think this is a play to match the other vendors.. for example, Oracle has its huge enterprise version, and its tiny free lite version. Microsoft has SQL Server Standard and Enterprise, and its free SQL Server Express. If you noticed, even SAP is trying to get back into the database game, having rescinded its SAP MaxDB product that it had let MySQL offer via MySQL's website. DB2 as an enterprise database platform, and MySQL as a free/open source "lite" (although I know MySQL can scale to much higher levels) option for IBM could make sense, especially since IBM is also a big open source supporter.
I for one look forward to our new IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, overlords.
-6D
It may be an older, somewhat forgotten language (outside of the Veteran's Administration in the US), but lest we forget the ORIGINAL M programming language - MUMPS!?!?!
Sure, they aren't the same - but MUMPS was a very powerful language in it's time and it will be interesting to see if what is old becomes new again!
SixDimensionalArray
This might be a response to the fact that Microsoft recently purchased a company that sells integrated hardware/software for databases/data warehousing supporting massively parallel processing, named Datallegro. They are currently integrating it with SQL Server 2008. Somewhat exciting, in my opinion!
"When all was said and done, we hired someone... He was one of the two candidates that had expressively mentioned that programming was just picking up a language and using it".
IMHO, you got very lucky to find someone like this. I work for a company that is currently exclusively using C# and ASP.NET 2.0 by choice, but to be honest with you, in any situation, "REAL" programmers understand that you choose the right tool for the job, and can program in/learn any language. We chose .NET for various reasons based on our software environment, but by no means believe it to be the only tool available, and have no issue using any tool in particular - they are all just tools used to accomplish a goal!
I think it's ironic that in my company's interviewing/hiring, I find a majority of C#/ASP.NET 2.0 developer applicants are actually below average coders with inflated resumes (although there are a few good ones from time to time). These applicants often believe .NET is great and don't care about anything else but don't understand basic programming concepts or the willingness to learn or try new things. Some of that is because producing simple applications in ASP.NET can be so simple, people often believe they are "programming" when in reality, much of the work is drag and drop connect the dots (which sometimes IS good enough for some projects). We have found it much harder to find those "active learners" - they often tend to be new graduates, developers who are generally well-rounded, or people with a passion for learning/exploring in the development world.
My hunch is, there certainly must be a few of those kind in the Slashdot crowd! :)
-6D
One of my favorite books which tells some of the stories of cold-war era submarine operations is "Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage" (ISBN# 006103004X). One of the stories is about the USS Scorpion.
I haven't read it yet, but the story of the USS Thresher is also told in "The Death of the USS Thresher: The Story Behind History's Deadliest Submarine Disaster" (ISBN# 1592283926).
Very interesting!
SixD
Nobody has yet mentioned that MySQL has a CSV storage engine - just create a table with type CSV and away you go. It does require the MySQL engine though.
Otherwise, I agree with most posters who say just use a simple text and/or xml file if the data volume is relatively small. That should be more than enough!
SixD
I haven't seen anybody else comment on the fact that the statement that the quality of the code had more to do with the engineering than the process through which the code was developed is quite interesting.
;)
From my personal experiences, it typically seems code is written to solve a specific need. Said another way, in the pursuit of solving a given problem, whatever engineering is required to solve the problem must be accomplished - if existing solutions to problems can be recognized, they can be used (for example, Gang of Four/GOF patterns), otherwise, the problem must have a new solution engineered.
Seeing as how there are teams successfully developing projects (with both good, and bad code quality) using traditional OO/UML modeling, the software development life-cycle, capability maturity model, scrum, agile, XP/pair programming, and a myriad of other methods, it would seem to be that what the author is saying is, it didn't necessarily matter which method was used, it was how the solution was actually built (the.. robustness of the engineering) that mattered.
Further clarification on the difference between engineering and "process" would strengthen this paper.
I went to a Microsoft user group event some time ago - and the presenter described what they believed the process of development of code quality looked like. They suggested the progression of code quality was something like:
crap -> slightly less crappy -> decent quality -> elegant code.
Sometimes, your first solution at a given problem is elegant.. sometimes, it's just crap.
Anyways, just my two cents. Maybe two cents too many..
SixD
1) Yahoo uses Google for ads ...
2) AOL and Yahoo partner
3) Microsoft and News Corp partner
4) Microsoft/News Corp buy AOL/Yahoo
5) Aomicrogoonewshoo Corp is formed?!
6)
7) Profit!!
-SixD
Just wanted to let you know, this has been added to Wikipedia if you are interested in enriching the definition further. You have been cited as the source! :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installware
-SixD
See slide 3 of former Microsoft Research Jim Gray's (RIP) presentation on flash drives for the diagram referred to in the parent. This is a great summary of what one of the most informed individuals believed about the future of SSD. I'm waiting! :)
http://research.microsoft.com/~Gray/talks/Flash_Is_Good.ppt
SixD