The other thing that could drive the adoption of renewable energy sources is the issue of national security and our dependence on oil from the Middle East. The situation with Russian gas and Eastern Europe is a prime example of the dangers of dependence upon energy sources from states that might seek to use these as weapons against their political adversaries. We need to seek renewable energy sources, for the health of our economy and for our own security, not to be brought to our knees by would-be despots.
Of course, the Bush Administration has done nothing about this issue except say "Drill in ANWR!", ignoring the fact that the supplies there and anywhere else we find oil or gas will eventually run out, and we may well be left in the same situation, of being dependent on supplies from overseas. If there is ever a time to start a major push toward renewable energy sources, it is now.
the mozdev version, that is. It seems to work well for me. I have access to the parts of Yahoo that I want with one click. I appreciate the fact that they provided a link from their site to mozdev for those of us who wanted the toolbar.
BTW, I still mostly use Google for searching, too.
If Bush is re-elected, then dies in office, it would fit the pattern.
What we've seen is that it isn't just the curse of Tecumseh, this view of things also involves astrology. Every 20 years, a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn takes place. Every 20 years since 1840, it has taken place in either Taurus, Capricorn, or Virgo (known in western astrology as "earth" signs). The one exception to this was in 1980-81, when the conjunction took place in Libra (an "air" sign). This would explain how Reagan survived an assassination attempt but every other president elected after a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction died in office.
In addition, the pattern has been that the deaths alternated between the first and second term of the incumbent:
William Henry Harrison dies in April 1841, one month after taking office.
Abraham Lincoln dies on April 14, 1865, a month and a half into his second term.
James Garfield dies on Sept. 19, 1881, from wounds inflicted by a gunshot on July 2, six months into his first term.
William McKinley was assassinated in September 1901, six months into his second term.
Warren G. Harding dies in August 1923, 2 1/2 years after taking office.
Franklin D. Roosevelt dies on April 12, 1945, in his second term after the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in the earth sign of Taurus in 1940-41.
John F. Kennedy is assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, almost three years into his first term.
Ronald Reagan survives an assassination attempt by John Hinckley in March 1981. The Jupiter-Saturn conjuntion that took place prior to his taking office was in an air sign (Libra), not one of the earth signs.
The last Jupiter-Saturn conjunction that took place was on May 28, 2000, in the earth sign of Taurus. G.W. Bush has apparently survived his first term in office, but if the pattern holds he will die in his second term. Provided, of course, he's re-elected.
This pattern doesn't explain the death of Zachary Taylor in July 1850, after Harrison's death, and only time will be able to tell us if the pattern otherwise holds up.
Geez, this is just down the street from me. I am grateful that the organizers were able to get some vendors and OSS people to attend; even with the Internet, it's still useful for people in the Linux/OSS community to get together F2F.
If you don't already attend a LUG or computer user group, consider joining one or starting one-- the outreach to your city/town/neighborhood reinforces that OSS is a community effort, even if it's a global community.
In the BBC's case, since they are non-profit, they don't have the same motives as for-profit "big media" companies do. And the potential for controversy is delayed, since the Beeb is shooting for streaming of standard definition quality video first. When BBC programming comes to the USA, it always seems to go to PBS anyhow, not a commercial network. It will be interesting to see what happens with Dirac, and as it says at the end of the article, there are commercial companies that have an interest in this too-- it means not having to pay MS or Real a "tax" for the privilege of using their players. Once again, it seems like it will come down to a struggle between broadcasters and content providers over control of the standard.
You're making Microsoft's argument in this debate of "UI vs. API"; the other side would be exemplified in
Joel Spolsky's recent article on Microsoft and.NET; his argument is that it's browser-based apps that are going to predominate, not rich UI applications. With web applications, one doesn't have to install the.NET framework to use a web application; all you have to do is open your browser and enter the URL. The Longhorn UI is going to have to be really compelling to get people to buy into a software "upgrade" (which will probably require a hardware upgrade).
The next disadvantage is that you have to DO SOMETHING, e.g install it - you geeks would be amazed what a huge problem that is for 99% of mankind.
What? There is an.exe installer for Win32. All you do is click and answer a few questions in the dialog prompts, and you're done. I've used it on my windows machines ever since 1.0 (currently I've got 1.6 installed). Nothing could be easier. I've never installed from source, and unless you want to develop for the Mozilla project, you shouldn't bother.
To take one example you cite, If I am going to be developing with Python, there's a whole lot of functionality I can use to create an app that will run on Win32 and other platforms without involving.NET at all. This is the whole point of modules like sys and os, and this is the usefulness of frameworks like Tk and wx-- you can write the app once and install it on more than one platform. Why should I pay Active State a bunch of money for Python.NET when I can get most of what I want with Python and other components I can get for free?
If Miguel thinks that Longhorn is such a threat because it will incorporate the.NET framework, will he come out an admit the truth: that spending all that time and effort on Mono was a mistake and a waste? Trying to reinvent.NET for Unix/Linux never made any sense to me, since the components in.NET that people really want aren't available on anything but Windows. Perhaps this is a shift in his POV as a result of Ximian now being part of Novell, and they are now aiming their sights at trying to dent MS's lock on desktop and market share in the server arena. But no, he sees Mono as part of the potential answer to Schlonghorn-- don't you get it Miguel?.NET was an "embrace, extend, extinguish the competition" move to do Java one better. What makes you think that sticking with Mono will work when MS might well modify the.NET framework by the time Longhorn comes out so as to make it unusable by anything but Windows? Better to start making your own framework now instead of waiting around to see what MS will do.
It's real documentation if the font isn't in classic TNR, using solid white for the background, blue for hyperlinks... and graphics? Pffft, who needs graphics?
Were there any people of Middle Eastern, Asian or African descent in the pilot?
Hannah Crane (Antwone Fisher) plays the partner-in-charge of the firm. An Asian actor, whose name I know not, played the U.S. Attorney opposing Markus Gold.
As much as I love Python, I think Havoc is right up to a certain point-- apps run much slower in Python than in other languages. And I think that he really is ruling out moving GNOME away from C/C++ because.NET is proprietary and Java is mostly proprietary in nature.
It seems to me the focus of the story line on Century City is issues that will emerge with the advent of the age of biotechnology and genetics. (You can stop reading if you're on the west coast and don't want to spoil your viewing experience)Tonight's episode involved the issue of "harvesting" cells to use for organ transplants, and the use of "age-defying" drugs to make one look younger. Issues of information technology didn't even register here-- although I found the scene where the technician "punctures" the plasma image of the prosecutor in the "virutal hearing" when it puffed up to be amusing-- must be a glitch of some kind.:) I also wanted to see what they imagined IT in the law office of the future to be like-- everything is transparent monitors and hologram images-- who knows, that just might be around the corner. Ioan Gruffudd (Yo-wan Griffith to you non-Welsh speakers) gave a credible performance as idealistic lawyer Markus Gold. I wanna see the next episode before deciding if this series will fly-- it depends on the writing.
I hate to seem like I am shouting, but I am shouting. What the Patriot Act does to the civil liberties of citizens is unconstitutional and wrong. There is no way that any part of that law should be renewed. It is essentially a declaration that the terrorists won. This is not what I want, and I don't think it is what the American people want to say to the rest of the world.
One of my clients is a youth services agency that deals with children and families. First of all, in the development work we do, we're not using a live database, and we would NEVER EVER post the database on the Internet! If this programmer wanted to show other people what the database looked like, he could have emptied the tables or simply described the table definitions. I have a confidentiality clause in my contract, and I take it seriously. It's because the agency got their ass caught in the state's grinder before that I am doing this project.
That would be a con even more transparent than a 419 scam-- everybody knows lawyers sue on a contingency basis when the potential award is large enough. The only thing you'd be giving up is your email address.
First of all, I essentially approached things like I was running a business enterprise: I put my name out there. I landed my first gig (which has continued, on and off) through a job board available to alumni of the university I graduated from. Another virtual space I utilized was the consultants' directory of my local computer user group. I have landed another client thay way who has provided me with a lot of work over the past nine months. I try to attend meetings of the computer society and the local Linux user group; in addition to picking up stuff I may not have known about before, I also get a chance to put my name and face in front of people who might be able to give me leads on projects.
So, you can see it's first and foremost about marketing, and letting people know that you're available and what you can do for them. Then, when you get clients, you take care of the business-oriented things, too: billing, getting paid, keeping track of your time, taxes, and so on. I suppose it wouldn't be a whole lot different in Canada than it is in the states. I am not yet incorporated, essentially working as a sole proprietor to keep costs down and keep it simple. I have kind of given up on the idea of a "regular job" for the time being because I am enjoying my current situation.
You have a lot more experience than I do at this juncture; I would think you have a reasonable chance at being successful as an independent contractor. Maybe the best thing to consider is trying it out on the side if you have any time left over after your "day" job. I worked at my "day" job (which was not in IT) for five months after landing my first contract (in a non-IT position). Then, I knew for me it was time to strike out on my own.
Look at the post above (or below) yours by SoupIsGoodFood. If you have the expectation of working for a Fortune 500 corp., your chances of getting a programming job may not be that good. But small or medium-size businesses really won't see the benefits from overseas outsourcing, and so this notion of "all" the IT jobs going to India is bogus. What businesses want is somebody sitting across the table to talk to them about their needs, and someone they can call when they need help. I myself am about 10 years older than you. I went back to school about 3 1/2 years ago for a second degree in IT. The first couple of years haven't been very easy, as I decided to take the independent contractor route and found myself with a lot of time on my hands. Things seem like they are starting to get better. I work on Windows programming right now, but I learned more about open source software as Soup hints at. I hope to make this time investment pay off. With open source, you are working with tools created by their developers, so the job is not inventing a new tool, it's customizing open source tools to fit your client's needs. If you really enjoy programming, I'd say go for it-- it's because I like this job that I do it, not just for the money.
Here in Columbus, (one of) our ClearChannel stations, WTVN, has a morning weatherman, Pat Pagano, who comes to us from... New York City or thereabouts. The morning jock, Bob Connors, also seems to have daily talks with this or that ABC News reporter. I've known about Pat being in New York for many years now; Mr. Connors has always been in Columbus. I consider it a matter of using the available talent that you have, wherever they may be./p
Let's put it this way: this post had my interest piqued until they mentioned the laptops were made by eMachines. Kiss of Death. If you are seriously looking, make sure you find out what the architecture really is like. This was the issue with eMachines desktop computers: they usually made small, mini-ATX machines whose power supply you could guarantee would burn out. Maybe things have changed, but I support our staff at church, and this is what they had on all their desktops until recently. They are older machines that have Win98. Wouldn't buy those computers again.
Slashdot Mirror
The other thing that could drive the adoption of renewable energy sources is the issue of national security and our dependence on oil from the Middle East. The situation with Russian gas and Eastern Europe is a prime example of the dangers of dependence upon energy sources from states that might seek to use these as weapons against their political adversaries. We need to seek renewable energy sources, for the health of our economy and for our own security, not to be brought to our knees by would-be despots.
Of course, the Bush Administration has done nothing about this issue except say "Drill in ANWR!", ignoring the fact that the supplies there and anywhere else we find oil or gas will eventually run out, and we may well be left in the same situation, of being dependent on supplies from overseas. If there is ever a time to start a major push toward renewable energy sources, it is now.
the mozdev version, that is. It seems to work well for me. I have access to the parts of Yahoo that I want with one click. I appreciate the fact that they provided a link from their site to mozdev for those of us who wanted the toolbar.
BTW, I still mostly use Google for searching, too.
If Bush is re-elected, then dies in office, it would fit the pattern.
What we've seen is that it isn't just the curse of Tecumseh, this view of things also involves astrology. Every 20 years, a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn takes place. Every 20 years since 1840, it has taken place in either Taurus, Capricorn, or Virgo (known in western astrology as "earth" signs). The one exception to this was in 1980-81, when the conjunction took place in Libra (an "air" sign). This would explain how Reagan survived an assassination attempt but every other president elected after a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction died in office.
In addition, the pattern has been that the deaths alternated between the first and second term of the incumbent:
The last Jupiter-Saturn conjunction that took place was on May 28, 2000, in the earth sign of Taurus. G.W. Bush has apparently survived his first term in office, but if the pattern holds he will die in his second term. Provided, of course, he's re-elected.
This pattern doesn't explain the death of Zachary Taylor in July 1850, after Harrison's death, and only time will be able to tell us if the pattern otherwise holds up.
Not sure how I feel about ginseng in my brew, so I'll have to study this with a few cases.
Yeah, Taco, I'm sure that'll be hard work.
Geez, this is just down the street from me. I am grateful that the organizers were able to get some vendors and OSS people to attend; even with the Internet, it's still useful for people in the Linux/OSS community to get together F2F.
If you don't already attend a LUG or computer user group, consider joining one or starting one-- the outreach to your city/town/neighborhood reinforces that OSS is a community effort, even if it's a global community.
Total cost of 0wnership? Hmmm...
... LOL
I like the graphic on page 3 of the PDF... comparing "Difficulty of 0wning Windows vs. Difficulty to make this Graph"
In the BBC's case, since they are non-profit, they don't have the same motives as for-profit "big media" companies do. And the potential for controversy is delayed, since the Beeb is shooting for streaming of standard definition quality video first. When BBC programming comes to the USA, it always seems to go to PBS anyhow, not a commercial network. It will be interesting to see what happens with Dirac, and as it says at the end of the article, there are commercial companies that have an interest in this too-- it means not having to pay MS or Real a "tax" for the privilege of using their players. Once again, it seems like it will come down to a struggle between broadcasters and content providers over control of the standard.
You're making Microsoft's argument in this debate of "UI vs. API"; the other side would be exemplified in Joel Spolsky's recent article on Microsoft and .NET; his argument is that it's browser-based apps that are going to predominate, not rich UI applications. With web applications, one doesn't have to install the .NET framework to use a web application; all you have to do is open your browser and enter the URL. The Longhorn UI is going to have to be really compelling to get people to buy into a software "upgrade" (which will probably require a hardware upgrade).
The next disadvantage is that you have to DO SOMETHING, e.g install it - you geeks would be amazed what a huge problem that is for 99% of mankind.
.exe installer for Win32. All you do is click and answer a few questions in the dialog prompts, and you're done. I've used it on my windows machines ever since 1.0 (currently I've got 1.6 installed). Nothing could be easier. I've never installed from source, and unless you want to develop for the Mozilla project, you shouldn't bother.
What? There is an
It had to be said...
With 31 moons, Saturn is the "Baskin-Robbins" of planets.
My favorite is Butter Pecan...
Like it says on the Blue Book from my old "Dealer's Choice" game... "what's a Bugatti?"
On Windows:
Mozilla
OpenOffice
JEdit (just the most useful GUI text editor)
Python
Xitami (for a simple CGI web server)
BoaConstructor
MySQL
ZoneAlarm
Quicktime (plugin for Mozilla plays vids in browser)
The ZipWizard/UnzipWizard (shareware I didn't mind buying, works nicely)
As for Linux, I'd update some of the programs listed above, if necessary. But a lot of equivalent stuff (such as Apache) comes standard.
To take one example you cite, If I am going to be developing with Python, there's a whole lot of functionality I can use to create an app that will run on Win32 and other platforms without involving .NET at all. This is the whole point of modules like sys and os, and this is the usefulness of frameworks like Tk and wx-- you can write the app once and install it on more than one platform. Why should I pay Active State a bunch of money for Python.NET when I can get most of what I want with Python and other components I can get for free?
If Miguel thinks that Longhorn is such a threat because it will incorporate the .NET framework, will he come out an admit the truth: that spending all that time and effort on Mono was a mistake and a waste? Trying to reinvent .NET for Unix/Linux never made any sense to me, since the components in .NET that people really want aren't available on anything but Windows. Perhaps this is a shift in his POV as a result of Ximian now being part of Novell, and they are now aiming their sights at trying to dent MS's lock on desktop and market share in the server arena. But no, he sees Mono as part of the potential answer to Schlonghorn-- don't you get it Miguel? .NET was an "embrace, extend, extinguish the competition" move to do Java one better. What makes you think that sticking with Mono will work when MS might well modify the .NET framework by the time Longhorn comes out so as to make it unusable by anything but Windows? Better to start making your own framework now instead of waiting around to see what MS will do.
It's real documentation if the font isn't in classic TNR, using solid white for the background, blue for hyperlinks... and graphics? Pffft, who needs graphics?
Were there any people of Middle Eastern, Asian or African descent in the pilot?
Hannah Crane (Antwone Fisher) plays the partner-in-charge of the firm. An Asian actor, whose name I know not, played the U.S. Attorney opposing Markus Gold.
As much as I love Python, I think Havoc is right up to a certain point-- apps run much slower in Python than in other languages. And I think that he really is ruling out moving GNOME away from C/C++ because .NET is proprietary and Java is mostly proprietary in nature.
It seems to me the focus of the story line on Century City is issues that will emerge with the advent of the age of biotechnology and genetics. (You can stop reading if you're on the west coast and don't want to spoil your viewing experience)Tonight's episode involved the issue of "harvesting" cells to use for organ transplants, and the use of "age-defying" drugs to make one look younger. Issues of information technology didn't even register here-- although I found the scene where the technician "punctures" the plasma image of the prosecutor in the "virutal hearing" when it puffed up to be amusing-- must be a glitch of some kind. :) I also wanted to see what they imagined IT in the law office of the future to be like-- everything is transparent monitors and hologram images-- who knows, that just might be around the corner. Ioan Gruffudd (Yo-wan Griffith to you non-Welsh speakers) gave a credible performance as idealistic lawyer Markus Gold. I wanna see the next episode before deciding if this series will fly-- it depends on the writing.
YOU CANNOT PRESERVE FREEDOM BY DESTROYING IT
I hate to seem like I am shouting, but I am shouting. What the Patriot Act does to the civil liberties of citizens is unconstitutional and wrong. There is no way that any part of that law should be renewed. It is essentially a declaration that the terrorists won. This is not what I want, and I don't think it is what the American people want to say to the rest of the world.
One of my clients is a youth services agency that deals with children and families. First of all, in the development work we do, we're not using a live database, and we would NEVER EVER post the database on the Internet! If this programmer wanted to show other people what the database looked like, he could have emptied the tables or simply described the table definitions. I have a confidentiality clause in my contract, and I take it seriously. It's because the agency got their ass caught in the state's grinder before that I am doing this project.
That would be a con even more transparent than a 419 scam-- everybody knows lawyers sue on a contingency basis when the potential award is large enough. The only thing you'd be giving up is your email address.
First of all, I essentially approached things like I was running a business enterprise: I put my name out there. I landed my first gig (which has continued, on and off) through a job board available to alumni of the university I graduated from. Another virtual space I utilized was the consultants' directory of my local computer user group. I have landed another client thay way who has provided me with a lot of work over the past nine months. I try to attend meetings of the computer society and the local Linux user group; in addition to picking up stuff I may not have known about before, I also get a chance to put my name and face in front of people who might be able to give me leads on projects.
So, you can see it's first and foremost about marketing, and letting people know that you're available and what you can do for them. Then, when you get clients, you take care of the business-oriented things, too: billing, getting paid, keeping track of your time, taxes, and so on. I suppose it wouldn't be a whole lot different in Canada than it is in the states. I am not yet incorporated, essentially working as a sole proprietor to keep costs down and keep it simple. I have kind of given up on the idea of a "regular job" for the time being because I am enjoying my current situation.
You have a lot more experience than I do at this juncture; I would think you have a reasonable chance at being successful as an independent contractor. Maybe the best thing to consider is trying it out on the side if you have any time left over after your "day" job. I worked at my "day" job (which was not in IT) for five months after landing my first contract (in a non-IT position). Then, I knew for me it was time to strike out on my own.
Look at the post above (or below) yours by SoupIsGoodFood. If you have the expectation of working for a Fortune 500 corp., your chances of getting a programming job may not be that good. But small or medium-size businesses really won't see the benefits from overseas outsourcing, and so this notion of "all" the IT jobs going to India is bogus. What businesses want is somebody sitting across the table to talk to them about their needs, and someone they can call when they need help. I myself am about 10 years older than you. I went back to school about 3 1/2 years ago for a second degree in IT. The first couple of years haven't been very easy, as I decided to take the independent contractor route and found myself with a lot of time on my hands. Things seem like they are starting to get better. I work on Windows programming right now, but I learned more about open source software as Soup hints at. I hope to make this time investment pay off. With open source, you are working with tools created by their developers, so the job is not inventing a new tool, it's customizing open source tools to fit your client's needs. If you really enjoy programming, I'd say go for it-- it's because I like this job that I do it, not just for the money.
Here in Columbus, (one of) our ClearChannel stations, WTVN, has a morning weatherman, Pat Pagano, who comes to us from... New York City or thereabouts. The morning jock, Bob Connors, also seems to have daily talks with this or that ABC News reporter. I've known about Pat being in New York for many years now; Mr. Connors has always been in Columbus. I consider it a matter of using the available talent that you have, wherever they may be./p
Let's put it this way: this post had my interest piqued until they mentioned the laptops were made by eMachines. Kiss of Death. If you are seriously looking, make sure you find out what the architecture really is like. This was the issue with eMachines desktop computers: they usually made small, mini-ATX machines whose power supply you could guarantee would burn out. Maybe things have changed, but I support our staff at church, and this is what they had on all their desktops until recently. They are older machines that have Win98. Wouldn't buy those computers again.