Although I love reading about the musical tastes of slasdotters.. No.. really.. I do! I think a more interesting survey would have been to take 200 bands and ask what operating systems and applications they like to use. A good number of them would probably fit into the "where's the "any" key" category tho.
My musical interests (who cares?): Since there's no new life-changing new life-changing industrial bands and EBM is boring me to tears, I've been getting into Neo-Classical and Epic Metal. I was into Noise bands for a time but they make my head hurt to much now. I guess I'm not hard core enough. I've also been digging up my Tangerine Dream and Kate Bush and Shoe Gazer type music... Occasionally I'll put on some Infected Mushroom. I go through phases. I go sleep to classical. Does that mean that I would fall asleep in at management meeting? Probably.
What I use: I do software/hardware tech support on a primarily MS Windows platform and at home I have XP Pro. I fiddle with/study linux ala Knoppix when I have time. I'm still a student of sql, php, vb, vba, database building when I have time. (when I stop playing video games)
One day Slashdotters will have mentioned Al Quada and Cobra in the same sentence so much that we will hear about them in the next "terrorist threat" from Homeland Security.
"Thats right Americans and fellow Coalitioners... watch out for any suspiciously uniformed or marked individuals from Cobra.. They are said to wear a snake insignia or tattoo.."
We will/. them into existence! Maybe we can work on the Decepticons next. Can't wait for people afraid if their really large 80's style boomboxes that are acutally transmission devices to possible terrorists because its really Soundwave and his little friends i can't recall the names of.
Maybe if we started electing people into office that are not afraid to do their job? I'm tired of watching the 5 people in senate and house who can effectively argue a bipartisan issue that makes sense and then get the cold sholder from everyone else.
Hah.. Well I never really let Muzak bother me. I would just think to myself "hah.. funny, isn't that the muzak version of "For Whom the Bell tolls" by Metall-icka? I wonder if they'll sue the elevator company for using this? and proceed to think about something else..
I suppose i have +99 Protection against Muzak incantations. - THE POWER OF MUSAK COMPELS YOU!!!
I've worked at many call centers. If people HAVE to be on hold, they definitely prefer something nice to listen to. I've heard quite a few comments from customers saying "Whats that god awful sound for the hold "music"?!? I remember one company i worked at, the hold music there was broken and they never bothered fixing it for a couple years. Once we went over to a new system, and we actually had a chance to change the hold music to something a bit better, people were more pleasant when we actually got to their calls.
Anyway.. I'd definitely recommend a mix of current music from various genres as recommended before, however people sometimes do choose to hang up or lower their speaker phone on a song they do not like... In which case you may loose the call. I've found that the "muzak" version of current songs seems to work out well. Or at least instrumental versions of current songs.. It gives people a chance to "be creative" while on hold and they aren't forced to listen to a singer that they don't like.
Also I recommend streaming a local Light FM station through or even a news channel.
But one of the most important things to do is to occasionally break in with the customer's hold status and important system messages that could pertain to why they are calling.
Good luck in your new endeavor --- Your sig is for me to poop on.
Agreed, Its quite hard to get many women to enroll in college courses for the it industry, however there are many more factors which discourage women.
First a little background on myself. I am a woman who has been in the IT industry for about 10 years. I do mostly support and pc repair. Maybe one day I'll get myself into a coding job but right now I really like getting into the guts of a machine and fixing it. This is the direction I'm sticking with now. I do not have a college degree and have not attentded many technical courses. I simply taught myself and continue to keep in tune with current hardware and software problems out there. I learn a lot of new things everyday, I have a large retention to remember troubleshooting steps all the way back to windows 3.1 and dos. And I have about 10 years of work experience and am pretty respected whenever i stay longer than 6 months on a job. I also play pc games.. I'm not much of a console gamer. I was recently into Star Wars Galaxies and played it when it hit retail until i got bored with it a couple months ago. I also ran out of time to devote to it. Generally i like RPG games. I'm into Neverwinter nights now.
I'm also considered "one of the guys" and it would be hard for me to figure out what your "typical woman" would want in a game.. IMHO women appreciate just as much variety as men do.. Maybe they would appreciate a game with not a lot T&A in it. However I happen to like those kind of overly sexualized characters too. The question of violence level is also an issue. I also like to play games that spew blood and guts everywhere. I believe alot of games have gore level options on them so that to me isn't the deterrent for women. But like i said I buy and play games that most women are like "ick" to. I would think that even having a women on the "art direction" or "design direction" or "concept" departments may help.
What I see as far as women in the industry is that going back to formal college is usually not an option especially for women with child rearing responsibilities. There are a lot more options out there for women to receive education on coding. Such as the motivation and interest to teach oneself, Enrollment in a technical school more specific to development. The problem with this is they probably wont be hired by a company if they do not have the experience to back them, even if they could fulfill the job responsibilities. Maybe companies should offer more entry level jobs of this type to women specifically. There's also a problem with women feeling comfortable in the IT industry. The "Good 'ole boys" attitude is still rampant in corporate America and especially within IT due to the fact that from the start, it was a male dominated field. It's one thing to say that you want women to work with you, and it's another to keep them around after they are hired. When i was interviewed for my last job I was sure I was qualified for it. When I got the job, I found out that the only reason was because one of the women who interviewed me had to convince the mangers to hire me because they thought I would not like the job because I was a woman and wouldn't fit in. Um... If i didn't want the job.. I wouldn't have interviewed for it. Its this kind of attitude that needs to be overcome.. And its this kind of attitude that causes games to be developed that immediately alienate women from wanting to play them.
As I said before, If there are not a lot of experienced female developers out there, there are jobs that could be created for them or places that they can be hired into that would effect the concept and design of games that may have nothing to do with coding.
- Homer: I'm in no condition to drive. Wait, I shouldn't listen to myself. I'm drunk!
Yes, This may already have been stated but... IMHO
This band has been marketed brilliantly. Even showing up on that "When or why the music died" show on PBS. So many more people have heard or were ready to buy this album even before it came out. Wether or not copy protection is on this album makes absolutly no difference in record sales. It was available for download from several locations MONTHS ago.
IMHO this was a test for everyone who SAY they are against RIAA and any government legislation that supports their existence to NOT buy the album or support the band in any way if they are signed to a major label. Generally if you sign with a major label you are also signing that you support the RIAA and what they do.. Its all about the money. And frankly. If these lovable g&r and stp guys really cared about their music and their fans (which i suspect they do to some extent) they would get a clue and start their own label and market their own album. Or sign with an existing lable that isn't with RIAA. This is how it should be. Yes its hard.. But if you are passionate enough you can make it big.
Also what you have to remember is your album is sort of like your resume.. If your worth it, people will go see you tour.. This is where the money is really made. Also maybe if more people were against the RIAA and proved it by not buying albums that are associated with their.. association, then artists may start caring more about the fans that support their creative views.
Slashdot Mirror
Although I love reading about the musical tastes of slasdotters.. No.. really.. I do! I think a more interesting survey would have been to take 200 bands and ask what operating systems and applications they like to use. A good number of them would probably fit into the "where's the "any" key" category tho.
My musical interests (who cares?): Since there's no new life-changing new life-changing industrial bands and EBM is boring me to tears, I've been getting into Neo-Classical and Epic Metal. I was into Noise bands for a time but they make my head hurt to much now. I guess I'm not hard core enough. I've also been digging up my Tangerine Dream and Kate Bush and Shoe Gazer type music... Occasionally I'll put on some Infected Mushroom. I go through phases. I go sleep to classical. Does that mean that I would fall asleep in at management meeting? Probably.
What I use: I do software/hardware tech support on a primarily MS Windows platform and at home I have XP Pro. I fiddle with/study linux ala Knoppix when I have time. I'm still a student of sql, php, vb, vba, database building when I have time. (when I stop playing video games)
One day Slashdotters will have mentioned Al Quada and Cobra in the same sentence so much that we will hear about them in the next "terrorist threat" from Homeland Security.
/. them into existence! Maybe we can work on the Decepticons next. Can't wait for people afraid if their really large 80's style boomboxes that are acutally transmission devices to possible terrorists because its really Soundwave and his little friends i can't recall the names of.
"Thats right Americans and fellow Coalitioners... watch out for any suspiciously uniformed or marked individuals from Cobra.. They are said to wear a snake insignia or tattoo.."
We will
Maybe if we started electing people into office that are not afraid to do their job? I'm tired of watching the 5 people in senate and house who can effectively argue a bipartisan issue that makes sense and then get the cold sholder from everyone else.
Excellent...
How about that with the voice that cuts in that says "your call is important to us...." But you alternate the voice with:
a) a death metal growl
b) a black metal squeal
c) alien and robot noises
d) an evil sarcastic clown voice...
e) low mumbling
-
your comments are being recoded for "training purposes"
Hah.. Well I never really let Muzak bother me. I would just think to myself "hah.. funny, isn't that the muzak version of "For Whom the Bell tolls" by Metall-icka? I wonder if they'll sue the elevator company for using this? and proceed to think about something else..
I suppose i have +99 Protection against Muzak incantations.
-
THE POWER OF MUSAK COMPELS YOU!!!
Ahh in which case I'd put the speakerphone up to 10 and allow everyone else to enjoy as well. :P
--
http://www.winterkalte.com/sound.html
I've worked at many call centers. If people HAVE to be on hold, they definitely prefer something nice to listen to. I've heard quite a few comments from customers saying "Whats that god awful sound for the hold "music"?!? I remember one company i worked at, the hold music there was broken and they never bothered fixing it for a couple years. Once we went over to a new system, and we actually had a chance to change the hold music to something a bit better, people were more pleasant when we actually got to their calls.
Anyway.. I'd definitely recommend a mix of current music from various genres as recommended before, however people sometimes do choose to hang up or lower their speaker phone on a song they do not like... In which case you may loose the call. I've found that the "muzak" version of current songs seems to work out well. Or at least instrumental versions of current songs.. It gives people a chance to "be creative" while on hold and they aren't forced to listen to a singer that they don't like.
Also I recommend streaming a local Light FM station through or even a news channel.
But one of the most important things to do is to occasionally break in with the customer's hold status and important system messages that could pertain to why they are calling.
Good luck in your new endeavor
---
Your sig is for me to poop on.
Agreed, Its quite hard to get many women to enroll in college courses for the it industry, however there are many more factors which discourage women.
First a little background on myself. I am a woman who has been in the IT industry for about 10 years. I do mostly support and pc repair. Maybe one day I'll get myself into a coding job but right now I really like getting into the guts of a machine and fixing it. This is the direction I'm sticking with now. I do not have a college degree and have not attentded many technical courses. I simply taught myself and continue to keep in tune with current hardware and software problems out there. I learn a lot of new things everyday, I have a large retention to remember troubleshooting steps all the way back to windows 3.1 and dos. And I have about 10 years of work experience and am pretty respected whenever i stay longer than 6 months on a job. I also play pc games.. I'm not much of a console gamer. I was recently into Star Wars Galaxies and played it when it hit retail until i got bored with it a couple months ago. I also ran out of time to devote to it. Generally i like RPG games. I'm into Neverwinter nights now.
I'm also considered "one of the guys" and it would be hard for me to figure out what your "typical woman" would want in a game.. IMHO women appreciate just as much variety as men do.. Maybe they would appreciate a game with not a lot T&A in it. However I happen to like those kind of overly sexualized characters too. The question of violence level is also an issue. I also like to play games that spew blood and guts everywhere. I believe alot of games have gore level options on them so that to me isn't the deterrent for women. But like i said I buy and play games that most women are like "ick" to. I would think that even having a women on the "art direction" or "design direction" or "concept" departments may help.
What I see as far as women in the industry is that going back to formal college is usually not an option especially for women with child rearing responsibilities. There are a lot more options out there for women to receive education on coding. Such as the motivation and interest to teach oneself, Enrollment in a technical school more specific to development. The problem with this is they probably wont be hired by a company if they do not have the experience to back them, even if they could fulfill the job responsibilities. Maybe companies should offer more entry level jobs of this type to women specifically. There's also a problem with women feeling comfortable in the IT industry. The "Good 'ole boys" attitude is still rampant in corporate America and especially within IT due to the fact that from the start, it was a male dominated field. It's one thing to say that you want women to work with you, and it's another to keep them around after they are hired. When i was interviewed for my last job I was sure I was qualified for it. When I got the job, I found out that the only reason was because one of the women who interviewed me had to convince the mangers to hire me because they thought I would not like the job because I was a woman and wouldn't fit in. Um... If i didn't want the job.. I wouldn't have interviewed for it. Its this kind of attitude that needs to be overcome.. And its this kind of attitude that causes games to be developed that immediately alienate women from wanting to play them.
As I said before, If there are not a lot of experienced female developers out there, there are jobs that could be created for them or places that they can be hired into that would effect the concept and design of games that may have nothing to do with coding.
-
Homer: I'm in no condition to drive. Wait, I shouldn't listen to myself. I'm drunk!
Yes, This may already have been stated but...
IMHO
This band has been marketed brilliantly. Even showing up on that "When or why the music died" show on PBS. So many more people have heard or were ready to buy this album even before it came out. Wether or not copy protection is on this album makes absolutly no difference in record sales. It was available for download from several locations MONTHS ago.
IMHO this was a test for everyone who SAY they are against RIAA and any government legislation that supports their existence to NOT buy the album or support the band in any way if they are signed to a major label. Generally if you sign with a major label you are also signing that you support the RIAA and what they do.. Its all about the money. And frankly. If these lovable g&r and stp guys really cared about their music and their fans (which i suspect they do to some extent) they would get a clue and start their own label and market their own album. Or sign with an existing lable that isn't with RIAA. This is how it should be. Yes its hard.. But if you are passionate enough you can make it big.
Also what you have to remember is your album is sort of like your resume.. If your worth it, people will go see you tour.. This is where the money is really made. Also maybe if more people were against the RIAA and proved it by not buying albums that are associated with their.. association, then artists may start caring more about the fans that support their creative views.
Unless your wife manages to trash the entire Internet, digital magazines are pretty hard to throw away
I'm not married yet and I am a female pc tech/gamer you insensitive clod.
Comic Book Guy: Worst Cosmic Wars ever! I will only see it three more times. Today.