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User: doc6502

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  1. Loves me some Linux Mint Cinnamon... on A Windows 10 Alternative: Ubuntu-Based Zorin OS Linux Distro (betanews.com) · · Score: 2

    ... for the simple reason the desktop isn't cluttered (unless I want it cluttered), it's easy to add / remove app launchers, the desktop look and feel are easy to configure. It looks a lot like Windows 7, which worked for me no problem. I'm not a big "make your desktop like your personality" guy. I just like getting work done, and I want my desktop to do what it's supposed to do: gimmie GUI, with a minimal amount of fuss. I've been using Mint for the last 3 years and it's my favorite distro.

  2. Headlines Of The Future on James Dyson: We Should Pay Students To Study Engineering · · Score: 1

    "Dean of Engineering School Internet-ted In Engineering Recruitment Scandal" 'Who says nerds don't like weed, beer, hookers, and a free Corvette?' said an anonymous source in the NCAA.

  3. I wouldn't say it's exactly the same problem... on Radiohead's Thom Yorke Pulls Albums From Spotify In Protest of Low Royalties · · Score: 1

    ...as Yorke was able to pull the albums from Spotify. In the old days, he would have had to take the label to court to block distribution (see Ringo Starr's suit against Chips Moman)

  4. It's a broad brush... on Which Math For Programmers? · · Score: 1

    Years ago, I met the guy who ran the company who made most of the wheels for Rollerblade. He's not a chemist, or an engineer. He's a former helicopter pilot who flew soldiers in and out of the jungles of Vietnam and later became a contract helicopter bush pilot, doing firespotting and transport for the US Forest Service. When he realized he was getting sick of risking his life for not much pay and very little thanks, he started looking for something else to do. Through a friend, he heard that IBM was looking for someone to assist them with an issue with rubber compounds-- they needed a specific rubber formulation for parts that wouldn't degrade even under the worst conditions. He didn't know a thing about rubber, but figured it couldn't hurt to give it a crack. Six months of studying, phone calls, etc, he got a line on it and contacted a friend who worked at a rubber company to produce a prototype. They did, and he presented it to IBM and won a contract, which grew into a business, etc. The point I'm making is that an open mind is substanitally more important than the chunks of knowledge that you're going to get from a degree. The best programmers I've met had college degrees or no college degrees. One had a master's in Speech Pathology (he ended up designing and implementing lease accounting systems). Another flunked out of college and traded his drum kit for a computer so he could play games (and ended up learning the system from the ground up). Another was driving a forklift in a warehouse and realized the picker routes the ordering system was generating were wrong or hugely inefficent (and ended up redesigning and eventually rewriting the picker system). In each case, they learned the skills they needed along the way. Having said that, the kind of maths you're looking at are good to have "in the toolkit", not so much for a specific skill, but because they give you a different way of looking at data, problems, solutions, testing, and implementation.

  5. While it's nice to see your name in print... on Slashdot Mentioned In Virginia Terrorism Report · · Score: 1
    ...it's good to know that colleges and universities (especially colleges and universities for African-Americans) is still a "presence". From Page 9:

    Terrorist/Extremist Group Presence A wide variety of terror or extremist groups have links to Division 1 [area around the capital]. Richmond's history as the capital city of the Confederacy, combined with the city's current demographic concentration of African-American residents, contributes to the continued presence of race-based extremist groups. This area is also the site of several community colleges and urban universities that attract a diverse range of domestic and international students and professors; two area universities are designated as Historically Black Colleges and Universities. While the majority of individuals associated with educational institutions do not engage in activities of interest to the VFC, it is important to note that University-based students groups are recognized as a radicalization node for almost every type of extremist group. A small number of Division 1 area college students also align themselves with anarchist or animal and/or environmental groups.

  6. Yes. No one's experience is unique. on Narcissistic College Graduates In the Workplace? · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ha.

    The problem with this kind of "in my day" topic is that it was your day. When I started my "professional" career in 1986, I was one of those dewy-eyed, easily disillusioned, "nothing in use is any good" developers.

    It took me about 8 months at my gig before I was totally disabused of this notion. I had loads to learn. True, I could code and debug.

    But I couldn't design worth a shit because I didn't understand the business, and I didn't understand user behavour. I didn't understand why my boss would get upset when I'd spend a weekend re-writing something that was working pretty well to begin with (I just didn't like the style), and I didn't quite get office politics.

    And I suspect those kinds of things that people don't want to admit to when they're in the middle of saying "This job isn't what I thought it would be."

    NO job is ever what you thought it would be, especially your first one. I thought I'd be coding and writing all kinds of neat stuff in my first year. Instead, I learned how to run cables from office to warehouse (not complying with building codes), debugging arcane tax calculations, distributing reports, re-writing MRP and MPS calculations, etc. None of this stuff I'd ever learned in college.

    In the end, I accepted the situation, and made the best of it. I learned a ton of useful stuff, and then got out of there as soon as I could line up a better opportunity in what I wanted which was working in commercial software development. But there is no way I could have ever gotten that gig without going through my first job.

  7. General Questions, Specific Answers on Interviewing Experienced IT People? · · Score: 1

    The thing that isn't really covered is why the individual is being hired. I interview a lot of people. The main things I have found to ensure "fit" isn't so much age v. experience, but attitude v. requirements. If you require...
    ...a project manager, an experienced person is a better fit (but they need to at least understand the technical concepts)
    ...a lot of customer/client facing, an experienced person may a better fit. (Not always. People can be grumpy and/or agree too quickly.)
    ...a lot of development, an experienced or a new hire usually works (depends on quality, size of release, schedule)
    ...a lot of testing, an experienced or a new hire usually works (depends on testing processes)
    ...a lot of documentation, experienced or a new hire is usually a disaster (get a real writer)
    ...a trainer, experience is always best

  8. Dat's a good deal, I suggest youse take it... on RIAA and Net Radio Broadcasters Reach Agreement · · Score: 1

    Vinnie and da boyse down da street will charge you 300% interest for a week's use of "their" money. The RIAA looks positively civic-minded with this victory!

  9. Simple Solution on Mars Rovers Facing Budget Cuts [Updated] · · Score: 1

    If NASA would just do what corporate America does, outsource the entire program, I'm sure the savings would be substantial.

  10. Reduce some of the boring details... on Filming an Invasion Without Extras · · Score: 1

    ...but so what? You still need at least one human that knows the mechanics of film. Even if you're assembling a composite, the important stuff like camera angles, lighting, composition, balance, layout, and color are incredibly important. Stuff like this can be storyborded, but until all of the elements are assembled, there's no telling what the final product is going to be.

  11. I want my share of me on The Ethics Of Data Brokers · · Score: 1

    Since the data agregators and ChoicePoint monkeys are all getting paid for making information off of me, I should get a cut. They already have my SSN. I know that one of these jamokes has my bank details. Why shouldn't I get something like 5% off of every transaction these guys make?

  12. Re:Come on, noone cares about Peter Jackson on Peter Jackson to Executive Produce Halo Movie · · Score: 1

    File this story under "w" for "Whoopie Ding-Dong". Who cares? Do you really think that making a big-budget version of Halo is going to actually get those who play Halo out from behind their controlers and into the theatres?

  13. It's a plot to find the leak. on SETI Disrupted By Cell Phones in Airplanes? · · Score: 1

    Yep. Them aliens will be listening in on our calls. They'll finally find out how Dan Ackroyd knows they exist.

  14. Re:Gifts? Online purchases? on Give Your DVD Player The Finger · · Score: 1

    "Honey, I need your left eyeball, your left ear, and your left index finger. I'm going shopping for your birthday present, and I want to make sure whatever it is I buy matches your eyes, fits on your finger, and doesn't look too tribal." See? Nothing to it. No suspicions aroused.

  15. Love the harsh, guys on Inside the Free iPod Offer · · Score: 1

    Um, we "smart" people know that if something is too good to be true, it probably is. But that doesn't make this guy's report any less valuable. It's good to know the enemy's techniques, even if you're too clever by half to fall for them.

  16. Hmmm on Microsoft Warns of Impossible to Clean Spyware · · Score: 1

    There's an OS out there that doesn't allow spyware or viruses to run: OS/400. It has a protected memory scheme that doesn't allow processes to touch other processes, or the 'kernel'. Hm.

  17. Re:Before anyone here tries to blame Republicans on Senate May Rush Copyright Legislation · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Coward, you also ought to mention that Hatch has been buds with a number of the people in the RIAA for some time-- they contributed heavily to his last campaign.

    I guess the Evil Empire (not Microsoft this time, the RIAA) has to ram this legislation through before Arlen Specter becomes head of the House Judiciary committee...