...people passing judgement about every action Google makes. Obeying laws of the countries you are doing business in can certainly be defended as an honorable way to live the mantra "Do No Evil".
It is not the responsibility of Google to be a vehicle for political influence.
I think what Google is trying to accomplish with this theme is to state that they want to compete fairly (albeit, agressively and relentlessly) in any markets they choose to compete in. And, that they want to offer a product to customers that provides value.
Obviously, you can read anything you'd like into a simple statement such as "Do No Evil", but I think Slashdot spends way to much time analyzing every decision Google makes.
45. It's been reported that the National Security Agency has been collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans. It then analyzes calling patterns in an effort to identify possible terrorism suspects, without listening to or recording the conversations. Would you consider this an acceptable or unacceptable way for the federal government to investigate terrorism? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat?
Without oversight, how can you qualify what the NSA is doing with this information? You can't. This question is slanted as it infers the NSA is doing nothing listen to calls.
I would be interested in seeing what the survey results would be if it said the NSA would listen to calls without court approval.
Every newspaper in every red state with an opinion section should have this post quoted. It boggles the mind what Republicans, the people I thought who were most concerned about government intrusion, are willing to allow now that Bush is the president.
1. Release a real virtualization tool. This should be able to achieve near-native speeds (if not 100% native) for a Windows OS running alongside OS X. Dual boot systems don't offer a lot. 1 becomes your main operating system, and the other is useful only as a hobby tool. This isn't a big enough draw to convert a large number of people. If you can run side-by-side? I can share clipboard between applications? I can edit files between OSes? That becomes much more interesting.
2. Embrace the 2-button mouse. Why do their laptops still only have a 1-button mouse. I don't know a single Mac user, not ONE, that doesn't use a 2 button mouse. This is pigheaded thinking.
Lots of questions, and this thread is long dead, but I'll answer generally and hopefully address all of your points.
1. We are a small company (~25 ppl). We use great technology, and I think we have a good product, but perhaps we get looked over by applicants because of our size.
2. I don't go looking for a specific type of candidate when it comes to attributes that make absolutely no difference on job performance. All applicants are screened with a basic skills exam (very general comp sci. probs, system design probs, and a few basic Java and Javascript problems). Aside from the tech-specific questions, the test is designed to learn how an applicant thinks. After this basic skills assessment, our interview process is pretty standard.
3. To clarify, we didn't bring people over from China and India. These applicants were on educational visas and graduated with advanced degrees from US universities. They were living in our area, and were looking for work. After graduation, educational visas expire, and we took over H-1 sponsorship.
4. For our most recent position, we received 6-7 applications that had a decent skills match (out of over 25). We phone interviewed these people and narrowed it to 4 applicants. The top 2 were chosen after the test and interview, and the top applicant was chosen after following up on references.
5. Actually, our company is fairly family friendly. We're a startup, so you can bet on staying late 1-2 nights a week pounding out code during crunch phases. But, we scale back appropriately when not under the gun, and give comp days after a period of intense work prior to a release.
I'm a coder. I know what it feels like to have a ridiculous boss that doesn't know shit about software development. It sucks. But, if you want a 9-5 all the time, go work for a fucking bank!. Sometimes, good software demands more love. If you can't get excited enough about what you're doing that you're unwilling to work your ass off to do something cool, then become an accounting major. Go home and sit on your fucking couch and stay there! I only want passionate people working for me. There are loads of professions that demand this kind of committment. Writing good software happens to be one of them. A good employer recognizes that, gives you opportunities to grow, pays you accordingly, and knows when to scale the workload back.
6. Would I hire someone that is smart and excited about learning J2EE but may not have specific experience? Would I hire someone that can demostrate a *capacity* for doing well? Absolutely! I've hired 2 of those types, and they've worked out great! But, the difference is, for some positions, there is an immediate need to plug someone in that can contribute right away. The talent pool for those people is small, imo.
Look, if you're from the US and a CS major, don't get your panties in a bunch because I said we hired a high percentage of foreign employees. Your jobs are NOT disappearing. The point I was making is that there is a shortage of qualified people to fill senior level positions in software.
I stand by my position that if you choose the CS/software developer path, and if you love it, and you are good at it, you'll do very well for yourself.
And, our offices are in proximity to 3 major universities within a 50 mile radius. We pay a very competitive wage and we are working with very modern technology (J2EE, "Web 2.0 features), but we have a hard time finding qualified applicants. We work our network, advertise on Monster, and post on the university boards. It's tough.
I have 8 technical people in my group and I've sponsored 2 H-1 visas (1 from China and the other from India). In both of these cases, the job was offered to the most qualified candidate.
So, I guess my observation, as an employer, would support these findings, and I would encourage anyone that has the interest and the skills to take the CS/software developer school/career track to go at it full speed. As one of my CS professors used to say, "there will always be good jobs for good peopel". I think that is true.
This is definitely a employee's market right now. Things are completely different now than they were 3 years ago.
Hair-splitting? This is the most stupid-assed logic I've ever seen. Jack Abramoff is the one on trial and accused of illegal activity, not the indian tribes.
Your logic is as follows: Indian tribes gave to Abramoff.
Indian tribes gave to Democrats.
Therefore, Democrats are linked to the Abramoff scandal.
Hmmm. That makes sense.
Let me take this further... Terrorists hate George W. Bush
Democrats hate George W. Bush
Democrats are linked with Terrorists
Yee-HA! Fuck those Liberalz!!
Either you're too fucking stupid to see the fallacy in your logic, or you're just another Republican toadie.
Honestly, when is the last time you were turned onto a new band from radio?
Radio stations are all just cookie cutter branding and recycled playlists. There are no good venues for discovering new music. Clearchannel and like companies that have created the boring radio landscape we have now share much of the blame for a downturn in sales.
Combine that with the fact that a new CD costs $18, who the hell is going to buy a new CD?
Neither was phone or power or water until the government regulated these as public utilities by recognizing that the guarantee of these services serves a greater good.
Similar regulation of the internet will follow that will bring internet access to similar levels of guaranteed service that other utilities offer. It is only a matter of time.
Every time someone uses experiments like this to "disprove creationism" (as if this is something that can be proven or disproven in the first place), they ignore the common feature to all of these tests:
The scientist.
All this "proves" is that it is possible for an intelligent being to combine elements to create something more complicated.
You're saying this experiment shows all of this around us "proves" it could all happen on its own?
I know a lot of people hate the idea of an ActiveX plugin for IE rendering. But, I think it is a good move that will allow more options for companies to adopt Firefox as their standard brower. Many organizations are locked into IE because of internally developed applications that use IE-specific technology. Without this option, there is NO upgrade path. Period.
However, I'm actually very interested in the opposite scenario. I work for a company that distributes a web-based application, and we are very interested in using XUL to create a richer UI experience. XUL, however, is only available in Gecko. I've searched everywhere, but cannot find an IE plugin that allows for the Gecko rendering engine to be used (or the subset of functionality required to render XUL components).
There is no way we could require users to use Firefox (we're not going to limit our customer base no matter how cool the technology), but if a plugin existed for IE that we could distribute, we would happily go down this path.
I would think that this would be in the Firefox group's best interest anyways to establish XUL as a de facto standard. Could anyone comment on this?
SWT has native libraries that are unique to each platform. The Java classes written to the SWT API have JNI native bindings to these libraries. So, the Java code is WORA, but every platform has a unique set of native libs (.dll,.so, etc.)
At any rate, thanks for the refresher on Java bytecode class files..... ???
Seriously. Many of the competitive technologies that the Eclipse project is developing are far superior to the offerings from Sun.
For example, the SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit), is a thin Java wrapper around native OS UI controls. The SWT API is standardized for all platforms, but the SWT relies on a native library to bind to for the specific OS it is running on. The result is native UI performance from a Java application. The SWT is FAR superior to AWT/Swing and should have been the direction the eggheads at Sun should have pursued from day 1.
In fact, the biggest reason perceptions exist that Java is slow is based on user experiences with Java GUI applications. The fact is, Java performance is actually pretty decent for server-side applications, but Sun's AWT/Swing toolkit is an absolute piece of crap. Java AWT/Swing IS SLOW!!! (and don't reply to this email saying "if you learn to optimize your Swing code, blah blah blah... That is bullshit. I've been coding in Java since 97. You can't polish a piece of shit. And also, don't give me this "write once run anywhere" mantra that most of us couldn't give a shit about! There is still only 1 version of Java code, just different binaries for each platform. That's WORA enough for me.)
To Sun's credit, they are very good at developing APIs. However, their platform implementations are usually slow and bloated.
Rather than bitch about the Eclipse group splintering Java, Sun should work to take the best ideas from this project that outperform and change their course and stand behind them.
In 1999, I worked for a company that used an OO database (ObjectStore) to develop an e-commerce shopping portal. It was a disaster.
OO advocates point to extremely fast (extremely special-case, in practice) queries, and natural persistent object mapping as reasons to why OO is superior.
However, this is very misleading.
Some of the MAJOR problems we ran into in using ObjectStore were:
It is very difficult to "see" an OO database. By nature, the data isn't tabular. It's a persistent object heap. There's no "SELECT * FROM USERS". So tracking down data-related problems involves exporting data to an XML file and sifting through it.
Reporting tools don't exist for OODB. Try hooking up Crystal or another reporting tool to this. You end up writing every report from scratch.
DB Performance when querying outside the normal object hierarchy (aggregate queries grouping on object attributes, etc.) is orders of magnitude SLOWER on an OODB! This was a huge problem when allowing users to do a product search on an e-commerce portal.
32-bit memory limited our max customer size dramatically.
When developers first consider OO databases, their first assumption is that OODBMS is to RDBMS as OOP is to Procedural Programming. This is a FALSE analogy! Migrating to OODBMS offers precious little to support better software design while introducing significant maintenance and design issues that should be considered prior to using this technology.
Unless I had a product that had an extremely specialized use case that matched OODB strengths, I would NEVER develop on this kind of platform again.
From the report, they mentioned that it is illegal for your employer to fire you based on your credit report
However, as with any discrimination lawsuit, it is sometimes difficult to prove that this was the reason your employer let you go (or refused to hire you in the first place). They can easily site another reason.
I've never met a Java debugger that didn't take up +128MB of ram. It would be nice if somebody would develop a native debugger in Java.
Anybody know of any tools that meet this criteria?
Slashdot Mirror
go to cell only. ive gotten very few calls since ive done that.
...people passing judgement about every action Google makes. Obeying laws of the countries you are doing business in can certainly be defended as an honorable way to live the mantra "Do No Evil".
It is not the responsibility of Google to be a vehicle for political influence.
I think what Google is trying to accomplish with this theme is to state that they want to compete fairly (albeit, agressively and relentlessly) in any markets they choose to compete in. And, that they want to offer a product to customers that provides value.
Obviously, you can read anything you'd like into a simple statement such as "Do No Evil", but I think Slashdot spends way to much time analyzing every decision Google makes.
Without oversight, how can you qualify what the NSA is doing with this information? You can't. This question is slanted as it infers the NSA is doing nothing listen to calls.
I would be interested in seeing what the survey results would be if it said the NSA would listen to calls without court approval.
This post should be modded +10.
Unbelievable.
What about Dumb and Dumber...er....nevermind.
1. Release a real virtualization tool. This should be able to achieve near-native speeds (if not 100% native) for a Windows OS running alongside OS X. Dual boot systems don't offer a lot. 1 becomes your main operating system, and the other is useful only as a hobby tool. This isn't a big enough draw to convert a large number of people. If you can run side-by-side? I can share clipboard between applications? I can edit files between OSes? That becomes much more interesting.
2. Embrace the 2-button mouse. Why do their laptops still only have a 1-button mouse. I don't know a single Mac user, not ONE, that doesn't use a 2 button mouse. This is pigheaded thinking.
1. We are a small company (~25 ppl). We use great technology, and I think we have a good product, but perhaps we get looked over by applicants because of our size.
2. I don't go looking for a specific type of candidate when it comes to attributes that make absolutely no difference on job performance. All applicants are screened with a basic skills exam (very general comp sci. probs, system design probs, and a few basic Java and Javascript problems). Aside from the tech-specific questions, the test is designed to learn how an applicant thinks. After this basic skills assessment, our interview process is pretty standard.
3. To clarify, we didn't bring people over from China and India. These applicants were on educational visas and graduated with advanced degrees from US universities. They were living in our area, and were looking for work. After graduation, educational visas expire, and we took over H-1 sponsorship.
4. For our most recent position, we received 6-7 applications that had a decent skills match (out of over 25). We phone interviewed these people and narrowed it to 4 applicants. The top 2 were chosen after the test and interview, and the top applicant was chosen after following up on references.
5. Actually, our company is fairly family friendly. We're a startup, so you can bet on staying late 1-2 nights a week pounding out code during crunch phases. But, we scale back appropriately when not under the gun, and give comp days after a period of intense work prior to a release.
I'm a coder. I know what it feels like to have a ridiculous boss that doesn't know shit about software development. It sucks. But, if you want a 9-5 all the time, go work for a fucking bank!. Sometimes, good software demands more love. If you can't get excited enough about what you're doing that you're unwilling to work your ass off to do something cool, then become an accounting major. Go home and sit on your fucking couch and stay there! I only want passionate people working for me. There are loads of professions that demand this kind of committment. Writing good software happens to be one of them. A good employer recognizes that, gives you opportunities to grow, pays you accordingly, and knows when to scale the workload back.
6. Would I hire someone that is smart and excited about learning J2EE but may not have specific experience? Would I hire someone that can demostrate a *capacity* for doing well? Absolutely! I've hired 2 of those types, and they've worked out great! But, the difference is, for some positions, there is an immediate need to plug someone in that can contribute right away. The talent pool for those people is small, imo.
Look, if you're from the US and a CS major, don't get your panties in a bunch because I said we hired a high percentage of foreign employees. Your jobs are NOT disappearing. The point I was making is that there is a shortage of qualified people to fill senior level positions in software.
I stand by my position that if you choose the CS/software developer path, and if you love it, and you are good at it, you'll do very well for yourself.
I have 8 technical people in my group and I've sponsored 2 H-1 visas (1 from China and the other from India). In both of these cases, the job was offered to the most qualified candidate.
So, I guess my observation, as an employer, would support these findings, and I would encourage anyone that has the interest and the skills to take the CS/software developer school/career track to go at it full speed. As one of my CS professors used to say, "there will always be good jobs for good peopel". I think that is true.
This is definitely a employee's market right now. Things are completely different now than they were 3 years ago.
Hair-splitting? This is the most stupid-assed logic I've ever seen. Jack Abramoff is the one on trial and accused of illegal activity, not the indian tribes.
Your logic is as follows:
Indian tribes gave to Abramoff.
Indian tribes gave to Democrats.
Therefore, Democrats are linked to the Abramoff scandal.
Hmmm. That makes sense.
Let me take this further...
Terrorists hate George W. Bush
Democrats hate George W. Bush
Democrats are linked with Terrorists
Yee-HA! Fuck those Liberalz!!
Either you're too fucking stupid to see the fallacy in your logic, or you're just another Republican toadie.
Honestly, when is the last time you were turned onto a new band from radio?
Radio stations are all just cookie cutter branding and recycled playlists. There are no good venues for discovering new music. Clearchannel and like companies that have created the boring radio landscape we have now share much of the blame for a downturn in sales.
Combine that with the fact that a new CD costs $18, who the hell is going to buy a new CD?
Similar regulation of the internet will follow that will bring internet access to similar levels of guaranteed service that other utilities offer. It is only a matter of time.
Every time someone uses experiments like this to "disprove creationism" (as if this is something that can be proven or disproven in the first place), they ignore the common feature to all of these tests:
The scientist.
All this "proves" is that it is possible for an intelligent being to combine elements to create something more complicated.
You're saying this experiment shows all of this around us "proves" it could all happen on its own?
I know a lot of people hate the idea of an ActiveX plugin for IE rendering. But, I think it is a good move that will allow more options for companies to adopt Firefox as their standard brower. Many organizations are locked into IE because of internally developed applications that use IE-specific technology. Without this option, there is NO upgrade path. Period.
However, I'm actually very interested in the opposite scenario. I work for a company that distributes a web-based application, and we are very interested in using XUL to create a richer UI experience. XUL, however, is only available in Gecko. I've searched everywhere, but cannot find an IE plugin that allows for the Gecko rendering engine to be used (or the subset of functionality required to render XUL components).
There is no way we could require users to use Firefox (we're not going to limit our customer base no matter how cool the technology), but if a plugin existed for IE that we could distribute, we would happily go down this path.
I would think that this would be in the Firefox group's best interest anyways to establish XUL as a de facto standard. Could anyone comment on this?
SWT has native libraries that are unique to each platform. The Java classes written to the SWT API have JNI native bindings to these libraries. So, the Java code is WORA, but every platform has a unique set of native libs (.dll, .so, etc.)
At any rate, thanks for the refresher on Java bytecode class files..... ???
Seriously. Many of the competitive technologies that the Eclipse project is developing are far superior to the offerings from Sun.
For example, the SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit), is a thin Java wrapper around native OS UI controls. The SWT API is standardized for all platforms, but the SWT relies on a native library to bind to for the specific OS it is running on. The result is native UI performance from a Java application. The SWT is FAR superior to AWT/Swing and should have been the direction the eggheads at Sun should have pursued from day 1.
In fact, the biggest reason perceptions exist that Java is slow is based on user experiences with Java GUI applications. The fact is, Java performance is actually pretty decent for server-side applications, but Sun's AWT/Swing toolkit is an absolute piece of crap. Java AWT/Swing IS SLOW!!! (and don't reply to this email saying "if you learn to optimize your Swing code, blah blah blah... That is bullshit. I've been coding in Java since 97. You can't polish a piece of shit. And also, don't give me this "write once run anywhere" mantra that most of us couldn't give a shit about! There is still only 1 version of Java code, just different binaries for each platform. That's WORA enough for me.)
To Sun's credit, they are very good at developing APIs. However, their platform implementations are usually slow and bloated.
Rather than bitch about the Eclipse group splintering Java, Sun should work to take the best ideas from this project that outperform and change their course and stand behind them.
My 2 cents...
In 1999, I worked for a company that used an OO database (ObjectStore) to develop an e-commerce shopping portal. It was a disaster.
OO advocates point to extremely fast (extremely special-case, in practice) queries, and natural persistent object mapping as reasons to why OO is superior.
However, this is very misleading.
Some of the MAJOR problems we ran into in using ObjectStore were:
When developers first consider OO databases, their first assumption is that OODBMS is to RDBMS as OOP is to Procedural Programming. This is a FALSE analogy! Migrating to OODBMS offers precious little to support better software design while introducing significant maintenance and design issues that should be considered prior to using this technology.
Unless I had a product that had an extremely specialized use case that matched OODB strengths, I would NEVER develop on this kind of platform again.
From the report, they mentioned that it is illegal for your employer to fire you based on your credit report
However, as with any discrimination lawsuit, it is sometimes difficult to prove that this was the reason your employer let you go (or refused to hire you in the first place). They can easily site another reason.
Certainly the courts would not rule as illegal any of the following acts:
NONE of these acts are any different from programming a DVD player to skip offensive portions of a movie you've purchased!
Either these acts are all illegal or the aren't. It's as simple as that! DVD's don't deserve special treatment.
If the courts rule in favor of Hollywood on this one, it will set a dangerous precendent...
I've never met a Java debugger that didn't take up +128MB of ram. It would be nice if somebody would develop a native debugger in Java. Anybody know of any tools that meet this criteria?