I like having access to my phone's functions (in particular my car's ability to connect to my iPhone for music), but I do not want to be forced to use my phone for GPS or any other functionality that can be built into the car. I know that built-in GPS systems are out of date as soon as the DVD is made, but I do not want to be forced to use my data plan for functionality that previously did not require it. I do not know how much cellular data the GPS would use, but having a built in navigation system currently uses none.
Car manufacturers, device and software manufacturers ( especially those ones who think everyone wants their data on "the could" ) please give us choices, not dictates. We like new features and ideas, but not necessarily new ideas that result in added, recurring expenses (fees for cloud storage, data usage and possible increased data plans because of the increased data usage).
I concur. I am very disappointed with the "Cloud" being forced upon Apple users. They recently backtracked and restored direct syncing of contacts and calendars, but have yet to restore direct syncing of notes.
The "Cloud" as an option is fine, but not everyone wants to put all of their stuff online.
If anyone from Apple reads/., PLEASE make retain local storage and syncing options for your users. Most people will opt of the "Cloud", the those who feel that local storage is better for their privacy and security will still be able to use Apple products.
Echoing many previous comments. Age does not matter. Like most endeavors you will get out of it what you put into it. It appears that you have put a good amount of effort into learning, and it appears that you have learned what you have set out to learn well. It is possible that the fact that you are older than the average person who is learning programming may work to your advantage. You have life experiences and other accumulated "wisdom" that may make up for some of the non-programming years that you spent your previous career.
I think the key to Balmer's statement statements is the phrase "that I see customers wanting". I think that the market has spoken in the past and what Mr. Balmer sees customers wanting does not always line up with what the customers actually want (all companies have misses). While sales have shown that customers want iPads, time will tell if Microsoft's Surface, when released, will meet the needs, expectations and/or "wants" of customers.
I may be wrong, but does't Windows RT also fall under the banner of "Surface", and thus probably will not be able to run the same applications that the customers are currently running? And, if so, what, then, makes Surface the solution?
I agree with the Hefty fine, but I think that the fine should be a calculated as a percentage of the company's worth, with a minimum of $200,000 if the company is not worth anything. Then a fairly large percentage (25%), that way, a large company that has 100's of millions of dollars will not just laugh off a $50,000 fine. The fine has to truly hurt the company for it to be a deturrent.
... If you're any good at all, you don't need a class, in fact a class will go far too slow. You need to get your hands dirty.... You learn more by doing than reading.
AuMatar, I have to respectfully disagree. A course can be very helpful, especially when tackling something that different to what you are used to. Like StonyCreekBare, I am also a long time programmer and, while I had years of C++ and UI programming experience, there are things in the iOS/Objective-C/X-Code world that were unlike anything else I had seen, so taking a course can be helpful in situations like that.
I do certainly agree with the "getting your hands dirty" part, in that you just can't read about a new language, etc.. You have to actually write some code.
But, for StonyCreekBare, wealth and fame in programming is hard to obtain. Fame sill be hard, but wealth is possible if you take the advice of some of the other responders and direct your efforts towards some of the lesser known, yet upcoming technologies. Also, I would look at what new technologies are being used in whichever industry you spent your time in (e.g. if you used to write CRM software, research the new technologies in that area so you get the advantage of your previous experience to help offset your lack of experience in the new language)
While I believe such a label is unnecessary, and ignoring the lack of logic behind such an approach (I do not believe that the Surgeon General's warning on cigarettes has slowed smoking), would it not make more sense to put the warning on games that are rated as violent? Otherwise, the labels will become like banner ads, which most people have learned to tune out.
Also, what are they fighting? It has been stated in earlier comments that the link between video games and violence is questionable at best. Perhaps they are fighting the perceived increase in violent crimes. If we are to believe wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States), violent crime has been stable or on the decline in past ten years. So, if there is the perception of an increase, it is probably due to the 24-hour news stations filling air time, so we hear about more crimes while the actual number is declining.
And (these points may have been made in previous posts), didn't they, back in the 1950's, claim that "Rock and Roll" music caused similar behavior? What about violent movies? How about caffeinated beverages? Alcohol (they have too strong of a lobby in Washington, so they will never be labeled like games)? Where will it end?
There is a difference with CD though. Someone can buy a CD, rip it to their computer and then sell it. They retain the continued use of the artist's work while not paying the full price. Then, when the next person purchases the used CD, they also are able to enjoy the result of the artist's work, but the artist does not get compensated again. If the first person listened to the CD, and deleted all digital or other copies prior to selling, it would not be an issue.
Games, on the other hand, seem to require the original disc, despite being installed on the hard drive, and therefore selling the disc prevents the game from being used on more than one system.
I am certainly not in favor of corrupt industries, but I feel that CDs are totally different in the "used media" space than games, due to the possibility of multiple simultaneous use from one disc.
Accepting the court's separation of sexually explicit material and violent material, does this ruling open the door for letting small children into R-Rated movies, which carry the "Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian" text along with the rating, without the "required" "accompanying parent or adult guardian" if the film is only rated "R" for violence and not sexual content? And if so, why have the "requires accompanying parent or adult guardian" text at all. And, what about NC-17, again if rated for violence and not sexually explicit material?
And, is it really that bad, from a First Amendment perspective, that adults have the right to decide if their children can play violent video games? I understand the profit motive, by restricting sales to any demographic the company looses potential profit, but I do not understand how the ability to SELL something to someone is a First Amendment issue, or how the corporations rights outweigh the rights of the parents.
I believe having multiple monitors, especially for software development, is very helpful. Not only can it aid debugging graphic applications (CAD/CAM, etc...), but it also helps when using a new API. I will have the documentation on one monitor and the IDE on another.
I once had a manager who believed that the developers should have the oldest and slowest computers. He thought that having slow hardware would force the developers to write faster code. It only served to frustrate us and we ended up wasting huge amounts of time during build cycles.
While, when I was writing code, I always WANTED the fastest hardware, I do not believe it i necessary, but developers should get the necessary tools because, as previously stated by others here, developers are expensive and small up-front investments in processors, memory, monitors, etc... that make them more productive pay great dividends in delivery of new features and bug fixes.
It seems that if the Texas legislature were truly concerned about discrimination, the bill would have stated "An institution of higher education may not discriminate against or penalize in any manner, especially with regard to employment or academic support, a faculty member or student based on the faculty member's or student's conduct of research relating to the theory of the origination and development of organisms" This would then also protect those who believe in what is normally taught from being discriminated against by those who believe in the alternative theories.
Joel McHale is the host of a show call the "The Soup" on the E! network. But, I believe you are correct, Stephen Cobert has been making that joke for a couple of weeks now.
I switched. 3 other people in my office switched. Whats he talking about? I hate to add another "Me too" post but I also switched, and I work for a major PC manufacturer. By showing a few other people my PowerBook I have convinced four other people to switch (and get iPods, but that is another story). I am starting to think that Dvorak writes these articles so someone pays attention to what he is writing, like a small child who is not getting enough attention so s/he misbehaves to get the only type of attention s/he can.
Funny the U.S. government targets Phil Zimmermann [philzimmermann.com] for three years but hardly raises so much as an eye when an encryption enabled OS is distributed.
Perhaps the US government already has a backdoor into Microsoft's Operating Systems that allow the decryption of encrypted files. They may not be able to break PGP easily enough so they prohibit its export but, due to an "agreement" with Microsoft, exporting Microsoft's OSes is not a "problem". Does anyone have any information that can confirm the existance of such a backdoor?
Fortunately for us, like most aliens in the original StarTrek, they speak English. Now that we know of their plans we can prepare for the eventual attack!
Assuming that M$ actually cares (yes, possibly an exaguration) I will assume that they are fixing the bugs as they are able to and get the fixes tested. It may have taken 9 months to fix the one mentioned so that, based on their tests, the fix does not crash the system. I realize the M$ bashing is fun (and I participate often myself) but I think that this issue is pretty clear.
There should be some sort of revenue sharing as the sites are dependent on the search engines and the search engines are dependent on the sites. Without search engines the sites traffic would dwindle (atleast new user traffic) and without the sites the search engines have no value. If the search engines link to the full site page (adds, pop-ups and all the other revenue generating items) then the sites should be glad to be listed in the search engines. The user may not have gone through the six pages and their associated banner and pop-up ads to get to the article, but s/he is at the page with the article and can view the ads. Viewing one page worth of ads is better for the site than not viewing any. There should be limits on how the search engines paraphrase the pages (and possibly cache them) to make sure that the answers that the user is seeking can only be viewed by going to the actual page (perhaps a brief synopsis for search engines to display).
Studies have shown (http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/09_16_2004/depres sion.html, http://www.ebsconewsletter.com/sutterhealth/e_arti cle000289498.cfm?x=b11,0,w,http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/08/0408 18085048.htm ) that a combination of talk therapy and medication produce lasting results in chronic depression. If the holiday depression is severe, and seems to start earlier and last longer each year I would recommend seeking help. I have personally gone through this and usually around the holidays (starting at the beginning of November and lasting until a few days after New Year's Day) I am very depressed and have been suicidal (I got to the point a number of times as to where all I had left to do was take the pills or slash my wrists). I started a program that consisted of both medication and therapy (I had chronic depression and some other things so my treatment was longer than people with seasonal depression) and, after a lot of work and help from excellent doctors, I an no longer suffering from depression. It is very important that you get help. It is a disease, many people suffer from it (you are not the only one) and you can be helped. If you chose to enter therapy carefully select your theropist. There are two types that I am aware of: Cognative and Psychodynamic. Without getting into too much detail about the technical differences between the two, stylistically Cognative theropists are your stereo-typical "how does that make you feel" kind of theropist. They tend to maintain a disconnected, anylitical relationship with the patient. They usually have the patient do most of the talking and provide anylitical input. Psychodynamic theropists will connect more with their patients on an emotional level. They will participare more in the coversation (of course, discussing only the patient's issues) and provide more emotional support. The type of theropist you select is, of course, best based on your needs. I would also recommend that the doctor prescribing the medication be different than the person with whom you are receiving theropy. The problems are separate, the emotional issues and the chemical imbalance and, though they can affect eachother, should be delt with separately.
If nothing else, get some help, you are not alone, many many people go through this and you do not have to continue to suffer. Help is available and it does work.
If anyone out there suffering from depression, find help. It will work!
That is strange. I use Trillian and have not seen the 'bots. How many Trillian users (please indicate if you are using the free or Pro version) have had the 'bots added to their buddy lists? Also, which group are they added to?
They always do. It seems that every time a new version of Office comes out they introduce new UI elements and then, right before the next version comes out, they release the previous versions UI elements to third-party developers. This has been going on since the very first version of Office.
Someone already mentioned that thieves would be taking the LCDs but what about vandels just breaking the things to shut them up. I'm certain when Celene Dion finally passes away and marks her grave with one of these playing a 12 hour documentary about her life (her last "gift" to the public) including a large amount of concert footage on a continous loop it will not take long for someone to perform the public service of destroying the tombstone, or at the very least disabling it or hacking it to play better music.
If used properly (and with proper guidance) computers can benefit children younger than middle school. My son had access to a computer since he was about three and has his own since the age of ten (a hand-me-down laptop). Since he was introduced to computers at an early age he is very comfortable with them. Unfortunately he views them as tools (or appliances) and only uses them to complete tasks (IM'ing friends, writing papers, etc...) and has not shown any interest in programming.
I would be curious to hear from any others out there who know of people who were introduced to computers at a young age and if that early introduction created or prevented the desire to understand the inner workings of the machine.
It is always the vocal and/or fanatical minority that gives religions or other causes a bad name. Look at the general view Islam (the view of the general population, not necessarily the readers of/.). A small number of bad people who do and/or say bad/stupid things and try to justify it with their particular cause usually generate more ill will than convince people that their viewpoint is correct.
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I like having access to my phone's functions (in particular my car's ability to connect to my iPhone for music), but I do not want to be forced to use my phone for GPS or any other functionality that can be built into the car. I know that built-in GPS systems are out of date as soon as the DVD is made, but I do not want to be forced to use my data plan for functionality that previously did not require it. I do not know how much cellular data the GPS would use, but having a built in navigation system currently uses none.
Car manufacturers, device and software manufacturers ( especially those ones who think everyone wants their data on "the could" ) please give us choices, not dictates. We like new features and ideas, but not necessarily new ideas that result in added, recurring expenses (fees for cloud storage, data usage and possible increased data plans because of the increased data usage).
Sucks.. Cloud as an additional option, ok.
I concur. I am very disappointed with the "Cloud" being forced upon Apple users. They recently backtracked and restored direct syncing of contacts and calendars, but have yet to restore direct syncing of notes.
The "Cloud" as an option is fine, but not everyone wants to put all of their stuff online.
If anyone from Apple reads /., PLEASE make retain local storage and syncing options for your users. Most people will opt of the "Cloud", the those who feel that local storage is better for their privacy and security will still be able to use Apple products.
Echoing many previous comments. Age does not matter. Like most endeavors you will get out of it what you put into it. It appears that you have put a good amount of effort into learning, and it appears that you have learned what you have set out to learn well. It is possible that the fact that you are older than the average person who is learning programming may work to your advantage. You have life experiences and other accumulated "wisdom" that may make up for some of the non-programming years that you spent your previous career.
Best wishes on your new career.
I think the key to Balmer's statement statements is the phrase "that I see customers wanting". I think that the market has spoken in the past and what Mr. Balmer sees customers wanting does not always line up with what the customers actually want (all companies have misses). While sales have shown that customers want iPads, time will tell if Microsoft's Surface, when released, will meet the needs, expectations and/or "wants" of customers.
I may be wrong, but does't Windows RT also fall under the banner of "Surface", and thus probably will not be able to run the same applications that the customers are currently running? And, if so, what, then, makes Surface the solution?
I agree with the Hefty fine, but I think that the fine should be a calculated as a percentage of the company's worth, with a minimum of $200,000 if the company is not worth anything. Then a fairly large percentage (25%), that way, a large company that has 100's of millions of dollars will not just laugh off a $50,000 fine. The fine has to truly hurt the company for it to be a deturrent.
... If you're any good at all, you don't need a class, in fact a class will go far too slow. You need to get your hands dirty. ... You learn more by doing than reading.
AuMatar, I have to respectfully disagree. A course can be very helpful, especially when tackling something that different to what you are used to. Like StonyCreekBare, I am also a long time programmer and, while I had years of C++ and UI programming experience, there are things in the iOS/Objective-C/X-Code world that were unlike anything else I had seen, so taking a course can be helpful in situations like that.
I do certainly agree with the "getting your hands dirty" part, in that you just can't read about a new language, etc.. You have to actually write some code.
But, for StonyCreekBare, wealth and fame in programming is hard to obtain. Fame sill be hard, but wealth is possible if you take the advice of some of the other responders and direct your efforts towards some of the lesser known, yet upcoming technologies. Also, I would look at what new technologies are being used in whichever industry you spent your time in (e.g. if you used to write CRM software, research the new technologies in that area so you get the advantage of your previous experience to help offset your lack of experience in the new language)
While I believe such a label is unnecessary, and ignoring the lack of logic behind such an approach (I do not believe that the Surgeon General's warning on cigarettes has slowed smoking), would it not make more sense to put the warning on games that are rated as violent? Otherwise, the labels will become like banner ads, which most people have learned to tune out.
Also, what are they fighting? It has been stated in earlier comments that the link between video games and violence is questionable at best. Perhaps they are fighting the perceived increase in violent crimes. If we are to believe wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States), violent crime has been stable or on the decline in past ten years. So, if there is the perception of an increase, it is probably due to the 24-hour news stations filling air time, so we hear about more crimes while the actual number is declining.
And (these points may have been made in previous posts), didn't they, back in the 1950's, claim that "Rock and Roll" music caused similar behavior? What about violent movies? How about caffeinated beverages? Alcohol (they have too strong of a lobby in Washington, so they will never be labeled like games)? Where will it end?
There is a difference with CD though. Someone can buy a CD, rip it to their computer and then sell it. They retain the continued use of the artist's work while not paying the full price. Then, when the next person purchases the used CD, they also are able to enjoy the result of the artist's work, but the artist does not get compensated again. If the first person listened to the CD, and deleted all digital or other copies prior to selling, it would not be an issue.
Games, on the other hand, seem to require the original disc, despite being installed on the hard drive, and therefore selling the disc prevents the game from being used on more than one system.
I am certainly not in favor of corrupt industries, but I feel that CDs are totally different in the "used media" space than games, due to the possibility of multiple simultaneous use from one disc.
I certainly do not like all the fees that banks have, but didn't B of A drop their plans for the fee? http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-of-america-to-drop-debit-card-fee-report-2011-11-01
Accepting the court's separation of sexually explicit material and violent material, does this ruling open the door for letting small children into R-Rated movies, which carry the "Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian" text along with the rating, without the "required" "accompanying parent or adult guardian" if the film is only rated "R" for violence and not sexual content? And if so, why have the "requires accompanying parent or adult guardian" text at all. And, what about NC-17, again if rated for violence and not sexually explicit material?
And, is it really that bad, from a First Amendment perspective, that adults have the right to decide if their children can play violent video games? I understand the profit motive, by restricting sales to any demographic the company looses potential profit, but I do not understand how the ability to SELL something to someone is a First Amendment issue, or how the corporations rights outweigh the rights of the parents.
I believe having multiple monitors, especially for software development, is very helpful. Not only can it aid debugging graphic applications (CAD/CAM, etc...), but it also helps when using a new API. I will have the documentation on one monitor and the IDE on another. I once had a manager who believed that the developers should have the oldest and slowest computers. He thought that having slow hardware would force the developers to write faster code. It only served to frustrate us and we ended up wasting huge amounts of time during build cycles. While, when I was writing code, I always WANTED the fastest hardware, I do not believe it i necessary, but developers should get the necessary tools because, as previously stated by others here, developers are expensive and small up-front investments in processors, memory, monitors, etc... that make them more productive pay great dividends in delivery of new features and bug fixes.
It seems that if the Texas legislature were truly concerned about discrimination, the bill would have stated "An institution of higher education may not discriminate against or penalize in any manner, especially with regard to employment or academic support, a faculty member or student based on the faculty member's or student's conduct of research relating to the theory of the origination and development of organisms" This would then also protect those who believe in what is normally taught from being discriminated against by those who believe in the alternative theories.
Joel McHale is the host of a show call the "The Soup" on the E! network. But, I believe you are correct, Stephen Cobert has been making that joke for a couple of weeks now.
I switched. 3 other people in my office switched. Whats he talking about?
I hate to add another "Me too" post but I also switched, and I work for a major PC manufacturer. By showing a few other people my PowerBook I have convinced four other people to switch (and get iPods, but that is another story). I am starting to think that Dvorak writes these articles so someone pays attention to what he is writing, like a small child who is not getting enough attention so s/he misbehaves to get the only type of attention s/he can.
Perhaps the US government already has a backdoor into Microsoft's Operating Systems that allow the decryption of encrypted files. They may not be able to break PGP easily enough so they prohibit its export but, due to an "agreement" with Microsoft, exporting Microsoft's OSes is not a "problem".
Does anyone have any information that can confirm the existance of such a backdoor?
Fortunately for us, like most aliens in the original StarTrek, they speak English. Now that we know of their plans we can prepare for the eventual attack!
Assuming that M$ actually cares (yes, possibly an exaguration) I will assume that they are fixing the bugs as they are able to and get the fixes tested. It may have taken 9 months to fix the one mentioned so that, based on their tests, the fix does not crash the system. I realize the M$ bashing is fun (and I participate often myself) but I think that this issue is pretty clear.
There should be some sort of revenue sharing as the sites are dependent on the search engines and the search engines are dependent on the sites. Without search engines the sites traffic would dwindle (atleast new user traffic) and without the sites the search engines have no value. If the search engines link to the full site page (adds, pop-ups and all the other revenue generating items) then the sites should be glad to be listed in the search engines. The user may not have gone through the six pages and their associated banner and pop-up ads to get to the article, but s/he is at the page with the article and can view the ads. Viewing one page worth of ads is better for the site than not viewing any. There should be limits on how the search engines paraphrase the pages (and possibly cache them) to make sure that the answers that the user is seeking can only be viewed by going to the actual page (perhaps a brief synopsis for search engines to display).
Studies have shown (http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/09_16_2004/depres sion.html, http://www.ebsconewsletter.com/sutterhealth/e_arti cle000289498.cfm?x=b11,0,w ,http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/08/0408 18085048.htm ) that a combination of talk therapy and medication produce lasting results in chronic depression. If the holiday depression is severe, and seems to start earlier and last longer each year I would recommend seeking help. I have personally gone through this and usually around the holidays (starting at the beginning of November and lasting until a few days after New Year's Day) I am very depressed and have been suicidal (I got to the point a number of times as to where all I had left to do was take the pills or slash my wrists). I started a program that consisted of both medication and therapy (I had chronic depression and some other things so my treatment was longer than people with seasonal depression) and, after a lot of work and help from excellent doctors, I an no longer suffering from depression. It is very important that you get help. It is a disease, many people suffer from it (you are not the only one) and you can be helped. If you chose to enter therapy carefully select your theropist. There are two types that I am aware of: Cognative and Psychodynamic. Without getting into too much detail about the technical differences between the two, stylistically Cognative theropists are your stereo-typical "how does that make you feel" kind of theropist. They tend to maintain a disconnected, anylitical relationship with the patient. They usually have the patient do most of the talking and provide anylitical input. Psychodynamic theropists will connect more with their patients on an emotional level. They will participare more in the coversation (of course, discussing only the patient's issues) and provide more emotional support. The type of theropist you select is, of course, best based on your needs. I would also recommend that the doctor prescribing the medication be different than the person with whom you are receiving theropy. The problems are separate, the emotional issues and the chemical imbalance and, though they can affect eachother, should be delt with separately.
If nothing else, get some help, you are not alone, many many people go through this and you do not have to continue to suffer. Help is available and it does work.
If anyone out there suffering from depression, find help. It will work!
That is strange. I use Trillian and have not seen the 'bots. How many Trillian users (please indicate if you are using the free or Pro version) have had the 'bots added to their buddy lists? Also, which group are they added to?
They always do. It seems that every time a new version of Office comes out they introduce new UI elements and then, right before the next version comes out, they release the previous versions UI elements to third-party developers. This has been going on since the very first version of Office.
Someone already mentioned that thieves would be taking the LCDs but what about vandels just breaking the things to shut them up. I'm certain when Celene Dion finally passes away and marks her grave with one of these playing a 12 hour documentary about her life (her last "gift" to the public) including a large amount of concert footage on a continous loop it will not take long for someone to perform the public service of destroying the tombstone, or at the very least disabling it or hacking it to play better music.
No problem on the life story. I am glad to hear others who got started young (myself, I started when I was 11, but that was 28 years ago). Keep it up.
If used properly (and with proper guidance) computers can benefit children younger than middle school. My son had access to a computer since he was about three and has his own since the age of ten (a hand-me-down laptop). Since he was introduced to computers at an early age he is very comfortable with them. Unfortunately he views them as tools (or appliances) and only uses them to complete tasks (IM'ing friends, writing papers, etc...) and has not shown any interest in programming. I would be curious to hear from any others out there who know of people who were introduced to computers at a young age and if that early introduction created or prevented the desire to understand the inner workings of the machine.
It is always the vocal and/or fanatical minority that gives religions or other causes a bad name. Look at the general view Islam (the view of the general population, not necessarily the readers of /.). A small number of bad people who do and/or say bad/stupid things and try to justify it with their particular cause usually generate more ill will than convince people that their viewpoint is correct.