it probably isn't as bad as your media makes out. I visited China. Twice. And I would rather raise children in Shanghai than in New York City. They would be safer. Imagine a country with severe budgetary restraints and a LOT of people. Recovering from hardcore communism and slowly and carefully moving towards getting the best for the country. Not for a select few, but also for the peasants in the countryside. Sure - not everything in China or it's political system is perfect, but the country looks pretty good compared to the US of A in a number of areas.
On the other hand, he's got a reputation now Sure. The wet dream of any wannabe genius. Write a killer virus and then be hired for big money. Dream on...
Code is NOT "free speech" - not in Germany. And Germany has laws against malware. I'd love to see the guy thrown in jail for some serious mental readjustment. Plus, of course, the companies sueing for damage...
Yes, a pity. But that college (at that time one of the best for commercial computer sciences) later produced graduates that ONLY knew MS operating systems and would not know how to (or why) implement locking of records for multiuser applications. (Not hiring a graduate of a college that youself used to visit for lack of skills is like slapping your own face:) ).
Now this makes more sense - just remember that proofs are just a small part of what IS taught.
I remember having to take calculus, numeric math, linear algebra and a "general math" course - none of which even included the concept of proof. High school, however...
Still - most software development IS plumbing, not proofs.:)
CS might contain math... Software development in 95% of all cases is a trade. Sure - writing software for scientific applications requires (among other things) a lot of math. Some of it rather advanced. Commercial software can be (and is) written by people without a clue about even the existence of differential equations. There is very little code out there that actually requires math. Let's say... 1%. A slightly larger percentage actually requires brain function. Talk about another 9%. 90% of software creation is mindless stuff like reports, maintaining customer data, doing very basic math and talking to some high-level API.
If you want to understand a computer, learn that it manipulates data. Bits. Numbers are just a specialized, rather ugly form of bits. Math can actually keep you from understanding programming concepts - I remember a good mathematician who took up FORTRAN IV (yes, some time ago.)
He had a mental block when he found an innocent little line of code saying: I=I+1
1) User Interface
There are a number of applications out there with nice, reasonable user interfaces. Not everything NEEDS a nice, polished user interface, though. Would gcc improve if it had a great GUI on top ? Would emacs still keep up it's macho image if it had nice menus and tried to be end-user friendly ?
2) Documentation
As someone who grew up with man, the decision to move towards info did not improve things - in fact, it added even more bad user interface. But maybe HTML was too mainstream...
3) Features and more features
I *am* a project manager. At least it says so on my business card... Still - how would I motivate someone I do not pay ? "Please recode this weird piece of C++ into something way more maintainable, following these guidelines, and while you are at it, produce some documentation..." ? I don't think so, Tim.
4) Programming for the self
Sorry - with most projects, there is nothing but recognition and self-esteem to be had. Alternatives involve money. Companies give money to companies or employees. Giving money to projects is rather difficult.
5) Religious blindness
I tend to disagree with gregfortune. There's about 2.93 to 3.17 zealots per line of code out there. Many of them get converted once they grow up. RMS most likely will never grow up...:)
Air Marshall Arthur "Bomber" Harris's Dresden raid.
Without doubt a serious war crime. Also no doubt that there were war crimes (and non-war genocide) from the German side.
But - Harris' "noble deed" did not help to shorten the war, but killed loads of innocent Germans. (Yes, there were innocent Germans, too.)
There is no tit-for-tat in crime.
The Germans managed to kill nearly 11 million Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, Communists, Socialists, homosexuals, and whomever else they didn't like
According to Rummel, it was 21 million...
Stalin killed double that, Mao about 38 million.
Read about this here.
Still - all of them are criminals.
There is no tit-for-tat in crime.
Need I mention slavery, killings of native indians, crimes of war ?
In fact, it was written in 1993. Here, you can find all of them.
Chip Morningstar (together with Randy Farmer and Doug Crockford) is one of the three gurus of avatar-based virtual communities. (i.e. Habitat, Club Caribe and WorldsAway/Avaterra).
They do. I work for a major manufacturer - all of our colur machines have this feature and will actually lock up, displaying an error code. However - even if you managed to somehow work around this, there is still a way (which I will not disclose) to find out on what machine (manufacturer, model, serial number) a color copy was taken. Supposedly another legal requirement.
(And yes, I have seen it and does work...)
The company employing me produces solar shingles, among other things. Of course, we want subsidies, as these things are just not economically feasible without... (And I am not only talking "plain production cost".)
Solar shingles are expensive to produce, need regular cleaning for top efficiency (enjoy mountaineering on your roof every couple of weeks), cannot generate base load power without additional storage using healthy materials like lead.
Solar energy is a great source of warm water - without conversion to electricity. Learning to build well-insulated houses instead of flimsy, cardboard-like ones saves way more energy than a roof full of solar cells.
First, calculate what one page of printout will cost you. Simplified, this is price of printer divided by expected years of use + price of consumables divided by number of copies rated. Plus - cost for paper, power and maintenance. Copier people (nowadays a digital copier is scanner + printer) call this click cost - which is lowest for well-designed printers with long-life components. Drum life can vary greatly - one major cost factor.
Then check if the printer you have in mind is too slow (unlikely if it is a laser) or too fast.
Isn't faster better ?
Answer: Not always.
While it is simple to fuse toner to paper when printing 5-12 pages per minute, you'll need serious heat rollers for - let's say - 50 ppm.
The whole engine needs lots more thought when paper speed is higher, all this adding to cost, size and weight. Energy-wise, a rather foolish thing to buy for home use. Besides, larger print endinges also have something like a lower limit for prints per month - expect trouble if you only print a couple of pages every few days with them...)
Finally, stay away from old printers. While they might still print nicely, they might produce loads of ozone due to old corona design. (Buying a cheap LED printer instead of a polygon motor based laser can help.)
One final remark - check the exact model of printer here, as something like a Frobozz 20X can work with Linux, while the Frobozz 20Xa is a paperweight...
Let's ignore the DIY crowd - we are not talking "cheapest components you can get" assembled by a case modder...
This leaves us with brand name machines - and as we want to know where it has been, we'll buy it brand new. Just to imagine how something of reasonable stability for the purpose might look, see this as an example. Price ? $19499 and up...
Anybody not knowing the difference between a "MCSE" or "CNE" and a "real" engineer does not deserve better. The average guy on the street is not usually in a position to hire engineers. But surprise - HR managers DO know the difference.
Would you mix up a MD with a Doctor of Metaphysics ?
Well.... UNSTRING alone would mean a week of coding to a C++ programmer, never mind the mind boggling concept of ALTER x to PROCEED TO a,b,c DEPENDING ON i.
This just shows that political correctness ("Everybody with an account here has to be good because he/she believes in Free Software") is an inferior approach to best practice ("You are a friend, but I trust you only so far, besides, I feel responsible for the security of my site.").
someone has to PAY for it.
You can want solutions all day long - if you are willing to pay the bill. And trust me - if you are supposed to pay for the use of a gazillion dollar supercomputer, you do not want to pay more than you use.
Slashdot Mirror
it probably isn't as bad as your media makes out.
I visited China. Twice. And I would rather raise children in Shanghai than in New York City. They would be safer.
Imagine a country with severe budgetary restraints and a LOT of people. Recovering from hardcore communism and slowly and carefully moving towards getting the best for the country. Not for a select few, but also for the peasants in the countryside. Sure - not everything in China or it's political system is perfect, but the country looks pretty good compared to the US of A in a number of areas.
Only kill them ? Or torture them first ?
On the other hand, he's got a reputation now
Sure. The wet dream of any wannabe genius. Write a killer virus and then be hired for big money. Dream on...
Code is NOT "free speech" - not in Germany. And Germany has laws against malware. I'd love to see the guy thrown in jail for some serious mental readjustment. Plus, of course, the companies sueing for damage...
Yes, a pity. But that college (at that time one of the best for commercial computer sciences) later produced graduates that ONLY knew MS operating systems and would not know how to (or why) implement locking of records for multiuser applications. (Not hiring a graduate of a college that youself used to visit for lack of skills is like slapping your own face :) ).
Still - most software development IS plumbing, not proofs. :)
If you want to understand a computer, learn that it manipulates data. Bits. Numbers are just a specialized, rather ugly form of bits. Math can actually keep you from understanding programming concepts - I remember a good mathematician who took up FORTRAN IV (yes, some time ago.)
He had a mental block when he found an innocent little line of code saying :
I=I+1
1) User Interface
There are a number of applications out there with nice, reasonable user interfaces. Not everything NEEDS a nice, polished user interface, though. Would gcc improve if it had a great GUI on top ? Would emacs still keep up it's macho image if it had nice menus and tried to be end-user friendly ?
2) Documentation
As someone who grew up with man, the decision to move towards info did not improve things - in fact, it added even more bad user interface. But maybe HTML was too mainstream...
3) Features and more features
I *am* a project manager. At least it says so on my business card... Still - how would I motivate someone I do not pay ?
"Please recode this weird piece of C++ into something way more maintainable, following these guidelines, and while you are at it, produce some documentation..." ?
I don't think so, Tim.
4) Programming for the self
Sorry - with most projects, there is nothing but recognition and self-esteem to be had. Alternatives involve money. Companies give money to companies or employees. Giving money to projects is rather difficult.
5) Religious blindness :)
I tend to disagree with gregfortune. There's about 2.93 to 3.17 zealots per line of code out there. Many of them get converted once they grow up. RMS most likely will never grow up...
It must be Jerry Pournelle.
All of them are still pretty playable. Most flash games just last one lunch break.
Without doubt a serious war crime. Also no doubt that there were war crimes (and non-war genocide) from the German side.
But - Harris' "noble deed" did not help to shorten the war, but killed loads of innocent Germans. (Yes, there were innocent Germans, too.)
There is no tit-for-tat in crime.
The Germans managed to kill nearly 11 million Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, Communists, Socialists, homosexuals, and whomever else they didn't like
According to Rummel, it was 21 million... Stalin killed double that, Mao about 38 million. Read about this here.
Still - all of them are criminals.
There is no tit-for-tat in crime.
Need I mention slavery, killings of native indians, crimes of war ?
Responsibility is inheritable.
Guilt is not.
In fact, it was written in 1993.
Here, you can find all of them.
Chip Morningstar (together with Randy Farmer and Doug Crockford) is one of the three gurus of avatar-based virtual communities. (i.e. Habitat, Club Caribe and WorldsAway/Avaterra).
Still - the attempt is logged and the copy ruined.
They do. I work for a major manufacturer - all of our colur machines have this feature and will actually lock up, displaying an error code.
However - even if you managed to somehow work around this, there is still a way (which I will not disclose) to find out on what machine (manufacturer, model, serial number) a color copy was taken. Supposedly another legal requirement.
(And yes, I have seen it and does work...)
(And I am not only talking "plain production cost".)
Solar shingles are expensive to produce, need regular cleaning for top efficiency (enjoy mountaineering on your roof every couple of weeks), cannot generate base load power without additional storage using healthy materials like lead.
Solar energy is a great source of warm water - without conversion to electricity. Learning to build well-insulated houses instead of flimsy, cardboard-like ones saves way more energy than a roof full of solar cells.
Copier people (nowadays a digital copier is scanner + printer) call this click cost - which is lowest for well-designed printers with long-life components. Drum life can vary greatly - one major cost factor.
Then check if the printer you have in mind is too slow (unlikely if it is a laser) or too fast.
Isn't faster better ?
Answer: Not always.
While it is simple to fuse toner to paper when printing 5-12 pages per minute, you'll need serious heat rollers for - let's say - 50 ppm. The whole engine needs lots more thought when paper speed is higher, all this adding to cost, size and weight. Energy-wise, a rather foolish thing to buy for home use. Besides, larger print endinges also have something like a lower limit for prints per month - expect trouble if you only print a couple of pages every few days with them...)
Finally, stay away from old printers. While they might still print nicely, they might produce loads of ozone due to old corona design. (Buying a cheap LED printer instead of a polygon motor based laser can help.)
One final remark - check the exact model of printer here, as something like a Frobozz 20X can work with Linux, while the Frobozz 20Xa is a paperweight...
This leaves us with brand name machines - and as we want to know where it has been, we'll buy it brand new.
Just to imagine how something of reasonable stability for the purpose might look, see this as an example.
Price ? $19499 and up...
Anybody not knowing the difference between a "MCSE" or "CNE" and a "real" engineer does not deserve better. The average guy on the street is not usually in a position to hire engineers. But surprise - HR managers DO know the difference.
Would you mix up a MD with a Doctor of Metaphysics ?
How would anybody in the know contact you ?
Well.... UNSTRING alone would mean a week of coding to a C++ programmer, never mind the mind boggling concept of ALTER x to PROCEED TO a,b,c DEPENDING ON i.
This just shows that political correctness ("Everybody with an account here has to be good because he/she believes in Free Software") is an inferior approach to best practice ("You are a friend, but I trust you only so far, besides, I feel responsible for the security of my site.").
Considreing that IPX is nto really used anymore, in modern Novell installations, this is the only part of your comment that I agree with...
All that SuSE is that it was certified EAL2+. While this is a measure of how deeply something was tested (and EAL2 is not the best on the list), it does not define the threat. As in: "What security target was used ?". A security target will tell us (among other things) information about the skill of the attacker and the environment. "Can be hacked by the NSA in their offices in one year" as opposeded to "Can be hacked by the cleaning lady in two minutes."
someone has to PAY for it.
You can want solutions all day long - if you are willing to pay the bill.
And trust me - if you are supposed to pay for the use of a gazillion dollar supercomputer, you do not want to pay more than you use.