How we got this far on the myth that software development can't be controlled is beyond me. Some old fasion project managment will keep any project on track, but we devs have managed to convince the managers that software development can't be estimated. Construct a Skyscraper and it's no problem to have a time line, but code an app... whoa, that has so many issues. Does construction have zero surprises along the way?
The truth of the matter is development is slow from lack of focus, and it starts with us the developers. Put down the damn Ruby on Rails book and focus on the language and tools you are actually using. (you can still do all the ruby you want at home). If ruby makes sense, then the company as a whole will move to it so we can all focus on it, but as long as you "do your own thing" you are part of the problem.
Oracle has the people, the money, and yes - the time. If it's still not working, then they don't have the method. Software development is not a special and unique snowflake - it can be managed like everything else.
Re:Name reminds me of AC's Wi Flag
on
Both Sides of Wii
·
· Score: 1
Why read the links? I was there =p
Re:Name reminds me of AC's Wi Flag
on
Both Sides of Wii
·
· Score: 1
I didn't read the links, so they might not have it right - Wi had this issue in AC Beta, and it was known because he had by far the most deaths. For a long time "Wi flagged" just meant you were unlucky and died alot (AC kept a death count). Wi himself was quite humorous - not whiney as you imply. The devs denied such a flag could exist, and for a long time I did too; until I made a new character that was flagged and it was quite provable to anyone who stood next to me. Lucky for me, this character was a tank and could take the beating - Wi was a mage. It was only proven a bug when Turbine hired a new dev, who had been flagged and set out to find the cause.
I agree, 110%. I'm a programmer, not a designer, but I see how this hurts everyone who makes a living in software - design or programming. I always thought a "work for hire" meant you were hired and payed for the job, not entereing a contest. I expect this from most companies, but I would have thought this one among all others would understand designers are not cheap whores on a street corner who turn tricks just to eat.
If you're so cheap, just go to http://www.oswd.org/ - or is the catch of "give credit to the designer" too much strain on the company?
"Personally, I'd much rather take the test...it's probably far easier than answering that damned question, 'What do you regard as your greatest weakness?' during the interview..."
A: That I haven't developed a witty answer to this question.
Jefferson is often said to be in support of patents, but this is not the whole truth, or even close enough to call it partial truth. At first, Jefferson opposed patents and questioned their need. Then, while running the patent office, he saw how independent inventors were encourged by the laws protections and that it helped innovations. At the same time he warned that the amount of frivolous applications were "likely to cause more inconvenience than is countervailed by those really useful." While in charge of the office he kept very strict rules for patents, but when he left a much weaker set was adpoted. This weaker set was revised once, but not to the same level Jefferson used.
Some of his strict guidelines (which I think we need)::inventions couldn't be an old invention built with a different material:inventions had to be useful:inventions had to be new; it couldn't be just another application of something that was already invented
MC and MC2 are two of my favorite games... you already have a detailed reply, so I won't repost the same info. I am biased in that I've always loved the Mechwarrior games back even when we had Battlemasters and Locusts (now Atlas and Ravens) on my tandy 1000ex. The story is engaging if linear, and the missions are well designed. MC and MC2 are two of the three games I've ever played though more than once. The third being starcraft.
That is exactly what I though when I read the title. If you want rapid innovation, you can't run a closed system. This isn't just Sony though, the consol market as a whole is a closed shop. I guess they look to all the damage open development caused the pc gamaing market... I mean, all those free games out there, how can anyone make a profit on pc gaming?
Anyway: # Posted on: Thu, Feb 9 2006 2:04 PM # Updated: Fri, Feb 10 2006 2:01 PM
(from the rss feed)
My quote was accurate, the text has been updated. I guess this shows you didn't really read it the first time then? I mean you missed the headline the first time.
It's the first line. Of an EFF press release. Later:
"Unless you configure Google Desktop very carefully, and few people will, Google will have copies of your tax returns, love letters, business records, financial and medical files, and whatever other text-based documents the Desktop software can index."
True, maybe for the/. geeks it's an option to download, configre, run a tcpdump and make sure your information is safe (might wanna add some firewall checks too incase it patches itself and that changes your settings). But for the larger number of users out there, like our Moms who we constantly clean up after they download the latest spyware to play bejeweled, the EFF is sending the clear message of do not install.
Since you do not follow the EFF, they are saying it's google fault. In fact, they are sueing AT&T because it's their fault they gave the goverment the keys to their database. They think (ya, I know crazy talk here) that a company should be required by law to protect the privacy of the people it has information on, be clear in telling the people what information they have, and who it has been given to. Again, FTFA:
"Many Internet innovations involve storing personal files on a service provider's computer, but under outdated laws, consumers who want to use these new technologies have to surrender their privacy rights. If Google wants consumers to trust it to store copies of personal computer files, emails, search histories and chat logs, and still 'not be evil,' it should stand with EFF and demand that Congress update the privacy laws to better reflect life in the wired world."
I must disagree. Blogging is a way for pols to interact directly with the people, by passing all media. As these blogs catch on, more people will read them instead of listening to the media's summary of what a pol said. Pretty hard to mis quote yourself.
I also think a pol will need to be more honest in a blog or they will risk damaging their own image. Blogs are read by a large number of people who know how to reasearch an item on the 'net, and will love to cite sources if you are wrong either in their blogs or in the comments. In a 30-second TV spot you can toss out a "fact" without referencing the context; but do that in a blog and you will be called out for taking a fact out of it's context.
I see no worry that people will becmore more isolated to one political view, in fact it will be the opposite. If Bush had a blog do you think only his supporters would read it? Right now a consertive is not likely to buy a Harpers but will have no trouble going to read Kerry's latest post. Add into this RSS and the ease of putting all the pols into your bloglines account and I think people who don't even follow politics now may begin to follow pols blogs.
Howard Dean showed that blogging can be a powerful way to build support and fundraising for your campaign. Key to this was his two way street, he resonded to the people's concerns in an open manner that anyone could go and see. Once this sinks into the current crop of pols (by seeing more and more Dean's come up), they will tap into this or risk being blindsided in an election. The people win here because they pols are focused on the people and fund raising from the people. The media and lobbists will have less power because their money means less. Once the pols are convinced they can get reelected by keeping this two way street working with the people, they won't need to listen to the lobbists - esp the ones who will cost them favor with the people.
All this won't happen overnight, but once it does it will be the road to real changes in american politics and might be what brings back the goverment to control of the people.
... Edios Interactive hired ex-N.W.A front man Dr. Dre as their new head of PR. Dr. Dre issued a release on the current "25 to life" boycott; "Fuck the police." Dr. Dre was expected to speak at a Washington DC rally on Freedom of Speech, but his plane was delayed in Texas...
I subscribed (or rather mom did) to NP for 3 years, which got me the "gold lapel pin" with the NP logo... which I still have on my desk to this day. I also have the satin NP "members only" jacket... I don't wear this even though I want to. At 30, the pin says cool retro gamer guy, the jacket says lives with his mother.
> I bet you were one of those "vi" types back in the day, weren't you? No editor can ever have too many features: Emacs all the way!
Actually, it sounds more like he installed Emacs and is wondering does he really need a whole OS running inside the editor when he just wants to change some text...
Vi / Emacs aside, what about eclipse is hard? I've just recently installed it for Java development and found it pain free and pretty simple. I know there are features I don't know about or know how to use, but they are not in my way and I find them as I go.
Seems like you've got your answer from the other replies; yes python is a perfect place to start. The best reason is the interactive interperter; this is useful even after you've "learned" the language. Python is also able to help you learn coding methods, like Test Driven Development. Web, GUI, Networking, all in python, so when you're ready for those concepts, the stuff to do them is there.
Eric Raymond wrote in How to be a Hacker (http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html) that you should learn Python first, then Java or C/C++ depending on where you want to go. He also recommends perl, because so much of it is out there, and LISP, because it will teach you to think differently.
You point out a good reason for comments... when the comments don't match the code, that's a good sign of where the bug is. When I'm going behind another programmer looking for a bug I've been tasked to fix reading his comments tells me if his logic was wrong, or the code.
I suppose you could get away with some comments in say, a blog site, but if you're working as a developer on a team with more complex requirments, and the origional programmer may not even be with the company anymore, comments are a must.
Once the signal is digital only, copy protection can be placed on the stream, and the DMCA can be used against anyone taping a show of the tv. Sure, this isn't going to stop anyone from copying a show, but it will give the MPAA/RIAA the laws it needs to go after whomever they want.
Look at the recent Sony DRM rootkit mess. Now imagine it being applied to to a digital broadcast stream - a "tv rootkit" installed just by watching the show.
Are you checking that your tin foil hat is digital signal safe? I would be...
Maybe the movies are right, the British are always the bad guys... here we have the closest thing ever to real freedom of speech, and a brit wants to shut it down. Since I see you spend time reading and replying to/. comments, you're already wasting time reading useless crap =D
Another nice thing about the license is that it is good for windows, mac, and linux versions per developer - so if you work on multiple platforms you can have the same IDE on all. If you need cross platform support, Komodo and Eclipse would be the two to consider, imho.
"If you want a perfect example, take the organization, truth.com, that blasts the cigarette companies. They have huge tv commercials, protests, rallys, etc and you know what they can do it because they are telling facts which they have proof for."
The 'truth' is they are funded by the cigarette companies, part of a 1998 agreement. The 'truth' is the money was to be used for education of kids about smoking. The 'truth' is none of that happens and instead we get ads that imply the industry kills people, is racist, and doesn't deserve to exist. The 'truth' is there is no personal responsibility in their view of the 'truth.' The 'truth' is if they wern't funding them, the cigarette companies would probably sue their asses off - but then again, they know the real truth: these ads have no effect on anyone.
One disadvantage to this is copy and pasting a response may not actually address each post... I mean look at what I wrote and what you assumed from my few lines......quick thoughts; it's not about uncertainty, it's about suspense. Keeping the reader/watcher guessing what going to happen next. If you know all the heros are going to make it out alive it looses interest. After the preacher and wash died, you had no reason to think they might not all die getting out....Angel killed off the loveable Irish guy right when he finally got the girl. Buffy killed off Tara with a stray bullet; not magic or even a plot reason, buffy's mom with an aneurysm, and even Buffy (though they brought her back). All added to the story, and are are points I remember more than the rest. You bet I didn't miss the following weeks after these events....It's american movies/tv that cop out and "give us what we want" - having the story line favor the popular characters... it's why many people I know start watching anime... seeing spike die is so unexpected, so out of the norm, it wakens something american movies/tv killed (and hooks another into the world of anime).
American movie/tv trys to milk a series for all it's worth, keep it running as long a it can, then let it die a lonely death after it's jumped the shark and ratings are down. If we redid the the works of Homer and Shakespear, everyone would live at the end, else how would we have Season Two of Hamlet? There is still money to be made after all!
Slashdot Mirror
How we got this far on the myth that software development can't be controlled is beyond me. Some old fasion project managment will keep any project on track, but we devs have managed to convince the managers that software development can't be estimated. Construct a Skyscraper and it's no problem to have a time line, but code an app... whoa, that has so many issues. Does construction have zero surprises along the way?
The truth of the matter is development is slow from lack of focus, and it starts with us the developers. Put down the damn Ruby on Rails book and focus on the language and tools you are actually using. (you can still do all the ruby you want at home). If ruby makes sense, then the company as a whole will move to it so we can all focus on it, but as long as you "do your own thing" you are part of the problem.
Oracle has the people, the money, and yes - the time. If it's still not working, then they don't have the method. Software development is not a special and unique snowflake - it can be managed like everything else.
Why read the links? I was there =p
I didn't read the links, so they might not have it right - Wi had this issue in AC Beta, and it was known because he had by far the most deaths. For a long time "Wi flagged" just meant you were unlucky and died alot (AC kept a death count). Wi himself was quite humorous - not whiney as you imply. The devs denied such a flag could exist, and for a long time I did too; until I made a new character that was flagged and it was quite provable to anyone who stood next to me. Lucky for me, this character was a tank and could take the beating - Wi was a mage. It was only proven a bug when Turbine hired a new dev, who had been flagged and set out to find the cause.
http://www.andyrutledge.com/slashdot-hates-designe rs.php
I agree, 110%. I'm a programmer, not a designer, but I see how this hurts everyone who makes a living in software - design or programming. I always thought a "work for hire" meant you were hired and payed for the job, not entereing a contest. I expect this from most companies, but I would have thought this one among all others would understand designers are not cheap whores on a street corner who turn tricks just to eat.
If you're so cheap, just go to http://www.oswd.org/ - or is the catch of "give credit to the designer" too much strain on the company?
"Personally, I'd much rather take the test...it's probably far easier than answering that damned question, 'What do you regard as your greatest weakness?' during the interview..."
A: That I haven't developed a witty answer to this question.
Just the thought of freeze dried Menchie gets me excited!
Jefferson is often said to be in support of patents, but this is not the whole truth, or even close enough to call it partial truth. At first, Jefferson opposed patents and questioned their need. Then, while running the patent office, he saw how independent inventors were encourged by the laws protections and that it helped innovations. At the same time he warned that the amount of frivolous applications were "likely to cause more inconvenience than is countervailed by those really useful." While in charge of the office he kept very strict rules for patents, but when he left a much weaker set was adpoted. This weaker set was revised once, but not to the same level Jefferson used.
:inventions couldn't be an old invention built with a different material :inventions had to be useful :inventions had to be new; it couldn't be just another application of something that was already invented
Some of his strict guidelines (which I think we need):
MC and MC2 are two of my favorite games... you already have a detailed reply, so I won't repost the same info. I am biased in that I've always loved the Mechwarrior games back even when we had Battlemasters and Locusts (now Atlas and Ravens) on my tandy 1000ex. The story is engaging if linear, and the missions are well designed. MC and MC2 are two of the three games I've ever played though more than once. The third being starcraft.
That is exactly what I though when I read the title. If you want rapid innovation, you can't run a closed system. This isn't just Sony though, the consol market as a whole is a closed shop. I guess they look to all the damage open development caused the pc gamaing market... I mean, all those free games out there, how can anyone make a profit on pc gaming?
So their own headline *they wrote* is wrong?
Anyway:
# Posted on: Thu, Feb 9 2006 2:04 PM
# Updated: Fri, Feb 10 2006 2:01 PM
(from the rss feed)
My quote was accurate, the text has been updated. I guess this shows you didn't really read it the first time then? I mean you missed the headline the first time.
Hi, I wrote the headline. FTFA:
/. geeks it's an option to download, configre, run a tcpdump and make sure your information is safe (might wanna add some firewall checks too incase it patches itself and that changes your settings). But for the larger number of users out there, like our Moms who we constantly clean up after they download the latest spyware to play bejeweled, the EFF is sending the clear message of do not install.
"Consumers Should Not Use New Google Desktop"
It's the first line. Of an EFF press release. Later:
"Unless you configure Google Desktop very carefully, and few people will, Google will have copies of your tax returns, love letters, business records, financial and medical files, and whatever other text-based documents the Desktop software can index."
True, maybe for the
Since you do not follow the EFF, they are saying it's google fault. In fact, they are sueing AT&T because it's their fault they gave the goverment the keys to their database. They think (ya, I know crazy talk here) that a company should be required by law to protect the privacy of the people it has information on, be clear in telling the people what information they have, and who it has been given to. Again, FTFA:
"Many Internet innovations involve storing personal files on a service provider's computer, but under outdated laws, consumers who want to use these new technologies have to surrender their privacy rights. If Google wants consumers to trust it to store copies of personal computer files, emails, search histories and chat logs, and still 'not be evil,' it should stand with EFF and demand that Congress update the privacy laws to better reflect life in the wired world."
"MMORPGs have evolved rapidly in terms of technology and gameplay"
More like MMORPGs have evolved rapidly in terms of ram reqs while gameplay has stay at or below M59...
...this same goverment is taking google to court for asking to see a warrent before turning over private records of US citizens.
I must disagree. Blogging is a way for pols to interact directly with the people, by passing all media. As these blogs catch on, more people will read them instead of listening to the media's summary of what a pol said. Pretty hard to mis quote yourself.
I also think a pol will need to be more honest in a blog or they will risk damaging their own image. Blogs are read by a large number of people who know how to reasearch an item on the 'net, and will love to cite sources if you are wrong either in their blogs or in the comments. In a 30-second TV spot you can toss out a "fact" without referencing the context; but do that in a blog and you will be called out for taking a fact out of it's context.
I see no worry that people will becmore more isolated to one political view, in fact it will be the opposite. If Bush had a blog do you think only his supporters would read it? Right now a consertive is not likely to buy a Harpers but will have no trouble going to read Kerry's latest post. Add into this RSS and the ease of putting all the pols into your bloglines account and I think people who don't even follow politics now may begin to follow pols blogs.
Howard Dean showed that blogging can be a powerful way to build support and fundraising for your campaign. Key to this was his two way street, he resonded to the people's concerns in an open manner that anyone could go and see. Once this sinks into the current crop of pols (by seeing more and more Dean's come up), they will tap into this or risk being blindsided in an election. The people win here because they pols are focused on the people and fund raising from the people. The media and lobbists will have less power because their money means less. Once the pols are convinced they can get reelected by keeping this two way street working with the people, they won't need to listen to the lobbists - esp the ones who will cost them favor with the people.
All this won't happen overnight, but once it does it will be the road to real changes in american politics and might be what brings back the goverment to control of the people.
... Edios Interactive hired ex-N.W.A front man Dr. Dre as their new head of PR. Dr. Dre issued a release on the current "25 to life" boycott; "Fuck the police." Dr. Dre was expected to speak at a Washington DC rally on Freedom of Speech, but his plane was delayed in Texas...
I subscribed (or rather mom did) to NP for 3 years, which got me the "gold lapel pin" with the NP logo... which I still have on my desk to this day. I also have the satin NP "members only" jacket... I don't wear this even though I want to. At 30, the pin says cool retro gamer guy, the jacket says lives with his mother.
My favorite issue was the SMB3 special issue.
> I bet you were one of those "vi" types back in the day, weren't you? No editor can ever have too many features: Emacs all the way!
Actually, it sounds more like he installed Emacs and is wondering does he really need a whole OS running inside the editor when he just wants to change some text...
Vi / Emacs aside, what about eclipse is hard? I've just recently installed it for Java development and found it pain free and pretty simple. I know there are features I don't know about or know how to use, but they are not in my way and I find them as I go.
Seems like you've got your answer from the other replies; yes python is a perfect place to start. The best reason is the interactive interperter; this is useful even after you've "learned" the language. Python is also able to help you learn coding methods, like Test Driven Development. Web, GUI, Networking, all in python, so when you're ready for those concepts, the stuff to do them is there.
Eric Raymond wrote in How to be a Hacker (http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html) that you should learn Python first, then Java or C/C++ depending on where you want to go. He also recommends perl, because so much of it is out there, and LISP, because it will teach you to think differently.
Eric also has some other python info on his site.
You point out a good reason for comments... when the comments don't match the code, that's a good sign of where the bug is. When I'm going behind another programmer looking for a bug I've been tasked to fix reading his comments tells me if his logic was wrong, or the code.
I suppose you could get away with some comments in say, a blog site, but if you're working as a developer on a team with more complex requirments, and the origional programmer may not even be with the company anymore, comments are a must.
It's not like it takes that long either...
I dunno... I find it weird taking the laptop to the can with me... a print magazine seems so much better suited.
Once the signal is digital only, copy protection can be placed on the stream, and the DMCA can be used against anyone taping a show of the tv. Sure, this isn't going to stop anyone from copying a show, but it will give the MPAA/RIAA the laws it needs to go after whomever they want.
Look at the recent Sony DRM rootkit mess. Now imagine it being applied to to a digital broadcast stream - a "tv rootkit" installed just by watching the show.
Are you checking that your tin foil hat is digital signal safe? I would be...
Maybe the movies are right, the British are always the bad guys... here we have the closest thing ever to real freedom of speech, and a brit wants to shut it down. Since I see you spend time reading and replying to /. comments, you're already wasting time reading useless crap =D
Another nice thing about the license is that it is good for windows, mac, and linux versions per developer - so if you work on multiple platforms you can have the same IDE on all. If you need cross platform support, Komodo and Eclipse would be the two to consider, imho.
"If you want a perfect example, take the organization, truth.com, that blasts the cigarette companies. They have huge tv commercials, protests, rallys, etc and you know what they can do it because they are telling facts which they have proof for."
The 'truth' is they are funded by the cigarette companies, part of a 1998 agreement. The 'truth' is the money was to be used for education of kids about smoking. The 'truth' is none of that happens and instead we get ads that imply the industry kills people, is racist, and doesn't deserve to exist. The 'truth' is there is no personal responsibility in their view of the 'truth.' The 'truth' is if they wern't funding them, the cigarette companies would probably sue their asses off - but then again, they know the real truth: these ads have no effect on anyone.
One disadvantage to this is copy and pasting a response may not actually address each post... I mean look at what I wrote and what you assumed from my few lines... ...quick thoughts; it's not about uncertainty, it's about suspense. Keeping the reader/watcher guessing what going to happen next. If you know all the heros are going to make it out alive it looses interest. After the preacher and wash died, you had no reason to think they might not all die getting out. ...Angel killed off the loveable Irish guy right when he finally got the girl. Buffy killed off Tara with a stray bullet; not magic or even a plot reason, buffy's mom with an aneurysm, and even Buffy (though they brought her back). All added to the story, and are are points I remember more than the rest. You bet I didn't miss the following weeks after these events. ...It's american movies/tv that cop out and "give us what we want" - having the story line favor the popular characters... it's why many people I know start watching anime... seeing spike die is so unexpected, so out of the norm, it wakens something american movies/tv killed (and hooks another into the world of anime).
American movie/tv trys to milk a series for all it's worth, keep it running as long a it can, then let it die a lonely death after it's jumped the shark and ratings are down. If we redid the the works of Homer and Shakespear, everyone would live at the end, else how would we have Season Two of Hamlet? There is still money to be made after all!