No, I think that seeing it up front and center, and watching it happen, how our legal department sends "lobbyists" down to the offices of our Congressmen and Senators to get reforms they want in, and seeing those things happen has really awakened me to the reality of what goes on.
I think we've always known the rich control the world, it's when you see them pulling the strings that you wake up a little.
I've been reading Matt Taibbi's book, "Griftopia" (http://www.amazon.com/Griftopia-Machines-Vampire-Breaking-America/dp/0385529953), and having worked in finance for ~10 years, I'm coming to realize more and more that the powers that be -- corporations, CEOs, and everybody that's basically not *you* are the people who are going to run the US for the coming future. A leaked memo from Citigroup (http://www.scribd.com/doc/36059255/23321255-Citigroup-Mar-5-2006-Plutonomy-Report-Leaked-Citigroup-Memo-Part1) has already declared the US a Plutocracy (rule by the wealthy).
This is just another shot in the arm against a citizenry whose arms are already falling off from the shots before. The FCC coming up with a plan to (surprise surprise) support the plutocracy that we've already been labelled by Wall Street is not even a stretch any more. And while the Tea Party clamors about how government is trying to socialize everything, they miss that problem that the government has been co-opted in stealing America as a whole from the citizens themselves, and they are happy to have the folks in the Tea Party carry their banner without realizing what damage they are doing.
I am a bit demoralized nowadays about all this -- and I'd love to take action but I don't know how. So while we as nerds who normally argue, bitch, and complain can actually stand up and figure a way to do something about this (short of something 4chan would do), then I'd be all for it. Let's strategize. Let's plan. And let's execute in the perfect ways I know that we can do thousands of lines of code, deploying hundreds of servers, or anything else "IT" that we do.
I'm here to start the call to arms, I just don't know what to do after that.
This isn't a PC that can be used for 5 years. It's not a laptop that gets maybe 4 if you push it. It's a contractual based item that continually has openings in the market every two years for a person on contract. After that, they basically get a free or heavily subsidized phone for their replacement. It's stupid not to, unless they want to end their contract and go month to month, but most people don't do that.
As for WP7's features and functionality. This is Slashdot. The requirements we have for phones having secure Exchange support, multitasking, copy and paste, are things that surprise surprise, are not heavily used by most people. Granted, not having copy and paste, or multitasking, and things like that as a nerd, are hard to forgive. However, having my Samsung Galaxy S sitting on the desk here, I rarely find myself using the ability to multitask, or copy and paste. And Exchange support isn't an issue as it's my personal device.
I think that what MS is offering is the ability for app developers to develop good looking, functional applications in a very short amount of time using skills they largely already have. The amount of tie-in to the data across the platform is from what I've read and seen, unsurpassed at this point. That's why with very little fanfare, I did a look at the apps available for WP7, and they are really nice, and I haven't found one that is as low quality as what I regularly see on the Android marketplace.
Will WP7 be a winner? Time will tell. There are issues that bulge out at me like having the carrier have a "say" in the updates to the phone. This is where Apple makes strides, and Android is showing its pain points. I've had my Galaxy S for months and am *still* waiting on an update to Froyo, and Gingerbread (2.3) is around the corner. I will probably never see that update at the current pace, and would be best advised to basically buy a new phone anyway.
I think WP7 is an interesting platform, and one I might jump into after a few kinks are worked out. I'm not loyal to one platform, I will try what's best, and after having used Android and seeing its deficiencies that are based on the platform as a whole, not little things here and there, I look forward to the "one-ness" that the iPhone had. WP7 gives me more choices, has nice apps that do what I need, and adds competition to the marketplace. If MS is "in it to win it", the only benefit to us is that the other guys have to stay on their game and keep the competition up, and as a result we get better products all around.
And BTW, I went to the AT&T store, and they were sold out. I played with the demo units. They only had a handful to start off with, so I am thinking that the 40k number may be due more to supply than demand. Like I said though, a single weekend isn't going to make or break the platform, but they better start getting inventory and pushing that marketing machine so they can move those units.
I like OpenID, but if you couple it with a three factor authentication, whether it be a smartcard, or biometric, or whatever.. that's when it becomes useful.
Too bad the current implementation doesn't support it. Sadly, World of Warcraft and Starcraft II do.
Agreed 100%. Apple won't do a subscription model because it's not as lucrative in conjunction with their iPod/Phone/Pad sales. Want to watch an episode on your iPod? Rent it, $.99. Want to watch it again on your iPad? Rent it again.
I think Apple is a company designed to take advantage of stupid consumers, and this is another shot in that direction. Fanboys as your revenue stream is fun, but there are a hell of a lot of them so Apple's not in any danger now.
That's why they can screw content authors by dictating terms on e-Books and music, and give you less choice but make it appear "cool".
Testing environments should mirror your production environments very closely. If you are developing a 'fix' for production, then you test out that fix in a hurry on your test system -- everything looks good, submit your emergency change, document it all, and put it in.
Otherwise you risk the idea of breaking MULTIPLE systems more, by doing this in production. Just because you have an extreme need doesn't mean that a DEVELOPER should touch a PRODUCTION system. If it's a critical work stoppage, then you work with your production team to implement the change -- quickly.
Again, if your testing system is the same as production (as it should be), then you can test your fix in your test environment, and immediately port it over to production. You don't need your fingers to control it, and the amount of time difference there is would be negligible. But one fatfinger from a developer without at least running the query, and instead of SELECT you do a "DROP", and boom -- all your production data is in the shitter.
Sorry, your idea isn't valid, even in emergency situations. That's why they make such a thing as "after the fact" change controls. Do the work, implement it, and fill out the change control later. But you still do the work on a test system first. It's not about elegant or "right", it's just smart.
You can open an account anywhere to trade. Just buy against indexed funds like the S&P or DOW. Do the research though -- don't take my word for it. But this is the way the lay person without financial expertise can manage their money in a manner that's close to what the big boys get. You may lack the software, and algorithms that get you the big returns, but you have diversity built into those indexes and will fare better than the average investor without much work.
Here's an article so you know I'm not full of shit:
And have worked in financial firms for over ten years. It's not really by choice, and honestly I'd love to get out, but at this point in time the economy isn't exactly what I'd call "stable" to do it. I have been looking.
But to the article's point... the software programmers write in financial firms are designed to ensure that if certain thresholds are met, that trades are automatically executed. There's a buy limit, a sell limit, and the task of the trader is really to find out where they want to put the money.
The funny thing about it, is that these traders could put basically any company in there (any company of reasonable value and had reasonable research on it) and the software would mitigate the risks. Those algorithms aren't spread out around a bunch of programmers, they are usually in the hands of a few -- and for good reason. Any idiot off the street could put their cash into these systems and have the software mitigate all the risks for them, executing the trades automatically.
Strangely enough, the average return to investors for a mutual fund, is actually less than the S&P 500 return. At least, if you factor in fees, charges, and other miscellaneous charges. The idea that a Wall Street firm can do *that* much better than the market average is generally speaking, very difficult. They make a lot of money on plain old fees, and if they manage to get 1% higher return than the S&P (which involves using these types of algorithms) they can make big bucks doing that. The only time I've seen firms make well over the market is when there's "funny business" going on. You know, wrapping up bad mortgages and calling them AAA rated stuff.
Anyway, the point is twofold. First, what these programmers do is extremely valuable because traders can sit by all day long and trade, and then their trades are secured by this software. Basically, it's their job security. The fact that very few programmers are in the position of developing the trading systems for firms -- at least the algorithmic logic part of it -- means a lot more than if they were part of a team. Usually it's a team of one, or two at most. And for that, they should really be paid a huge premium because they have knowledge about stuff that's WAY beyond the normal bounds of solving logical problems in programming, but requires really high level math, prediction systems, and even intelligence systems to scan news articles and trade accordingly.
That said... do yourselves a favor. If you have money in a financial firm -- take it out and invest it on your own. If you invest in a big index fund, there are very little fees, and you'll basically never do worse than the market. You don't have to take my word for it -- find a bunch of mutual funds that you like, and then peg them against the S&P or the DOW. You'll find that over time, the returns aren't that far off -- and if you cut out the fees you're paying, you will probably wind up ahead. And to boot, you can be happy in the knowledge that you're not supporting these firms take away our economy from us for the sake of a couple of bucks.
All in all, keep this in mind -- bonuses in Wall Street firms are paid on a yearly basis. There is no such thing as a long term outlook, so if traders or managers want to make a quick buck at the expense of everybody else -- they will do it. It's why I'm looking to get out of finance firms myself, because I find it distasteful to work in them, but I am not going to be stupid and 'jump' when there's nowhere to go.
Honestly, I think the phone has potential. They don't fix their problems and as stated, it's dead on arrival.
But it's got a 50/50 shot out of the gate, and depending on the hardware vendors and things... that's a huge part of the battle. Android did well because they have some really good hardware partners.
I'll have my Samsung Vibrant (T-Mobile) next week or so, so I'll be waiting it out as well. Not dying for a WinMo7 phone, but I am interested to see the launch products.
And to develop apps in WinMo7 is ridiculously easy. I think that's what will help the platform move along.
Of course, if they don't fix up and finish some of the features that Engadget and other sites are pointing out, they will be DOA.
I'm going to buy an Android phone next week and if WinMo7 shapes up well, then I'll probably swap to that. With the ability for devs to port their games from XNA into the phone pretty easily, for new apps to be written quickly, and a standardization of UI and hardware requirements (including buttons and layout), it has an edge on Android in some areas. Of course, the little features that people love in Android or iOS are what they have to match in order to make it.
As a 'nerd' who has been bullied all throughout school yes, I worked hard to overcome and make something of my life. And yes, I think I've done it well.
That said -- I still don't forgive those kids that bullied me, and I still hate them. I will carry that hate to my grave. I know it's probably wrong of me, and those kids would probably apologize to me now as adults, but as an adult my childish response is never going to be to forgive them. I hold strong the hatred I carry and the resentment towards those "types" of people, and use it as a positive force in my life to overcome situations, and succeed.
Nobody will ever be able to pry my hate away. And I suspect, for many other nerds as well. It's easy to feel bad about something stupid you did when you were a kid, and it's quite another to forgive for something that almost ruined your life.
Slashdot Mirror
No, I think that seeing it up front and center, and watching it happen, how our legal department sends "lobbyists" down to the offices of our Congressmen and Senators to get reforms they want in, and seeing those things happen has really awakened me to the reality of what goes on.
I think we've always known the rich control the world, it's when you see them pulling the strings that you wake up a little.
I forgot we can use HTML markup on Slashdot. Pardon me -- years of forum posts and I expect the damn thing will autolink.
Nobody else would. I'm an agnostic who was born into a Muslim family so it's a non-starter for me.
I've been reading Matt Taibbi's book, "Griftopia" (http://www.amazon.com/Griftopia-Machines-Vampire-Breaking-America/dp/0385529953), and having worked in finance for ~10 years, I'm coming to realize more and more that the powers that be -- corporations, CEOs, and everybody that's basically not *you* are the people who are going to run the US for the coming future. A leaked memo from Citigroup (http://www.scribd.com/doc/36059255/23321255-Citigroup-Mar-5-2006-Plutonomy-Report-Leaked-Citigroup-Memo-Part1) has already declared the US a Plutocracy (rule by the wealthy).
This is just another shot in the arm against a citizenry whose arms are already falling off from the shots before. The FCC coming up with a plan to (surprise surprise) support the plutocracy that we've already been labelled by Wall Street is not even a stretch any more. And while the Tea Party clamors about how government is trying to socialize everything, they miss that problem that the government has been co-opted in stealing America as a whole from the citizens themselves, and they are happy to have the folks in the Tea Party carry their banner without realizing what damage they are doing.
I am a bit demoralized nowadays about all this -- and I'd love to take action but I don't know how. So while we as nerds who normally argue, bitch, and complain can actually stand up and figure a way to do something about this (short of something 4chan would do), then I'd be all for it. Let's strategize. Let's plan. And let's execute in the perfect ways I know that we can do thousands of lines of code, deploying hundreds of servers, or anything else "IT" that we do.
I'm here to start the call to arms, I just don't know what to do after that.
This isn't a PC that can be used for 5 years. It's not a laptop that gets maybe 4 if you push it. It's a contractual based item that continually has openings in the market every two years for a person on contract. After that, they basically get a free or heavily subsidized phone for their replacement. It's stupid not to, unless they want to end their contract and go month to month, but most people don't do that.
As for WP7's features and functionality. This is Slashdot. The requirements we have for phones having secure Exchange support, multitasking, copy and paste, are things that surprise surprise, are not heavily used by most people. Granted, not having copy and paste, or multitasking, and things like that as a nerd, are hard to forgive. However, having my Samsung Galaxy S sitting on the desk here, I rarely find myself using the ability to multitask, or copy and paste. And Exchange support isn't an issue as it's my personal device.
I think that what MS is offering is the ability for app developers to develop good looking, functional applications in a very short amount of time using skills they largely already have. The amount of tie-in to the data across the platform is from what I've read and seen, unsurpassed at this point. That's why with very little fanfare, I did a look at the apps available for WP7, and they are really nice, and I haven't found one that is as low quality as what I regularly see on the Android marketplace.
Will WP7 be a winner? Time will tell. There are issues that bulge out at me like having the carrier have a "say" in the updates to the phone. This is where Apple makes strides, and Android is showing its pain points. I've had my Galaxy S for months and am *still* waiting on an update to Froyo, and Gingerbread (2.3) is around the corner. I will probably never see that update at the current pace, and would be best advised to basically buy a new phone anyway.
I think WP7 is an interesting platform, and one I might jump into after a few kinks are worked out. I'm not loyal to one platform, I will try what's best, and after having used Android and seeing its deficiencies that are based on the platform as a whole, not little things here and there, I look forward to the "one-ness" that the iPhone had. WP7 gives me more choices, has nice apps that do what I need, and adds competition to the marketplace. If MS is "in it to win it", the only benefit to us is that the other guys have to stay on their game and keep the competition up, and as a result we get better products all around.
And BTW, I went to the AT&T store, and they were sold out. I played with the demo units. They only had a handful to start off with, so I am thinking that the 40k number may be due more to supply than demand. Like I said though, a single weekend isn't going to make or break the platform, but they better start getting inventory and pushing that marketing machine so they can move those units.
The Hobbit was the most boring of the Tolkien books, but hey, I'm all for a movie!
Sorry, it's early in the week :)
I like OpenID, but if you couple it with a three factor authentication, whether it be a smartcard, or biometric, or whatever.. that's when it becomes useful.
Too bad the current implementation doesn't support it. Sadly, World of Warcraft and Starcraft II do.
Go figure.
Agreed 100%. Apple won't do a subscription model because it's not as lucrative in conjunction with their iPod/Phone/Pad sales. Want to watch an episode on your iPod? Rent it, $.99. Want to watch it again on your iPad? Rent it again.
I think Apple is a company designed to take advantage of stupid consumers, and this is another shot in that direction. Fanboys as your revenue stream is fun, but there are a hell of a lot of them so Apple's not in any danger now.
That's why they can screw content authors by dictating terms on e-Books and music, and give you less choice but make it appear "cool".
Sorry, but I don't buy it.
Testing environments should mirror your production environments very closely. If you are developing a 'fix' for production, then you test out that fix in a hurry on your test system -- everything looks good, submit your emergency change, document it all, and put it in.
Otherwise you risk the idea of breaking MULTIPLE systems more, by doing this in production. Just because you have an extreme need doesn't mean that a DEVELOPER should touch a PRODUCTION system. If it's a critical work stoppage, then you work with your production team to implement the change -- quickly.
Again, if your testing system is the same as production (as it should be), then you can test your fix in your test environment, and immediately port it over to production. You don't need your fingers to control it, and the amount of time difference there is would be negligible. But one fatfinger from a developer without at least running the query, and instead of SELECT you do a "DROP", and boom -- all your production data is in the shitter.
Sorry, your idea isn't valid, even in emergency situations. That's why they make such a thing as "after the fact" change controls. Do the work, implement it, and fill out the change control later. But you still do the work on a test system first. It's not about elegant or "right", it's just smart.
This is why there is a change control process, and a testing environment.
If you're doing it wrong, you're asking for trouble.
I see you're planning ahead.
I mean, as long as your wife/girlfriend can't track your porno sites with ease you're fine.
If your wife/girlfriend is a CS major with cryptology in her repertoire though... might want to find a different 'hobby'.
You can open an account anywhere to trade. Just buy against indexed funds like the S&P or DOW. Do the research though -- don't take my word for it. But this is the way the lay person without financial expertise can manage their money in a manner that's close to what the big boys get. You may lack the software, and algorithms that get you the big returns, but you have diversity built into those indexes and will fare better than the average investor without much work.
Here's an article so you know I'm not full of shit:
http://www.fool.com/mutualfunds/indexfunds/indexfunds01.htm
And have worked in financial firms for over ten years. It's not really by choice, and honestly I'd love to get out, but at this point in time the economy isn't exactly what I'd call "stable" to do it. I have been looking.
But to the article's point... the software programmers write in financial firms are designed to ensure that if certain thresholds are met, that trades are automatically executed. There's a buy limit, a sell limit, and the task of the trader is really to find out where they want to put the money.
The funny thing about it, is that these traders could put basically any company in there (any company of reasonable value and had reasonable research on it) and the software would mitigate the risks. Those algorithms aren't spread out around a bunch of programmers, they are usually in the hands of a few -- and for good reason. Any idiot off the street could put their cash into these systems and have the software mitigate all the risks for them, executing the trades automatically.
Strangely enough, the average return to investors for a mutual fund, is actually less than the S&P 500 return. At least, if you factor in fees, charges, and other miscellaneous charges. The idea that a Wall Street firm can do *that* much better than the market average is generally speaking, very difficult. They make a lot of money on plain old fees, and if they manage to get 1% higher return than the S&P (which involves using these types of algorithms) they can make big bucks doing that. The only time I've seen firms make well over the market is when there's "funny business" going on. You know, wrapping up bad mortgages and calling them AAA rated stuff.
Anyway, the point is twofold. First, what these programmers do is extremely valuable because traders can sit by all day long and trade, and then their trades are secured by this software. Basically, it's their job security. The fact that very few programmers are in the position of developing the trading systems for firms -- at least the algorithmic logic part of it -- means a lot more than if they were part of a team. Usually it's a team of one, or two at most. And for that, they should really be paid a huge premium because they have knowledge about stuff that's WAY beyond the normal bounds of solving logical problems in programming, but requires really high level math, prediction systems, and even intelligence systems to scan news articles and trade accordingly.
That said... do yourselves a favor. If you have money in a financial firm -- take it out and invest it on your own. If you invest in a big index fund, there are very little fees, and you'll basically never do worse than the market. You don't have to take my word for it -- find a bunch of mutual funds that you like, and then peg them against the S&P or the DOW. You'll find that over time, the returns aren't that far off -- and if you cut out the fees you're paying, you will probably wind up ahead. And to boot, you can be happy in the knowledge that you're not supporting these firms take away our economy from us for the sake of a couple of bucks.
All in all, keep this in mind -- bonuses in Wall Street firms are paid on a yearly basis. There is no such thing as a long term outlook, so if traders or managers want to make a quick buck at the expense of everybody else -- they will do it. It's why I'm looking to get out of finance firms myself, because I find it distasteful to work in them, but I am not going to be stupid and 'jump' when there's nowhere to go.
I actually am grateful that there are no more wardrobe malfunctions due to the FCC.
Honestly, I think the phone has potential. They don't fix their problems and as stated, it's dead on arrival.
But it's got a 50/50 shot out of the gate, and depending on the hardware vendors and things... that's a huge part of the battle. Android did well because they have some really good hardware partners.
I'll have my Samsung Vibrant (T-Mobile) next week or so, so I'll be waiting it out as well. Not dying for a WinMo7 phone, but I am interested to see the launch products.
Don't you know anything? Apple can do no wrong, because Steve Jobs said so.
And to develop apps in WinMo7 is ridiculously easy. I think that's what will help the platform move along.
Of course, if they don't fix up and finish some of the features that Engadget and other sites are pointing out, they will be DOA.
I'm going to buy an Android phone next week and if WinMo7 shapes up well, then I'll probably swap to that. With the ability for devs to port their games from XNA into the phone pretty easily, for new apps to be written quickly, and a standardization of UI and hardware requirements (including buttons and layout), it has an edge on Android in some areas. Of course, the little features that people love in Android or iOS are what they have to match in order to make it.
Time will tell.
As a 'nerd' who has been bullied all throughout school yes, I worked hard to overcome and make something of my life. And yes, I think I've done it well.
That said -- I still don't forgive those kids that bullied me, and I still hate them. I will carry that hate to my grave. I know it's probably wrong of me, and those kids would probably apologize to me now as adults, but as an adult my childish response is never going to be to forgive them. I hold strong the hatred I carry and the resentment towards those "types" of people, and use it as a positive force in my life to overcome situations, and succeed.
Nobody will ever be able to pry my hate away. And I suspect, for many other nerds as well. It's easy to feel bad about something stupid you did when you were a kid, and it's quite another to forgive for something that almost ruined your life.
Touche.
I had to roll out SP3 to our entire company using WSUS, but create rules and exemptions because some applications *still* don't work under SP3.
I liken it to asking a doctor to operate without a scalpel, or a construction worker to build a house without a hammer or wood.
Lots of fun in this day and age in corporate america.
That Firefox users were smarter internet users.
Yea I'm not sure what happened there...
Man, I miss that game.