The language of science since WW2 is English. This is a reality based on the need to have an international language. That happens to be English.
I think all people should learn the current international language: English. However, Americans would do well if they learned Spanish. It would certainly help them better understand their neighbors and a great part of their own population. The US is the only non-multilingual country in the world that I know of (and I've lived in most continents).
But I digress..
The truth is that it is very expensive and slow to translate scientific/technical information. So to have an edge the "official" language is necessary. And as many have pointed out.. these translations can be very error prone.
Other carreers have similar issues. The truth is most research happens in English so it is natural that if you want to stay on top you need to know English. It used to be German and French, and Latin before that, and Arabic before that.. but today it is English.
Well having the word "Engineer" is a good thing to have in your degree name (especially in countries other that the US where people give a lot of weight to such things).
I studied CS in the US. But I later regretted not studying CE. The curriculum was basically the same (just a few more courses). But the title has more weight in Latin America.
But frankly, all the hardware stuff bores me. I'm more of a software/math guy.
Depends on what you want: - Games: learn C++ - Webapps/inhouse apps: learn Java or C# (easier for webapps) - Science: Matlab or maybe Fortran (and get a related degree)
But mostly you just need practice.. start your carreer.. do some projects.. soon you'll know what to brush up on and if necessary what to study when/if you get back to school.
What the fuck is wrong with the educational system again? Teach those who are interested. Or those who have any chance of not being a retard at it.
No, having gone to high school outside of the US (but having gone to College in the US) I can say that I am very grateful for the things teachers forced me to learn but I wasn't interested in (at the time), for example:
It never ceases to amaze me when startups begin by spending a LOT of money. The key to starting a business w/o a lot of financial backing is to spend the LEAST you possibly can until you have a solid income.
Why on earth would you burn cash on servers? In our startup we're just using Amazon's EC2 until we need something else. Its basically a fancy hosting service. And we only pay for what we use.
If/when the product is up and running, and the business grows, and Amazon ceases to be useful, then we'll think about investing in expensive hardware!
I think all this free VC cash mentality is very harmful for businesses. What ever happened to making money the old fashion way... and then selling the business once it has proven itself? The VC route is basically the lottery route.
I believe a business should require a small investment and then pay for itself.. and as it proves its potential it gets funded more. (that's basically how my other business works.. though it basically funds itself because its PROFITABLE!)
Americans love to blame others for their own problem (I'm American).
Whenever the going gets tough racism and xenophobia pops out. Whether it is incarcerating citizens of Japanese descent, disappearing Muslims or blaming mexican immigrants for everything from the rising crime rate to social injustice, this is just the latest manifestation of racism and xenophobia.
H1-B people didn't cause this problem. There's nothing wrong w/having qualified professionals come into the country. Our country was built on immigrants after all..
So if MS wants to layoff people (a great american tradition) let them do so based on merit and not based on ridiculous nationalistic standards.
"Sentence" her to a severe punishment (loss of network priviledges for 1 semester) but don't enact on it.. Put her on probation. If she does it again.. punish.
Send out a clear message that this was unacceptable, and adjust the policy to make that clear (so there are no copy cats). But the case was a bit borderline, so I think suspension or expulsion is too harsh for the crime.
She should have been nicer to the net admin though.
The correct question is "should I be doing this?".
Is it ethical for a bunch of guys to go and plan a parallel company while under the pay of another?
If you really don't like the project.. ditch it and start your own.. but don't use their ideas, don't use their market research.. just start w/a clean slate!
Also, don't go out of your way in stealing people from your current company.
The world is a small place, and your reputation is valuable. If you're known as "the backstabber" it will come to haunt you one day.
The point is not whether people sue you or not.. but whether you should be doing this in the first place.
There are real ethical issues in bringing back a potentially intelligent being:
1. Does a Neanderthal have "human rights". Are we allowed to keep it in a cage? Does it have a right to own property? Does it have the right to get married?
2. How much of Neanderthal's limitations are due to nurture vs nature?
3. Is it right to bring a severely crippled being into the modern world for people to treat it like a cage animal?
I think it would be very cruel to bring a potential "person" to this world w/o giving him the rights a "person" deserves. If we're just bringing second class citizens then it cannot be a positive thing.
Slashdot Mirror
The language of science since WW2 is English. This is a reality based on the need to have an international language. That happens to be English.
I think all people should learn the current international language: English. However, Americans would do well if they learned Spanish. It would certainly help them better understand their neighbors and a great part of their own population. The US is the only non-multilingual country in the world that I know of (and I've lived in most continents).
But I digress..
The truth is that it is very expensive and slow to translate scientific/technical information. So to have an edge the "official" language is necessary. And as many have pointed out.. these translations can be very error prone.
Other carreers have similar issues. The truth is most research happens in English so it is natural that if you want to stay on top you need to know English. It used to be German and French, and Latin before that, and Arabic before that.. but today it is English.
If you find that your knowledge gets old go get your MS!!
Well having the word "Engineer" is a good thing to have in your degree name (especially in countries other that the US where people give a lot of weight to such things).
I studied CS in the US. But I later regretted not studying CE. The curriculum was basically the same (just a few more courses). But the title has more weight in Latin America.
But frankly, all the hardware stuff bores me. I'm more of a software/math guy.
Shouldn't Microsoft buy it?
Look MS doesn't have an Enterprise API anymore.
(see http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html)
Why not buy Sun and get into the high end server business?
In the process they buy and control Java (what they wanted all along).
Depends on what you want:
- Games: learn C++
- Webapps/inhouse apps: learn Java or C# (easier for webapps)
- Science: Matlab or maybe Fortran (and get a related degree)
But mostly you just need practice.. start your carreer.. do some projects.. soon you'll know what to brush up on and if necessary what to study when /if you get back to school.
I unfortunately remember Netscape 4.71, bloated, too many features, non-standard rendering.
IE was just simpler back then so it gained market share. Then when IE got stale in came lean and mean FF.
But today both FF and IE seem just as bloated as Netscape 4.71 ever was.. So I've switched to lean and mean Chrome.
Some people just want a browser that does NOT come with a toaster and a nuclear power plant.
I think Python is better than Java for beginners.
The initial boilerplate, static methods, and static typing are just barriers to learning as a beginner.
I say this as someone who has taught beginners programming for 8 years now.
Most algebra clases aren't "problem solving"..
they are abstract rote learning.
For example this is how you factor a polynomial:
x2 + x = 0
becomes:
x(x + 1) =0
Ok.. now you try to factor the following polynomial:
2x2 + 3x = 0
Essentially rote learning.. no problem solving at all. They ALREADY PROVIDE YOU WITH THE ALGORITHM! They just don't tell you explicitly.
What the fuck is wrong with the educational system again? Teach those who are interested. Or those who have any chance of not being a retard at it.
No, having gone to high school outside of the US (but having gone to College in the US) I can say that I am very grateful for the things teachers forced me to learn but I wasn't interested in (at the time), for example:
- math: algebra, trig, precalc, calc
- economics
- physics
- chemistry
- biology
I wasn't "interested" in most of these things.. but they gave me a significant competitive advantage when I went to College.
High School students are often not mature enough to decide what they should study. Forcing them to acquire some basic skills is a good thing.
Many (myself included) would have preferred not to go to school at all!
True.. that's another reason to keep the VCs out of your business for a while until you really need them.
Then obviously you start using the money.
But 4M is still a lot to burn in a small business.
It never ceases to amaze me when startups begin by spending a LOT of money. The key to starting a business w/o a lot of financial backing is to spend the LEAST you possibly can until you have a solid income.
Why on earth would you burn cash on servers? In our startup we're just using Amazon's EC2 until we need something else. Its basically a fancy hosting service. And we only pay for what we use.
If/when the product is up and running, and the business grows, and Amazon ceases to be useful, then we'll think about investing in expensive hardware!
I think all this free VC cash mentality is very harmful for businesses. What ever happened to making money the old fashion way... and then selling the business once it has proven itself? The VC route is basically the lottery route.
I believe a business should require a small investment and then pay for itself.. and as it proves its potential it gets funded more.
(that's basically how my other business works.. though it basically funds itself because its PROFITABLE!)
Americans love to blame others for their own problem (I'm American).
Whenever the going gets tough racism and xenophobia pops out. Whether it is incarcerating citizens of Japanese descent, disappearing Muslims or blaming mexican immigrants for everything from the rising crime rate to social injustice, this is just the latest manifestation of racism and xenophobia.
H1-B people didn't cause this problem. There's nothing wrong w/having qualified professionals come into the country. Our country was built on immigrants after all..
So if MS wants to layoff people (a great american tradition) let them do so based on merit and not based on ridiculous nationalistic standards.
Wasn't the spreadsheet the killer app for the Apple ][?
I thought the killer app for the Mac was desktop publishing.
"Sentence" her to a severe punishment (loss of network priviledges for 1 semester) but don't enact on it.. Put her on probation. If she does it again.. punish.
Send out a clear message that this was unacceptable, and adjust the policy to make that clear (so there are no copy cats). But the case was a bit borderline, so I think suspension or expulsion is too harsh for the crime.
She should have been nicer to the net admin though.
"Can I be sued?" is not the correct question.
The correct question is "should I be doing this?".
Is it ethical for a bunch of guys to go and plan a parallel company while under the pay of another?
If you really don't like the project.. ditch it and start your own.. but don't use their ideas, don't use their market research.. just start w/a clean slate!
Also, don't go out of your way in stealing people from your current company.
The world is a small place, and your reputation is valuable. If you're known as "the backstabber" it will come to haunt you one day.
The point is not whether people sue you or not.. but whether you should be doing this in the first place.
Do the right thing. Be professional.
What was that pesky law again?
There are real ethical issues in bringing back a potentially intelligent being:
1. Does a Neanderthal have "human rights". Are we allowed to keep it in a cage? Does it have a right to own property? Does it have the right to get married?
2. How much of Neanderthal's limitations are due to nurture vs nature?
3. Is it right to bring a severely crippled being into the modern world for people to treat it like a cage animal?
I think it would be very cruel to bring a potential "person" to this world w/o giving him the rights a "person" deserves. If we're just bringing second class citizens then it cannot be a positive thing.