Maybe what throws me is that as I understand it, and maybe I'm incorrect, but if you want a patent on say, a better mousetrap, you have to provide at least blueprints to show why it's better. Which to me is an implementation design. If this is the case... hmmmmm... now that I think of it, you guys are right, the actual source code implementation should not matter, but then the algorythm should be registered publicly... yes/no? I guess it is off topic, but it is interesting.
I'm wondering... if a company looses the source code to some software that they patented, would this effectively destroy the patent? Or does the patent office have a copy of the source code? If it doesn't, how would the company prove patent infringement?
Just a thought... not a particularly focuses one, but a thought.
I guess some people like to do that. But I think to be healthy you need to separate work from home. Personally, I work to live, and I don't live to work. I think you need to like your job, but if you can't separate yourself from it... if your job is who you are... I think it is not a healthy way to live. In some cases this might not be true, but I can't think of one.
Some people say they can work from home and still keep their job separate. I am not so sure it is possible. My opinion, but I like it!:-)
Wouldn't it be nice if businesses that want people to work 10 hours a day would build good fitness facilities for employees? That way it would save the employee some time from an already overworked, overstressed environment. As well, it would help eliminate things like overweight employees, it would help reduce blood pressure in many people who need to, help people's sleep patterns, make them more alert. The warm beverages are usually caffeinated to help overcome fatigue from not sleeping well, and being overweight.
It is generally recognized that fit employees are more productive for the company. So why don't employers get their heads out of their asses and encourage and invest in something like this. In fact, if they had fit employees, they would likely only need them to work 8 hours a day, or less. Investing in something like this might cost less than turning up the heat in the long run, considering increasing heating costs, and considering the increased output from the workers that would be achieved.
As well, I find that when I am working out, I usually don't need the heat turned up as much as when I am not working out. Just me, but when my metabolism is at a higher level, so is my ability to maintain body heat.
America has the highest productivity in the world. However, it also works the most hours, and in my books at least, means that it doesn't enjoy life as much as it should. I have lived down here the last 5 years, and like America. But everything can be improved, and saying so doesn't make me a malcontent.
I'm wondering if maybe since the subjects knew they were being watched, when they turned up the heat physically, it turned up the heat on them psychologically too. It made them sweat a bit, so to speak. In other words, the study is really flawed because the subjects knew they were being watched. How many offices do you know where the people work 100% of the time? I don't know any, unless there is some sort of major crunch going on. People work an hour, stop, take a break for a few minutes (maybe talk to their neighbor), work some more, etc. I haven't seen any place where people were keyboarding 100% of the time. Unless of course you have a sweatshop overseer.
If they watched in secret, turning up the heat and secretly disabling the local thermostat and controling the temperature from somewhere else, then I think you would get a more realistic result. However, then you would have people freaking out once they knew they were being watched (about privacy etc). That is, unless they could monitor only keystrokes without watching people, and get results that would be useful for interpretation. Legally, in most if not all cases in the United States and Canada (I can't speak about other countries), what's on the computer at work is company property and not the employee's, so technically that wouldn't infringe on privacy. (It might piss people off and create bad feelings, but it wouldn't infringe on privacy.)
Mind you, they were talking about an insurance company, so they are probably looking at data entry people and the like, not programmers or commputer people in general. Data entry type jobs often do have some sort of 'head clerk/overseer/foreman' watching. So maybe the experiences of the people in this forum don't reflect the environment (no pun intended) of this particular study, and that's why we don't relate to it. In the environment the study was done in, perhaps it is true and the 'turning up the heat physically turns it up psychologically' idea has some merit.
OUCH! I started thinking. That REALLY hurts. I think I'll go put some ice on my brain.
As a matter of interest, where the American ideal is: "Peace, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," Canada's is:
"Peace, Order, and Good Government."
Canada's government does tend to get a lot over-involved in what people watch. The CRTC (Canadian Radio and Television Commission... some say the Canadian Roadblock to Communications) even bans Canadians from using and watching signals from the American satellite company 'Direct TV'. As if they should tell us what to watch.
Sometimes the 'Peace, Order, and Good Government' aspect of Canada goes overboard.
Actually I'm not trolling... just relating my experiences. If people have a problem with honesty that is your problem not mine. I think the person who modded me down must not like hearing from people who have had some bad experiences with Linux and hardware vendors. By the way, I still run Linux on two of my three desk top machines which I built myself (i.e. not a proprietary vendor like HP)... but I have had issues with getting HP devices to work properly with Linux... and that is a fact.
For example, I tried installing Suse Pro (I actually paid for it) on my HP zv5034us laptop and the sound wouldn't work (I have found posts on several websites where people have had the same problem, and have had to install the Alsa package for it manually... which I tried to do but admitidly failed at). Before trying to add sound support via Alsa I asked for support from Suse (since I paid for it), and they said they didn't provide support for sound problems. So I downloaded and installed Mandrake 10. It couldn't detect the sound card. And neither distros could detect the broadcom wireless card either.
So combined with my issues with getting my Linux installations to recognize my HP scanner, it is my experience that HP support for Linux is quite limited unless you buy something from them that is specifically tailored for it.
If you don't like the fact that I have not had a good experience with HP + Linux and want to label me something I am not, it's OK. I recognize that the problem is not with me.
How many Linux drivers can you download for your HP printer or scanner (from the HP site)? I'll answer you: basically none. I am writing this on an HP notebook... using Windows XP... mainly because no distros come with a driver for the wireless or audio cards in this thing. I could download the source from alsa for the sound and from who knows where for the wireless card, and build and configure and install the drivers... but that is a pain in the ass when Windows works fine.
I have an HP scanner that I can't seem to find a suitable driver for in Linux. I bought an Epson printer because they at least provide SDK's for people to create drivers... ergo it works fine with my Linux servers. The bottom line is that HP isn't supporting Linux even in what I would think is a minimal way by at least creating easily available drivers to go with their product(s).
This equates to me as HP only paying lip service to Linux. i.e. It makes a good advertising line, but let's see them really support it.
Funny how a French product is good enough to use, but not good enough to pay for. You're messed up Mr. Anonymous dude.
For the record, I happen to think France didn't want a war because they were in bed with Iraqi officials. I think Bush wanted a war because he and his cronies wanted back in bed with Iraqi officials... (that's Donny (Beady Eye) Rumsfeld shaking Sadam's hand). Or more specifically, they wanted their palms greased with Iriqui oil. I'm not sad that Saddam's gone, in fact I am rather pleased that butchers like him and his sons are dead/soon to be dead. I just don't like Bush lying about why he went in... nor do I like the ineptitude with which they did it. Anyways... back to apoliticial Linux...
If someone makes a good product that you like to use, pay them for it... at least occasionally.
American 'free market' ideology? It doesn't mean take something for free and not pay them because you don't like them. It means if you don't like them and don't want to give them money, don't use their product. It means if you use something, pay for it. It also means if you use their product without paying them, generally you're a thief. In this particular case, you are just an asshole.
So Microsoft wants to find a way to completely lock people into subscription type licensing. Big deal. Sounds like a good oportunity for Open Office to step in.
When people don't want to worry about the security of their data moving across the 'net (I don't know why, seeing as how Microsoft products are so... ahem... secure... NOT!), or not being able to work when the network is congested or down, they will use something else. Open Office is one alternative (with the added benefit of being free, as in beer)... and for those who want to pay, Word Perfect is still out there...
So Microsoft, knock yourself out. There are other choices. Who knows, maybe after a taste of open source software, people will start using Linux more?;-)
I played snooker at a fairly high level for a while (I could break over a 100 periodically) and regularly ran 40 to 70 point breaks.
That said, I agree that the 'english', the spin placed on the ball will be a challenge. Especially if they wish to play on snooker tables as opposed to eight or nine ball tables. The correct cloth for a snooker table has a directional nap (kind of like the effect of velvet... if you brush it one way it raises up, the other way, it lays flat), while the cloth on an eight or nine ball table does not. Having a directional nap affects how the ball travels on the table depending on whether you are shooting up or down the table, or diaganally across. The nap is even on the cloth on the rails and affects how the ball 'throws' off the cushion. So the spin (siding, tops, bottoms, stun, etc.) probably challenges the programmers quite a bit. You can compute that reaction, but it will be different again when playing on the directionaless nap of an eight or nine ball table. And in either type, the age of the cloth will play a role in how the ball travels.
Of course this can all be programmed in. But how difficult/interesting it will be. I would think it will be kind of like trying to program a robot to walk on two legs with the floor tilting every now and then. The robot has to dynamically compensate for environment as well as do the 'simple' mathimatical calculations of the angle of the shot... which is probably not so simple, simce they are trying to factor in 'position' as well. (Position: like playing shape, but thinking more than one ball ahead.)
I wonder if they have figured out how it is to react when the competitor spills a beer on the table? Or tries to stiff you on the bet? Now those are some challenging environmental variables.:-)
So I guess off shore outsourcing is dangerous for national security too. Or if it helps your company increase short term profits while you place your workers in the unemployment line, it is safe, but if it competes with you, it is un-American.
Bah!
Hello Mr. Anonymous,
to be contrary, you don't know what you are talking about. Standard Linux is not a real time O/S. DOS however, while not originally intended as a "commercial real time O/S", has been used many times in the past, as well as the present, to program real time applications on.
However, people have adapted Linux (meaning it is not "standard" Linux) to work with real time and embedded systems. Then again, even before Linux was being adapted to real time systems, DOS, and variants of DOS were being created for the same task, and still are.
A quick search provides a number of to links back me up on this, including this one:
QUOTE:
Although Linux is not a real-time operating system (the Linux kernel does not provide the required event prioritization and preemption functions), several add-on options are available that can bring real-time capabilities to Linux-based systems. END QUOTE
This link from the University of Zurich (Einstein's alma mater) lists a number of variants of DOS as types of real time systems. It also includes download links for threading libraries for DOS so that you can write 'real time' applications: Embedded and Real-Time Systems - DOS and Windows multitaskers / others
While DOS itself is really single threaded (or even "no threaded"), there is nothing that says you can't write multi-threaded code to provide a 'real-time' application.
Don't get me wrong, Linux is a good operating system, and when they can get most things right with it, including working sound drivers for my laptop (so that I don't have to screw around to make it work... I am more interested in using my laptop for it's intended purpose, not to screw around on it playing configuration games), then it will be ready for prime time. In the meantime, I will use Linux as a practice/R&D tool, since I program systems on Unix/Linux systems, and use WinXP, for my entertainment and Java programming O/S.
In my experience, it probably was not totally the QA department's... or the coder's... fault either. It was probably shitty managers paying too little attention to the need to allocate sufficient time for QA and realistic testing environments.
Most project managers (especially ones with no technical experience... who shouldn't be let near a technical project) plan their projects with timelines with rose colour glasses. They assume there will be no coding issues discoverered in testing. Or worse, they do, but then let scope creap come into it, and borrow time from testing for the new items introduced in the scope creep. Bye bye testing time.
Mind you, I have also seen QA managers who believe that the testers only need to understand the software, and not the business where the software is to be used. This has sometimes leads to problems in end use. In any case, I tend to blame poor management before I blame the little guy. Projects like this are big enough that the process should have been able to catch things like this... unless the process was flawed.
Does this mean you are qualified to outsource jobs to India?
Yes I am trolling... can't help it... don't like boasting of MBA's. Means you had time and money... that is all. It also means you place more importance on titles than in experience.
Your trips to 17 countries are worth more than the MBA... to me... but not, probably, to others with MBA's who think they know how to run IT projects.
I believe the billing system company Convergys also has a major call centre in Kamloops.
Not to be picky, but at around 80,000 to 90,000 people, Kamloops is more of a small city than a small town. Mind you, it is a little isolated... about 300km east-north-east of Vancouver, with mainly mountain peaks in between.
Mozilla should make their security bulletins more prominent on their web site. Near the top. It is not even there on their firefox page, which I use as my home page. I only found out about it today.
Let's first start by recognizing that except for those of us expecting a big inheritance from a rich uncle or some such nonsense, to those of us for which this thread really is of interest, we earn our living (or will be) by programming. We can also recognize that most of us will not be able to make a living programming things that we give away for free for our Linux system. Most of us will likely be working on business systems... and many of them will be enterprise systems; big or small.
That said... let's stir things up!
Most enterprise systems out there are written in Cobol!
Most *New* enterprise systems are not.
:-p
With enterprise systems, it's all based on money, not what is the best language. Your (our) managers, who are almost never technical, and who think a reference is a thick book that sits on your desk, or is something HR is supposed to check, don't give a rat's ass about what the best language or algorythm is. They care only about what gets the job done the cheapest. And Since They Pay Our Salaries, They Get The Last Word. They **don't care** if it is pretty, novel, intelligent (brute force is just fine in business), an efficient algorthym, a wonderful language, whatever. Businesses with sometimes billions of dollars on the line only care about two things: (1) Does it work? (2) Does it work in a way that doesn't piss off our customers? (Notice I didn't say make them happy? Many times that doesn't even matter.)
So the question most CIO's and managers are asking is...
What language will allow us to:
use inexperienced programmers (who are the cheapest)?
produce an acceptable enterprice application (*not* the _best_ application)
produce it the fastest (time = money)? And...
make it accessible from the web.
Of course if I were a short sighted CEO or CIO, the answer would be: who cares, let's just outsource to India or China, and let them make all the decisions for us. However the fact remains that while C/C++ are very good languages, in my experience they have a steeper learning curve, generally requiring more experienced programmers; generally take longer to program an application with; and are not as well suited to web applications as is Java. Yes C/C++ can do everything Java can and more, but in enterprise business application programming it is (unfortunately) not usually about creating the best application, but about being good enough. (And by the way, I like programming in C, but I work in Java).
Yes I am cynical. However, I am cynical for a reason.
Since I don't have a 19 or 21 inch monitor on my laptop, I like the autohide feature about a tonne (or ton if you like). I would rather autohide than reduce the resolution any more and end up squinting so hard my eyes bleed.:-) Animated dogs however, are another matter... you can send them to an animated asian restaraunt... oops my I dropped my political correctness.;-)
Netbeans prior to version 3.6 was a bit of an 'iffy' thing for me, and I preferred Eclipse. However since 3.6, I have switched back to preferring Netbeans. Mainly because it has a lot of stuff already built in to it and configured. E.g. If I want to build jsp pages, they have a tomcat server built in, and I just need to click on the run button and it runs (of course you need to set up your source code tree in a web app structure, but it will do that for you too). Eclipse required me to fart around configuring the stuff myself. But, it is pretty good too once you get it set up. However, I am at the point where I just want to be able to use the tool that I get, and not have to spend as much time configuring it as using it. Netbeans is also set to come out with version 4, and you can use the base structure that it is built on (the platform) as the base for your own application.
That's my two cents anyway. Both Netbeans and Eclipse are good... and are free.:-)
Set up netfilter on your linux machine, and NAT through it to the internet. I have run this for several years, and have not had an issue with worms on Win 2000 or XP... or Linux (but that goes without saying!).
I am not sure why he need to disable the firewalls he has installed anyway. Most give a way to open up the machine to specific sites when needed.
You are not most people... this is what Direct' was counting on. However, you are in the right ballpark... there will always be someone who will eventually stand up. And it happened. And now Direct' has been stopped.
But companies like this throw all kinds of crap in their letters etc. that are scarry enough to push most people aside. They're not just saying stop or I'll sue you. They put all sorts of stuff in that make it look like they have a strong case. And if you have looked through these kinds of documents, you'll know that 99% or more of the people wouldn't be able to decipher what the hell they are saying without spending money that they may not have to spend on a lawyer. Again, what Direct' and other companies like them count on.
I doubt if your fellow geeks will stand up with you. Most I know (and I am a programmer, so I know a lot) will talk big, but won't do anything (like most people I guess... re: Liar Liar: "going to bend over and take it up the ass"). Besides geeks won't do anything in groups unless forced because they don't like working together that much (ever try to pass some working code on to another programmer without them insulting the code in some way and then re-writing sections of it... and no, I'm not talking about my code... but I'm not big headed enough to exclude it either:-). Otherwise IT jobs would not be in the exempt category for overtime (which usually means forced overtime), and there would actually be some organization to lobby hard against overseas outsourcing. If people won't work together to protect their livlihoods, I don't think they will work together to fight to be able to program a card.
Ya right... most people do not have the kind of money it takes to hire a lawyer... especially when it looks like a big bully with deep pockets is pushing you around. Hobbyist does not equal "rich person" (though there may be hobbyists who are well off). Even an average person can't afford to shell out a hundred or more dollars an hour it takes to hire a lawyer. This is why Direct was doing this. You seem to have too much money, and not enough thought.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe what throws me is that as I understand it, and maybe I'm incorrect, but if you want a patent on say, a better mousetrap, you have to provide at least blueprints to show why it's better. Which to me is an implementation design. If this is the case... hmmmmm... now that I think of it, you guys are right, the actual source code implementation should not matter, but then the algorythm should be registered publicly... yes/no? I guess it is off topic, but it is interesting.
Just a thought... not a particularly focuses one, but a thought.
Some people say they can work from home and still keep their job separate. I am not so sure it is possible. My opinion, but I like it! :-)
It is generally recognized that fit employees are more productive for the company. So why don't employers get their heads out of their asses and encourage and invest in something like this. In fact, if they had fit employees, they would likely only need them to work 8 hours a day, or less. Investing in something like this might cost less than turning up the heat in the long run, considering increasing heating costs, and considering the increased output from the workers that would be achieved.
As well, I find that when I am working out, I usually don't need the heat turned up as much as when I am not working out. Just me, but when my metabolism is at a higher level, so is my ability to maintain body heat.
America has the highest productivity in the world. However, it also works the most hours, and in my books at least, means that it doesn't enjoy life as much as it should. I have lived down here the last 5 years, and like America. But everything can be improved, and saying so doesn't make me a malcontent.
If they watched in secret, turning up the heat and secretly disabling the local thermostat and controling the temperature from somewhere else, then I think you would get a more realistic result. However, then you would have people freaking out once they knew they were being watched (about privacy etc). That is, unless they could monitor only keystrokes without watching people, and get results that would be useful for interpretation. Legally, in most if not all cases in the United States and Canada (I can't speak about other countries), what's on the computer at work is company property and not the employee's, so technically that wouldn't infringe on privacy. (It might piss people off and create bad feelings, but it wouldn't infringe on privacy.)
Mind you, they were talking about an insurance company, so they are probably looking at data entry people and the like, not programmers or commputer people in general. Data entry type jobs often do have some sort of 'head clerk/overseer/foreman' watching. So maybe the experiences of the people in this forum don't reflect the environment (no pun intended) of this particular study, and that's why we don't relate to it. In the environment the study was done in, perhaps it is true and the 'turning up the heat physically turns it up psychologically' idea has some merit.
OUCH! I started thinking. That REALLY hurts. I think I'll go put some ice on my brain.
Canada's government does tend to get a lot over-involved in what people watch. The CRTC (Canadian Radio and Television Commission... some say the Canadian Roadblock to Communications) even bans Canadians from using and watching signals from the American satellite company 'Direct TV'. As if they should tell us what to watch.
Sometimes the 'Peace, Order, and Good Government' aspect of Canada goes overboard.
For example, I tried installing Suse Pro (I actually paid for it) on my HP zv5034us laptop and the sound wouldn't work (I have found posts on several websites where people have had the same problem, and have had to install the Alsa package for it manually... which I tried to do but admitidly failed at). Before trying to add sound support via Alsa I asked for support from Suse (since I paid for it), and they said they didn't provide support for sound problems. So I downloaded and installed Mandrake 10. It couldn't detect the sound card. And neither distros could detect the broadcom wireless card either.
So combined with my issues with getting my Linux installations to recognize my HP scanner, it is my experience that HP support for Linux is quite limited unless you buy something from them that is specifically tailored for it.
If you don't like the fact that I have not had a good experience with HP + Linux and want to label me something I am not, it's OK. I recognize that the problem is not with me.
I have an HP scanner that I can't seem to find a suitable driver for in Linux. I bought an Epson printer because they at least provide SDK's for people to create drivers... ergo it works fine with my Linux servers. The bottom line is that HP isn't supporting Linux even in what I would think is a minimal way by at least creating easily available drivers to go with their product(s).
This equates to me as HP only paying lip service to Linux. i.e. It makes a good advertising line, but let's see them really support it.
For the record, I happen to think France didn't want a war because they were in bed with Iraqi officials. I think Bush wanted a war because he and his cronies wanted back in bed with Iraqi officials... (that's Donny (Beady Eye) Rumsfeld shaking Sadam's hand). Or more specifically, they wanted their palms greased with Iriqui oil. I'm not sad that Saddam's gone, in fact I am rather pleased that butchers like him and his sons are dead/soon to be dead. I just don't like Bush lying about why he went in... nor do I like the ineptitude with which they did it. Anyways... back to apoliticial Linux...
If someone makes a good product that you like to use, pay them for it... at least occasionally. American 'free market' ideology? It doesn't mean take something for free and not pay them because you don't like them. It means if you don't like them and don't want to give them money, don't use their product. It means if you use something, pay for it. It also means if you use their product without paying them, generally you're a thief. In this particular case, you are just an asshole.
This seems more like an endurance race than anything else.
When people don't want to worry about the security of their data moving across the 'net (I don't know why, seeing as how Microsoft products are so... ahem... secure... NOT!), or not being able to work when the network is congested or down, they will use something else. Open Office is one alternative (with the added benefit of being free, as in beer)... and for those who want to pay, Word Perfect is still out there...
So Microsoft, knock yourself out. There are other choices. Who knows, maybe after a taste of open source software, people will start using Linux more? ;-)
P.E.T.A. --- People who Eat Tastey Animals ... they are very cruel. :-)
That said, I agree that the 'english', the spin placed on the ball will be a challenge. Especially if they wish to play on snooker tables as opposed to eight or nine ball tables. The correct cloth for a snooker table has a directional nap (kind of like the effect of velvet... if you brush it one way it raises up, the other way, it lays flat), while the cloth on an eight or nine ball table does not. Having a directional nap affects how the ball travels on the table depending on whether you are shooting up or down the table, or diaganally across. The nap is even on the cloth on the rails and affects how the ball 'throws' off the cushion. So the spin (siding, tops, bottoms, stun, etc.) probably challenges the programmers quite a bit. You can compute that reaction, but it will be different again when playing on the directionaless nap of an eight or nine ball table. And in either type, the age of the cloth will play a role in how the ball travels.
Of course this can all be programmed in. But how difficult/interesting it will be. I would think it will be kind of like trying to program a robot to walk on two legs with the floor tilting every now and then. The robot has to dynamically compensate for environment as well as do the 'simple' mathimatical calculations of the angle of the shot... which is probably not so simple, simce they are trying to factor in 'position' as well. (Position: like playing shape, but thinking more than one ball ahead.)
I wonder if they have figured out how it is to react when the competitor spills a beer on the table? Or tries to stiff you on the bet? Now those are some challenging environmental variables. :-)
So I guess off shore outsourcing is dangerous for national security too. Or if it helps your company increase short term profits while you place your workers in the unemployment line, it is safe, but if it competes with you, it is un-American. Bah!
to be contrary, you don't know what you are talking about. Standard Linux is not a real time O/S. DOS however, while not originally intended as a "commercial real time O/S", has been used many times in the past, as well as the present, to program real time applications on.
However, people have adapted Linux (meaning it is not "standard" Linux) to work with real time and embedded systems. Then again, even before Linux was being adapted to real time systems, DOS, and variants of DOS were being created for the same task, and still are.
A quick search provides a number of to links back me up on this, including this one:
Linux Journal Article - Using Linux in Embedded and Real-Time Systems
This link from the University of Zurich (Einstein's alma mater) lists a number of variants of DOS as types of real time systems. It also includes download links for threading libraries for DOS so that you can write 'real time' applications: Embedded and Real-Time Systems - DOS and Windows multitaskers / others
While DOS itself is really single threaded (or even "no threaded"), there is nothing that says you can't write multi-threaded code to provide a 'real-time' application.
Don't get me wrong, Linux is a good operating system, and when they can get most things right with it, including working sound drivers for my laptop (so that I don't have to screw around to make it work... I am more interested in using my laptop for it's intended purpose, not to screw around on it playing configuration games), then it will be ready for prime time. In the meantime, I will use Linux as a practice/R&D tool, since I program systems on Unix/Linux systems, and use WinXP, for my entertainment and Java programming O/S.
Most project managers (especially ones with no technical experience... who shouldn't be let near a technical project) plan their projects with timelines with rose colour glasses. They assume there will be no coding issues discoverered in testing. Or worse, they do, but then let scope creap come into it, and borrow time from testing for the new items introduced in the scope creep. Bye bye testing time.
Mind you, I have also seen QA managers who believe that the testers only need to understand the software, and not the business where the software is to be used. This has sometimes leads to problems in end use. In any case, I tend to blame poor management before I blame the little guy. Projects like this are big enough that the process should have been able to catch things like this... unless the process was flawed.
My opinion... ready, set, slag away!
Does this mean you are qualified to outsource jobs to India?
Yes I am trolling... can't help it... don't like boasting of MBA's. Means you had time and money... that is all. It also means you place more importance on titles than in experience.
Your trips to 17 countries are worth more than the MBA... to me... but not, probably, to others with MBA's who think they know how to run IT projects.
You may flame me or mod me down now.
Not to be picky, but at around 80,000 to 90,000 people, Kamloops is more of a small city than a small town. Mind you, it is a little isolated... about 300km east-north-east of Vancouver, with mainly mountain peaks in between.
Mozilla should make their security bulletins more prominent on their web site. Near the top. It is not even there on their firefox page, which I use as my home page. I only found out about it today.
It is nice that the patch is available already.
That said... let's stir things up!
Most enterprise systems out there are written in Cobol!
Most *New* enterprise systems are not.
:-p
With enterprise systems, it's all based on money, not what is the best language. Your (our) managers, who are almost never technical, and who think a reference is a thick book that sits on your desk, or is something HR is supposed to check, don't give a rat's ass about what the best language or algorythm is. They care only about what gets the job done the cheapest. And Since They Pay Our Salaries, They Get The Last Word. They **don't care** if it is pretty, novel, intelligent (brute force is just fine in business), an efficient algorthym, a wonderful language, whatever. Businesses with sometimes billions of dollars on the line only care about two things: (1) Does it work? (2) Does it work in a way that doesn't piss off our customers? (Notice I didn't say make them happy? Many times that doesn't even matter.)
So the question most CIO's and managers are asking is...
What language will allow us to:
- use inexperienced programmers (who are the cheapest)?
- produce an acceptable enterprice application (*not* the _best_ application)
- produce it the fastest (time = money)? And...
- make it accessible from the web.
Of course if I were a short sighted CEO or CIO, the answer would be: who cares, let's just outsource to India or China, and let them make all the decisions for us. However the fact remains that while C/C++ are very good languages, in my experience they have a steeper learning curve, generally requiring more experienced programmers; generally take longer to program an application with; and are not as well suited to web applications as is Java. Yes C/C++ can do everything Java can and more, but in enterprise business application programming it is (unfortunately) not usually about creating the best application, but about being good enough. (And by the way, I like programming in C, but I work in Java).Yes I am cynical. However, I am cynical for a reason.
Since I don't have a 19 or 21 inch monitor on my laptop, I like the autohide feature about a tonne (or ton if you like). I would rather autohide than reduce the resolution any more and end up squinting so hard my eyes bleed. :-) Animated dogs however, are another matter... you can send them to an animated asian restaraunt... oops my I dropped my political correctness. ;-)
Netbeans prior to version 3.6 was a bit of an 'iffy' thing for me, and I preferred Eclipse. However since 3.6, I have switched back to preferring Netbeans. Mainly because it has a lot of stuff already built in to it and configured. E.g. If I want to build jsp pages, they have a tomcat server built in, and I just need to click on the run button and it runs (of course you need to set up your source code tree in a web app structure, but it will do that for you too). Eclipse required me to fart around configuring the stuff myself. But, it is pretty good too once you get it set up. However, I am at the point where I just want to be able to use the tool that I get, and not have to spend as much time configuring it as using it. Netbeans is also set to come out with version 4, and you can use the base structure that it is built on (the platform) as the base for your own application.
That's my two cents anyway. Both Netbeans and Eclipse are good... and are free. :-)
I am not sure why he need to disable the firewalls he has installed anyway. Most give a way to open up the machine to specific sites when needed.
But companies like this throw all kinds of crap in their letters etc. that are scarry enough to push most people aside. They're not just saying stop or I'll sue you. They put all sorts of stuff in that make it look like they have a strong case. And if you have looked through these kinds of documents, you'll know that 99% or more of the people wouldn't be able to decipher what the hell they are saying without spending money that they may not have to spend on a lawyer. Again, what Direct' and other companies like them count on.
I doubt if your fellow geeks will stand up with you. Most I know (and I am a programmer, so I know a lot) will talk big, but won't do anything (like most people I guess... re: Liar Liar: "going to bend over and take it up the ass"). Besides geeks won't do anything in groups unless forced because they don't like working together that much (ever try to pass some working code on to another programmer without them insulting the code in some way and then re-writing sections of it... and no, I'm not talking about my code... but I'm not big headed enough to exclude it either :-). Otherwise IT jobs would not be in the exempt category for overtime (which usually means forced overtime), and there would actually be some organization to lobby hard against overseas outsourcing. If people won't work together to protect their livlihoods, I don't think they will work together to fight to be able to program a card.
Ya right... most people do not have the kind of money it takes to hire a lawyer... especially when it looks like a big bully with deep pockets is pushing you around. Hobbyist does not equal "rich person" (though there may be hobbyists who are well off). Even an average person can't afford to shell out a hundred or more dollars an hour it takes to hire a lawyer. This is why Direct was doing this. You seem to have too much money, and not enough thought.