No. Music industry has shown this to be false. Now that I can get good music for a reasonable price without DRM, it's much less hassle to go buy it then pirate it. More than anything, I am lazy and want simple. If you provide that to me at a reasonable cost, I'll happily pay it.
I've worked for a number of companies. Many have treated their employees as disposable. Some have not. I've lasted much longer, and done better work, at those that have not. I've found that working for companies that don't have stockholders much preferable to those companies that do. The best places I've worked are a) non-profits (Again, the paycheck is only 95% of high-end competitive. 5% is a price I'm willing to pay for a non-shit work environment), and b) Companies small enough that you actually know the owner.
Aaah, no... Academic institution with extremely strong technical track, plus paid post-graduate classes if I so choose... Which I can take where I work, on company time.
Yes, what you've talked about is what I've experienced in for-profit industry... But here at a non-profit research lab, it's not like that at all.
Freedom to study/use new technologies so long as they apply to your projects. Crunch time is 45-50 hours a week, and so far I've only had 3 weeks of crunch time in the last year. Salaries aren't super-duper awesome, but they are competitive, but they also have the best benefit package I've seen anywhere.
Also, I don't have employees: I'm just a developer now. I gave up management to go back to developing, because I ~am~ a passionate developer. There is an extremely strong technical track here which will likely allow me to remain a developer for the rest of my career, if that's what I choose.
These great jobs in software ~are~ out there... You have to find them, and be the kind of person they want to hire.
That is an ~excellent~ question, which I might not use directly in a job interview, but would try to figure out during the process. Job interviews go both ways, and this is a very valuable assessment to make.
Look, if money is your focus, there are LOTS of companies willing to give you lots of money, and will give you a soul-crushing or brain-numbing job. I turned many of them down during my last job hunt.
I work for an academic non-profit, been there about a year. Happier here then I've been anywhere else in my career.
The salaries are on the low-end of competitive. However, there is a point at which more money no longer truly motivates me, and I passed that years ago. Now, there are other cultural things which do motivate me. They include:
I'm not the only person who's at the top of their game. It's nice to be able to really learn from others. I get to go home on the evenings, and the weekends. I can work from home when it's practical. I don't have someone hawking over me. I have a large amount of freedom to execute the work in a manner which makes sense to me (This is why people who care about their craft are important!) I have interesting and very difficult problems to solve. The problems I solve aren't just about lining someone's pockets with money. There's more purpose here.
There are lots of places that survive off of hiring mediocrity, and have controls/standards in place to help hedge that (Extensive code standards, technology restrictions, other bureaucratic controls). Some people are VERY comfortable with that level of constraint. In those kinds of places I have quickly grown frustrated and unhappy. Of course, those places that survive off of mediocrity ALSO think they want passionate developers... But very often they don't really, they just want people who will work super extra hard but not ask questions nor challenge the system. It's up to the candidate to distinguish between the two.
So, when managing, I'm always looking for passionate developers. Here's why:
Where I work, there are no grunts. There are no people who mindlessly grind out code. We're not building yet another website: We're solving hard problems, and we want everyone to contribute. To contribute with value, you need to not stagnate in one technology for half your career. You need to be well-read about software. And while we work very few weekends, sometimes there are longer days (like anywhere).
When I mean I'm looking for a passionate developer, I'm looking for someone who cares about their craft, not just someone who shows up to close bug tickets and collect a paycheck.
Since the Sefnit-caused Tor eruption in August, we have worked to curb this risk. In this process, we consulted with Tor project developers to help plan the cleanup. We retroactively remediated machines that had previously been cleaned of Sefnit but still had a Sefnit-added Tor service:
October 27, 2013: We modified our signatures to remove the Sefnit-added Tor client service. Signature and remediation are included in all Microsoft security software, including Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender on Windows 8, Microsoft Safety Scanner, Microsoft System Center Endpoint Protection, and Windows Defender Offline. November 12, 2013: Signature and remediation is included in Malicious Software Removal Tool and delivered through Windows Update/Microsoft Update.
Goddamnit, no mod points. Thankfully, based on what I'm reading, whatever real-world karma there is will work in your favor. Thank you, and have a wonderful holiday season.
So here I am talking about the various platforms and approaches that you can take, because things are more open and universal then they've ever been... And you've replied by telling me what major PC makers are/aren't doing, and what publishers want. So you're basically arguing that we're not free to create because that freedom hasn't been widely sanctioned, marketed and sold by the industry. Wow.
"So are people willing to connect gamepads to a PC and use a TV as a PC monitor yet?" Yes. And some companies are pushing this as well. Check out what's going on with the SteamBox. Microsoft has had a XBox controller for PC for ages. Besides, it's not exactly rocket science to set up a game to accept commands from both controllers and keyboards. Leave it up to the player to decide how they want to play.
Are people willing to buy a $40 gamepad for a phone to play a $0.99 phone game yet? Some people are using GestureWorks GamePlay for their Windows tablets. I have a $20 controller for my android tablet. You can also use a DualShock 3 on android. There's the Oculus rift community, Ouya, and more. Plus, bluetooth keyboards are common/available for mobile devices as well.
I also have touch on one of my PCs, was using it to play Shadowrun Returns. Want a second-screen experience? Explore nVidia Shield. With digital distribution and the rise of Linux as a user environment (Be it Android, SteamOS, or Linux on the desktop). There are tons of new, innovative, and open places to make games these days. Heck, even funding has new venues like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and FundAnything.
To reach a wide audience, you used to have a publisher and a distribution deal. Now, you just need to get enough people interested in what it is you're creating. That's not easy, but it's a heck of a lot less random than hoping some corporation likes you, and is interested in giving you a deal worth having.
The fact that Bob was so focused (obsessed?) on this one platform is an issue. Also, the fat that Bob was acting less than stable, and treated the people he wanted to do business with poorly, didn't exactly help his cause.
The video game market has an incredible number of outlets, and always has. There are MANY ways to get games out that bypass those gatekeepers (Hi Minecraft!). Bob even "threatened" Nintendo with using some of those.
You know... I just can't get behind these media doomsday scenarios. Here's a few reasons why:
1) Unlimited media streaming has proven itself as a service. There's a reason why: In many cases it diversifies their revenue to help deal with the problem of... 2) If they asked me to pay for something every time I wanted to see it, I'd simply consume less (Much like how I've cut cable). It's not like I'm required to watch movies. Yes, they're nice, but they're not required for life/happiness/enjoyment. 3) There is enough competition (and will ALWAYS be enough competition) in the entertainment sector for someone (very often a kid with a dream) to provide something interesting at a reasonable price 4) Media has continued to move on, and now media can be basically eternal, and probably will be so long as there's value in that *thing*. Do I really need a used copy of a 50 year old game? Yes, it might be fun for an afternoon, but there will also be an additional 50 years' worth of games made by then. I'll find something to do. I don't need to have every game ever made available to me.
I live in Montgomery County, Maryland. We now have a 5 cent tax on bags. I had been a critic of this law... Until I saw it put into effect.
Very simply: Since the bags are taxed, the tax (like sales tax) must be paid by the customer. It cannot be absorbed by the retailer. While I agree about rapidly degrading bags, compostable bags, etc, the problem arises when not everybody plays by the rules.
Since the law was put into effect, the amount of waste bags has dropped dramatically. I work in another county, and the difference is significant. For example, if I stop by a 7-11 in Howard county to buy a Coke Zero, they immediately put it in a bag, whether I want one or not. In MoCo, I have to get like 5 things before I even think of a bag... And then the 5 cent tax really doesn't bother me. Milk, which already has a handle, is unbagged in MoCo, and DOUBLE bagged in HoCo.
The number of random bags sitting by the side of the road, or floating in the breeze, is visibly different between these counties. Even if we do go to bio-friendly everything, I'd still be OK with the tiny tax that helps reduce this waste.
This is near the top of a(quickly growing) list of reasons I no longer tolerate, and now simply hate, Oracle. Gee SourceForge, want to be bucketed with Oracle? Yeah... kind of thought not.
As far as I'm concerned third-party inclusion-ware might as well be called parasite-ware, and is a form of Malware that's just easier to remove. It's the same level as crapware that comes pre-installed on a laptop.
Stop providing services that I don't need. Stop giving me software I don't want. Stop getting in my way.
If I need something, I'll come find it. Promise.
Many companies are afraid I won't come to them. That's often because they provide inferior tools / services. Make better things that I actually need, and I'll give a damn (For a counter-example, see Atlassian and JetBrains).
Slashdot Mirror
No. Music industry has shown this to be false. Now that I can get good music for a reasonable price without DRM, it's much less hassle to go buy it then pirate it. More than anything, I am lazy and want simple. If you provide that to me at a reasonable cost, I'll happily pay it.
"I want a service where i can download and watch later,"
I do this with Google Play movies/tv on my Android tablet.
"Women tend to be more into the work/life balance"
So tell me wise AC: Is this why so many women are teachers and nurses? The regular hours?
I've worked for a number of companies. Many have treated their employees as disposable. Some have not. I've lasted much longer, and done better work, at those that have not. I've found that working for companies that don't have stockholders much preferable to those companies that do. The best places I've worked are a) non-profits (Again, the paycheck is only 95% of high-end competitive. 5% is a price I'm willing to pay for a non-shit work environment), and b) Companies small enough that you actually know the owner.
So, why do you put up with it?
If you honestly feel that this is how your company will treat you, quit. Keep quitting until you find a manager you can trust.
Aaah, no... Academic institution with extremely strong technical track, plus paid post-graduate classes if I so choose... Which I can take where I work, on company time.
Hi.. The OP you're quoting here:
Yes, what you've talked about is what I've experienced in for-profit industry... But here at a non-profit research lab, it's not like that at all.
Freedom to study/use new technologies so long as they apply to your projects. Crunch time is 45-50 hours a week, and so far I've only had 3 weeks of crunch time in the last year. Salaries aren't super-duper awesome, but they are competitive, but they also have the best benefit package I've seen anywhere.
Also, I don't have employees: I'm just a developer now. I gave up management to go back to developing, because I ~am~ a passionate developer. There is an extremely strong technical track here which will likely allow me to remain a developer for the rest of my career, if that's what I choose.
These great jobs in software ~are~ out there... You have to find them, and be the kind of person they want to hire.
Interesting... I wonder if you and I work in the same research joint. :)
OP here: It's a research lab. Some of our work includes things like missile defense, space programs, submarines, and brain-computer interfaces.
Honestly? It's like f*ing Eureka in here, minus the regular life-threatening events.
That is an ~excellent~ question, which I might not use directly in a job interview, but would try to figure out during the process. Job interviews go both ways, and this is a very valuable assessment to make.
Look, if money is your focus, there are LOTS of companies willing to give you lots of money, and will give you a soul-crushing or brain-numbing job. I turned many of them down during my last job hunt.
I work for an academic non-profit, been there about a year. Happier here then I've been anywhere else in my career.
The salaries are on the low-end of competitive. However, there is a point at which more money no longer truly motivates me, and I passed that years ago. Now, there are other cultural things which do motivate me. They include:
I'm not the only person who's at the top of their game. It's nice to be able to really learn from others.
I get to go home on the evenings, and the weekends.
I can work from home when it's practical.
I don't have someone hawking over me.
I have a large amount of freedom to execute the work in a manner which makes sense to me (This is why people who care about their craft are important!)
I have interesting and very difficult problems to solve.
The problems I solve aren't just about lining someone's pockets with money. There's more purpose here.
There are lots of places that survive off of hiring mediocrity, and have controls/standards in place to help hedge that (Extensive code standards, technology restrictions, other bureaucratic controls). Some people are VERY comfortable with that level of constraint. In those kinds of places I have quickly grown frustrated and unhappy. Of course, those places that survive off of mediocrity ALSO think they want passionate developers... But very often they don't really, they just want people who will work super extra hard but not ask questions nor challenge the system. It's up to the candidate to distinguish between the two.
So, when managing, I'm always looking for passionate developers. Here's why:
Where I work, there are no grunts. There are no people who mindlessly grind out code. We're not building yet another website: We're solving hard problems, and we want everyone to contribute. To contribute with value, you need to not stagnate in one technology for half your career. You need to be well-read about software. And while we work very few weekends, sometimes there are longer days (like anywhere).
When I mean I'm looking for a passionate developer, I'm looking for someone who cares about their craft, not just someone who shows up to close bug tickets and collect a paycheck.
They answer fundamentally different questions:
Science illuminates "how", religion helps answer "why". They start clashing when they think they can answer both questions.
Did some more digging. Here are the details (from http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2014/01/09/tackling-the-sefnit-botnet-tor-hazard.aspx) :
Cleanup efforts
Since the Sefnit-caused Tor eruption in August, we have worked to curb this risk. In this process, we consulted with Tor project developers to help plan the cleanup. We retroactively remediated machines that had previously been cleaned of Sefnit but still had a Sefnit-added Tor service:
October 27, 2013: We modified our signatures to remove the Sefnit-added Tor client service. Signature and remediation are included in all Microsoft security software, including Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender on Windows 8, Microsoft Safety Scanner, Microsoft System Center Endpoint Protection, and Windows Defender Offline.
November 12, 2013: Signature and remediation is included in Malicious Software Removal Tool and delivered through Windows Update/Microsoft Update.
"who choose not to afford a more expensive iPhone."
FTFY
Lots of people CAN buy iPhones, but many of us find that it's not worth the expense (for various reasons)
Goddamnit, no mod points. Thankfully, based on what I'm reading, whatever real-world karma there is will work in your favor. Thank you, and have a wonderful holiday season.
So here I am talking about the various platforms and approaches that you can take, because things are more open and universal then they've ever been... And you've replied by telling me what major PC makers are/aren't doing, and what publishers want. So you're basically arguing that we're not free to create because that freedom hasn't been widely sanctioned, marketed and sold by the industry. Wow.
"So are people willing to connect gamepads to a PC and use a TV as a PC monitor yet?"
Yes. And some companies are pushing this as well. Check out what's going on with the SteamBox. Microsoft has had a XBox controller for PC for ages. Besides, it's not exactly rocket science to set up a game to accept commands from both controllers and keyboards. Leave it up to the player to decide how they want to play.
Are people willing to buy a $40 gamepad for a phone to play a $0.99 phone game yet?
Some people are using GestureWorks GamePlay for their Windows tablets. I have a $20 controller for my android tablet. You can also use a DualShock 3 on android. There's the Oculus rift community, Ouya, and more. Plus, bluetooth keyboards are common/available for mobile devices as well.
I also have touch on one of my PCs, was using it to play Shadowrun Returns. Want a second-screen experience? Explore nVidia Shield. With digital distribution and the rise of Linux as a user environment (Be it Android, SteamOS, or Linux on the desktop). There are tons of new, innovative, and open places to make games these days. Heck, even funding has new venues like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and FundAnything.
To reach a wide audience, you used to have a publisher and a distribution deal. Now, you just need to get enough people interested in what it is you're creating. That's not easy, but it's a heck of a lot less random than hoping some corporation likes you, and is interested in giving you a deal worth having.
The fact that Bob was so focused (obsessed?) on this one platform is an issue. Also, the fat that Bob was acting less than stable, and treated the people he wanted to do business with poorly, didn't exactly help his cause.
The video game market has an incredible number of outlets, and always has. There are MANY ways to get games out that bypass those gatekeepers (Hi Minecraft!). Bob even "threatened" Nintendo with using some of those.
You know... I just can't get behind these media doomsday scenarios. Here's a few reasons why:
1) Unlimited media streaming has proven itself as a service. There's a reason why: In many cases it diversifies their revenue to help deal with the problem of...
2) If they asked me to pay for something every time I wanted to see it, I'd simply consume less (Much like how I've cut cable). It's not like I'm required to watch movies. Yes, they're nice, but they're not required for life/happiness/enjoyment.
3) There is enough competition (and will ALWAYS be enough competition) in the entertainment sector for someone (very often a kid with a dream) to provide something interesting at a reasonable price
4) Media has continued to move on, and now media can be basically eternal, and probably will be so long as there's value in that *thing*. Do I really need a used copy of a 50 year old game? Yes, it might be fun for an afternoon, but there will also be an additional 50 years' worth of games made by then. I'll find something to do. I don't need to have every game ever made available to me.
I live in Montgomery County, Maryland. We now have a 5 cent tax on bags. I had been a critic of this law... Until I saw it put into effect.
Very simply: Since the bags are taxed, the tax (like sales tax) must be paid by the customer. It cannot be absorbed by the retailer. While I agree about rapidly degrading bags, compostable bags, etc, the problem arises when not everybody plays by the rules.
Since the law was put into effect, the amount of waste bags has dropped dramatically. I work in another county, and the difference is significant. For example, if I stop by a 7-11 in Howard county to buy a Coke Zero, they immediately put it in a bag, whether I want one or not. In MoCo, I have to get like 5 things before I even think of a bag... And then the 5 cent tax really doesn't bother me. Milk, which already has a handle, is unbagged in MoCo, and DOUBLE bagged in HoCo.
The number of random bags sitting by the side of the road, or floating in the breeze, is visibly different between these counties. Even if we do go to bio-friendly everything, I'd still be OK with the tiny tax that helps reduce this waste.
This is near the top of a(quickly growing) list of reasons I no longer tolerate, and now simply hate, Oracle. Gee SourceForge, want to be bucketed with Oracle? Yeah... kind of thought not.
As far as I'm concerned third-party inclusion-ware might as well be called parasite-ware, and is a form of Malware that's just easier to remove. It's the same level as crapware that comes pre-installed on a laptop.
Stop providing services that I don't need.
Stop giving me software I don't want.
Stop getting in my way.
If I need something, I'll come find it. Promise.
Many companies are afraid I won't come to them. That's often because they provide inferior tools / services. Make better things that I actually need, and I'll give a damn (For a counter-example, see Atlassian and JetBrains).
If you're lucky.