The main selling point of my resume is 8 years of MSSQL. But for the last 3 years I have been trying to do more OSS work. The problem I have is that most shops that run MSSQL tend to be MS centric. I have decided to get MYSQL or Oracle certification so that I have a chance working somewhere that is not MS centric. That would give me a chance to broaden my skill set into something that I really want to do. Ironically as I work in my MSSQL job, writing small snippets of Perl code, my updated resume is just going to boast more years of MSSQL, which in turn will just pin me into a corner I don't want to be in.
For those of you who say "Be thankful you have a job." I say this: Jobs are easy to come by, being content in what you are doing, enjoying the projects that you get and not burning yourself out is priceless. If I have to keep working with systems that I hate I eventually will go to Culinary school and open a restaurant.
Academically, running Linux under windows is nifty. But the point of running Linux, at least to me, is that I don't have to deal with Windows. I am a SQL Server developer (MSSQL that is), and a bit scatter-brained in my development style. Often I launch a query, and while its running I do something else. Some queries take hours to complete. WINDOWS IS STILL NOT ABLE TO RESOLVE CERTAIN ISSUES WITHOUT REBOOTING!!! This is a huge productivity loss for me personally, it is utterly unacceptable when you are talking about servers. Why do I have to reboot so often you might ask? Kerberos, decoupled with my domain account, locks me out of certain systems. Service packs, 2 a month, automatically update and force reboots. And then there are the times when everything just comes to a screeching halt and the only option it to reboot. Sometimes Word fails to launch, and since its coupled with Outlook I cannot even email IT until I reboot. I haven't noticed any improved reliability from MS products in the last 10 years. I think reliability peaked with NT4, which lots of places still use for just that reason.
So if a depressed but non-violent teen takes Zoloft and kills his grand parents it is because he is evil and should have known not to listen to the voices in his head telling him to kill. Pfizer is not responsible even though they buried evidence of violence from the FDA.
Yet...
Another teen who plays video games somehow figures out that killing 3 people sounds like fun. He is a victim of coercion by a software company and that company should be held responsible for his actions?
I wonder how many GTA testers went home and killed people after a hard day at work?
So in the end we prove that video games exert a greater influence over the human psyche than mind altering drugs? Will my health care provider pay for video games if I claim they help relieve hyper tension?
Are there standard methodologies for making non-oss code maintainable? If there are its news to me, every place I've worked has been uterly bass ackwards with their source code. Redundant libraries that do the same functions (one writen by Bob the other by Fred). Documentation that is years out of date with reality. And all the dead objects floating around, (its safer to leave them in that pull them out). With non-oss you get a pretty users manual, maybe that is what people call maintainable. Not to say there can't be sloppy OSS code. I think a great topic for discussion would be just plain maintainablity, whether its OSS or not.
The article mentions doubt on whether an ERP system can be build OSS, why not? Are they planning on giving every end user the source code and ability to recompile the company's ERP? When I install Linux and friends on my mother-in-law's computer I don't plan on giving her the source code, is it implied that OSS is less maintainable because you cannot tell if someone has an altered version? It just freaking code!
Most of the shrink wrapped software companies I worked for in the past no longer have the same development staff that were around in my day. Developers get outsourced and so does entire support organizations. So I am not surprised that every time I have ever called any company for support (with a paid support contract) the only answer I ever get is: 'You are screwed, maybe the next version due sometime won't suck as bad. Thank you for calling. Come again.' Of course I always check into my own problems so the only time I need to call is when I am screwed. Not only that but how do you know that the shrink wrapped product you just bought is even open to fixing? Many products are in wide use and declared EOL by marketing. I guarantee that support personnel will tell you it's planned for the next release when they know damn well it isn't. Some have said that 3rd party agreements demand verified security audits performed by approved vendor products, fine but if you trust those tools blindly and something goes wrong then it is your own dumb fault. Shrink wrapped software is only superior to OS software by default in one tiny area: passing the buck when stuff craps out.
I'm not a graphics developer so if I spew blasphemy please respond in an informative, rather than hostile manner.
I don't understand why Linux cannot be a better gaming platform that Windows. Sure Gnome and KDE have a lot of overhead that make them less than ideal, but the beauty of Linux is that you don't have to launch them. Why not make a Windowing environment that is striped down and only useful for games. You wouldn't even have to shut down Linux, just shut down X and launch the gaming environment. To me it seems that this optimized environment would have even less overhead than Windows. Just sound and graphics support.
I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this but I can never find any projects that attempt it.
Not far off the mark but here is how most mega marts suck profits out of the 'Club' system: Associations are made for people's buying patterns. Then they will notice a correlation like "Most people who buy cosmetics also buy rubbing alcohol and diapers." So the store will drop the price of diapers and raise the price on cosmetics and alcohol. Of course they will advertise "Lower prices" when they drop and say nothing when it increases. If a month later they notice the trend shifting they will change course to stay ahead.
Putting ridiculous non-club prices on items is merely a way to get people to buy in, if you don't then you pay the price posted, which is fine with them as well.
So in the end, using Clubs, or even frequenting a store that uses them, only hurts the consumer. I just got out of a 4 year consulting gig with a nationwide mega mart and that was essentially how they did it.
No typo, M$ gets involved in lots of projects to develop and extend standards. Then they diliberatly choose not to support them. You will see Windows Medical Edition comming soon. Then you will see a trend in patient death rate spiking during the weekly planned reboot of all lifesupport systems.
My only issue with my Zarus SL-5600 was that the sync software only interfaced with a windows box, which is a pretty hard to find piece of antiquated machinery. But add a wireless card, samba, perl and now I can use my disk as a coaster! Still haven't found a use for that cradle thingy.
This kind of crap is exactly what has stopped me from embracing Java. Its owned buy Sun and they make arbitrary decisions concerning its future. I can't depend on its longevity or future compatibility when someone is allowed to make decisions like this. Am I over reacting? Too bad, I'm not going to get stuck rewriting all my code when some idiot decides to pull the plug on something I need.
Pwttpt! I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough water! I fart in your general direction! You mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!
Y2K started as legitimate FUD and was blown out of porportion by oppurtunists. No admin worth their salt was going to put their reputation on the line and declare that it was all a bunch of hooey. So we waited, paid oppurtunists loads of cash, and sighed relief the next day.
End of story.
PS: the cobol developers in my company went right back to 2 digit years on 01/01/00. So here's to Y2.1K!
Admitedly I pulled that out of my ass, I meant that when you look at all Linux based business from Japanese PDAs to IBM, Novel, Red-hat, HP, etc. It outmatches Solaris sales. I cannot figure out how Schwartz thinks Solaris will be the Unixish standard for the whole world. I like the stuff that comes out of Sun, I just wish they were content to play in the same sandbox as everyone else. They still seem too bent on domination and I just don't see it happening for them.
OK, I really don't mean that but its the attitude you see in a lot of places. My last job was for a mega retailer, we had a strict policy about transmitting and storing any data with customer's credit cards and such, it has to be encrypted. But out auditors deliberatly ignored the fact that if you went online and bought a gift card the data between the client browser and web server were secure but a trickle feed between 2 internal systems sent the same data back and forth across the internal network as clear text. The attitude was that if you could nod your head and say "We use encryption" then you pass the test.
We should all stop paying attention to any and all Sun announcements. I don't know if they realize this but they are more a voodoo cult than a technology company. Lotsa talented misguided folks, spewing lotsa crazy nonsense. I think Schwartz likes to make controversial statements so that if he ever turns out to be right people can call him a visionary. Fact is I think Sun has a smaller market share than Linux as a whole, and if they don't turn out some redeeming products they will fade away.
Remember: Rhetoric doesn't buy many hamburgers.
A degree is important but what is more important is being competent at what you want to do. I have no degree, I'm just an eccentric geek who knows a little of everything and a lot of nothing (well a smaller set at least). As a result I have never had much trouble finding employment but it has never been doing things I WANT to do. An employer will say "We need someone who can do X." and I get to volunteer and figure it out. As a result I am now a database guru. But guess what? I freaking hate databases!!! So my advice is this: Figure out what you want to do and use the CS program to learn how to do it. If you happen to get a degree along the way GREAT!!!
I want to like Sun, I really do. But apart from not knowing where in the market they want to be, besides the top, and vowing that they are not following HP and IBM without declaring what they will do. I think these guys are just running around in circles screaming at anyone who will listen.
First they are releasing Mad Hatter, then they are crushing Linux with Solaris. First they are Open Sourcing Java, then they are not, then they are again, but not. They just prove why Open Source is superior to proprietary software, with that much confusion running the show I don't want to depend on anything they have absolute control over.
The biggest problem I've had in indoctrinating myself in Linux isn't finding out how to do something but in seeing the larger picture of how things interrelate. I'm also a big fan of the whole O'Reilly series, what would be cool would be a Linux Cookbook with scripts that analyze configs or monitor potential problems. I can always turn to the web and geek out on JFS internals or bash commands but that only answers the small questions. I'm not a kernel geek but things like how to recompile your kernel with a built in module, then how to remove the configs for the old linked module would be a life saver. I fear I have many unused configs or some conflicting ones at the very least.
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Peruvian Congressmen Rock!
That has to be the most well formed rebutal to FUD I have ever seen. Too bad American politicians are such a bunch of brainless goobs.
It's just like .DLL Hell, but now its the developers fault, not the OS.
The main selling point of my resume is 8 years of MSSQL. But for the last 3 years I have been trying to do more OSS work. The problem I have is that most shops that run MSSQL tend to be MS centric. I have decided to get MYSQL or Oracle certification so that I have a chance working somewhere that is not MS centric. That would give me a chance to broaden my skill set into something that I really want to do. Ironically as I work in my MSSQL job, writing small snippets of Perl code, my updated resume is just going to boast more years of MSSQL, which in turn will just pin me into a corner I don't want to be in.
For those of you who say "Be thankful you have a job." I say this: Jobs are easy to come by, being content in what you are doing, enjoying the projects that you get and not burning yourself out is priceless. If I have to keep working with systems that I hate I eventually will go to Culinary school and open a restaurant.
Academically, running Linux under windows is nifty. But the point of running Linux, at least to me, is that I don't have to deal with Windows. I am a SQL Server developer (MSSQL that is), and a bit scatter-brained in my development style. Often I launch a query, and while its running I do something else. Some queries take hours to complete. WINDOWS IS STILL NOT ABLE TO RESOLVE CERTAIN ISSUES WITHOUT REBOOTING!!! This is a huge productivity loss for me personally, it is utterly unacceptable when you are talking about servers. Why do I have to reboot so often you might ask? Kerberos, decoupled with my domain account, locks me out of certain systems. Service packs, 2 a month, automatically update and force reboots. And then there are the times when everything just comes to a screeching halt and the only option it to reboot. Sometimes Word fails to launch, and since its coupled with Outlook I cannot even email IT until I reboot. I haven't noticed any improved reliability from MS products in the last 10 years. I think reliability peaked with NT4, which lots of places still use for just that reason.
So if a depressed but non-violent teen takes Zoloft and kills his grand parents it is because he is evil and should have known not to listen to the voices in his head telling him to kill. Pfizer is not responsible even though they buried evidence of violence from the FDA.
Yet...
Another teen who plays video games somehow figures out that killing 3 people sounds like fun. He is a victim of coercion by a software company and that company should be held responsible for his actions? I wonder how many GTA testers went home and killed people after a hard day at work?
So in the end we prove that video games exert a greater influence over the human psyche than mind altering drugs? Will my health care provider pay for video games if I claim they help relieve hyper tension?
Are there standard methodologies for making non-oss code maintainable? If there are its news to me, every place I've worked has been uterly bass ackwards with their source code. Redundant libraries that do the same functions (one writen by Bob the other by Fred). Documentation that is years out of date with reality. And all the dead objects floating around, (its safer to leave them in that pull them out). With non-oss you get a pretty users manual, maybe that is what people call maintainable. Not to say there can't be sloppy OSS code. I think a great topic for discussion would be just plain maintainablity, whether its OSS or not.
The article mentions doubt on whether an ERP system can be build OSS, why not? Are they planning on giving every end user the source code and ability to recompile the company's ERP? When I install Linux and friends on my mother-in-law's computer I don't plan on giving her the source code, is it implied that OSS is less maintainable because you cannot tell if someone has an altered version? It just freaking code!
Most of the shrink wrapped software companies I worked for in the past no longer have the same development staff that were around in my day. Developers get outsourced and so does entire support organizations. So I am not surprised that every time I have ever called any company for support (with a paid support contract) the only answer I ever get is: 'You are screwed, maybe the next version due sometime won't suck as bad. Thank you for calling. Come again.' Of course I always check into my own problems so the only time I need to call is when I am screwed. Not only that but how do you know that the shrink wrapped product you just bought is even open to fixing? Many products are in wide use and declared EOL by marketing. I guarantee that support personnel will tell you it's planned for the next release when they know damn well it isn't. Some have said that 3rd party agreements demand verified security audits performed by approved vendor products, fine but if you trust those tools blindly and something goes wrong then it is your own dumb fault. Shrink wrapped software is only superior to OS software by default in one tiny area: passing the buck when stuff craps out.
I'm not a graphics developer so if I spew blasphemy please respond in an informative, rather than hostile manner.
I don't understand why Linux cannot be a better gaming platform that Windows. Sure Gnome and KDE have a lot of overhead that make them less than ideal, but the beauty of Linux is that you don't have to launch them. Why not make a Windowing environment that is striped down and only useful for games. You wouldn't even have to shut down Linux, just shut down X and launch the gaming environment. To me it seems that this optimized environment would have even less overhead than Windows. Just sound and graphics support.
I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this but I can never find any projects that attempt it.
Not far off the mark but here is how most mega marts suck profits out of the 'Club' system: Associations are made for people's buying patterns. Then they will notice a correlation like "Most people who buy cosmetics also buy rubbing alcohol and diapers." So the store will drop the price of diapers and raise the price on cosmetics and alcohol. Of course they will advertise "Lower prices" when they drop and say nothing when it increases. If a month later they notice the trend shifting they will change course to stay ahead.
Putting ridiculous non-club prices on items is merely a way to get people to buy in, if you don't then you pay the price posted, which is fine with them as well.
So in the end, using Clubs, or even frequenting a store that uses them, only hurts the consumer. I just got out of a 4 year consulting gig with a nationwide mega mart and that was essentially how they did it.
No typo, M$ gets involved in lots of projects to develop and extend standards. Then they diliberatly choose not to support them. You will see Windows Medical Edition comming soon. Then you will see a trend in patient death rate spiking during the weekly planned reboot of all lifesupport systems.
Yeah, come on IBM why don't you support Solaris like Java supports Free BSD?
My only issue with my Zarus SL-5600 was that the sync software only interfaced with a windows box, which is a pretty hard to find piece of antiquated machinery. But add a wireless card, samba, perl and now I can use my disk as a coaster! Still haven't found a use for that cradle thingy.
This kind of crap is exactly what has stopped me from embracing Java. Its owned buy Sun and they make arbitrary decisions concerning its future. I can't depend on its longevity or future compatibility when someone is allowed to make decisions like this. Am I over reacting? Too bad, I'm not going to get stuck rewriting all my code when some idiot decides to pull the plug on something I need.
Pwttpt! I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough water! I fart in your general direction! You mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!
Y2K started as legitimate FUD and was blown out of porportion by oppurtunists. No admin worth their salt was going to put their reputation on the line and declare that it was all a bunch of hooey. So we waited, paid oppurtunists loads of cash, and sighed relief the next day.
End of story.
PS: the cobol developers in my company went right back to 2 digit years on 01/01/00. So here's to Y2.1K!
Admitedly I pulled that out of my ass, I meant that when you look at all Linux based business from Japanese PDAs to IBM, Novel, Red-hat, HP, etc. It outmatches Solaris sales. I cannot figure out how Schwartz thinks Solaris will be the Unixish standard for the whole world. I like the stuff that comes out of Sun, I just wish they were content to play in the same sandbox as everyone else. They still seem too bent on domination and I just don't see it happening for them.
OK, I really don't mean that but its the attitude you see in a lot of places. My last job was for a mega retailer, we had a strict policy about transmitting and storing any data with customer's credit cards and such, it has to be encrypted. But out auditors deliberatly ignored the fact that if you went online and bought a gift card the data between the client browser and web server were secure but a trickle feed between 2 internal systems sent the same data back and forth across the internal network as clear text. The attitude was that if you could nod your head and say "We use encryption" then you pass the test.
We should all stop paying attention to any and all Sun announcements. I don't know if they realize this but they are more a voodoo cult than a technology company. Lotsa talented misguided folks, spewing lotsa crazy nonsense. I think Schwartz likes to make controversial statements so that if he ever turns out to be right people can call him a visionary. Fact is I think Sun has a smaller market share than Linux as a whole, and if they don't turn out some redeeming products they will fade away. Remember: Rhetoric doesn't buy many hamburgers.
A degree is important but what is more important is being competent at what you want to do. I have no degree, I'm just an eccentric geek who knows a little of everything and a lot of nothing (well a smaller set at least). As a result I have never had much trouble finding employment but it has never been doing things I WANT to do. An employer will say "We need someone who can do X." and I get to volunteer and figure it out. As a result I am now a database guru. But guess what? I freaking hate databases!!! So my advice is this: Figure out what you want to do and use the CS program to learn how to do it. If you happen to get a degree along the way GREAT!!!
I want to like Sun, I really do. But apart from not knowing where in the market they want to be, besides the top, and vowing that they are not following HP and IBM without declaring what they will do. I think these guys are just running around in circles screaming at anyone who will listen.
First they are releasing Mad Hatter, then they are crushing Linux with Solaris. First they are Open Sourcing Java, then they are not, then they are again, but not. They just prove why Open Source is superior to proprietary software, with that much confusion running the show I don't want to depend on anything they have absolute control over.
The biggest problem I've had in indoctrinating myself in Linux isn't finding out how to do something but in seeing the larger picture of how things interrelate. I'm also a big fan of the whole O'Reilly series, what would be cool would be a Linux Cookbook with scripts that analyze configs or monitor potential problems. I can always turn to the web and geek out on JFS internals or bash commands but that only answers the small questions. I'm not a kernel geek but things like how to recompile your kernel with a built in module, then how to remove the configs for the old linked module would be a life saver. I fear I have many unused configs or some conflicting ones at the very least.
The power of Perl compels you! Taken from the exorcist or amnity, can't remember anymore!
One lets you script any conceivable recovery procedure imaginable and the other makes you drive into the %$#@ office at 3AM to reboot.
We have how many unemployed IT professionals in this country and those idiots can't even replicate to a read only database.
Remember Jonny: Only Satan blows smoke up peoples' asses.
Remember Ashcroft: Only Satan blows smoke up peoples' asses.