Internet access on the plane - GOOD.... Gives me something to do rather than twiddle my thumbs for 2+ hours...
Cell phones on a plane - ICK! NO! It's already bad enough having to hear everyone else on the plane's stupid conversations during the boarding process and as soon as we touch down... Apparently people don't get the concept of "Keep it short and simple". Instead they have to have these marathon discussions over the phone and talk LOUDLY. And god forbid if they have one of those Nextel -type walkie talkie phones. I HATE THOSE THINGS!!!!
No... Give me internet, screw the cell phone users! They can wait till they get off the damn plane to make a call.
Maybe I'm being naive here, but isn't that a problem because of the usage pattern of the USERS, not the content PROVIDERS? And don't we already (as users AND providers) pay based on those patterns?
For instance, I have the choice to purchase either a slow dial up connection, a low DSL, a high DSL, or a T1 line for my home, and I select which to purchase based on how much content I wish to transfer and how fast I need it. And I pay more to get a faster connection.
Likewise, don't companies like Google and Amazon and such have to pay for either hosting and/or bandwidth use already? Ie, they pay their service providers per MB of data transfered. If they use more, they pay more.
So explain to me WHY we need a tiered pay structure and performance structure on the internet then? We're already in a tiered payment structure on both ends?
This is yet another case of companies wanting to find a way to extort more $$$ for services that they they've made too cheap through competition with others in the industry. If small cable companies have a problem with supporting the bandwidth needs of their subscribers, they should either cap the bandwidth they give the subscribers, make the heavy users pay more for higher service limits, or get the heck out of the business and sell it to somebody who can handle it. I don't see how screwing content providers into paying more for something the consumer does is fair.
I've actually had several friends in the same boat as you. In fact, I had one co-worker who had a Masters in CS, but couldn't code herself out of a box because, like you, she never really got into the coding side of things, (for her it was more of the math/theory side of CS.)
First off, you have to understand what programming is. Programming in it's most basic, pure form is problem solving, using a specific set of rules and principles. (Remember all those damn proofs you had to do in HS Geometry class???) EVERY program you load on your computer is nothing more than a set of instructions that apply to rules that somebody gave to the computer to solve a specific problem at hand.
The important thing to remember is that you don't try to solve all the worlds problems in 1 huge chunk. Computers are pretty stupid in reality and so you have to break what seems like a simple problem into smaller sub-problems to solve. Take for instance "taking out the trash". Sounds like a simple problem, right? In reality, you can break that down into smaller problems - Remove Trash bag from bucket, Tie trash bag, Drag bag to back door, Open door, Drag bag to outdoor can, Place bag in can, return inside, shut door, place new bag in bucket. There, you just wrote your first program.
As others have stated, the easiest way to learn to code is to have an itch, then figure out how to scratch it. Is there something in Word that you wish was automated? Figure out how to write a Macro to do that. Take the concepts you learned there by writing some VBscript code and do the same sort of thing in another language to solve another problem. And so on. You'll come to find that most computer languages have VERY similar logical constructs, and the differences are more in the way in which you use those constructs and the syntax (the names of the commands and parameters.)
To start off, I'd avoid C/C++, or even Perl (too messy to read.) Go with something like Visual Basic, Javascript, or Python. Write some very simple things and slowly build up. As you get more comfortable, move up to Java or C#, and then C/C++.
IF that's the situation you're in, then first and formost, your company has a HORRIBLE corporate culture for development. If your boss and upper management are not in sync as to what's important, then I recommend you do what your immediate supervisor wants. If upper management has a problem with what you're doing, refer them to your manager. Your manager isn't there just to give you work to do, but he's also there to act as the sh*t filter and keep you from being swamped with all the other political crap that happens in a company. That's part of what he gets paid for.
Only other option is find another job where things ARE done correctly and management is all on the same page.
I've worked for various companies as a consultant, and as a member of an IT dept for a major retailer, and now work for a company that does military R&D. What I can tell you is that until I got to my current job NOBODY EVER looked at academic research papers. In my current job, however, it's definately encouraged. Unfortunately, after nearly 10 years of working in the commercial sector, I lost all interest in research and academic papers. Some of them are good, most are drivel. But they ARE important as sources of new ideas and techniques.
If you're looking to continue finding usefulness out of academic research papers like those, you need to find an R&D position.
I have like 3 other portable MP3 capable players. When iTunes came out for Windows I was stoked, until I realized that everything I wanted to get from the service was AAC encrypted and locked and couldn't be converted to MP3. If I already have other MP3 players, why the heck would I want an iPod? I have NO need for an iPod. Therefor, iTunes is useless to me.
You know, I'm all for protecting the livelihood of artists (although I think they have WAY too much money) but this DRM stuff is getting rediculous! Why can't we just have regular old MP3's? They work, they're portable, and they're the only universal standard out there! ARGH.
So, basically, I say screw Apple. Allow us to convert to something playable on other players and MAYBE I'll join iTunes. Otherwise, I hope they lose this one big time.
And if they use the argument that they sell the iPod at a loss in order to get more iTunes subscribers, then how can they justify locking the format so it can't be played on other players?
It's build 1069. That's the build they gave us back at the AMD Athlon 64 release event back in September. There are newer builds that are supposed to be better (there's a guy on AMDZone.com that has 1169)...
Basically, if you want to mess with this, go ahead, but there's a LOT of stuff missing and good luck getting drivers for any of your hardware!
Ok, only a complete idiot would spend all that time and money building a great display setup like that, but still be using just a simple JS, KB and mouse to control the plane. If you want realism, get some realistic flight controls. At LEAST a throttle and rudder pedal setup!
Not to mention, you could cut the number of computers needed in half if you used dual head video cards (like I'm doing with my GeForce 4 Ti.. 1 monitor hooked to the normal analog connection, 1 to the DVI-I connection through a convertor.. Works GREAT!)
Still, good idea... HAve fun with that brain tumor!
Ok, first of all, I'd definately advertise, sell tickets or something. Use the proceeds to offset the room rental costs. The rest should be set up in some sort of fund as prize money. (Which will help get people there...)
Next, I can not stress enough, have a set list of what games will get played, what versions/patches, what maps, etc. Make sure everyone knows this in advance (maybe provide it with their pre-ordered ticket). That should reduce the amount of headaches. I can't tell you how many times this has caused problems at LAN parties at my house because somebody wasn't patched up or didn't have the new map pack we all wanted to play...
Have a set schedule of what game will be played when. That way if somebody wants to check out for an hour or two of sleep they can do it during the time block of a game that they don't like to play. Also, make sure you schedule BREAKS!
Find the local rock stations and see if they can advertise the event. However, it is usually expensive to do a real advertisement. Some stations (at least here in Atlanta) have a "what's happening this weekend" segment during their Thursday or Friday morning shows. Maybe you could get in on those. Fliers on local college campuses work well too...
As far cheaters/hackers... Just having somebody walk around and observe is always a good deterrent. Most hacks are easily noticable by the casual observer walking around the party room viewing monitors. If you get caught, you get removed from the current running game and DQ'ed from the money prize...
Require headphones (NO SPEAKERS!) for all users. Everyone brings their own power strips. UPS'es and extension cords are recommended because you're probably going to need more power than the room will provide.
The only other issue I'd be concerned with is theft of property. How does somebody secure their gear while scooting off for 30 minutes to take a leak, grab some food or catch a nap?
Also, make sure you check out the room and what the hotel/hall can provide for tables. Most conferences at hotels usually have either round dining tables (usually good enough to fit 4-5 computers on) or long rectangular tables that are horrible because they aren't deep enough for a keyboard and a monitor.
Anyhow, hope this helps. Good luck! Make sure you post a followup report after the event!
You know, the costs wouldn't have kept creeping up time and time again if it wasn't for Congress constantly requesting a re-design, a re-assessment, change of budgetary funding, etc. How anything ever gets built when it's done by public opinion is beyond me.
Look at the original conceptual designs for Space Station Freedom proposed back during the Reagan Administration... MUCH MUCH smaller design, simpler, only had to support US. Congress balked at the (IIRC $15) price tag of building it ourselves. They insisted we partner with Russia, Japan and the ESA.
The current design is HUGE, relies upon Russia for lifeboat and cargo supply, causes us to spend more time and money doing cross language training, we have to fly people all over the globe for meetings, etc.
Sure, they're sharing the costs and the risks.... RIGHT... How much of the crew's time keeps getting spent fixing equipment that keeps breaking down in the Russian segments? Last I checked, half of the research modules are being supplied by our partners and the most important ones (Kibo and the Centerfuge modules) are both WAY WAY WAY behind schedule and over budget.
I think the space station is a WONDERFUL concept, and I'd rather give my tax money for them to do that than piss it down the hole on some crack-head who doesn't want to quit and is wasting resources... Whatever you do though, don't blame NASA for Congress' F-up! If we had gone it alone back when Freedom was first proposed, we would have had a fully functioning US station 5 years ago for 1/3 the cost...
The fact of the matter is that there are some great processes and methodologies out there for managing software projects that have been PROVEN repeatedly to deliver good software. The problem isn't the management process, its the complete MORONS we usually end up have doing the managing.
In EVERY company I've worked at (including some of the BIG name consulting ones) we are always told to follow the standard company methodology for software delivery. You know what the first thing that goes out the window when the client sees the time/cost projections for doing it the standard methodology based way is? You got it! Bye-bye methodology, do it seat of the pants, no planning, get it the F out the door yesterday... And in EVERY case, the project has ended up being late, over budget and in several cases completely useless to the client due to horrible client expectation management, lack of signoffs and no proper documented and signed off requirements.
The vast majority of the time, marketing people with no understanding of how software is built become the driving force behind software projects. The managers simply are front men and in-betweens to keep us engineers from choking the life out of the marketing guys.
Also, consider that the vast majority of the people who manage software projects have NEVER written a line of code, or if they have, it was so long ago that their experience is useless. They don't understand nor believe in the proven software engineering methodologies. They don't understand why we need time to design upfront and stick to the design.
The BEST project manager I ever had was a lady who very bluntly stated upfront that she knew absolutely nothing about software development. Whenever she was in a meeting and she was asked for a time/cost estimate for part of a project, she would (WISELY) say "I'll get that from the engineering team." She would then take whatever number we gave her, even if it was already padded, and pad it with an additional 20%. She knew not to get into design discussions without the engineers there to provide input and problem solving skills backed up with product knowledge.
Not enough managers do this. They all see "I have to deliver this project and why aren't my people coding?" The sales guys all think "I have to make my quota, why the heck aren't these guys playing ball and coding?"
Basically, until software engineering is made a true engineering discipline and clients require that a certified software engineer signs off on any project/product that is delivered, we're going to continue to work like dogs, be treated like dogs, and have management let us down.
--Mike
Take it from this techie, it SUCKS out there!
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The Laid-off Techie
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Ok, I'm a tech head. Hold a BS in Comp Sci from GA Tech, a Java certification, and 4+ years experience in Java and internet related technologies with lots of breadth. I was on a contract position which was supposed to last 6+ months. Well, the client changed their mind and nuked all the contractors after 3 months. That was mid-October. I've been out since then and am struggling. I know SOOOO many other programmers here in Atlanta that are out of work too. These are no "lightweights" mind you! The market just plain sucks.
After 6 years of boom time where we were able to pick and choose companies and pay, now the tables are turned. I used to get 4-5 calls from recruiters a week back in 2000. Now I can't even get them to return my calls and answer my responses to their job postings! Companies are being VERY picky about who they bring in now. If you don't have EVERY skill they list on their want list, you're thrown in the trash. For instance, I've done DB2, Informix, SQL Server, MySQL, but NOT Oracle. As a Java developer, it really doesn't matter what the database is because you talk through JDBC. When I talk to recruiters though, and they say that the client is looking for somebody who has Oracle and I say that I have everything but and it would be no problem picking it up, they say "Sorry! No can do."
Basically, it SUCK out there!
BTW, if anybody knows of a position for a 4 yr Java Developer with server side experience..... Write me! makopack@yahoo.com
Seen it in action. Proof of concept only
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Talking Palm
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· Score: 5, Informative
Saw and had several conversations with this person at an IBM-only conference up in Vancouver earlier this year. It's actually just a proof of concept to show off some cool uses of voice rec/synth technology.
It was a standard Palm III that had a snap on module with it's own processor. It ran off special batteries that only last for like 2 hours. Not really something ready for prime-time.
HOWEVER - he was doing some REALLY cool things with it. They have several languages in it. As a result, one of the applications was a basic language translator. He spoke in English, out came japanese. He graphiti'ed in English, out came German speech.
He was able to speak to create memos, appointments, to-dos, etc. It would also read those back to him.
While I'm not allowed (damn NDA!) to discuss the future plans that they have, suffice it to say, that this is just the first step. If they get the funding to take his vision to reality, I'm DEFINATELY ditching my old Palm for a new IBM unit someday.
Also, all those IBM commercials showing really wierd stuff (like the coke machine that dispenses when you use your cell phone, or the guy trading stocks in the middle of that park using the head mounted monocal display) - that's all REAL stuff that they actually DO have working today as prototypes.
Ok, just got done with the viewing party I threw here at the house. Here's the general impressions of the group:
1) Yes, theme music was LAME, but the intro video was pretty cool.
2) Is it cold in that bio-decom room or something?
3) There were some good laughs.
4) The doctor is going to be a great character.
5) The whole Enterprise going to Kronos is a bit of a stretch. Majorly F's with the whole timeline of the other series'.
6) We all liked how they made it seem like this is the first time they've really gone away from Earth. Thing is, you'd think they had already been doing that with ships that could do less than Warp-5 and as a result would have at least met a FEW more species and learned stuff from them. It seems like the Vulcans hold a monopoly on information in this series.
7) The Speech by Cochran was LAME!
Now, in regards to what others have been posting...
We HAVE to re-hash the whole Human vs Vulcan thing because at the time of this series, it HASN'T HAPPENED YET!
The armor plating is polarized by an electromagnetic field to help repel particle weapons. As a result, yes, it CAN go down (ie, power failure). Then it's just plain old hunks of steel. So, this is basically the pre-cursor to shields.
I personally would have prefered it if they would have kept things fairly primitive and then over time phased in the technologies that we all know and love (like transporters, phasers, etc.) They more or less introduce all of them in the first episode (though, as we saw, they're all pretty new and not very reliable.)
Heck, I built an electro-mechanical version to do something like this back in my Interfacing Small Computers class. Ripped apart a Thrustmaster programmable Throttle unit, hooked it to a couple of A/D convertors for 2 potentiometers and a microcontroller. Then programmed the microcontroller to read the pots, and depending on where they were, it would fire one of the programmable button lines on the thrustmaster which would send out a keystroke to the game. Worked great on X-Wing for changing views.
Now, I'll be impressed with something like this when it is combined with a Head Mounted Stereo display. That way when you turn your head to the left you don't have to move your eyes way tot eh right to still see the fixed position computer screen... At least it's a start....
Yes, actually this is new. While the space shuttle uses Fuel Cells, all of the Hydrogen and Oxygen is brought up and stored in tanks. As the shuttle needs power, the fuel is combined to form electricity and water as a by-product. Since the shuttle doesn't have any solar cell arrays, there's no way to "recharge" (aka re-split the water back into seperate H2 and O2 molecules). As a result, on the shuttle, it's a 1 way system. The water that is produced as a by-product of the power generation is used for system cooling and drinking water. Most is just dumped out into space though.
The space station uses something equivalent to lead-acid batteries. The solar cells charge those while in sunlight, and the batteries power everything while in the night side of the planet.
The flying wing sounds like it still has an open loop system, but it doesn't have to bring the fuel up there initially. Instead it sucks the water out of the air and then splits it and stores it for later recombination and power generation. For space-based applications, you'd have to have a closed loop system with zero or little loss and you'd have to bring the initial fuel supply up with you.
Anyhow, this sounds like a VERY cool way to do things. I agree with the poster who mentioned that if we could put these things into our houses we'd never have to pay for power again. Of course, somebody has to find a safe storage medium for hydrogen first though. I don't like the idea of living on top of a bomb!:-)
I was part of the group that did the Results (scorekeeping and data distribution) systems for the Atlanta Olympics. One of the cool parts of that job was that during the games we got to sit up in the commnetator booths and watch the live raw TV feed that NBC and the other stations then use to make their broadcasts from. There was ZERO of Bob Costas' droning on about each athelete's triumph over advercity crap. I could watch ANY sport I wanted, ALL of them, with no BS commnetary. Now THAT's the way it should be!
You'd think with having tape delayed play back we could get more events shown? And yeah, we probably could, if they didn't waste more than half the air time playing up the "human interest" stories of the atheletes!
Oh well, I'm not watching much of them this time around. Seems rather boring. Live and in person was SOOO much better (except for the preliminary rounds of platform diving... 40+ divers getting 5 dives each with 3 minutes between each. Made for a LONG night)
I'd recommend doing some rudimentary 3D graphics programming. They'd have to learn about Loops, sorting, arrays, and all the 3D Matrix math. Some good OO principles, structured programming principles, etc.
Depending on how long the course is, you could make each project build on the previous ones until they've ended up building a 1st person simulation. Be even better if you made them build it in modules and then have to trade the modules with another person so they each get exposed to working with code they didn't write, and how to conform to specifications.
Other possibilities include writing their own version of software based around specs. Like for instance a command line based MP3 player, or maybe a simple news reader.
A lot also depends on the language the class is taught in and what OS is used. Some projects lend themselves more to one environment than another.
Database integration is important, as is UI development. Students should get at least a basic understanding in each.
Honestly, the class where I learned the most about computing was probably in my assembly language course in college because you started to understand exactly HOW the computer worked and how to make it do exactly what you wanted and nothing more...
Hey, as a MediaOne cable and cablemodem subscriber I APPLAUD AT&T for taking them over. Mediaone has the WORST customer service I have ever dealt with! There have been times where I've been on hold for 3 hours to get a person so I could tell them that my cable was out to come fix it.
Hopefully AT&T can get my Cable modem working faster again too! MediaNONE can't run a data network to save their lives!
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Internet access on the plane - GOOD.... Gives me something to do rather than twiddle my thumbs for 2+ hours...
Cell phones on a plane - ICK! NO! It's already bad enough having to hear everyone else on the plane's stupid conversations during the boarding process and as soon as we touch down... Apparently people don't get the concept of "Keep it short and simple". Instead they have to have these marathon discussions over the phone and talk LOUDLY. And god forbid if they have one of those Nextel -type walkie talkie phones. I HATE THOSE THINGS!!!!
No... Give me internet, screw the cell phone users! They can wait till they get off the damn plane to make a call.
--Ledfoot
Maybe I'm being naive here, but isn't that a problem because of the usage pattern of the USERS, not the content PROVIDERS? And don't we already (as users AND providers) pay based on those patterns?
For instance, I have the choice to purchase either a slow dial up connection, a low DSL, a high DSL, or a T1 line for my home, and I select which to purchase based on how much content I wish to transfer and how fast I need it. And I pay more to get a faster connection.
Likewise, don't companies like Google and Amazon and such have to pay for either hosting and/or bandwidth use already? Ie, they pay their service providers per MB of data transfered. If they use more, they pay more.
So explain to me WHY we need a tiered pay structure and performance structure on the internet then? We're already in a tiered payment structure on both ends?
This is yet another case of companies wanting to find a way to extort more $$$ for services that they they've made too cheap through competition with others in the industry. If small cable companies have a problem with supporting the bandwidth needs of their subscribers, they should either cap the bandwidth they give the subscribers, make the heavy users pay more for higher service limits, or get the heck out of the business and sell it to somebody who can handle it. I don't see how screwing content providers into paying more for something the consumer does is fair.
Just my $0.02
--Ledfoot
I've actually had several friends in the same boat as you. In fact, I had one co-worker who had a Masters in CS, but couldn't code herself out of a box because, like you, she never really got into the coding side of things, (for her it was more of the math/theory side of CS.)
First off, you have to understand what programming is. Programming in it's most basic, pure form is problem solving, using a specific set of rules and principles. (Remember all those damn proofs you had to do in HS Geometry class???) EVERY program you load on your computer is nothing more than a set of instructions that apply to rules that somebody gave to the computer to solve a specific problem at hand.
The important thing to remember is that you don't try to solve all the worlds problems in 1 huge chunk. Computers are pretty stupid in reality and so you have to break what seems like a simple problem into smaller sub-problems to solve. Take for instance "taking out the trash". Sounds like a simple problem, right? In reality, you can break that down into smaller problems - Remove Trash bag from bucket, Tie trash bag, Drag bag to back door, Open door, Drag bag to outdoor can, Place bag in can, return inside, shut door, place new bag in bucket. There, you just wrote your first program.
As others have stated, the easiest way to learn to code is to have an itch, then figure out how to scratch it. Is there something in Word that you wish was automated? Figure out how to write a Macro to do that. Take the concepts you learned there by writing some VBscript code and do the same sort of thing in another language to solve another problem. And so on. You'll come to find that most computer languages have VERY similar logical constructs, and the differences are more in the way in which you use those constructs and the syntax (the names of the commands and parameters.)
To start off, I'd avoid C/C++, or even Perl (too messy to read.) Go with something like Visual Basic, Javascript, or Python. Write some very simple things and slowly build up. As you get more comfortable, move up to Java or C#, and then C/C++.
IF that's the situation you're in, then first and formost, your company has a HORRIBLE corporate culture for development. If your boss and upper management are not in sync as to what's important, then I recommend you do what your immediate supervisor wants. If upper management has a problem with what you're doing, refer them to your manager. Your manager isn't there just to give you work to do, but he's also there to act as the sh*t filter and keep you from being swamped with all the other political crap that happens in a company. That's part of what he gets paid for.
Only other option is find another job where things ARE done correctly and management is all on the same page.
I've worked for various companies as a consultant, and as a member of an IT dept for a major retailer, and now work for a company that does military R&D. What I can tell you is that until I got to my current job NOBODY EVER looked at academic research papers. In my current job, however, it's definately encouraged. Unfortunately, after nearly 10 years of working in the commercial sector, I lost all interest in research and academic papers. Some of them are good, most are drivel. But they ARE important as sources of new ideas and techniques.
If you're looking to continue finding usefulness out of academic research papers like those, you need to find an R&D position.
--Mike
I have like 3 other portable MP3 capable players. When iTunes came out for Windows I was stoked, until I realized that everything I wanted to get from the service was AAC encrypted and locked and couldn't be converted to MP3. If I already have other MP3 players, why the heck would I want an iPod? I have NO need for an iPod. Therefor, iTunes is useless to me.
You know, I'm all for protecting the livelihood of artists (although I think they have WAY too much money) but this DRM stuff is getting rediculous! Why can't we just have regular old MP3's? They work, they're portable, and they're the only universal standard out there! ARGH.
So, basically, I say screw Apple. Allow us to convert to something playable on other players and MAYBE I'll join iTunes. Otherwise, I hope they lose this one big time.
And if they use the argument that they sell the iPod at a loss in order to get more iTunes subscribers, then how can they justify locking the format so it can't be played on other players?
It's build 1069. That's the build they gave us back at the AMD Athlon 64 release event back in September. There are newer builds that are supposed to be better (there's a guy on AMDZone.com that has 1169)...
Basically, if you want to mess with this, go ahead, but there's a LOT of stuff missing and good luck getting drivers for any of your hardware!
Ok, only a complete idiot would spend all that time and money building a great display setup like that, but still be using just a simple JS, KB and mouse to control the plane. If you want realism, get some realistic flight controls. At LEAST a throttle and rudder pedal setup!
Not to mention, you could cut the number of computers needed in half if you used dual head video cards (like I'm doing with my GeForce 4 Ti.. 1 monitor hooked to the normal analog connection, 1 to the DVI-I connection through a convertor.. Works GREAT!)
Still, good idea... HAve fun with that brain tumor!
Ok, first of all, I'd definately advertise, sell tickets or something. Use the proceeds to offset the room rental costs. The rest should be set up in some sort of fund as prize money. (Which will help get people there...)
Next, I can not stress enough, have a set list of what games will get played, what versions/patches, what maps, etc. Make sure everyone knows this in advance (maybe provide it with their pre-ordered ticket). That should reduce the amount of headaches. I can't tell you how many times this has caused problems at LAN parties at my house because somebody wasn't patched up or didn't have the new map pack we all wanted to play...
Have a set schedule of what game will be played when. That way if somebody wants to check out for an hour or two of sleep they can do it during the time block of a game that they don't like to play. Also, make sure you schedule BREAKS!
Find the local rock stations and see if they can advertise the event. However, it is usually expensive to do a real advertisement. Some stations (at least here in Atlanta) have a "what's happening this weekend" segment during their Thursday or Friday morning shows. Maybe you could get in on those. Fliers on local college campuses work well too...
As far cheaters/hackers... Just having somebody walk around and observe is always a good deterrent. Most hacks are easily noticable by the casual observer walking around the party room viewing monitors. If you get caught, you get removed from the current running game and DQ'ed from the money prize...
Require headphones (NO SPEAKERS!) for all users. Everyone brings their own power strips. UPS'es and extension cords are recommended because you're probably going to need more power than the room will provide.
The only other issue I'd be concerned with is theft of property. How does somebody secure their gear while scooting off for 30 minutes to take a leak, grab some food or catch a nap?
Also, make sure you check out the room and what the hotel/hall can provide for tables. Most conferences at hotels usually have either round dining tables (usually good enough to fit 4-5 computers on) or long rectangular tables that are horrible because they aren't deep enough for a keyboard and a monitor.
Anyhow, hope this helps. Good luck! Make sure you post a followup report after the event!
--Mike
You know, the costs wouldn't have kept creeping up time and time again if it wasn't for Congress constantly requesting a re-design, a re-assessment, change of budgetary funding, etc. How anything ever gets built when it's done by public opinion is beyond me.
Look at the original conceptual designs for Space Station Freedom proposed back during the Reagan Administration... MUCH MUCH smaller design, simpler, only had to support US. Congress balked at the (IIRC $15) price tag of building it ourselves. They insisted we partner with Russia, Japan and the ESA.
The current design is HUGE, relies upon Russia for lifeboat and cargo supply, causes us to spend more time and money doing cross language training, we have to fly people all over the globe for meetings, etc.
Sure, they're sharing the costs and the risks.... RIGHT... How much of the crew's time keeps getting spent fixing equipment that keeps breaking down in the Russian segments? Last I checked, half of the research modules are being supplied by our partners and the most important ones (Kibo and the Centerfuge modules) are both WAY WAY WAY behind schedule and over budget.
I think the space station is a WONDERFUL concept, and I'd rather give my tax money for them to do that than piss it down the hole on some crack-head who doesn't want to quit and is wasting resources... Whatever you do though, don't blame NASA for Congress' F-up! If we had gone it alone back when Freedom was first proposed, we would have had a fully functioning US station 5 years ago for 1/3 the cost...
The fact of the matter is that there are some great processes and methodologies out there for managing software projects that have been PROVEN repeatedly to deliver good software. The problem isn't the management process, its the complete MORONS we usually end up have doing the managing.
In EVERY company I've worked at (including some of the BIG name consulting ones) we are always told to follow the standard company methodology for software delivery. You know what the first thing that goes out the window when the client sees the time/cost projections for doing it the standard methodology based way is? You got it! Bye-bye methodology, do it seat of the pants, no planning, get it the F out the door yesterday... And in EVERY case, the project has ended up being late, over budget and in several cases completely useless to the client due to horrible client expectation management, lack of signoffs and no proper documented and signed off requirements.
The vast majority of the time, marketing people with no understanding of how software is built become the driving force behind software projects. The managers simply are front men and in-betweens to keep us engineers from choking the life out of the marketing guys.
Also, consider that the vast majority of the people who manage software projects have NEVER written a line of code, or if they have, it was so long ago that their experience is useless. They don't understand nor believe in the proven software engineering methodologies. They don't understand why we need time to design upfront and stick to the design.
The BEST project manager I ever had was a lady who very bluntly stated upfront that she knew absolutely nothing about software development. Whenever she was in a meeting and she was asked for a time/cost estimate for part of a project, she would (WISELY) say "I'll get that from the engineering team." She would then take whatever number we gave her, even if it was already padded, and pad it with an additional 20%. She knew not to get into design discussions without the engineers there to provide input and problem solving skills backed up with product knowledge.
Not enough managers do this. They all see "I have to deliver this project and why aren't my people coding?" The sales guys all think "I have to make my quota, why the heck aren't these guys playing ball and coding?"
Basically, until software engineering is made a true engineering discipline and clients require that a certified software engineer signs off on any project/product that is delivered, we're going to continue to work like dogs, be treated like dogs, and have management let us down.
--Mike
Ok, I'm a tech head. Hold a BS in Comp Sci from GA Tech, a Java certification, and 4+ years experience in Java and internet related technologies with lots of breadth. I was on a contract position which was supposed to last 6+ months. Well, the client changed their mind and nuked all the contractors after 3 months. That was mid-October. I've been out since then and am struggling. I know SOOOO many other programmers here in Atlanta that are out of work too. These are no "lightweights" mind you! The market just plain sucks.
After 6 years of boom time where we were able to pick and choose companies and pay, now the tables are turned. I used to get 4-5 calls from recruiters a week back in 2000. Now I can't even get them to return my calls and answer my responses to their job postings! Companies are being VERY picky about who they bring in now. If you don't have EVERY skill they list on their want list, you're thrown in the trash. For instance, I've done DB2, Informix, SQL Server, MySQL, but NOT Oracle. As a Java developer, it really doesn't matter what the database is because you talk through JDBC. When I talk to recruiters though, and they say that the client is looking for somebody who has Oracle and I say that I have everything but and it would be no problem picking it up, they say "Sorry! No can do."
Basically, it SUCK out there!
BTW, if anybody knows of a position for a 4 yr Java Developer with server side experience..... Write me! makopack@yahoo.com
Saw and had several conversations with this person at an IBM-only conference up in Vancouver earlier this year. It's actually just a proof of concept to show off some cool uses of voice rec/synth technology.
:-)
It was a standard Palm III that had a snap on module with it's own processor. It ran off special batteries that only last for like 2 hours. Not really something ready for prime-time.
HOWEVER - he was doing some REALLY cool things with it. They have several languages in it. As a result, one of the applications was a basic language translator. He spoke in English, out came japanese. He graphiti'ed in English, out came German speech.
He was able to speak to create memos, appointments, to-dos, etc. It would also read those back to him.
While I'm not allowed (damn NDA!) to discuss the future plans that they have, suffice it to say, that this is just the first step. If they get the funding to take his vision to reality, I'm DEFINATELY ditching my old Palm for a new IBM unit someday.
Also, all those IBM commercials showing really wierd stuff (like the coke machine that dispenses when you use your cell phone, or the guy trading stocks in the middle of that park using the head mounted monocal display) - that's all REAL stuff that they actually DO have working today as prototypes.
God I wish we could fast forward 3 years....
Ok, just got done with the viewing party I threw here at the house. Here's the general impressions of the group:
1) Yes, theme music was LAME, but the intro video was pretty cool.
2) Is it cold in that bio-decom room or something?
3) There were some good laughs.
4) The doctor is going to be a great character.
5) The whole Enterprise going to Kronos is a bit of a stretch. Majorly F's with the whole timeline of the other series'.
6) We all liked how they made it seem like this is the first time they've really gone away from Earth. Thing is, you'd think they had already been doing that with ships that could do less than Warp-5 and as a result would have at least met a FEW more species and learned stuff from them. It seems like the Vulcans hold a monopoly on information in this series.
7) The Speech by Cochran was LAME!
Now, in regards to what others have been posting...
We HAVE to re-hash the whole Human vs Vulcan thing because at the time of this series, it HASN'T HAPPENED YET!
The armor plating is polarized by an electromagnetic field to help repel particle weapons. As a result, yes, it CAN go down (ie, power failure). Then it's just plain old hunks of steel. So, this is basically the pre-cursor to shields.
I personally would have prefered it if they would have kept things fairly primitive and then over time phased in the technologies that we all know and love (like transporters, phasers, etc.) They more or less introduce all of them in the first episode (though, as we saw, they're all pretty new and not very reliable.)
Anyhow, just my $0.02
Heck, I built an electro-mechanical version to do something like this back in my Interfacing Small Computers class. Ripped apart a Thrustmaster programmable Throttle unit, hooked it to a couple of A/D convertors for 2 potentiometers and a microcontroller. Then programmed the microcontroller to read the pots, and depending on where they were, it would fire one of the programmable button lines on the thrustmaster which would send out a keystroke to the game. Worked great on X-Wing for changing views.
Now, I'll be impressed with something like this when it is combined with a Head Mounted Stereo display. That way when you turn your head to the left you don't have to move your eyes way tot eh right to still see the fixed position computer screen... At least it's a start....
Yes, actually this is new. While the space shuttle uses Fuel Cells, all of the Hydrogen and Oxygen is brought up and stored in tanks. As the shuttle needs power, the fuel is combined to form electricity and water as a by-product. Since the shuttle doesn't have any solar cell arrays, there's no way to "recharge" (aka re-split the water back into seperate H2 and O2 molecules). As a result, on the shuttle, it's a 1 way system. The water that is produced as a by-product of the power generation is used for system cooling and drinking water. Most is just dumped out into space though.
:-)
The space station uses something equivalent to lead-acid batteries. The solar cells charge those while in sunlight, and the batteries power everything while in the night side of the planet.
The flying wing sounds like it still has an open loop system, but it doesn't have to bring the fuel up there initially. Instead it sucks the water out of the air and then splits it and stores it for later recombination and power generation. For space-based applications, you'd have to have a closed loop system with zero or little loss and you'd have to bring the initial fuel supply up with you.
Anyhow, this sounds like a VERY cool way to do things. I agree with the poster who mentioned that if we could put these things into our houses we'd never have to pay for power again. Of course, somebody has to find a safe storage medium for hydrogen first though. I don't like the idea of living on top of a bomb!
I was part of the group that did the Results (scorekeeping and data distribution) systems for the Atlanta Olympics. One of the cool parts of that job was that during the games we got to sit up in the commnetator booths and watch the live raw TV feed that NBC and the other stations then use to make their broadcasts from. There was ZERO of Bob Costas' droning on about each athelete's triumph over advercity crap. I could watch ANY sport I wanted, ALL of them, with no BS commnetary. Now THAT's the way it should be!
You'd think with having tape delayed play back we could get more events shown? And yeah, we probably could, if they didn't waste more than half the air time playing up the "human interest" stories of the atheletes!
Oh well, I'm not watching much of them this time around. Seems rather boring. Live and in person was SOOO much better (except for the preliminary rounds of platform diving... 40+ divers getting 5 dives each with 3 minutes between each. Made for a LONG night)
I'd recommend doing some rudimentary 3D graphics programming. They'd have to learn about Loops, sorting, arrays, and all the 3D Matrix math. Some good OO principles, structured programming principles, etc.
Depending on how long the course is, you could make each project build on the previous ones until they've ended up building a 1st person simulation. Be even better if you made them build it in modules and then have to trade the modules with another person so they each get exposed to working with code they didn't write, and how to conform to specifications.
Other possibilities include writing their own version of software based around specs. Like for instance a command line based MP3 player, or maybe a simple news reader.
A lot also depends on the language the class is taught in and what OS is used. Some projects lend themselves more to one environment than another.
Database integration is important, as is UI development. Students should get at least a basic understanding in each.
Honestly, the class where I learned the most about computing was probably in my assembly language course in college because you started to understand exactly HOW the computer worked and how to make it do exactly what you wanted and nothing more...
Anyhow, hope this helps.
Hey, as a MediaOne cable and cablemodem subscriber I APPLAUD AT&T for taking them over. Mediaone has the WORST customer service I have ever dealt with! There have been times where I've been on hold for 3 hours to get a person so I could tell them that my cable was out to come fix it.
Hopefully AT&T can get my Cable modem working faster again too! MediaNONE can't run a data network to save their lives!