It seems like a dot com ad. We have this great technology but I cannot find a price or where you can purchase it. Are they looking for VC dollars to make it public?
Two wrongs do not make a right, however this is a baseless argument. Free trade is based on the idea that we will both treat markets openly. If you choose not to, so do I. In the end, you open your markets because you see the advantage to having an open market (you get more business). In this case there is no advantage to India opening its markets. It can have their jobs and yours too.
This idea that opening our markets to predatory countries will make them "see the light" is pontificated by the unknowing as they repeat the words of those making money off the inequity.
If India companies want any job, they should show where an equatable trade is possible. If this were Steel, or oranges, we would have a trade embargo on them. Instead, it is jobs and the companies making the dollars (in savings) are US companies immediately, and Indian firms long term. This short term mentality may be a root cause, but it does not mean I should stand by, any more than I should stand by while my neighbor sells drugs, just because he gives money to the poor.
Say anything else, but sealed storage is a simple concept, we control what can be saved. What we need to be concerned with is how they secure it. If sealed storage is at the hardware level, then the "sealed PC" MS has been seeking for years will be a reality.
How can you install Linux, BSD or WinXP if the device itself requires the OS to authenticate? You can't. Sure you may be able to crack a work around, but what company will run software that is in place via crack?
This brings up the next issue, what happens when you replace your box? We have heard of all the fun people have had with XP licensing and system upgrades. Do you get to keep all those MP3s or do they not belong to the box. If you can authenticate on a second box, then you really don't have a secure system using the box.
While MS likes to dismiss these as "we are working on it" they will again be in a position to dictate their use. By the time grandma learns all here files are now secure and she must pay to move them to her new box, it will be too late. This idea that we can somehow wait for MS to figure out a solution in secret that we can all live with is crazed.
If we are going to take a secure machine approach it will need to be a standardized one, open for all to use. I don't think we will see MS jumping to support that concept.
Offshore matters a lot. In the US, you can be held personally liable and it would probably be considered extortion. Even if it isn't, you would still be liable, both financially and criminally, for violation of HIPAA. So the woman would not be able to claim she would release the documents without it being a crime.
None of this is applicable to someone outside the US as the laws do not cover them.
If you do a lookup of Linux versus Microsoft, the numbers tend toward what he is saying. Does it count against MS if a third party vendor's product is compromised? No. But it does appear to count against Linux.
However, the fact that it is a very misleading statement gives Steve his sound bite "Linux less secure." Well, they cannot claim it if it isn't true and if it is true then we can be sure we want MS products right? Yeah!
Except, this is not what he said. He lead everyone down the path and then to save himself from an outright lie, he told everyone to go look at the data and decide for themselves. Do you really think 99.9999% of the people are going to go CERN and search? Nope.
It reminds me of the the "Sale" signs you see in a store window. Do you know what they mean? Items are for sale. Not for less money, just for sale. Or the infamous "quantities may be limited". What does that mean? Most likely it means they have one in each store if you are the lucky one to be first in line. After that, sorry.
Salesmanship, and FUD a wonderful combination and lets face it...who is better at it than MS?
I say let CBS withhold HDTV. This is going to hurt me? I am reminded of the infamous: "Your contract with the network when you get the show is that you're going to watch the spots," said Jamie Kellner, the CEO of Turner Broadcasting System, in an interview with CableWorld magazine this past spring.
Sorry, but I cannot see how this is going to be possible without such easy circumvention that it becomes a waste. They sell converter boxes under a "wink-wink-nudge-nudge" today. When the flag is agreed upon, unlike software it is going to be there and everyone will know it and someone from Po-dunk will sell a bypass.
Another fine example of executives who have so little understanding of technology they are dangerous, costly, and ineffective.
Good grief,the country has over 840 million people and it is worried about a Yahoo group that has 12 members (now 188 thanks to this news story). While it is easy to say "remember 9/11", remember reality too.
It is unlikely they need Yahoo in order to successful anti-government activists. If they do, then they are not much of a threat. It would seem this is like killing flies with nuclear weapons.
Perhaps this should be a word to the wise, as American companies continue off-shoring development. What happens when the shut down incoming email? Your corporate site? Or your ISP? It appears they have no concern for the outcome of their action, merely that they follow it, as their duty demands. However, it is _their_ country and as it said, it is outside the control of US laws, and by direct connection US protections.
This is only July, so the hot times, and outages are going to be coming. While I would go for the mobile generators, because someone may just shut all the power off, here is another alternative.
Find a home heating/air conditioning guy to run a heat pump to the roof or outside the building. Then put the exchanger/fan/etc. inside the server room. One room only.
The building owners have to conserve at the "building" level. In your case, you can claim this unit is critical to your business operations. Its draw will be nothing compared to the building and they may let you keep it running. Total cost? About $2000-$4000 depending on your setup.
Now you can keep it running later, or consider it a complete write-off. Once the real A/C comes back you will not want to pay for both.
As always: IANAL, YMMV and you can get into heaps of trouble doing this without speaking to the owners.
Two or five or 10 years from now, India and Pakistan get into a fight. Where is your code? Who will be maintaining it? What happens when your packaged software is suddenly competing with a product nearly identical from another country, but at half the price? Sue them? Where?
Being a consultant I see company after company making the move to get $20/hour developers off-shore. Some make it work by playing with the numbers. Some make it work by comparing only salary. US Developer $60k, Indian developer $35k. Few ever cost justify the entire structure and impact. They don't want to know as most will be gone before the long term impact is seen.
As for the language, time zone, etc. Those are all minor issues that most of the sale people brush aside as trivial. Giving polished presentations on cost savings and how developers have become a major corporate "expense." They are talking to your CIOs, CTOs, and CEOs telling them how to save millions on development and support costs.
Your leadership will come out and tell you how we are going to work "hand in hand" with our overseas "team." Then after the transition, your position is no longer as valuable, or necessary. If you don't have a specialty niche, where being on-site is a major requirement, look for significant impact to you. Even if, as someone put it, you are the remaining 92%, your value will be driven by the going rate.
People like what they are used to. The do not like the new unless it is a significant improvement. This means, it is exactly what I had, only better. To get something different even if it is free, especially when it is corporate and not personal dollars at stake, is a fight with the Borg.
In the early 80s the secretaries were certain that should they type a document it could just "disappear." And backups? They did not need to backup the typewriter, so why do I have to do something on the computer I did not need to do with the typewriter? However, show them a spreadsheet and whoa! That six hours with the ledger and cross checks just became 30 minutes and done.
New meets resistance. OO could have reduced this a little by reconfiguring the menus to look like MS office by default (or maybe not it could be a legal issue). However, other than finding rare use items, I think this is more of an emotional issue than an application one. Not that those are not important, but they are not application specific nor fixable.
In most cases a "management mandate" gives everyone something to cry about, but gets over the transition in record time.
AbiWord - It has the simplicity of Works. While that his not a bad thing, it is not the same as comparing to office.
Bloat - Integrated packages will always suffer from this more than stand alone products (Wordpad versus Office). And Gnumeric is limited in it does not support all the similar functions of Excel.
Performance - This is an old complaint that beyond opening I don't see. The MS Word application opens about twice as fast (I just tested it on Windows at 4 seconds versus 9 seconds), but once it is open the speed is not any different. As for the open, MS has the advantage of being able to give priority to their own applications at the base code level or taking advantage of "undocumented features."
Unless you have an altruistic calling, the point of the exercise is to make, increase, and or retain revenue. This is a good thing. If it can be done following process, procedure and good coding practices great. If it requires quick and dirty solutions that is ok too.
How many of us have a dozen undocumented scripts we use for this and that but are really critical to getting the job done?
Like choosing the right tool for the job, Quick and Dirty is sometimes the right tool. Where it hurts is when it is the only tool. Then, you have a man with a hammer and everything looks like a nail.
His point that this is not unique to OSS Projects is a good one. While OSS development has unique constraints most are around people and personality. In an office we all have to get along or get fired, in OSS it can sometimes be worse.
For example: The press loves infighting because it's a good story. However, the infighting story is bad for a project that is trying to get funding. This creates an air of instability. People only like to fund things they feel will have a high chance of success, and instability erodes that confidence.
It is too bad on so many mailing lists ego/attitude/personality or just plain rudeness show up. Things you would never say to a coworker, make it onto a mailing list for eternity, or at least what looks like one. I hope people take this point to heart before posting.
95-5 Rule Usually it's the 80-20 rule, but in open source projects it's more like the 95-5 rule. Open source projects are usually run by one or two people doing most of the work. If you decide to lead an open source project, you must be willing and ready to accept this.
Looking at sourceforge I see this lesson again and again. The idea that if I create it they will come, and build. Forgotten, or unknown, is that nearly all had a real need to be built first. I needed application ZAFDE so I built it. I then released it and people thought they could build on it, and so on.
I wanted to learn C++ or JAVA or XYZ is the reason we have 2,134,931 notepad applications, not OpenOffice.
C/C++ is no longer a viable development language I knew we would see a flamewar as soon as I read it. My thoughts:
- Both are still viable. Much like his hammer analogy, they are not good for everything.
- What makes them "bad" for development, makes them "good" after they are developed.
Does it matter to the user that it took 81 minutes to compile? Nope, they have the binaries or compile it once and run it for years.
Every language has a shortage of people who know it. Or specifically a shortage of the people who know it and are willing to work on OSS project PDQ.
Static binding is good/bad/sometimes both. Yes it is.
All the negatives he spoke of are positives after it is developed. Which we hope is long compared to the time spent developing it.
If there is one thing projects should take away, it is probably this: Interface is Everything...The program should be fun to work with. There should be buttons and things that blink. The interface should be the first thing you do. The interface serves as inspiration and motivation and helps you to learn how the final product should look. Yes, it's going to change a lot. Yes, it's going to have to be rewritten multiple times. Yes, it will never be good enough...But when someone downloads your program they will have something to do. No one likes to look at command lines.
I like command lines. I use them, but I understand they are power tools. Most people do not like/use them and consider them an indicator of a poor product. Even while it may not be technically true, perception is reality in this.
First, no matter what, always plan on the ultimate failsafe option, pen/pencil and paper.
Then no matter what you buy, have a lock/locater put onto it. This will stop it from wandering off. A good cable lock seems like a hassle, but it allows you to get up in the library without having to carry the computer with you just to grab a book.
Next, get your favorite hard drive encryption software. Plenty of good freeware. This stops your neighbor from reworking your thesis or enjoying the fruits of your labor.
Now that the easy part is done, go inexpensive. I like a laptop. It does not need to be fancy. You are using it for notes and papers. Download OpenOffice for the OS you are using and then buy yourself a good printer. You want one that is not going to fail and force you to find a kinkos in the middle of the night.
Check with your school and find out if they support wireless. Then ask them which type of wired/wireless card to use. They will certainly have a recommended one. Using theirs will limit the "we don't support those" when you cannot connect for some reason.
Assume someone will crack your box. Use good Anti-virus and pay for the live updates. Keep your firewall up and your important information in the encrypted part of the drive. If you really want to give yourself an extra 15 minutes, password the bios.
Many people will say "take notes with your laptop" but I find that difficult. The issue is noise, distraction, and paying attention. We have been trained since kindergarten to take notes while listening. In addition, the noise has become such an issue that some professors do not like laptops in the classroom.
I like my Palm but, I use paper for notes. I use the Palm for dictionary, thesaurus, bible, calendar, etc. Basic PDA stuff. I could live without it, but for the cost, it is difficult to imagine why.
Microsoft has a history of buying out competition and FUD. They have been watching as Linux constantly forged ahead regardless of the attacks they placed. Linux was not responding as a company would and MS could not deal with 100,000 developers, they needed a company.
They just got one.
My prediction: Every MS sales manager will be out in force over the next fews weeks. At every MS supported site they will be sending the same message: "I see you have Linux here. Just a word of advice, we are going to be pursuing litigation over some of "our" intellectual rights that have been stolen, and we really want to keep our customers protected. You may want to move to MS products before you get caught up in something ugly.
For your own protection."
While we don't like it, we should not be surprised by it. They have a $30 billion check book to keep this tied up in court for years. They won't want a resolution, they want litigation or the threat of it.
Most of what you will be competing against is dollars. As single person, coming out of college, with limited expenses is a cheaper date. While we would wish it otherwise, the wisdom of age, and to some extent even experience, is not valued greatly in the IT sector.
Today, as the "way back link" shows people buy experience or "hot tech". They buy it cheap because most of it is learned by students or people fairly young. They are always exceptions, but they are exceptions.
If you are 40+ you are going to have a hard time switching positions, unless you know a hot tech. The fact is you want more money than the developer who is 24. You believe your experience brings value and to some extent it does, but...how much? With CS grads coming out of college, glad to make 26k a year, can you take such a job? Can you afford a 10k pay cut?
What I found is people will not let you take a pay cut because they fear you would leave for better money, but they will not hire you for better money, because they could hire someone 24, for 40% of what you make now. So I see more stay with companies, waiting to retire, or go into consulting.
Well, it is good to see we don't let reality interfere with an opinion. Young minds under 5 absorb information quicker. Arguably because everything they learn is new. By the time you are in your late teens you have hit the high mark.
What young minds are suited for is lower overhead. You are less expensive than someone with 10 years experience. Same as 10 years from now you will be more expensive than someone fresh from college.
I agree. I have this issue today with two windows and a linux box all run 1ghz+ processors. Add the monitors, broadband modem, hub, and printer. By 2pm, the my office is over 85 degrees if I keep the door closed.
If I adjust the temp, my co-workers begin to hate me. Who wants to wear a jacket in the summer? What we need is a venting system to get heat away from the source. Imagine 200 PCs running in Arizona in the summer. Half the A/C is being used to offset the PCs.
If only it could be shipped north, a few office buildings could make Canada tropical.
The difference between the two is the very point you make. Or more to the point, if you cannot tell the difference between a contractor and a consultant, you have a contractor.
A contractor does as there told, and in the absence of being told anything, may do nothing. (Although this would be considered poor even for a contractor). A contracter is contracted to perform a service, code for example. Given a set of specifications, they code well, debug well and implement well.
A consultant is a value add. They are a contractor plus, they provide additional expertise and insight gained from experience that is sometimes difficult to find within a company. Many companies that hire consultants have an in-house staff consisting of "big fish in a small pond." This is not demeaning as it sounds. Consider a tennis player who only plays high school students. With few exceptions the best they will become are as good as their experience. Development is the same way. I tell people when I leave, their people will know as much about what I bring as I can pass along.
This was all leading into the question. If you are unable to explain the reason to take an action, or to select a different path, one of several things may be occurring.
I am not explaining the options well. An issue for you to deal with and not your client. My inability to explain a situation sufficiently to be convincing, is my issue not theirs.
I am working against "it cannot be done this way" mentality. On the last two sites I worked at, I was told they could not, or specifically, it was impossible to do what I was asking. As it turned out, it was impossible because they had never done it and did not know how. In two situations at the last client, I was able to remove a full time manual process (30+ hours per week) by automating it in less than one week. A miracle? No. I knew it was possible.
You don't know the politics. A good read for Developers and Leaders alike is Rapid Application Development - Taming wild software Schedules. It gives insight into this aspect. In many cases a project cannot get approval to do it "right", but can get approval to "do it" then "do it right" in support. Logical from the outside? No, but understandable.
You are missing something and they may not want to tell you. I have seen projects were they were approved to the dollar. If it went over, even by a few hundred dollars, it was killed. Even if it lost thousands. The logic(?) being that it is better to kill a project that is over budget immediately, rather than let it continue on. This may be the case or it may simply be you do not know all the players, policy, and interfaces involved.
In some of these cases you can keep trying. Hoping to add value. The attempt, given it has good business sense behind it, will keep that client happy, even when they do not choose your ideas. At least they see new ones coming and maybe the next one will hit.
His support for this is neither a surprise or unexpected. Look for him to sponsor if not introduce Partiot II in the next year.
He has been named several times as a possible replacement for any of the retiring Justices. He now has to prove himself conservative enough to ensure his legacy and a possible shot at the Chief Justice's seat.
The difficulty with titles is the are often usurped by people who believe they do the same thing. Human Resource departments have become expert at this. Programmer - codes programs System Administrator - Reboots computers. Called when mail not working or I cannot open Outlook or the network is down. etc.
Rather than look for a new name, they should be working on describing a lists of talents, duties, and capabilities that define a system administrator. This should be augmented with a level of competence to allow for Junior Systems Administrator, Systems Administrator, Senior Systems Administrator, and finally Master Systems Administrator.
It probably also needs two paths. One Unix/Linux and one Windows. You could probably even make an argument for splitting Unix/Linux if you wish.
I have taken this approach internally and it has smoothed things greatly. Now when I speak with HR, and tell them I am looking for a Systems Admin they know what criteria they need to look for. A global standard would only make it that much easier for everyone.
There is an inherent danger in using Tobler's First Law in a communications context. It's focus is on the impact of similar experiences as felt by the individual. We "empathize" with an injustice 16,000 miles away. We "experience" one 6 miles away.
The danger is when one group believes they have a "better perspective" because of location. If you are having a conversation with a person about Iraq and they tell you they are from Pakistan or the United States does it influence how you interpret what they say? Should it? Do you provide their ideas with stronger support if they are closer to you or the event?
As the people of Iraq are closest to Saddam, they are a better judge of the current US/Iraq situation. Equally so, because Americans are closest to their government, they are a better judge of what is right. Now with Americans in Iraq who is a better judge?
While GeoTagging is becoming more popular, it carries a prejudice. You are no longer expressing your opinion you are expressing your "French" opinion or your "German" opinion. Your facts are "Swiss" facts, or "American" facts. Your beliefs are "South African" beliefs or "Australian" beliefs.
There may be value in putting context around what you state, however it may serve just as well to cloud the message by providing context before the message. And that may lead to the question of what is the Truth ?
When you compare MVS to UNIX to Linux, and do the math, MVS wins big. Billions of lines of mainframe investment are not going anywhere soon. Billions were spent on making legacy systems Y2k compliant, now that the investment has been made, companies are finding it difficult to call for a re-write.
IBM saw this coming a while back. The 390 mainframes were renamed Enterprise Server (and we all snickered). However, the enterprise server is now running Linux, Websphere, integration services, websites, ASPs, and the legacy systems with incredible stability.
It is difficult to find operators because in many mainframe shops the job consists of running print jobs and contacting support staff when alerts occur. It is no longer a career. It would improve if companies started treating it like a first step. Hire some college students or entry level employees and provide a career path to greater opportunity. Isn't that what we all want?
"I predict that now that we're calling their bluff, they will make up another excuse for not doing the tests," Phipps said.
A comment like this from Sun is unnecessary and appears childish. This kind of remark is unprofessional and serves no purpose except to build animosity.
What will he say if it does pass? If it does not pass, did his comment serve any purpose except to give JBOSS a reason to believe the test was biased?
Slashdot Mirror
It seems like a dot com ad. We have this great technology but I cannot find a price or where you can purchase it. Are they looking for VC dollars to make it public?
Two wrongs do not make a right, however this is a baseless argument. Free trade is based on the idea that we will both treat markets openly. If you choose not to, so do I. In the end, you open your markets because you see the advantage to having an open market (you get more business). In this case there is no advantage to India opening its markets. It can have their jobs and yours too.
This idea that opening our markets to predatory countries will make them "see the light" is pontificated by the unknowing as they repeat the words of those making money off the inequity.
If India companies want any job, they should show where an equatable trade is possible. If this were Steel, or oranges, we would have a trade embargo on them. Instead, it is jobs and the companies making the dollars (in savings) are US companies immediately, and Indian firms long term. This short term mentality may be a root cause, but it does not mean I should stand by, any more than I should stand by while my neighbor sells drugs, just because he gives money to the poor.
Say anything else, but sealed storage is a simple concept, we control what can be saved. What we need to be concerned with is how they secure it. If sealed storage is at the hardware level, then the "sealed PC" MS has been seeking for years will be a reality.
How can you install Linux, BSD or WinXP if the device itself requires the OS to authenticate? You can't. Sure you may be able to crack a work around, but what company will run software that is in place via crack?
This brings up the next issue, what happens when you replace your box? We have heard of all the fun people have had with XP licensing and system upgrades. Do you get to keep all those MP3s or do they not belong to the box. If you can authenticate on a second box, then you really don't have a secure system using the box.
While MS likes to dismiss these as "we are working on it" they will again be in a position to dictate their use. By the time grandma learns all here files are now secure and she must pay to move them to her new box, it will be too late. This idea that we can somehow wait for MS to figure out a solution in secret that we can all live with is crazed.
If we are going to take a secure machine approach it will need to be a standardized one, open for all to use. I don't think we will see MS jumping to support that concept.
Offshore matters a lot. In the US, you can be held personally liable and it would probably be considered extortion. Even if it isn't, you would still be liable, both financially and criminally, for violation of HIPAA. So the woman would not be able to claim she would release the documents without it being a crime.
None of this is applicable to someone outside the US as the laws do not cover them.
IANAL/D/A/etc....
If you do a lookup of Linux versus Microsoft, the numbers tend toward what he is saying. Does it count against MS if a third party vendor's product is compromised? No. But it does appear to count against Linux.
However, the fact that it is a very misleading statement gives Steve his sound bite "Linux less secure." Well, they cannot claim it if it isn't true and if it is true then we can be sure we want MS products right? Yeah!
Except, this is not what he said. He lead everyone down the path and then to save himself from an outright lie, he told everyone to go look at the data and decide for themselves. Do you really think 99.9999% of the people are going to go CERN and search? Nope.
It reminds me of the the "Sale" signs you see in a store window. Do you know what they mean? Items are for sale. Not for less money, just for sale. Or the infamous "quantities may be limited". What does that mean? Most likely it means they have one in each store if you are the lucky one to be first in line. After that, sorry.
Salesmanship, and FUD a wonderful combination and lets face it...who is better at it than MS?
I say let CBS withhold HDTV. This is going to hurt me? I am reminded of the infamous:
"Your contract with the network when you get the show is that you're going to watch the spots," said Jamie Kellner, the CEO of Turner Broadcasting System, in an interview with CableWorld magazine this past spring.
Sorry, but I cannot see how this is going to be possible without such easy circumvention that it becomes a waste. They sell converter boxes under a "wink-wink-nudge-nudge" today. When the flag is agreed upon, unlike software it is going to be there and everyone will know it and someone from Po-dunk will sell a bypass.
Another fine example of executives who have so little understanding of technology they are dangerous, costly, and ineffective.
Good grief,the country has over 840 million people and it is worried about a Yahoo group that has 12 members (now 188 thanks to this news story). While it is easy to say "remember 9/11", remember reality too.
It is unlikely they need Yahoo in order to successful anti-government activists. If they do, then they are not much of a threat. It would seem this is like killing flies with nuclear weapons.
Perhaps this should be a word to the wise, as American companies continue off-shoring development. What happens when the shut down incoming email? Your corporate site? Or your ISP? It appears they have no concern for the outcome of their action, merely that they follow it, as their duty demands. However, it is _their_ country and as it said, it is outside the control of US laws, and by direct connection US protections.
This is only July, so the hot times, and outages are going to be coming. While I would go for the mobile generators, because someone may just shut all the power off, here is another alternative.
Find a home heating/air conditioning guy to run a heat pump to the roof or outside the building. Then put the exchanger/fan/etc. inside the server room. One room only.
The building owners have to conserve at the "building" level. In your case, you can claim this unit is critical to your business operations. Its draw will be nothing compared to the building and they may let you keep it running. Total cost? About $2000-$4000 depending on your setup.
Now you can keep it running later, or consider it a complete write-off. Once the real A/C comes back you will not want to pay for both.
As always: IANAL, YMMV and you can get into heaps of trouble doing this without speaking to the owners.
Two or five or 10 years from now, India and Pakistan get into a fight. Where is your code? Who will be maintaining it? What happens when your packaged software is suddenly competing with a product nearly identical from another country, but at half the price? Sue them? Where?
Being a consultant I see company after company making the move to get $20/hour developers off-shore. Some make it work by playing with the numbers. Some make it work by comparing only salary. US Developer $60k, Indian developer $35k. Few ever cost justify the entire structure and impact. They don't want to know as most will be gone before the long term impact is seen.
As for the language, time zone, etc. Those are all minor issues that most of the sale people brush aside as trivial. Giving polished presentations on cost savings and how developers have become a major corporate "expense." They are talking to your CIOs, CTOs, and CEOs telling them how to save millions on development and support costs.
Your leadership will come out and tell you how we are going to work "hand in hand" with our overseas "team." Then after the transition, your position is no longer as valuable, or necessary. If you don't have a specialty niche, where being on-site is a major requirement, look for significant impact to you. Even if, as someone put it, you are the remaining 92%, your value will be driven by the going rate.
People like what they are used to. The do not like the new unless it is a significant improvement. This means, it is exactly what I had, only better. To get something different even if it is free, especially when it is corporate and not personal dollars at stake, is a fight with the Borg.
In the early 80s the secretaries were certain that should they type a document it could just "disappear." And backups? They did not need to backup the typewriter, so why do I have to do something on the computer I did not need to do with the typewriter? However, show them a spreadsheet and whoa! That six hours with the ledger and cross checks just became 30 minutes and done.
New meets resistance. OO could have reduced this a little by reconfiguring the menus to look like MS office by default (or maybe not it could be a legal issue). However, other than finding rare use items, I think this is more of an emotional issue than an application one. Not that those are not important, but they are not application specific nor fixable.
In most cases a "management mandate" gives everyone something to cry about, but gets over the transition in record time.
I have to disagree, at least a little. ;)
AbiWord - It has the simplicity of Works. While that his not a bad thing, it is not the same as comparing to office.
Bloat - Integrated packages will always suffer from this more than stand alone products (Wordpad versus Office). And Gnumeric is limited in it does not support all the similar functions of Excel.
Performance - This is an old complaint that beyond opening I don't see. The MS Word application opens about twice as fast (I just tested it on Windows at 4 seconds versus 9 seconds), but once it is open the speed is not any different. As for the open, MS has the advantage of being able to give priority to their own applications at the base code level or taking advantage of "undocumented features."
Unless you have an altruistic calling, the point of the exercise is to make, increase, and or retain revenue. This is a good thing. If it can be done following process, procedure and good coding practices great. If it requires quick and dirty solutions that is ok too.
How many of us have a dozen undocumented scripts we use for this and that but are really critical to getting the job done?
Like choosing the right tool for the job, Quick and Dirty is sometimes the right tool. Where it hurts is when it is the only tool. Then, you have a man with a hammer and everything looks like a nail.
His point that this is not unique to OSS Projects is a good one. While OSS development has unique constraints most are around people and personality. In an office we all have to get along or get fired, in OSS it can sometimes be worse.
...The program should be fun to work with. There should be buttons and things that blink. The interface should be the first thing you do. The interface serves as inspiration and motivation and helps you to learn how the final product should look. Yes, it's going to change a lot. Yes, it's going to have to be rewritten multiple times. Yes, it will never be good enough...But when someone downloads your program they will have something to do. No one likes to look at command lines.
For example:
The press loves infighting because it's a good story. However, the infighting story is bad for a project that is trying to get funding. This creates an air of instability. People only like to fund things they feel will have a high chance of success, and instability erodes that confidence.
It is too bad on so many mailing lists ego/attitude/personality or just plain rudeness show up. Things you would never say to a coworker, make it onto a mailing list for eternity, or at least what looks like one. I hope people take this point to heart before posting.
95-5 Rule
Usually it's the 80-20 rule, but in open source projects it's more like the 95-5 rule. Open source projects are usually run by one or two people doing most of the work. If you decide to lead an open source project, you must be willing and ready to accept this.
Looking at sourceforge I see this lesson again and again. The idea that if I create it they will come, and build. Forgotten, or unknown, is that nearly all had a real need to be built first. I needed application ZAFDE so I built it. I then released it and people thought they could build on it, and so on.
I wanted to learn C++ or JAVA or XYZ is the reason we have 2,134,931 notepad applications, not OpenOffice.
C/C++ is no longer a viable development language
I knew we would see a flamewar as soon as I read it. My thoughts:
- Both are still viable. Much like his hammer analogy, they are not good for everything.
- What makes them "bad" for development, makes them "good" after they are developed.
Does it matter to the user that it took 81 minutes to compile? Nope, they have the binaries or compile it once and run it for years.
Every language has a shortage of people who know it. Or specifically a shortage of the people who know it and are willing to work on OSS project PDQ.
Static binding is good/bad/sometimes both. Yes it is.
All the negatives he spoke of are positives after it is developed. Which we hope is long compared to the time spent developing it.
If there is one thing projects should take away, it is probably this:
Interface is Everything
I like command lines. I use them, but I understand they are power tools. Most people do not like/use them and consider them an indicator of a poor product. Even while it may not be technically true, perception is reality in this.
First, no matter what, always plan on the ultimate failsafe option, pen/pencil and paper.
Then no matter what you buy, have a lock/locater put onto it. This will stop it from wandering off. A good cable lock seems like a hassle, but it allows you to get up in the library without having to carry the computer with you just to grab a book.
Next, get your favorite hard drive encryption software. Plenty of good freeware. This stops your neighbor from reworking your thesis or enjoying the fruits of your labor.
Now that the easy part is done, go inexpensive. I like a laptop. It does not need to be fancy. You are using it for notes and papers. Download OpenOffice for the OS you are using and then buy yourself a good printer. You want one that is not going to fail and force you to find a kinkos in the middle of the night.
Check with your school and find out if they support wireless. Then ask them which type of wired/wireless card to use. They will certainly have a recommended one. Using theirs will limit the "we don't support those" when you cannot connect for some reason.
Assume someone will crack your box. Use good Anti-virus and pay for the live updates. Keep your firewall up and your important information in the encrypted part of the drive. If you really want to give yourself an extra 15 minutes, password the bios.
Many people will say "take notes with your laptop" but I find that difficult. The issue is noise, distraction, and paying attention. We have been trained since kindergarten to take notes while listening. In addition, the noise has become such an issue that some professors do not like laptops in the classroom.
I like my Palm but, I use paper for notes. I use the Palm for dictionary, thesaurus, bible, calendar, etc. Basic PDA stuff. I could live without it, but for the cost, it is difficult to imagine why.
Good luck.
In the absence of an opposing view, your representatives believe what they are told. Tell them differently.
/. a website we should be able to make a point in DC.
Be concise, polite, and specific. If we can
Contacting your Representative -- The Easy Way
Don't wait. Do it now or don't whine about it later.
Microsoft has a history of buying out competition and FUD. They have been watching as Linux constantly forged ahead regardless of the attacks they placed. Linux was not responding as a company would and MS could not deal with 100,000 developers, they needed a company.
They just got one.
My prediction: Every MS sales manager will be out in force over the next fews weeks. At every MS supported site they will be sending the same message:
"I see you have Linux here. Just a word of advice, we are going to be pursuing litigation over some of "our" intellectual rights that have been stolen, and we really want to keep our customers protected. You may want to move to MS products before you get caught up in something ugly.
For your own protection."
While we don't like it, we should not be surprised by it. They have a $30 billion check book to keep this tied up in court for years. They won't want a resolution, they want litigation or the threat of it.
Most of what you will be competing against is dollars. As single person, coming out of college, with limited expenses is a cheaper date. While we would wish it otherwise, the wisdom of age, and to some extent even experience, is not valued greatly in the IT sector.
Today, as the "way back link" shows people buy experience or "hot tech". They buy it cheap because most of it is learned by students or people fairly young. They are always exceptions, but they are exceptions.
If you are 40+ you are going to have a hard time switching positions, unless you know a hot tech. The fact is you want more money than the developer who is 24. You believe your experience brings value and to some extent it does, but...how much? With CS grads coming out of college, glad to make 26k a year, can you take such a job? Can you afford a 10k pay cut?
What I found is people will not let you take a pay cut because they fear you would leave for better money, but they will not hire you for better money, because they could hire someone 24, for 40% of what you make now. So I see more stay with companies, waiting to retire, or go into consulting.
Well, it is good to see we don't let reality interfere with an opinion. Young minds under 5 absorb information quicker. Arguably because everything they learn is new. By the time you are in your late teens you have hit the high mark.
What young minds are suited for is lower overhead. You are less expensive than someone with 10 years experience. Same as 10 years from now you will be more expensive than someone fresh from college.
I agree. I have this issue today with two windows and a linux box all run 1ghz+ processors. Add the monitors, broadband modem, hub, and printer. By 2pm, the my office is over 85 degrees if I keep the door closed.
If I adjust the temp, my co-workers begin to hate me. Who wants to wear a jacket in the summer? What we need is a venting system to get heat away from the source. Imagine 200 PCs running in Arizona in the summer. Half the A/C is being used to offset the PCs.
If only it could be shipped north, a few office buildings could make Canada tropical.
A contractor does as there told, and in the absence of being told anything, may do nothing. (Although this would be considered poor even for a contractor). A contracter is contracted to perform a service, code for example. Given a set of specifications, they code well, debug well and implement well.
A consultant is a value add. They are a contractor plus, they provide additional expertise and insight gained from experience that is sometimes difficult to find within a company. Many companies that hire consultants have an in-house staff consisting of "big fish in a small pond." This is not demeaning as it sounds. Consider a tennis player who only plays high school students. With few exceptions the best they will become are as good as their experience. Development is the same way. I tell people when I leave, their people will know as much about what I bring as I can pass along.
This was all leading into the question. If you are unable to explain the reason to take an action, or to select a different path, one of several things may be occurring.
I am not explaining the options well. An issue for you to deal with and not your client. My inability to explain a situation sufficiently to be convincing, is my issue not theirs.
I am working against "it cannot be done this way" mentality. On the last two sites I worked at, I was told they could not, or specifically, it was impossible to do what I was asking. As it turned out, it was impossible because they had never done it and did not know how. In two situations at the last client, I was able to remove a full time manual process (30+ hours per week) by automating it in less than one week. A miracle? No. I knew it was possible.
You don't know the politics. A good read for Developers and Leaders alike is Rapid Application Development - Taming wild software Schedules. It gives insight into this aspect. In many cases a project cannot get approval to do it "right", but can get approval to "do it" then "do it right" in support. Logical from the outside? No, but understandable.
You are missing something and they may not want to tell you. I have seen projects were they were approved to the dollar. If it went over, even by a few hundred dollars, it was killed. Even if it lost thousands. The logic(?) being that it is better to kill a project that is over budget immediately, rather than let it continue on. This may be the case or it may simply be you do not know all the players, policy, and interfaces involved.
In some of these cases you can keep trying. Hoping to add value. The attempt, given it has good business sense behind it, will keep that client happy, even when they do not choose your ideas. At least they see new ones coming and maybe the next one will hit.
His support for this is neither a surprise or unexpected. Look for him to sponsor if not introduce Partiot II in the next year.
He has been named several times as a possible replacement for any of the retiring Justices. He now has to prove himself conservative enough to ensure his legacy and a possible shot at the Chief Justice's seat.
The difficulty with titles is the are often usurped by people who believe they do the same thing. Human Resource departments have become expert at this.
Programmer - codes programs
System Administrator - Reboots computers. Called when mail not working or I cannot open Outlook or the network is down.
etc.
Rather than look for a new name, they should be working on describing a lists of talents, duties, and capabilities that define a system administrator. This should be augmented with a level of competence to allow for Junior Systems Administrator, Systems Administrator, Senior Systems Administrator, and finally Master Systems Administrator.
It probably also needs two paths. One Unix/Linux and one Windows. You could probably even make an argument for splitting Unix/Linux if you wish.
I have taken this approach internally and it has smoothed things greatly. Now when I speak with HR, and tell them I am looking for a Systems Admin they know what criteria they need to look for. A global standard would only make it that much easier for everyone.
There is an inherent danger in using Tobler's First Law in a communications context. It's focus is on the impact of similar experiences as felt by the individual. We "empathize" with an injustice 16,000 miles away. We "experience" one 6 miles away.
The danger is when one group believes they have a "better perspective" because of location. If you are having a conversation with a person about Iraq and they tell you they are from Pakistan or the United States does it influence how you interpret what they say? Should it? Do you provide their ideas with stronger support if they are closer to you or the event?
As the people of Iraq are closest to Saddam, they are a better judge of the current US/Iraq situation. Equally so, because Americans are closest to their government, they are a better judge of what is right. Now with Americans in Iraq who is a better judge?
While GeoTagging is becoming more popular, it carries a prejudice. You are no longer expressing your opinion you are expressing your "French" opinion or your "German" opinion. Your facts are "Swiss" facts, or "American" facts. Your beliefs are "South African" beliefs or "Australian" beliefs.
There may be value in putting context around what you state, however it may serve just as well to cloud the message by providing context before the message. And that may lead to the question of what is the Truth ?
When you compare MVS to UNIX to Linux, and do the math, MVS wins big. Billions of lines of mainframe investment are not going anywhere soon. Billions were spent on making legacy systems Y2k compliant, now that the investment has been made, companies are finding it difficult to call for a re-write.
IBM saw this coming a while back. The 390 mainframes were renamed Enterprise Server (and we all snickered). However, the enterprise server is now running Linux, Websphere, integration services, websites, ASPs, and the legacy systems with incredible stability.
It is difficult to find operators because in many mainframe shops the job consists of running print jobs and contacting support staff when alerts occur. It is no longer a career. It would improve if companies started treating it like a first step. Hire some college students or entry level employees and provide a career path to greater opportunity. Isn't that what we all want?
"I predict that now that we're calling their bluff, they will make up another excuse for not doing the tests," Phipps said.
A comment like this from Sun is unnecessary and appears childish. This kind of remark is unprofessional and serves no purpose except to build animosity.
What will he say if it does pass? If it does not pass, did his comment serve any purpose except to give JBOSS a reason to believe the test was biased?