Remember this only matters if you have a DHCP server and I imagine the MS one at that. So if you are running a SOHO network you wont notice it as it will be turned off. Otherwise it is just a matter of pointing the machine to Windows Update only. If you have read up on the similar cisco technology it does the same thing, you have to update before you can authenticate with the network, so you get pointed to the WSUS server and AV repository until you meet the specified requirements.
I think this summs it up here "Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes" - or something along those lines.
In my BS program (private school), we used a lot of C++ but we used a different language in pretty much every class, Java, Scheme, C++, Assembler, Perl, and so on. The first class I took CS131 we were not allowed to use an IDE. IT was all green screen. We were docked severely for not commenting code well and using descriptive vars. However, it became clear over time that this was not a trade school and nor should it be seen as such. A BS degree is a foundation, more for people who are independent thinkers (if you went into the program knowing why rather than stumbling in looking for a way into Information Technology). A BS in CS should be able to walk out with a diploma and have spent a bit of spare time getting some trade skills outside of College in the area they are headed. A CS could go into Radio, Telecommunications, Programming, Network Consulting, or anywhere else.
90-10? I was always taught 80-20. Good rule for pretty much anything, but then again I went the Network Consulting route with my CS degree.
Lambda expressions are useful in understanding that you may not be using the same language everywhere, you should understand algorithm analysis and their use. Otherwise you are going to end up like all the Cobol programmers that learned the ins and outs of one language and couldn't translate to a newer language. Sure you will be fine now, relying on compilers doing all the work for you, but unless you are a special person, you need to know algorithms well so you can pick up that new language when it comes around the corner.
Personally I am hoping to go back and play BGII and ToB when the memories are a bit more faded. Even with the graphics less than now a-days, it is still a kick ass game. But I think you summed it up well. I have been waiting for a company to recreate the greatness that was BG in one form or another. It just seems that games today aren't as complete as they used to be....crap now I am starting to sound like an old timer...
Maybe there just isnt a market for it anymore, When I say Black Isle get swallowed up or whatever happened I felt like I lost a friend, so many hours playing BG, and I am not even a hard core gamer, but my GPA definitely took a hit when BGII came out.
I didnt have enough D&D friends to make me want to use the toolset. However is there a technical limitation that would keep them from creating the toolset for a BG style game? I didnt get to play any of the expansions for NWN, I just disliked the control of the game, one companion, and limited abilities. NWN2 seems to have a lot more promise though. I think I would enjoy it much more if I could have the free reign that BGII does. Rather than feeling like I am playing a D&D version of Final Fantasy. Get away from the linear feel, give me complete control (within confines of D&D) of my character and let her rip.
Maybe I am off-base here but does anyone else think that Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 were a pale comparison to the Baulder's Gate and Icewindale series?
I loved the big parties (which was axed in NWN1 and brought back to a whopping 4 in NWN2). I also loved the plethora of side quests, I am just in the beginnings of NWN2 and it seems a bit linear so far, just got into the Blacklake district. With BGII you could spend days playing and never see the main quest. This is one place I think Oblivion got it right. Is there a reason they pulled away from that gameplay?
Of course I could be biased as BG was one of my first D&D experiences, and as most of my friends are FPS type people so my exposure is limited.
But clean up the graphics to BGII, apply the new ruleset, give me a new storyline and I am happy. Zelda has been using the same playing style since the first game.
"A real Computer Science degree should have taught him the principle of Turing-equivalence. It should have had at least some assignments expressing algorithms on Turing Machines, Unlimited Register Machines, Petri Nets, Lambda expressions, etc. The principles of converting between one universal mechanism for computation and another should be deeply ingrained. How do you prove that a model of computation is universal? You implement an emulator for an existing universal model of computation (typically a Turing Machine) in it."
ohhh you just brought back some bad memories....the term Lambda alone sent shivers down my spine and brought back the aroma of lots of coffee, Mathematica, and late nights avoiding security guards just to have a bit more time in the lab.
Reminds me of a hallmark graduation card. "Welcome to the real world, it sucks, your gonna love it!"
Seriously, I am a CS major, graduated 2002. I don't even do dev work, but I work with a bunch of developers and for many of them it worked like this:
Manager: I need you to build App X in.NET
Developer: But I am a SQL admin.
Manager: We need it by July.
Developer: Sigh....ok.
6 months later...
Developer: Here is your app, had to learn.NET, work a couple hundred hours OT but it works as expected.
Manager:Oh, we decided to go in a different direction.
Moral of the story, Most of your dev experience is going to be due to poor management decisions or just having a project thrown your way. That is why the CS profs don't teach you language, it isnt a tech school. They teach you what you need to know to work on your feet. I don't do dev and I use my CS knowledge every day as a Network Admin.
However it has been my experience that the really good programmers are the ones that when they go home, dissect the Emulators, and Open Source Projects, get involved in them and end up doing something great in their spare time. It just takes a lot of patience and determination. Good luck.
It is good to hear that someone can actually prioritize. I am the same way, today (a slow friday) I have received around 50 e-mails if you dont count system e-mails and spam. If someone needs me, they can call. Critical systems will send a page. ta-da! I may have 20 e-mails waiting for me in the morning from my private business alone but my clients are all very happy and my 9-5 is stable. no off hours e-mail needed at this time, nor do I wish a job that will requre me to become a workaholic. I work to live, not live to work.
I am personally working towards that scenario. Getting closer to my goal every month. Where I may not home school my kids, I look forward to working from home with my wife. I made a mental statement early on in my life that I would make family my priority and not worry so much about moving up the ladder.
Personally, finding happiness has little to do with the amount of money you have, but how you spend your time kids or no kids.
"I think that's rubbish, there's no way a kid under the age of 15 would spot the danger of talking on a cellphone while driving unless it was explained to him/her by their parents althought I don't see a good reason to at that age."
Then you seriously underestimate youth. I have met many kids around the age of 8-12 that have more common sense than many people I work with. Seriously, some kids will amaze you at what reasoning they are capable of.
Like a bunch of teenagers, some parents are routinely lying to their kids, sneaking around the house to covertly check their emails and disobeying house rules established to minimize compulsive typing.
People seem to think that if you have a kid or reach a certain age it entitles you to have no responsibility. They shout "I am MATURE, I can do whatever I want". Reminds me of the teenagers I work with, whining and pouting about how they know best and don't need to follow rules.
If you are going to be a parent, lead by example. You want your kids to be independent thinkers, then YOU be one. You want your kids to follow rules, YOU follow the rules. I can tell you firsthand with the kids I do volunteer work with that they are very tired of hypocritical parents.
I understand we live in a fast paced world now, but just like your clients, you have to scedule time for your family as well. How many of the blackberry addicts would answer their blackberry if they were with an important customer? What are you saying about your family when you don't extend them the same respect?
TFA also says we have been having issues reading the data and now they have solved the problem. Why weren't we seeing this problem with dual layer DVDs?
I remember going over this in my CS courses years ago on the use of multiple wavelengths to write data, I assumed that was what they did with Dual Layer DVDs, but I see in the Wikipedia article that there is a physical layer to dual layer as this new tech is some kind of holographic tech?
Here Telecommuting has been squished, they like to see you at a desk. Tried moving to 12 hour or 10 hour days, didn't fly, even though we are a 24-7 shop and it would allow me to hit two other shifts for support. Private sector seems to be making up ground on gov't benefits. I have only have 2 3% standard of living increases in over 4 years. Had to fight for a promotion to keep up. Then again, my state is notorious for abusing its state workers.
Ya and the worst part about it is, the longer you do civil service, the less capable you are of doing any other work. As there is no training, you are often promoted beyond your capabilities and unless you are a rare person, any personal initiative to learn on your own gets stripped right out of you because as soon as you learn something you have to wait 5 years to apply it at work. I am attempting to balance the learning curve by stressing myself in the private sector part time, there I get weird new situations thrown my way all the time and get to think on my feet. A lot more fun.
Ya, I am slowly moving to independent network consulting. It is amazing how poorly set up many shops are, sure I capitalize off of it when I get the "You know networks, could you come look at some issues for me?" I come over and it looks like a Rat did their wiring job for them, The server is a toaster oven smoking while running SBS 2000 with SQL server, and serving kiddie pron to Hawaii. Not to mention the sheer number of passwords and who does and does not know them because they have had so many consultants come in over the years.
Enter me and I do the same job I do from 8-5 without a thank you, I am there for a time revamping, take a $2K-$5K check and they think I can walk on water. The only drawback is the hours, but as you inferred, they aren't that bad.
I look at it this way. I work in the gov't for 18.7 an hour to do tech support. We are the 50th worst salaried state in the nation. If a private sector job cant beat my pay then it pays ass.
Luckily I do private consulting on the side since I am an exempt employee, and the couple hours of consulting I do a week makes up for the horrible pay.
You should come work for the gov't. You can slack off all day and never get fired as long as you make it in 0800 and leave at 1700. They will just promote you to make you somoene else's problem (Dilbert Principle). However if you work your ass off covering for the slackers you will get the same benefits but die younger from stress and low moral. In the end everyone hates the job you are doing anyway because you are in the gov't and regardless of Democratic or Republican control no one likes the agency you work for. So you just end up as a lifer slacking off and feeling good about it eventually as the guilt of not being productive becomes a ever distant memory. Or you can fight your way out, and hope to God to find a job with as much time off because now you are addicted to it.
In this capitalistic society for some reason, long hours equates to higher productivity in manager's minds. I work in the gov't (please hold back the boos, the holidays/vacation days flat out stomp any organization in this part of the country). So as badly as I want to move to private sector I just cant because taking the cut in holidays isnt worth it. And the last job I found at a university with similar benefits paid a laughable $11-$13 an hour for support. However the flex time kinda sucks as it is 8-5 40 hour weeks. 8 sharp, 5 sharp. Sure the 40 is nice but I think I would be happier working 12 hours here, and 6 hours there as the schedule demanded. What is it like in the private sector (I am in the midwest).
I apologize, I wasn't very clear. It relates in that for our network it isnt the training that is a problem. When we moved from Corel to MS Office the functionality was similar. We offered no training, but we would take calls on quirks. The transition process took over a year. But when it came down to it, only a handful of people out of over a 1000 really noticed a difference other than MS looked prettier. Databases were converted by IT and there are a lot of conversion tools for everything else.
So on our network we wait until there is a function in the new software that our users need, or that makes things easier. Training isnt really a problem unless something drastic happens. I have even converted home/small business users to Open Office because all they really want to do is simple no-training-needed things. The only time training is going to be a hurdle is if you are moving to something TOTALLY different like greenscreen to window environment. I cannot think of any mainstream office/windows products that would necessitate retraining on a massive scale.
For our office we are still mainly a Win 2000 server domain. Just now moving to 2003 through attrition. Ya there are perks to moving to the next server/office level but are they worth the cost? Will our office use them? Heck most of our users cant distinguish between word and wordpad. Most users just want to be able to type a report on letterhead, use italics and bold here and there and that is it.
Unless security is an issue, I really see no need to over complicate something with more features when what we have does just fine. You have to show me a product that is major like jumping from NTSP6 to win2K/XP. Where my current OS can handle all the devices I have just fine, my current office product (2003) works above and beyond our needs, I dont need to upgrade until I see an end of life on the product.
With few exceptions I think most seasoned Windows administrators would agree.
Slashdot Mirror
Remember this only matters if you have a DHCP server and I imagine the MS one at that. So if you are running a SOHO network you wont notice it as it will be turned off. Otherwise it is just a matter of pointing the machine to Windows Update only. If you have read up on the similar cisco technology it does the same thing, you have to update before you can authenticate with the network, so you get pointed to the WSUS server and AV repository until you meet the specified requirements.
are slashdotters really this lazy?....wait dont answer that.
Let me introduce you all to a site you may have heard of in passing. Wikipedia, you should check it out sometime. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lexus_and_the_Oli ve_Tree
In my BS program (private school), we used a lot of C++ but we used a different language in pretty much every class, Java, Scheme, C++, Assembler, Perl, and so on. The first class I took CS131 we were not allowed to use an IDE. IT was all green screen. We were docked severely for not commenting code well and using descriptive vars. However, it became clear over time that this was not a trade school and nor should it be seen as such. A BS degree is a foundation, more for people who are independent thinkers (if you went into the program knowing why rather than stumbling in looking for a way into Information Technology). A BS in CS should be able to walk out with a diploma and have spent a bit of spare time getting some trade skills outside of College in the area they are headed. A CS could go into Radio, Telecommunications, Programming, Network Consulting, or anywhere else.
90-10? I was always taught 80-20. Good rule for pretty much anything, but then again I went the Network Consulting route with my CS degree.
Lambda expressions are useful in understanding that you may not be using the same language everywhere, you should understand algorithm analysis and their use. Otherwise you are going to end up like all the Cobol programmers that learned the ins and outs of one language and couldn't translate to a newer language. Sure you will be fine now, relying on compilers doing all the work for you, but unless you are a special person, you need to know algorithms well so you can pick up that new language when it comes around the corner.
Maybe there just isnt a market for it anymore, When I say Black Isle get swallowed up or whatever happened I felt like I lost a friend, so many hours playing BG, and I am not even a hard core gamer, but my GPA definitely took a hit when BGII came out.
I didnt have enough D&D friends to make me want to use the toolset. However is there a technical limitation that would keep them from creating the toolset for a BG style game? I didnt get to play any of the expansions for NWN, I just disliked the control of the game, one companion, and limited abilities. NWN2 seems to have a lot more promise though. I think I would enjoy it much more if I could have the free reign that BGII does. Rather than feeling like I am playing a D&D version of Final Fantasy. Get away from the linear feel, give me complete control (within confines of D&D) of my character and let her rip.
I loved the big parties (which was axed in NWN1 and brought back to a whopping 4 in NWN2). I also loved the plethora of side quests, I am just in the beginnings of NWN2 and it seems a bit linear so far, just got into the Blacklake district. With BGII you could spend days playing and never see the main quest. This is one place I think Oblivion got it right. Is there a reason they pulled away from that gameplay?
Of course I could be biased as BG was one of my first D&D experiences, and as most of my friends are FPS type people so my exposure is limited.
But clean up the graphics to BGII, apply the new ruleset, give me a new storyline and I am happy. Zelda has been using the same playing style since the first game.
ohhh you just brought back some bad memories....the term Lambda alone sent shivers down my spine and brought back the aroma of lots of coffee, Mathematica, and late nights avoiding security guards just to have a bit more time in the lab.
Seriously, I am a CS major, graduated 2002. I don't even do dev work, but I work with a bunch of developers and for many of them it worked like this: Manager: I need you to build App X in .NET
Developer: But I am a SQL admin.
Manager: We need it by July.
Developer: Sigh....ok.
6 months later...
Developer: Here is your app, had to learn .NET, work a couple hundred hours OT but it works as expected.
Manager:Oh, we decided to go in a different direction.
Moral of the story, Most of your dev experience is going to be due to poor management decisions or just having a project thrown your way. That is why the CS profs don't teach you language, it isnt a tech school. They teach you what you need to know to work on your feet. I don't do dev and I use my CS knowledge every day as a Network Admin.
However it has been my experience that the really good programmers are the ones that when they go home, dissect the Emulators, and Open Source Projects, get involved in them and end up doing something great in their spare time. It just takes a lot of patience and determination. Good luck.
It is good to hear that someone can actually prioritize. I am the same way, today (a slow friday) I have received around 50 e-mails if you dont count system e-mails and spam. If someone needs me, they can call. Critical systems will send a page. ta-da! I may have 20 e-mails waiting for me in the morning from my private business alone but my clients are all very happy and my 9-5 is stable. no off hours e-mail needed at this time, nor do I wish a job that will requre me to become a workaholic. I work to live, not live to work.
some are and that gives a lot of kids a bad name. But it is that minority that many adults my age and up seem to judge you all by :) Tis a shame.
Good luck with that steriotype, you will love the ones you get when you get in your 20s :)
Personally, finding happiness has little to do with the amount of money you have, but how you spend your time kids or no kids.
Then you seriously underestimate youth. I have met many kids around the age of 8-12 that have more common sense than many people I work with. Seriously, some kids will amaze you at what reasoning they are capable of.
People seem to think that if you have a kid or reach a certain age it entitles you to have no responsibility. They shout "I am MATURE, I can do whatever I want". Reminds me of the teenagers I work with, whining and pouting about how they know best and don't need to follow rules.
If you are going to be a parent, lead by example. You want your kids to be independent thinkers, then YOU be one. You want your kids to follow rules, YOU follow the rules. I can tell you firsthand with the kids I do volunteer work with that they are very tired of hypocritical parents.
I understand we live in a fast paced world now, but just like your clients, you have to scedule time for your family as well. How many of the blackberry addicts would answer their blackberry if they were with an important customer? What are you saying about your family when you don't extend them the same respect?
I remember going over this in my CS courses years ago on the use of multiple wavelengths to write data, I assumed that was what they did with Dual Layer DVDs, but I see in the Wikipedia article that there is a physical layer to dual layer as this new tech is some kind of holographic tech?
But how is this different than current dual layer DVDs? Does it just take advantage of shorter wavelengths or what?
Here Telecommuting has been squished, they like to see you at a desk. Tried moving to 12 hour or 10 hour days, didn't fly, even though we are a 24-7 shop and it would allow me to hit two other shifts for support. Private sector seems to be making up ground on gov't benefits. I have only have 2 3% standard of living increases in over 4 years. Had to fight for a promotion to keep up. Then again, my state is notorious for abusing its state workers.
Ya and the worst part about it is, the longer you do civil service, the less capable you are of doing any other work. As there is no training, you are often promoted beyond your capabilities and unless you are a rare person, any personal initiative to learn on your own gets stripped right out of you because as soon as you learn something you have to wait 5 years to apply it at work. I am attempting to balance the learning curve by stressing myself in the private sector part time, there I get weird new situations thrown my way all the time and get to think on my feet. A lot more fun.
State Law Enforce :) The three you mentioned pay extraordinarily compared to State.
Enter me and I do the same job I do from 8-5 without a thank you, I am there for a time revamping, take a $2K-$5K check and they think I can walk on water. The only drawback is the hours, but as you inferred, they aren't that bad.
I look at it this way. I work in the gov't for 18.7 an hour to do tech support. We are the 50th worst salaried state in the nation. If a private sector job cant beat my pay then it pays ass. Luckily I do private consulting on the side since I am an exempt employee, and the couple hours of consulting I do a week makes up for the horrible pay.
You should come work for the gov't. You can slack off all day and never get fired as long as you make it in 0800 and leave at 1700. They will just promote you to make you somoene else's problem (Dilbert Principle). However if you work your ass off covering for the slackers you will get the same benefits but die younger from stress and low moral. In the end everyone hates the job you are doing anyway because you are in the gov't and regardless of Democratic or Republican control no one likes the agency you work for. So you just end up as a lifer slacking off and feeling good about it eventually as the guilt of not being productive becomes a ever distant memory. Or you can fight your way out, and hope to God to find a job with as much time off because now you are addicted to it.
Umm if they had actual knowledge I highly doubt they would be working the floor at a best buy for minimum wage.
In this capitalistic society for some reason, long hours equates to higher productivity in manager's minds. I work in the gov't (please hold back the boos, the holidays/vacation days flat out stomp any organization in this part of the country). So as badly as I want to move to private sector I just cant because taking the cut in holidays isnt worth it. And the last job I found at a university with similar benefits paid a laughable $11-$13 an hour for support. However the flex time kinda sucks as it is 8-5 40 hour weeks. 8 sharp, 5 sharp. Sure the 40 is nice but I think I would be happier working 12 hours here, and 6 hours there as the schedule demanded. What is it like in the private sector (I am in the midwest).
So on our network we wait until there is a function in the new software that our users need, or that makes things easier. Training isnt really a problem unless something drastic happens. I have even converted home/small business users to Open Office because all they really want to do is simple no-training-needed things. The only time training is going to be a hurdle is if you are moving to something TOTALLY different like greenscreen to window environment. I cannot think of any mainstream office/windows products that would necessitate retraining on a massive scale.
Unless security is an issue, I really see no need to over complicate something with more features when what we have does just fine. You have to show me a product that is major like jumping from NTSP6 to win2K/XP. Where my current OS can handle all the devices I have just fine, my current office product (2003) works above and beyond our needs, I dont need to upgrade until I see an end of life on the product.
With few exceptions I think most seasoned Windows administrators would agree.