He does look like the Architect with the glasses on, but I thought he was referring to 'acting' as 'hacking'. I remember hearing that the most high-profile hacks were socially-engineered, thus allowing someone to gain access to unsecured, or lesser secured, computers within a company, rather than using a computer to hack inside.
"But the Reality is that most meetings suck, are mis-managed and a waste of time. Why these things are true does not matter. They are and they aren't going to change."
I couldn't have said it better. The truth is that most meetings I've attended, most mandatory, are a waste of time. They are simple management tactics that make their managers think everyone is working as a team, when they usually have no topics for discussion.
However, I disagree that a meeting of multiple people will invariably lead to a waste of time and make all more dumb just for being involved. Maybe bored, but I guess I can 'escape' with my imagination when I can. Really, some people just collaborate better in-person.
It's always been my understanding that the greatest fear that people have is talking in front of a large group (like giving a speech) --often, I have found that people will _not_ give their true opinion in a group because of fear. Fear of being chastised or ridiculed in front of your peers usually ensures that people would rather 'go with the flow' rather than 'rock the boat'. Usually, the strongest personalities 'win' at these types of meetings where few challenge contrasting ideas with their own.
One thing I know is that meetings, called brainstorming sessions, are crucial to some types of businesses. Creative businesses are primary. Many I know in the creative arts are very gregarious and meetings are a time to also relax and get to know others. However, I also worked for a university for many years in IT. There is no need for a weekly meeting that lasts one hour. Most people there didn't like to be in a group, even of their peers. They are loners, like many in that field, who don't like talking to people that much. It's almost like putting the nerd class in this situation is actually physically damaging to them. So, I can see why many could say that meetings are a waste of time, but to make one dumber?
That quote about committees sounds more Douglas Adams than Robert Heinlein...
You know, I've never been happy with Apple's decision to start using Intel's offerings. I don't care if Intel has a roadmap for putting over 100 cores in a chip. IBM has always made a superior chip. If only IBM and Motorola didn't have such dismal shipping problems, maybe this wouldn't be the reality we now know.
A background check could filter out a lot of bad people.
Perhaps, but will a background check filter out a person who doesn't have a record? What happens if you piss of your sysadmin (for whatever reason)? You may get a similar situation as UBS. How is a background check going to help you there?
If anything, a psychological profile would be the proper approach. Ask, "Does this person, with a clean record, hold the propensity to go postal (aka, rm -rf *) ?" How many people graduating with a CS or IT degree have a crime-addled past? By and large, very few, I would assume, but that's assuming from experience. Not too many of my coding-nerd/dork/geek friends hold outward, violent contempt towards people. However, some of them seem to harbor a deep-seeded disdain for certain organizations, groups, etc. None of them have ever been in trouble for any reason, but what if you pissed one of them off for any reason? I can't say what one of them would do. Perhaps they would do nothing, short of quit their job, but no one can be certain what _any_ person will do when faced with extraordinary duress.
Personally, I believe if we were to go down the road to psychological profiling, we're treading in dangerous territory. Something along the lines of Minority Report meets Gattaca.
In this day and age of low self-esteem, this could just be someone getting mad because someone just 'did it better' than they could. So, now, they up the ante by using a graphical system... wow. not like someone else thought about that... um... John Eberly?? Yeah, there's a claim of 'security', but they didn't mention 'job security' in the story. How dare someone in the private sector think of tying in data to a somewhat open graphic application... on the web... for all to see... the nerve!
"Trained urban planners often don't get a seat at the development table; what makes you think local governments would care about what ordinary laypeople think?"
Most urban planners do get their wishes through the city planners/council, wether through political favors or just plain bribes. However, in our city, I do know of one person who is using SketchUp to design a massive upgrade to a main corridor _in_ our city. He was using this feature before it has received the press it's been getting as of late. All of his models were being seriously considered and using an ArchiCad plugin, they can take the SketchUp models and estimate how much the material cost will be.
What it really takes are open minds to commit to a better future. If pre-visualization from anyone with a good idea can give that good idea to another, politics aside, people can see improvements faster than ever.
Lastly, the more I hear about it, maybe we need to go back to having the Senators appointed by the state's legislature rather than general elections, that would keep them more loyal to their state's interest, rather than the national political parties' interests.
Personally, I've never really been a fan of the 'appointment' system. What I'd like to see are local/state elections for judges and police. Re-election is always based on past performance. Period. Therefore, judicial and law enforcement are under the specter of the public's eye. Don't like an interpretation of the law from a judge? Think your son was handled too harshly by a couple policemen? Then, show your discontent by not electing them again next term. That is not an original thought, either. I believe Jello Biafra made mention of electing police (sheriff and local patrol.) I believe there are ballot measures in some states for electing judges and/or term-limiting them.
a slippery slope there... since they are already ghosts, does Pac-Man eat the candy-covered shell and the chewy center, the 'soul,' goes back home to get another coating?
So, let's say someone actually shells out 100K/year for sex.biz and puts a porn site up. How will that 'protect the children,' then? It's nothing more than a flimsy argument that makes a person/company/entity sound like they actually care.
That's _exactly_ what's wrong with this place... the parent gets modded Funny and not insightful?
No, seriously, I thought it was a joke when Arnold started declaring his intention to run for office. I was terrified when I found out he actually won.
One of the things that is a lot more common today than it has been in American history, yes, even back in the "bumpkin days" of America pre-industrialization, is that people just don't critically think anymore.
And, closely related to today's Slashdot "Quote of the Day" reasoning most of the problems of the day (or last six years):
It is wrong always, everywhere and for everyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence. - W. K. Clifford, British philosopher, circa 1876
The main problem with the console war is the cost of games; specifically, costly game development that translates into more expensive games. I had hoped that the author would have mentioned the financial risk that development studios face when proposing a game to be made. I think a lot of good ideas aren't ever fully fleshed-out because they may be seen, internally, as a loser. When the cost of making a game is measured in 'millions of dollars' to complete, I can see many studios turning down new and revolutionary gaming paradigms. I'm, also, not talking about innovative hardware, like the Wii, but that can inspire people to create new gaming concepts. How many iterations of Madden Football can people really enjoy?
"process listening on an exposed port (DNS, ssh, ftp, http, pop, imap, smtp..."
Not to mention Perl, PHP, SQL-injection, AJAX hacks, and, I'm sure that there will be some sort of way the CMOS could become infected someday.............remember that an image is (was) just an image and can't infect your computer? What about UPnP? I'm sure people are trying to figure out a way to exploit that. Really, I don't profess to know anything. I just read the headlines, here.
Mod this parent up! I have to say, even here in the USA, if you don't like the work, you won't do it. If you need the work, you will do whatever it takes to meet the future obligations you took up in the past (e.g., wife, children, mortgage, misc loans, etc.) A 60-hour workweek may be coming to America. In fact, many Americans have to work two jobs to keep up, so it looks like it's here, already.
There is a survivalist attitude to working. Personally, I don't want to work for anyone that forces me to pee in a cup. It's my body and I choose (chose) to put whatever I want in it, therefore, I wouldn't work (and haven't) for any employer that implements said policy. But, I am among the many lucky Americans with a good education and a fairly easy life. I'm not rich, but I'm not broke, either. As a result, I don't have a lavish spread or tons of toys (I figured I don't need them.)
"And even though Apple may be a part of the problem, they are certainly not the cause."
Hear hear!!! The person, like you and I, that bought an iPod is part of the problem. Same with anyone that buys (bought) Old Navy, Gap, Nike, etc., and non-brand name goods, like cheap DVD players and even chopsticks.
Re: best way to fix the PC-problem is to get a Mac
on
Computer Voodoo?
·
· Score: 1
"What wacky stuff have you done that makes no obvious sense, but just works?"
Well, my friends and family all thought _I_ was wacky for using a Mac, but who's getting the last laugh, now? Funny, because everyone loved the Apple ][ at school, but they all went cheap(er)-PC when it came to the GUI.
I could understand someone adding an OS to the list, and, maybe even a worm (it's self-executable, isn't it?), but where is Photoshop? Like Xerox and Google, it's become so ubiquitous that it's used as a verb!
What the heck happened to Commander Taco in Colorado that makes him feel that this is a worthless state? Fuck OFF! Karma-Sharma... Sure, mod me down, I don't care, but I DO care about my state, overrun with people from ALL OVER this country that feel it is a GREAT place to live. Now, these transplants leave trash where they want, pollution has become unbearable, and the traffic is asinine. What's up Taco? Why don't you bash California? Or Nevada? I don't hear you bashing Michigan. Seriously, I take offense at that jab. Colorado has been suffering for the last decade with intolerable growth, a same-party system, and poor land-management practices. I've watched this state go from one of the cleanest to just as dirty as the rest. That is sad. And people from dirty states bring their dirty habits with them making it feel the same as all the rest, in so many words.
I agree with the parent, though.... Screw South Dakota. In Colorado, at least we have some of the most beautiful views, over 50 Fourteeners, skiing in the winter, mountain biking in the summer, you name it. I mean, what the heck does South Dakota have to offer except harsh winters and rolling plains of wheat, and a huge conservative base?
WTF? I had to leave Boulder because it's too expensive! It's one of the most expensive towns to live in Colorado, especially on the Front Range (it's one hour from Denver)
When I saw the red dot on the map, I thought they were referring to Fort Collins, as it was named the Number 1 city to live in under 50K population. I almost spat coffee on my monitor when I read 'BOULDER'.
Slashdot Mirror
He does look like the Architect with the glasses on, but I thought he was referring to 'acting' as 'hacking'. I remember hearing that the most high-profile hacks were socially-engineered, thus allowing someone to gain access to unsecured, or lesser secured, computers within a company, rather than using a computer to hack inside.
"But the Reality is that most meetings suck, are mis-managed and a waste of time. Why these things are true does not matter. They are and they aren't going to change."
I couldn't have said it better. The truth is that most meetings I've attended, most mandatory, are a waste of time. They are simple management tactics that make their managers think everyone is working as a team, when they usually have no topics for discussion.
However, I disagree that a meeting of multiple people will invariably lead to a waste of time and make all more dumb just for being involved. Maybe bored, but I guess I can 'escape' with my imagination when I can. Really, some people just collaborate better in-person.
It's always been my understanding that the greatest fear that people have is talking in front of a large group (like giving a speech) --often, I have found that people will _not_ give their true opinion in a group because of fear. Fear of being chastised or ridiculed in front of your peers usually ensures that people would rather 'go with the flow' rather than 'rock the boat'. Usually, the strongest personalities 'win' at these types of meetings where few challenge contrasting ideas with their own.
One thing I know is that meetings, called brainstorming sessions, are crucial to some types of businesses. Creative businesses are primary. Many I know in the creative arts are very gregarious and meetings are a time to also relax and get to know others. However, I also worked for a university for many years in IT. There is no need for a weekly meeting that lasts one hour. Most people there didn't like to be in a group, even of their peers. They are loners, like many in that field, who don't like talking to people that much. It's almost like putting the nerd class in this situation is actually physically damaging to them. So, I can see why many could say that meetings are a waste of time, but to make one dumber?
That quote about committees sounds more Douglas Adams than Robert Heinlein...
You know, I've never been happy with Apple's decision to start using Intel's offerings. I don't care if Intel has a roadmap for putting over 100 cores in a chip. IBM has always made a superior chip. If only IBM and Motorola didn't have such dismal shipping problems, maybe this wouldn't be the reality we now know.
"This game now takes the budget crown from Sega's Shenmue and its massive $70 million budget."
ehhh. Yes it does, but it only cost $20 million to make Shenmue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenmue
A background check could filter out a lot of bad people.
Perhaps, but will a background check filter out a person who doesn't have a record? What happens if you piss of your sysadmin (for whatever reason)? You may get a similar situation as UBS. How is a background check going to help you there?
If anything, a psychological profile would be the proper approach. Ask, "Does this person, with a clean record, hold the propensity to go postal (aka, rm -rf *) ?" How many people graduating with a CS or IT degree have a crime-addled past? By and large, very few, I would assume, but that's assuming from experience. Not too many of my coding-nerd/dork/geek friends hold outward, violent contempt towards people. However, some of them seem to harbor a deep-seeded disdain for certain organizations, groups, etc. None of them have ever been in trouble for any reason, but what if you pissed one of them off for any reason? I can't say what one of them would do. Perhaps they would do nothing, short of quit their job, but no one can be certain what _any_ person will do when faced with extraordinary duress.
Personally, I believe if we were to go down the road to psychological profiling, we're treading in dangerous territory. Something along the lines of Minority Report meets Gattaca.
From the Zune.net website: Windows Vista is not supported at this time. Check back soon for updates.
Sure, not supporting an unreleased OS is kinda funny, but what would have been really funny is if they said, "Check back Zune..."
In this day and age of low self-esteem, this could just be someone getting mad because someone just 'did it better' than they could. So, now, they up the ante by using a graphical system... wow. not like someone else thought about that... um... John Eberly?? Yeah, there's a claim of 'security', but they didn't mention 'job security' in the story. How dare someone in the private sector think of tying in data to a somewhat open graphic application... on the web... for all to see... the nerve!
"Trained urban planners often don't get a seat at the development table; what makes you think local governments would care about what ordinary laypeople think?"
Most urban planners do get their wishes through the city planners/council, wether through political favors or just plain bribes. However, in our city, I do know of one person who is using SketchUp to design a massive upgrade to a main corridor _in_ our city. He was using this feature before it has received the press it's been getting as of late. All of his models were being seriously considered and using an ArchiCad plugin, they can take the SketchUp models and estimate how much the material cost will be.
What it really takes are open minds to commit to a better future. If pre-visualization from anyone with a good idea can give that good idea to another, politics aside, people can see improvements faster than ever.
Lastly, the more I hear about it, maybe we need to go back to having the Senators appointed by the state's legislature rather than general elections, that would keep them more loyal to their state's interest, rather than the national political parties' interests.
Personally, I've never really been a fan of the 'appointment' system. What I'd like to see are local/state elections for judges and police. Re-election is always based on past performance. Period. Therefore, judicial and law enforcement are under the specter of the public's eye. Don't like an interpretation of the law from a judge? Think your son was handled too harshly by a couple policemen? Then, show your discontent by not electing them again next term. That is not an original thought, either. I believe Jello Biafra made mention of electing police (sheriff and local patrol.) I believe there are ballot measures in some states for electing judges and/or term-limiting them.
> Pac-Man devours their very souls!
a slippery slope there... since they are already ghosts, does Pac-Man eat the candy-covered shell and the chewy center, the 'soul,' goes back home to get another coating?
I am so sick of the 'protect the children' arguments. If people do want to protect the children, they would ensure the world they are growing up in is clean -- http://www.latimes.com/news/local/oceans/la-oceans -series,0,7842752.special
So, let's say someone actually shells out 100K/year for sex.biz and puts a porn site up. How will that 'protect the children,' then? It's nothing more than a flimsy argument that makes a person/company/entity sound like they actually care.
That's _exactly_ what's wrong with this place... the parent gets modded Funny and not insightful?
No, seriously, I thought it was a joke when Arnold started declaring his intention to run for office. I was terrified when I found out he actually won.
One of the things that is a lot more common today than it has been in American history, yes, even back in the "bumpkin days" of America pre-industrialization, is that people just don't critically think anymore.
And, closely related to today's Slashdot "Quote of the Day" reasoning most of the problems of the day (or last six years):
It is wrong always, everywhere and for everyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence. - W. K. Clifford, British philosopher, circa 1876
2006 feels like 1984.
The main problem with the console war is the cost of games; specifically, costly game development that translates into more expensive games. I had hoped that the author would have mentioned the financial risk that development studios face when proposing a game to be made. I think a lot of good ideas aren't ever fully fleshed-out because they may be seen, internally, as a loser. When the cost of making a game is measured in 'millions of dollars' to complete, I can see many studios turning down new and revolutionary gaming paradigms. I'm, also, not talking about innovative hardware, like the Wii, but that can inspire people to create new gaming concepts. How many iterations of Madden Football can people really enjoy?
This movie debut - 10 years ago = Complete and utter bust.
;^)
a kes_on_a_train_yes_you_read_that_right.html
And, ten years from now, this will be an complete and udder bust: Cows on a Plane
I did see "Snakes on a Train", and thought it was a complete joke (unlike my feeble attempt just now
http://www.themovieblog.com/archives/2006/08/sn
and the trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSDo-lgBBvs
I have no idea why that first link has a space in it when it doesn't in the Comment field.
"process listening on an exposed port (DNS, ssh, ftp, http, pop, imap, smtp..."
Not to mention Perl, PHP, SQL-injection, AJAX hacks, and, I'm sure that there will be some sort of way the CMOS could become infected someday.............remember that an image is (was) just an image and can't infect your computer? What about UPnP? I'm sure people are trying to figure out a way to exploit that. Really, I don't profess to know anything. I just read the headlines, here.
"Is it worth it? Well, to them maybe."
Mod this parent up! I have to say, even here in the USA, if you don't like the work, you won't do it. If you need the work, you will do whatever it takes to meet the future obligations you took up in the past (e.g., wife, children, mortgage, misc loans, etc.) A 60-hour workweek may be coming to America. In fact, many Americans have to work two jobs to keep up, so it looks like it's here, already.
There is a survivalist attitude to working. Personally, I don't want to work for anyone that forces me to pee in a cup. It's my body and I choose (chose) to put whatever I want in it, therefore, I wouldn't work (and haven't) for any employer that implements said policy. But, I am among the many lucky Americans with a good education and a fairly easy life. I'm not rich, but I'm not broke, either. As a result, I don't have a lavish spread or tons of toys (I figured I don't need them.)
"And even though Apple may be a part of the problem, they are certainly not the cause."
Hear hear!!! The person, like you and I, that bought an iPod is part of the problem. Same with anyone that buys (bought) Old Navy, Gap, Nike, etc., and non-brand name goods, like cheap DVD players and even chopsticks.
"What wacky stuff have you done that makes no obvious sense, but just works?"
Well, my friends and family all thought _I_ was wacky for using a Mac, but who's getting the last laugh, now? Funny, because everyone loved the Apple ][ at school, but they all went cheap(er)-PC when it came to the GUI.
-SMUG since 1994
I could understand someone adding an OS to the list, and, maybe even a worm (it's self-executable, isn't it?), but where is Photoshop? Like Xerox and Google, it's become so ubiquitous that it's used as a verb!
(Man, this is so much cooler than that shark / laser beam idea...)
I don't know. Currently, you and the 'shark/laser idea' are tied with a score of three.
Here here!
I was thinking, "Colorado?"
What the heck happened to Commander Taco in Colorado that makes him feel that this is a worthless state? Fuck OFF! Karma-Sharma... Sure, mod me down, I don't care, but I DO care about my state, overrun with people from ALL OVER this country that feel it is a GREAT place to live. Now, these transplants leave trash where they want, pollution has become unbearable, and the traffic is asinine. What's up Taco? Why don't you bash California? Or Nevada? I don't hear you bashing Michigan. Seriously, I take offense at that jab. Colorado has been suffering for the last decade with intolerable growth, a same-party system, and poor land-management practices. I've watched this state go from one of the cleanest to just as dirty as the rest. That is sad. And people from dirty states bring their dirty habits with them making it feel the same as all the rest, in so many words.
I agree with the parent, though.... Screw South Dakota. In Colorado, at least we have some of the most beautiful views, over 50 Fourteeners, skiing in the winter, mountain biking in the summer, you name it. I mean, what the heck does South Dakota have to offer except harsh winters and rolling plains of wheat, and a huge conservative base?
I think I need Yoda to train my spam filter...
""You must unlearn that which you have learned."
WTF? I had to leave Boulder because it's too expensive! It's one of the most expensive towns to live in Colorado, especially on the Front Range (it's one hour from Denver)
When I saw the red dot on the map, I thought they were referring to Fort Collins, as it was named the Number 1 city to live in under 50K population. I almost spat coffee on my monitor when I read 'BOULDER'.
My PS2 controller has analog pressure-sensitive buttons. Why were they excluded from the lawsuit?
What about any third-party that makes controllers using said technology?