the US is the largest, single, R&D-performing nation in the world pumping some $340 billion into future-related technologies
How does that compare per capita (or as fraction of GDP) to smaller, industrialized countries such as Japan or even Denmark? It is no big feat to spend a lot on R&D, when you have a big population...
I wonder when Bodies of Distinguished Scientists are going to make the switch from saying "the U.S. is losing its leadership in Science and Technology" to saying "the U.S. has lost its leadership in Science and Technology." Probably well after the point of no return...
Anyway, if I were a betting man, I'd be inclined to start a pool.
therefor we know the difference between instant knowledge and well thought out and researched knowledge. There is a HUGE difference. But how do we change this?
Well, we could start by teaching them critical thinking skills so they'll know the difference between credible sources and complete garbage. Then it won't matter whether they do their research on Google or in the microfilm archives at the library -- they'll discard any rubbish they find in either place.
Then maybe the next step (once the ability to separate the cream from the crap has developed) could be teaching how to find information in other than the most obvious ways.
Declare war against Taliban. Continue fighting in Afghanistan but follow Geneva Convention.
Form bipartisan advisory committee to plan a fix for Social Security shortfalls (any single-party solution will fail, in my opinion)
Veto any bill that was amended less than 2 business days before it was passed, to minimize the tendency of shady cabals to rewrite legislation at the last minute, in the dead of night
Tax political campaign contributions, sending the money into a fair elections fund
Fund a major initiative to explore nuclear fusion, cellulose-based ethanol, and other carbon-neutral energy sources
Prosecute employers of illegal immigrants for tax evasion
Launch a guest-worker program and let current illegal residents apply - from their home country and after paying a fine
Hold companies liable for damages when their databases get hacked
Resign after first term and found a third major political party
...can you legally take your work with you when you go?
It's unclear.
Very likely, your employer would try to stop you on the grounds that they, not you, own the copyright to the source code. However, this is deeply ambiguous. If they wrote the code from scratch then obviously they own the copyright and can stop you. If they are instead modifying and extending a pre-existing code base, they will probably claim to own it anyway, but one could argue that constitutes a "derivative work" under (U.S.) copyright law and therefore is not copyrightable. The operative copyright would be that of the pre-existing code base; held by, for example, the Free Software Foundation. Sorting out who owns the copyright would require a team of lawyers, many billable hours, and perhaps a Federal judge.
To take work you'd done at the office and distribute it yourself would very likely infringe some copyright; either your former employer's, or the original developer's. The original developer might feel your modification are a boon to the community and should be shared far and wide; your employer may feel differently. It would take a jury to sort the matter out.
In a nutshell: if your employer is unhappy about you taking the code, they can ruin your life whether they have a valid claim to the code or not. The cost to defend against their suit would, in all probability, be ruinous.
Incidentally: I Am Not a Lawyer. And if I were, I would be scared to death of someone trying to construe this post as legal advice.
Developers who find themselves unemployed might suddenly be _more_ willing to work on OSS projects. It's a way to keep one's skills sharp and to stay involved in the profession. Obviously job hunting is a #1 priority for someone who's unemployed, but volunteering for a project is also a good idea for lots of reasons.
I know if I lost my job, I would seriously considered joining a project. Right now my priorities are 1) family, 2) job, 3) everything else.
I don't think I'll ever be driving such a thing, but perhaps my kids?
There is a large energy cost just to getting a car/plane airborne. Given that crude oil just hit $100 a barrel for the first time, I doubt the benefits of flying cars will ever justify the costs -- especially when one considers air pollution/greenhouse gas emissions.
Maybe we'll see them for some special applications, like ambulances, where money is no object; but having your own flying car will probably remain a pipe dream due to the laws of thermodynamics.
As one of the elite few programmers who does know how to spell, thank you for noticing. I would say "take it as a good sign" rather than "get out your checkbook" but I'm just the cautious type I suppose.
However - I can spell, and my brother can't. I believe this has more to do with the teaching methods in our respective elementary schools than with our inherent attention to detail. His school used an experimental method that I think failed him utterly - at a time before national standards were yet fashionable.
* Passionate about technology
* Programs as a hobby
Reasonably good indicators
* Will talk your ear off on a technical subject if encouraged
Ability to yammer on about a subject one's audience does not care about is a weak indicator of programming ability and a strong indicator of poor communication skills
* Significant (and often numerous) personal side-projects over the years
* Learns new technologies on his/her own
OK
* Opinionated about which technologies are better for various usages
* Very uncomfortable about the idea of working with a technology he doesn't believe to be "right"
NO, NO, NO!
A good programmer has an open mind and makes decisions after thought, study, and understanding the users' needs; not based on some knee-jerk personal prejudice.
* Clearly smart, can have great conversations on a variety of topics
* Started programming long before university/work
* Has some hidden "icebergs", large personal projects under the CV radar
* Knowledge of a large variety of unrelated technologies (may not be on CV)
Negative indicators:
* Programming is a day job
* Don't really want to "talk shop", even when encouraged to
* Learns new technologies in company-sponsored courses
There is nothing wrong with taking advantage of company-sponsored courses. Taking advantage of classroom opportunities is just good time management (it can be easier to learn more, faster, in a well-taught course than in self-study).
* Happy to work with whatever technology you've picked, "all technologies are good"
So what you're looking for is a prima donna who will refuse to work in the environment you ask him to, and is insubordinate out of the gate? No. A good programmer will find the strengths of the technology you've picked and design a strategy that plays to those, rather than just telling you you've made a stupid choice and should have used his pet technology instead.
* Doesn't seem too smart
I don't know if it's ever a good idea to hire someone who "doesn't seem too smart."
* Started programming at university
That's a stupid criterion. Why someone starting programming is a lot more important than when
* All programming experience is on the CV
Inability to write a complete CV is hardly an indicator of competence. The author is biased in favor of people who started programming at the age of 9, as he did.
* Focused mainly on one or two technology stacks (e.g. everything to do with developing a java application), with no experience outside of it
Nonsense; depth of knowledge is as important as breadth of knowledge. Ability to justify 50 different buzzwords on one's resume doesn't make someone a good programmer. It is a lot better to talk about the problems the candidate has solved, than the technology used to solve them.
I followed the development of D&D 3.0 and there was a very extensive playtest process that involved many groups all over the country (perhaps the world) over a period of many months. The list of playtester credits in the back of the 3.0 Players' Handbook is huge (and I have friends whose names appear there).
Is the playtesting for 4E being done on a comparable scale and if not, how can we as players be confident the new edition will have the same or better quality?
Apple's increase from 4.21% to 7.31% is (7.31-4.21)/(4.21) = 73.6 % relative growth in market share
Linux's increase from 0.29% to 0.63% is (.063 -.029)/(0.29) = 117.2% relative growth
So actually, Linux grew faster over the period in question. Though I am deeply suspicious of anyone who claims to calculate market share to three significant figures.
'But back in the Cretaceous, these diseases were new and invasive, and vertebrates had little or no natural or acquired immunity to them.'
Back in the Cretaceous, these diseases were 70 million years' evolution behind where they are now. It's really quite a leap to presume they were so virulent that inborn immunity was necessary.
Programming-on-demand is about the only future I can see for television. The advertising-supported broadcast model falls totally flat for me. I subscribed to Netflix so I can watch movies the few good TV shows when I want, without commercials. If I can do this for a reasonable price with instant gratification (instead of the current Netflix three-day latency), then count me in.
Not that it's more secure because it's better, but because there are fewer attacks? Won't adopting give hackers more incentive to attack it?
Yes. But.
Attacks most often propagate from machine to machine via worms or botnets or whatever. The more homogeneous the network, the greater the transmission probability from one node to the next (if you have an all-Windows network, then something that penetrates one machine will penetrate the next one). Attackers generally have to choose an OS which they want to attack. So switching to MacOS (or anything else) does more or less give you immunity to attacks that are aimed at Windows machines, and are propagating across the Internet.
The reality is that 90%+ of the boxes connected to the Internet are Windows boxes (and poorly secured at that). There are a lot of attacks against them because that's usually where attackers see the biggest cost/benefit ratio. By choosing a different OS than that highly-susceptible population, you reduce the likelihood of getting compromised by something that wasn't even aimed at you specifically and is just jumping from machine to machine "in the wild."
I fail to see why the manufacturers deserve any say in this matter. The State of Colorado bought some equipment. Then they tested it and found out that it sucks. They decided not to use it. A waste of taxpayers' money, but other than that I don't see the problem. The manufacturer still got paid, right? Maybe if they expect repeat business they should try making equipment that doesn't suck.
That's what veto power was supposed to be for. The problem is that it never worked because right off the bat Congress and the President started scratching each others' backs, rights of the people be damned. So the Supreme Court had to create its power of judicial review (that is not written into the Constitution).
Now judicial review is under concerted attack by right-wingers who cry "judicial activism" whenever the courts overturn tyrannical laws.
If you love your freedom, vote. The President does not matter, but the Supreme Court sure does (and Supreme Court justices are chosen by the President).
I have not even heard a convincing argument of why young children need to use computers. What can a 10-year-old learn on a computer that A) actually needs to be taught in elementary school (as opposed to high school) and B) actually requires the computer to be taught effectively.
Given child labor laws, the "need computer skills for the workplace" argument does not hold up in my opinion (for high school, sure, not not elementary school!)
Choose those swear words carefully, though. Certain naughty words are associated specifically with a certain gender (maybe because they are anatomically derived) and to use *them* to refer to a person would be sexual harassment, AFAIK.
Only gender-neutral swear words are permitted by U.S. law.
Slashdot Mirror
It's all fun and games until someone decides to make a nuclear-capable artillery shell for this thing. Missile defense? I don't think so.
You seem to be neglecting the possibility that someone could be neither ignorant nor atheistic.
How does that compare per capita (or as fraction of GDP) to smaller, industrialized countries such as Japan or even Denmark? It is no big feat to spend a lot on R&D, when you have a big population...
I wonder when Bodies of Distinguished Scientists are going to make the switch from saying "the U.S. is losing its leadership in Science and Technology" to saying "the U.S. has lost its leadership in Science and Technology." Probably well after the point of no return...
Anyway, if I were a betting man, I'd be inclined to start a pool.
Well, we could start by teaching them critical thinking skills so they'll know the difference between credible sources and complete garbage. Then it won't matter whether they do their research on Google or in the microfilm archives at the library -- they'll discard any rubbish they find in either place.
Then maybe the next step (once the ability to separate the cream from the crap has developed) could be teaching how to find information in other than the most obvious ways.
That about covers my wish list.
It's unclear.
Very likely, your employer would try to stop you on the grounds that they, not you, own the copyright to the source code. However, this is deeply ambiguous. If they wrote the code from scratch then obviously they own the copyright and can stop you. If they are instead modifying and extending a pre-existing code base, they will probably claim to own it anyway, but one could argue that constitutes a "derivative work" under (U.S.) copyright law and therefore is not copyrightable. The operative copyright would be that of the pre-existing code base; held by, for example, the Free Software Foundation. Sorting out who owns the copyright would require a team of lawyers, many billable hours, and perhaps a Federal judge.
To take work you'd done at the office and distribute it yourself would very likely infringe some copyright; either your former employer's, or the original developer's. The original developer might feel your modification are a boon to the community and should be shared far and wide; your employer may feel differently. It would take a jury to sort the matter out.
In a nutshell: if your employer is unhappy about you taking the code, they can ruin your life whether they have a valid claim to the code or not. The cost to defend against their suit would, in all probability, be ruinous.
Incidentally: I Am Not a Lawyer. And if I were, I would be scared to death of someone trying to construe this post as legal advice.
Developers who find themselves unemployed might suddenly be _more_ willing to work on OSS projects. It's a way to keep one's skills sharp and to stay involved in the profession. Obviously job hunting is a #1 priority for someone who's unemployed, but volunteering for a project is also a good idea for lots of reasons.
I know if I lost my job, I would seriously considered joining a project. Right now my priorities are 1) family, 2) job, 3) everything else.
There is a large energy cost just to getting a car/plane airborne. Given that crude oil just hit $100 a barrel for the first time, I doubt the benefits of flying cars will ever justify the costs -- especially when one considers air pollution/greenhouse gas emissions.
Maybe we'll see them for some special applications, like ambulances, where money is no object; but having your own flying car will probably remain a pipe dream due to the laws of thermodynamics.
As one of the elite few programmers who does know how to spell, thank you for noticing. I would say "take it as a good sign" rather than "get out your checkbook" but I'm just the cautious type I suppose.
However - I can spell, and my brother can't. I believe this has more to do with the teaching methods in our respective elementary schools than with our inherent attention to detail. His school used an experimental method that I think failed him utterly - at a time before national standards were yet fashionable.
I disagree with a lot of these points.
Reasonably good indicators
Ability to yammer on about a subject one's audience does not care about is a weak indicator of programming ability and a strong indicator of poor communication skills
OK
NO, NO, NO!
A good programmer has an open mind and makes decisions after thought, study, and understanding the users' needs; not based on some knee-jerk personal prejudice.
There is nothing wrong with taking advantage of company-sponsored courses. Taking advantage of classroom opportunities is just good time management (it can be easier to learn more, faster, in a well-taught course than in self-study).
So what you're looking for is a prima donna who will refuse to work in the environment you ask him to, and is insubordinate out of the gate? No. A good programmer will find the strengths of the technology you've picked and design a strategy that plays to those, rather than just telling you you've made a stupid choice and should have used his pet technology instead.
I don't know if it's ever a good idea to hire someone who "doesn't seem too smart."
That's a stupid criterion. Why someone starting programming is a lot more important than when
Inability to write a complete CV is hardly an indicator of competence. The author is biased in favor of people who started programming at the age of 9, as he did.
Nonsense; depth of knowledge is as important as breadth of knowledge. Ability to justify 50 different buzzwords on one's resume doesn't make someone a good programmer. It is a lot better to talk about the problems the candidate has solved, than the technology used to solve them.
I followed the development of D&D 3.0 and there was a very extensive playtest process that involved many groups all over the country (perhaps the world) over a period of many months. The list of playtester credits in the back of the 3.0 Players' Handbook is huge (and I have friends whose names appear there).
Is the playtesting for 4E being done on a comparable scale and if not, how can we as players be confident the new edition will have the same or better quality?
Apple's increase from 4.21% to 7.31% is (7.31-4.21)/(4.21) = 73.6 % relative growth in market share
Linux's increase from 0.29% to 0.63% is (.063 - .029)/(0.29) = 117.2% relative growth
So actually, Linux grew faster over the period in question. Though I am deeply suspicious of anyone who claims to calculate market share to three significant figures.
Programming-on-demand is about the only future I can see for television. The advertising-supported broadcast model falls totally flat for me. I subscribed to Netflix so I can watch movies the few good TV shows when I want, without commercials. If I can do this for a reasonable price with instant gratification (instead of the current Netflix three-day latency), then count me in.
Yes. But.
Attacks most often propagate from machine to machine via worms or botnets or whatever. The more homogeneous the network, the greater the transmission probability from one node to the next (if you have an all-Windows network, then something that penetrates one machine will penetrate the next one). Attackers generally have to choose an OS which they want to attack. So switching to MacOS (or anything else) does more or less give you immunity to attacks that are aimed at Windows machines, and are propagating across the Internet.
The reality is that 90%+ of the boxes connected to the Internet are Windows boxes (and poorly secured at that). There are a lot of attacks against them because that's usually where attackers see the biggest cost/benefit ratio. By choosing a different OS than that highly-susceptible population, you reduce the likelihood of getting compromised by something that wasn't even aimed at you specifically and is just jumping from machine to machine "in the wild."
I fail to see why the manufacturers deserve any say in this matter. The State of Colorado bought some equipment. Then they tested it and found out that it sucks. They decided not to use it. A waste of taxpayers' money, but other than that I don't see the problem. The manufacturer still got paid, right? Maybe if they expect repeat business they should try making equipment that doesn't suck.
That's what veto power was supposed to be for. The problem is that it never worked because right off the bat Congress and the President started scratching each others' backs, rights of the people be damned. So the Supreme Court had to create its power of judicial review (that is not written into the Constitution).
Now judicial review is under concerted attack by right-wingers who cry "judicial activism" whenever the courts overturn tyrannical laws.
If you love your freedom, vote. The President does not matter, but the Supreme Court sure does (and Supreme Court justices are chosen by the President).
I have not even heard a convincing argument of why young children need to use computers. What can a 10-year-old learn on a computer that A) actually needs to be taught in elementary school (as opposed to high school) and B) actually requires the computer to be taught effectively. Given child labor laws, the "need computer skills for the workplace" argument does not hold up in my opinion (for high school, sure, not not elementary school!)
Choose those swear words carefully, though. Certain naughty words are associated specifically with a certain gender (maybe because they are anatomically derived) and to use *them* to refer to a person would be sexual harassment, AFAIK. Only gender-neutral swear words are permitted by U.S. law.