I would say your best bet is to go the computer science route. At least in the US, the "IT professional" major is Management and Information Systems, or MIS. This type of course mixes business classes along with some basic programming curriculum. It is usually the case that students who couldn't get through the CS program switch to MIS since it involves less math and theoretical thinking. (Not ragging on any MIS majors, this is just my observation).
In the end, most computer science majors will end up in the IT industry somewhere either as developers, networking people, or whatever. I think it's really beneficial to go through the traditional CS coursework and understand the theory and principles of the technology. You can always get internships or co-ops to learn the "practical IT" type of work.
Math is the language of science. Do you think there would be any science if there was no concept of math? How do you evaluate a hypothesis without mathematical models? I know high school physical science doesn't go into this much detail, but it is still there in the background.
Do you buy bread at the store? If so, why? You can just as easily put all the ingredients together, knead the dough, and bake it yourself. After a couple of hours of work, you have many more loaves of bread at a fraction of the cost the store charges them for.
You pay for the bread at the store for convenience, and the fact that you know that every loaf you buy will be consistently tasty and made to some standard of quality.
I think it's a trend around the country to have these radio stations that don't have an actual DJ, they just run through random playlists. The common characteristic is that they all have "average Joe" names... like Steve-FM, Jack-FM, etc. We have Doug-FM here in Detroit.
Although it's good to play when you have people over for background noise, I still enjoy listening to the actual DJ talk about upcoming concerts involving the bands they play, different events happening aroudn town, etc. I personally listen to the radio to hear both music and the DJ... if I just wanted to hear a random playlist I'd plug my mp3 player in.
They are both measured as units of entertainment. This kinda shows that video games are more popular than music in terms of free time usage. However, it still doesn't hold water since I usually never just listen to music; I'm also playing video games while jamming to doom metal!!!!!!
I also don't understand how this is going to affect the smaller stations. Most of the smaller internet-only stations I know/listen to either play indie music, or are talk stations. Wouldn't they be unaffected by any sort of royalties to begin with. If you want to listen to the RIAA crap, turn on your terrestrial radio. I always thought the point of internet radio was that amateur jocks could play the music and programs that the large stations don't.
Not true. A lot of terrestrial radio stations also broadcast a stream over the internet. This allows them to increase their broadcast range worldwide for next to nothing. This also means extra revenue for broadcasting ads on the webstream than they do on the terrestrial signal (the ones I listen to only have ads on the webstream that would have a nationwide appeal, such as McDonald's).
I know all of the radio stations I listen to have both the regular terrestrial and internet streams going. All of the DJ's have also been voicing their concerns regarding this legislation on the air. Seeing as Clear Channel is allowing them to speak out against the legislation on the air, it seems to me that terrestrial broadcasters value being able to stream their stations on the net.
Yes, but I code for a living, and I don't think developers really need a 21"CRT in order to do their jobs. It is a proven fact that CRT's cause eyestrain after prolonged periods and LCD's do not.
A developer's 2 best friends are large dual LCD screens. After a long day of coding on my 17" CRT, I start to see spots...
D3 should be thanking the ESRB, you can't buy publicity like this. I've never heard of this game before this article. However, after viewing the trailer it doesn't look all that good.
I think it's time to return to the old shareware model of video game distribution. For instance, id software released the first episode of Doom under a shareware license for free, and you could buy the full version from them directly. This way, they can release whatever they want in terms of violence and adult content, and not have to worry about retailers carrying it and what not. The games didn't rely on the advertising power of EA to sell, they sold themselves because they were good games.
I like the games of today, but they just aren't as satisfying as some of those old shareware titles of the early 90's. I miss those days. Perhaps it's time to return to them.
I think there is just a confusion of terminology, and the fact that it is not explained what computerworld means by "IT" makes the survey confusing. Where I work, everyone from programmers, DBA's, the network guys, and help desk are considered IT. Other companies might have different definitions.
This is truly another Survey of Dubious Quality (tm). If they wanted to take real measurements of retention and employee satisfaction, they would ask the top 1% of the talent at said companies. Why is Google, Microsoft, IBM, and all the other big players in the industry? Not a single one is on the list, yet they continue to attract, hire, and keep the best talent.
There is no way job at Quicken Loans is better than Google or Microsoft by any stretch of the imagination.
Sacred 2 is coming out, which looks to be really good. I actually like it a lot better than Diablo, you might want to give the original a try since you can pick it up dirt cheap now.
Well, really GOOD writers could still come up with a good movie. But these people aren't looking to make a good movie.
No, the really good writers just aren't interested in writing a game-to-movie port. It doesn't matter how good or deep a game is, video games are still seen as the exact opposite of classic literature and having no intellectual value. Because of this, good writers probably don't want to associate themselves in the genre. Even if they wanted to do a fantasy-themed movie, they would choose to go after Lord of the Rings before Final Fantasy since the former has literary merit.
Dungeons and dragons wasn't based on any existing storyline. It used the name to sell itself, and to have elements such as dwarves, elves, and swords.
Because of this, it can be argued that D&D is just a generic fantasy action movie using stereotypical elements from the general D&D rulebooks and not a true rpg movie.
Well since the credit card companies won't take responsibility, it is up to the merchants to do so. I'm not saying it's right to put the responsibility squarely on the merchant's shoulders, but life isn't fair. And since credit companies just cancel payment to the retailers, there is a strong business case to make sure that charges aren't fraudulent.
I would say more often than not I never have my ID checked when using a credit card. Especially now that most POS stations have a self-swipe mechanism. I could swipe anyone's card and the cashier would be none-the-wiser.
Also, I've noticed that a lot of retailers aren't even requiring a signature for transactions under $25. All of this will contribute to more identity theft and make it harder to find these criminals.
I guess it all comes down to convenience vs. security. I personally would rather sign for my $10 charge and have the extra protection and paper trail it provides.
How is an industry dominated by four major players that all act the same competitive? You'd almost think they have a gentleman's agreement or something...
It's called an Oligopoly, and they do in essence have a gentleman's agreement. They know that if they all continue to impose artificial restrictions on cell phone technology, charge way too much for phone service, and what not then they all stand to become very very rich.
I've only dealt with cingular, so maybe I don't know what the others have to offer. I have a $45 a month plan where I never come close to using all the minutes and texts I get. Even though their customer service does suck, I've never really had to use it.
I do think it's about time that the wireless industry has some regulations imposed on it. When cell phones first became prominent, they were the new toys for the rich kids. Now they are a way of life, and can be seen as a type of utility (network bandwidth). The obvious thing that comes to my mind is the blatent double-dipping on sending text messages. Why should both the sender and receiver be charged for a message? It's like being charged for the amount of water that comes out of your faucet and the amount of water you drink every month.
Also, where is this linked article that you speak of? I don't see it in your message...
It doesn't matter how RAM works internally (I don't think it works the way you think it does, but I'm not an electrical engineer and it's kind of a moot point). The fact is that RAM must have an electrical charge to constantly refresh it's state or it loses all bit states, plain and simple. It's not like a hard drive where even though a file gets "deleted", the actual data can still be retrieved because it is only the entry in the file system that is deleted. Volitile memory holds absolutely no state without a power source.
I am a Cingular/AT&T customer, and have been since 2001. While all of the phones I have received from them are locked to only work with Cingular service, I have had complete control over what I do with the phone in terms of ringtones, java mini-apps, etc.
I used to have a motorola v200 and all I had to do was get a driver off the net and I could load the thing up with custom ringtones and not pay a dime for them. I now have a RAZR, and I still am able to load it up with mp3's, background graphics, java, and have full unlocked bluetooth capability.
I'm not trying to be a Cingular/At&t fanboy, but I think it can be said that some carriers are better than others. There is one carrier (I think it's verizon, but correct me if I'm wrong) that totally replaces the user interface of all their phones with their own in-house one. The new interface apparently locks most of the functionality and is much less usable than the standard interface, and forces the customer to purchase all the extras through verizon.
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I would say your best bet is to go the computer science route. At least in the US, the "IT professional" major is Management and Information Systems, or MIS. This type of course mixes business classes along with some basic programming curriculum. It is usually the case that students who couldn't get through the CS program switch to MIS since it involves less math and theoretical thinking. (Not ragging on any MIS majors, this is just my observation).
In the end, most computer science majors will end up in the IT industry somewhere either as developers, networking people, or whatever. I think it's really beneficial to go through the traditional CS coursework and understand the theory and principles of the technology. You can always get internships or co-ops to learn the "practical IT" type of work.
Math is the language of science. Do you think there would be any science if there was no concept of math? How do you evaluate a hypothesis without mathematical models? I know high school physical science doesn't go into this much detail, but it is still there in the background.
Do you buy bread at the store? If so, why? You can just as easily put all the ingredients together, knead the dough, and bake it yourself. After a couple of hours of work, you have many more loaves of bread at a fraction of the cost the store charges them for.
You pay for the bread at the store for convenience, and the fact that you know that every loaf you buy will be consistently tasty and made to some standard of quality.
Because all that coffee at work keeps you regular. For me, it's 8:30am sharp. Right before the 9am status meeting...
I think it's a trend around the country to have these radio stations that don't have an actual DJ, they just run through random playlists. The common characteristic is that they all have "average Joe" names... like Steve-FM, Jack-FM, etc. We have Doug-FM here in Detroit.
Although it's good to play when you have people over for background noise, I still enjoy listening to the actual DJ talk about upcoming concerts involving the bands they play, different events happening aroudn town, etc. I personally listen to the radio to hear both music and the DJ... if I just wanted to hear a random playlist I'd plug my mp3 player in.
...and its extraterrestrial crew while working at the Roswell Army Air Field.
And the extraterrestrial's name was Zoidberg!!!!!
So they can only be destroyed by casting them into the fires of Mount AOL, from whence they came?
They are both measured as units of entertainment. This kinda shows that video games are more popular than music in terms of free time usage. However, it still doesn't hold water since I usually never just listen to music; I'm also playing video games while jamming to doom metal!!!!!!
I also don't understand how this is going to affect the smaller stations. Most of the smaller internet-only stations I know/listen to either play indie music, or are talk stations. Wouldn't they be unaffected by any sort of royalties to begin with. If you want to listen to the RIAA crap, turn on your terrestrial radio. I always thought the point of internet radio was that amateur jocks could play the music and programs that the large stations don't.
Not true. A lot of terrestrial radio stations also broadcast a stream over the internet. This allows them to increase their broadcast range worldwide for next to nothing. This also means extra revenue for broadcasting ads on the webstream than they do on the terrestrial signal (the ones I listen to only have ads on the webstream that would have a nationwide appeal, such as McDonald's).
I know all of the radio stations I listen to have both the regular terrestrial and internet streams going. All of the DJ's have also been voicing their concerns regarding this legislation on the air. Seeing as Clear Channel is allowing them to speak out against the legislation on the air, it seems to me that terrestrial broadcasters value being able to stream their stations on the net.
Yes, but I code for a living, and I don't think developers really need a 21"CRT in order to do their jobs. It is a proven fact that CRT's cause eyestrain after prolonged periods and LCD's do not.
A developer's 2 best friends are large dual LCD screens. After a long day of coding on my 17" CRT, I start to see spots...
but who uses anything but an LCD these days?
Cheap employers who refuse to replace their developer's CRT's with them...
D3 should be thanking the ESRB, you can't buy publicity like this. I've never heard of this game before this article. However, after viewing the trailer it doesn't look all that good.
I think it's time to return to the old shareware model of video game distribution. For instance, id software released the first episode of Doom under a shareware license for free, and you could buy the full version from them directly. This way, they can release whatever they want in terms of violence and adult content, and not have to worry about retailers carrying it and what not. The games didn't rely on the advertising power of EA to sell, they sold themselves because they were good games.
I like the games of today, but they just aren't as satisfying as some of those old shareware titles of the early 90's. I miss those days. Perhaps it's time to return to them.
I would hope that these codes change on a frequent basis making the sale of the "code of the week" a bit worthless.
If the code doesn't change, then I am truly frightened by the incompetence of our goverment.
I think there is just a confusion of terminology, and the fact that it is not explained what computerworld means by "IT" makes the survey confusing. Where I work, everyone from programmers, DBA's, the network guys, and help desk are considered IT. Other companies might have different definitions.
This is truly another Survey of Dubious Quality (tm). If they wanted to take real measurements of retention and employee satisfaction, they would ask the top 1% of the talent at said companies. Why is Google, Microsoft, IBM, and all the other big players in the industry? Not a single one is on the list, yet they continue to attract, hire, and keep the best talent.
There is no way job at Quicken Loans is better than Google or Microsoft by any stretch of the imagination.
Sacred 2 is coming out, which looks to be really good. I actually like it a lot better than Diablo, you might want to give the original a try since you can pick it up dirt cheap now.
Well, really GOOD writers could still come up with a good movie. But these people aren't looking to make a good movie.
No, the really good writers just aren't interested in writing a game-to-movie port. It doesn't matter how good or deep a game is, video games are still seen as the exact opposite of classic literature and having no intellectual value. Because of this, good writers probably don't want to associate themselves in the genre. Even if they wanted to do a fantasy-themed movie, they would choose to go after Lord of the Rings before Final Fantasy since the former has literary merit.
Dungeons and dragons wasn't based on any existing storyline. It used the name to sell itself, and to have elements such as dwarves, elves, and swords.
Because of this, it can be argued that D&D is just a generic fantasy action movie using stereotypical elements from the general D&D rulebooks and not a true rpg movie.
I thought it was "probably" with an Elvira accent....
Well since the credit card companies won't take responsibility, it is up to the merchants to do so. I'm not saying it's right to put the responsibility squarely on the merchant's shoulders, but life isn't fair. And since credit companies just cancel payment to the retailers, there is a strong business case to make sure that charges aren't fraudulent.
I would say more often than not I never have my ID checked when using a credit card. Especially now that most POS stations have a self-swipe mechanism. I could swipe anyone's card and the cashier would be none-the-wiser.
Also, I've noticed that a lot of retailers aren't even requiring a signature for transactions under $25. All of this will contribute to more identity theft and make it harder to find these criminals.
I guess it all comes down to convenience vs. security. I personally would rather sign for my $10 charge and have the extra protection and paper trail it provides.
How is an industry dominated by four major players that all act the same competitive? You'd almost think they have a gentleman's agreement or something...
It's called an Oligopoly, and they do in essence have a gentleman's agreement. They know that if they all continue to impose artificial restrictions on cell phone technology, charge way too much for phone service, and what not then they all stand to become very very rich.
I've only dealt with cingular, so maybe I don't know what the others have to offer. I have a $45 a month plan where I never come close to using all the minutes and texts I get. Even though their customer service does suck, I've never really had to use it.
I do think it's about time that the wireless industry has some regulations imposed on it. When cell phones first became prominent, they were the new toys for the rich kids. Now they are a way of life, and can be seen as a type of utility (network bandwidth). The obvious thing that comes to my mind is the blatent double-dipping on sending text messages. Why should both the sender and receiver be charged for a message? It's like being charged for the amount of water that comes out of your faucet and the amount of water you drink every month.
Also, where is this linked article that you speak of? I don't see it in your message...
It doesn't matter how RAM works internally (I don't think it works the way you think it does, but I'm not an electrical engineer and it's kind of a moot point). The fact is that RAM must have an electrical charge to constantly refresh it's state or it loses all bit states, plain and simple. It's not like a hard drive where even though a file gets "deleted", the actual data can still be retrieved because it is only the entry in the file system that is deleted. Volitile memory holds absolutely no state without a power source.
I am a Cingular/AT&T customer, and have been since 2001. While all of the phones I have received from them are locked to only work with Cingular service, I have had complete control over what I do with the phone in terms of ringtones, java mini-apps, etc.
I used to have a motorola v200 and all I had to do was get a driver off the net and I could load the thing up with custom ringtones and not pay a dime for them. I now have a RAZR, and I still am able to load it up with mp3's, background graphics, java, and have full unlocked bluetooth capability.
I'm not trying to be a Cingular/At&t fanboy, but I think it can be said that some carriers are better than others. There is one carrier (I think it's verizon, but correct me if I'm wrong) that totally replaces the user interface of all their phones with their own in-house one. The new interface apparently locks most of the functionality and is much less usable than the standard interface, and forces the customer to purchase all the extras through verizon.