I'm not quite the Director's son, but I am his nephew:p My dad actually used to be the IT Manager here until he died, and I ended up with the job a few years later. I'm not even making $75K a year, but then again the whole company is pretty laid back and a nice place to work. I do a mix of in-house web app development, maintaining a downhole drilling simulation app for clients, and typical sysadmin/IT support stuff. I know I could be making more if I got a bunch of certifications, or worked on a lot of projects with loads of different languages and frameworks to help buff up my CV and look for another coding job, but I don't really have the motivation for it. I'm making more than enough to get by, and I'm still enjoying helping people out here. I do wonder from time to time if I should be making "more" of myself, like developing mobile games or utilities, but I prefer to have free time for other things right now.
I don't know about you, but I don't care how old my phone's OS is, as long as it runs the apps I want and is designed from the ground up for touch integration. If you're always desperate for updates to your OS, that's an indicator that your OS sucks. I'm not saying updates aren't nice, but what has actually changed in this last year that WP7 needs to keep up with? Most of the changes in iOS and Android have been focused on making them work better for tablets.
I can already add my Hotmail account on my Android devices if I wanted, likewise I can use eBuddy for Live Messenger.
Don't really see the point in Xbox integration with my phone either, what would I use that for? I can't think of anything that I'd actually find useful, unless it actually did something cool like let you stream movies/music from the Xbox network (and they also took the prices down - they're pretty ridiculous right now). I used to have a desktop Widget that showed the last 3 games I'd played on my PS3, but I removed it because it was just a waste of data and space.
When you are a Dropbox you only have one client in mind. If Microsoft had to create dropbox they would have to think of the developer, the enterprise, the home user, the mobile user, etc, etc, etc... It is a big huge problem for them.
What is the one client that Dropbox has in mind? Because I'm a developer who uses it at work, home and on my mobile devices.. the whole point in Dropbox is that it is meant to be used everywhere.
I think the key difference here is that Dropbox is designed to do one relatively simple task (share files), whereas Office has many branches, each of which has many, many uses and features.
Cars can be really cheap, and some people just sell them on because they're bored and want something new. One of the guys here at work probably gets a new car once a year at least, because he's always modding the hell out of them and either they break and he gets fed up, or he crashes them. One woman here at work gets a new car something like every 3 months because her husband likes to buy them cheap down south and sell them for a profit up here.
I've been given two old cars (one by parents, one by uncle), and bought 2 cheap used cars and a used motorbike, and I'm only 27. I love to drive, and I don't like the depreciation on new cars. I spent less in two years on my current car (something like £5000 including the initial purchase, maintenance, insurance and tax) than it would cost to buy a super-cheap new car (about £6000). So I'd do just as well to buy a used car every few years than buy a new one. Even if I don't sell on the used one I'd still come out ahead. One of the cars I bought died after 2 months - it was an incredibly studpi purchase though - I'm never going to buy a car again where the previous owner has fixed up the engine with a bunch of his mates rather than just getting it done professionally.
I live in the UK, got my full license at 19. I'm now 27 and I've owned.. 4 cars, one motorbike, and one company car. I actually took my current car off the road though because I'm fed up of fuel prices, and decided to focus on saving for a while. I used to hate public transport, but it saves me about £2000 a year, and it's actually kind of relaxing not doing the driving. The only problem I've had so far was missing my stop when I read an eBook or browse the web on my phone:p In my case I can just borrow a company car if I really need a car though, which made the decision easier.
What modern computer systems can be trusted to work for 40 years plus?
Any ones that are left powered on. Transistors last apparently indefinitely if you leave them powered on, it's only when cycling the power that you have a chance for them to blow (after the "infant mortality" period of a few weeks/months anyway). If you used network storage then you wouldn't need the main system to have any moving parts at all, and it would last ages.
Why are you calling modern industrial computer setups "frail and vulnerable" anyway? It's not like anyone is going to be designing their nuclear power plant with a Windows box running all the essential control logic. Windows boxes might be used to monitor outputs and even to control some things, but they will be used in a situation where a BSOD/reboot is not going to cause everything to ASPLODE.
Why don't you submit it yourself then if you wanted it on/. immediately ? Slashdot is almost entirely user submissions. I don't care how long ago this was, I just like the snarky and often insightful or informative comments.
Uh.. try reading the comment I was replying to. It talked about kicking Apples ass in "innovation". Google clearly aren't intending Android to be a major source of income (there is the marketplace, but they allow alternative markets and force people into nothing) - it's completely free FFS.
Googling for phone jailbreaks puts the figures (taken from monitorig websites) at around 5% in 2008 and 8% in 2009. I saw guesses for 2011 or around 10-15%.The company that supplies phones to our work actually offers to jailbreak iPhones for us if necessary.
Now, Android devices have a lot less need of jailbreaking of course, but their users are generally more technically aware, so I don't think it's a stretch at all to assume that easily more than 1 of Android devices are being cracked. I've rooted 3 out of 4 of my Android devices, and may do my Xoom if a nice custom ROM comes out for it (probably already are some available).
Being open has nothing to do with how good the end result is. I enjoy my Dell Streak and my Xoom a lot. The Streak is much nicer to use than the iPhone, and my flatmate (who has an iPad) likes the Xoom. Simple things like Android having a dedicated "back" button make the interface nicer to use IMO.
Sure, they could have bought an Amiga or something, but when I looked at them back then they cost significantly more than a PC and didn't run the old DOS software that most people had collected by that time.
I was brought up on Macs and Amigas. Neither were particularly cheap, but again as you point out, it's the availability of software that made the difference. When I saw things like DOS and Windows 3.1 I thought they were complete jokes compared to what I was used to. PC hardware got pretty respectable by around 1996 of course, but I've never liked Windows.
If it weren't for Exchange/Outlook, I think Office would lose a lot more ground.
Completely agree.
I jumped ship to OSX (then Ubuntu, and now Mint) in my XP days. I am going to set up Windows 7 on a laptop at work sometime and try it for a while, but from what I've used of it so far, I don't see anything that would attract me back to Windows.
Even if Windows 7 is now good technically, I still don't find it as pleasant to use as Ubuntu. For example the Start bar graphic looks pixelated and ugly even on a high res screen at native resolution, and so do the fonts. Compared to Mint and Android devices that I've been using every day for years, it just isn't pleasant to even look at. Could definitely do with better anti-aliasing. Then there's the obvious ease of customisation in Linux distros. I've got my desktop set up exactly how I want it, with an OSX style dock, Quake style drop-down console with tabs (love it), keyboard shortcuts for anything I want, nice notifications (no fscking bubbles), beautifully designed theme, etc..
If it weren't for its market lock-in of commercial apps and games, I don't see what would attract anyone to Windows. OSX and modern Linux distros look better, and just feel nicer to use. The feeling thing is kind of wishy-washy, but anyone who's used an iPad or Android tablet will know just how much the interface can make everything feel more "fun".
If I lived in the US I'd consider doing it just for funsies. Though first I'd need money for a team of lawyers (money which would hopefully be recovered if they won, which they probably wouldn't because they'd presumably be bribed or otherwise silenced by the government).
I'm not sure if suing would even be the right word, but I'm not a lawyer so I'm not sure what the appropriate way to challenge an illegal law is.
There is no requirement to make anything you create public. You still technically have copyright on it even if nobody else knows it exists.
does that not imply that the copyrighted information is available from the source that copyrighted the information in the first place
There are cases such as old computer games that are still in copyright, but no longer on sale, where it's not possible to get the originals without breaking copyright. And again, nobody has to register for copyright anything, it's implicitly granted when you create a work. It's not like a patent.
hey make good PC software (I know, that's not a popular opinion around here, but I said it, so there)
It's not that it's not popular opinion, it's that it's a retarded opinion for anyone who has ever had access to any of the alternatives at any point in MS's lifetime. Their dominance has generally been due to sheer momentum from their success in the 90s, not because anything they do is especially good. Their success in the 90s wasn't anything to do with being technically good either. Microsoft is good at business and marketing. They have the occasional product that could be called "good" (Xbox Live is looking pretty peachy compared to PSN recently for example), but overall.. not so much.
Slashdot Mirror
Wouldn't an "internal private cloud" just be called a "server farm"?
I'm not quite the Director's son, but I am his nephew :p My dad actually used to be the IT Manager here until he died, and I ended up with the job a few years later. I'm not even making $75K a year, but then again the whole company is pretty laid back and a nice place to work. I do a mix of in-house web app development, maintaining a downhole drilling simulation app for clients, and typical sysadmin/IT support stuff. I know I could be making more if I got a bunch of certifications, or worked on a lot of projects with loads of different languages and frameworks to help buff up my CV and look for another coding job, but I don't really have the motivation for it. I'm making more than enough to get by, and I'm still enjoying helping people out here. I do wonder from time to time if I should be making "more" of myself, like developing mobile games or utilities, but I prefer to have free time for other things right now.
I don't know about you, but I don't care how old my phone's OS is, as long as it runs the apps I want and is designed from the ground up for touch integration. If you're always desperate for updates to your OS, that's an indicator that your OS sucks. I'm not saying updates aren't nice, but what has actually changed in this last year that WP7 needs to keep up with? Most of the changes in iOS and Android have been focused on making them work better for tablets.
I can already add my Hotmail account on my Android devices if I wanted, likewise I can use eBuddy for Live Messenger.
Don't really see the point in Xbox integration with my phone either, what would I use that for? I can't think of anything that I'd actually find useful, unless it actually did something cool like let you stream movies/music from the Xbox network (and they also took the prices down - they're pretty ridiculous right now). I used to have a desktop Widget that showed the last 3 games I'd played on my PS3, but I removed it because it was just a waste of data and space.
If only Slashdot's supposedly nerdy user base were capable of understanding the anchor tag. Would be a great business idea, probably.
FTFY
When you are a Dropbox you only have one client in mind. If Microsoft had to create dropbox they would have to think of the developer, the enterprise, the home user, the mobile user, etc, etc, etc... It is a big huge problem for them.
What is the one client that Dropbox has in mind? Because I'm a developer who uses it at work, home and on my mobile devices.. the whole point in Dropbox is that it is meant to be used everywhere.
I think the key difference here is that Dropbox is designed to do one relatively simple task (share files), whereas Office has many branches, each of which has many, many uses and features.
Also, I shouldn't need to tell you why a single seated escape pod would be a lousy idea.
No space for your companion cube?
We haven't even colonized the Earth yet!
Yes. None of us live on the earth. *facepalm*
Cars can be really cheap, and some people just sell them on because they're bored and want something new. One of the guys here at work probably gets a new car once a year at least, because he's always modding the hell out of them and either they break and he gets fed up, or he crashes them. One woman here at work gets a new car something like every 3 months because her husband likes to buy them cheap down south and sell them for a profit up here.
I've been given two old cars (one by parents, one by uncle), and bought 2 cheap used cars and a used motorbike, and I'm only 27. I love to drive, and I don't like the depreciation on new cars. I spent less in two years on my current car (something like £5000 including the initial purchase, maintenance, insurance and tax) than it would cost to buy a super-cheap new car (about £6000). So I'd do just as well to buy a used car every few years than buy a new one. Even if I don't sell on the used one I'd still come out ahead. One of the cars I bought died after 2 months - it was an incredibly studpi purchase though - I'm never going to buy a car again where the previous owner has fixed up the engine with a bunch of his mates rather than just getting it done professionally.
I live in the UK, got my full license at 19. I'm now 27 and I've owned.. 4 cars, one motorbike, and one company car. I actually took my current car off the road though because I'm fed up of fuel prices, and decided to focus on saving for a while. I used to hate public transport, but it saves me about £2000 a year, and it's actually kind of relaxing not doing the driving. The only problem I've had so far was missing my stop when I read an eBook or browse the web on my phone :p In my case I can just borrow a company car if I really need a car though, which made the decision easier.
With insecticides!
Worst. Hippies. Ever.
What modern computer systems can be trusted to work for 40 years plus?
Any ones that are left powered on. Transistors last apparently indefinitely if you leave them powered on, it's only when cycling the power that you have a chance for them to blow (after the "infant mortality" period of a few weeks/months anyway). If you used network storage then you wouldn't need the main system to have any moving parts at all, and it would last ages.
Why are you calling modern industrial computer setups "frail and vulnerable" anyway? It's not like anyone is going to be designing their nuclear power plant with a Windows box running all the essential control logic. Windows boxes might be used to monitor outputs and even to control some things, but they will be used in a situation where a BSOD/reboot is not going to cause everything to ASPLODE.
It's "YouTube", faggot ;)
*whoosh*
Why don't you submit it yourself then if you wanted it on /. immediately ? Slashdot is almost entirely user submissions. I don't care how long ago this was, I just like the snarky and often insightful or informative comments.
Uh.. try reading the comment I was replying to. It talked about kicking Apples ass in "innovation". Google clearly aren't intending Android to be a major source of income (there is the marketplace, but they allow alternative markets and force people into nothing) - it's completely free FFS.
First "phone jailbreaks" should be "iPhone jailbreaks". Damn Android autocorrect refuses to recognise the iPhone.
Googling for phone jailbreaks puts the figures (taken from monitorig websites) at around 5% in 2008 and 8% in 2009. I saw guesses for 2011 or around 10-15%.The company that supplies phones to our work actually offers to jailbreak iPhones for us if necessary.
Now, Android devices have a lot less need of jailbreaking of course, but their users are generally more technically aware, so I don't think it's a stretch at all to assume that easily more than 1 of Android devices are being cracked. I've rooted 3 out of 4 of my Android devices, and may do my Xoom if a nice custom ROM comes out for it (probably already are some available).
Being open has nothing to do with how good the end result is. I enjoy my Dell Streak and my Xoom a lot. The Streak is much nicer to use than the iPhone, and my flatmate (who has an iPad) likes the Xoom. Simple things like Android having a dedicated "back" button make the interface nicer to use IMO.
Sure, they could have bought an Amiga or something, but when I looked at them back then they cost significantly more than a PC and didn't run the old DOS software that most people had collected by that time.
I was brought up on Macs and Amigas. Neither were particularly cheap, but again as you point out, it's the availability of software that made the difference. When I saw things like DOS and Windows 3.1 I thought they were complete jokes compared to what I was used to. PC hardware got pretty respectable by around 1996 of course, but I've never liked Windows.
If it weren't for Exchange/Outlook, I think Office would lose a lot more ground.
Completely agree.
I jumped ship to OSX (then Ubuntu, and now Mint) in my XP days. I am going to set up Windows 7 on a laptop at work sometime and try it for a while, but from what I've used of it so far, I don't see anything that would attract me back to Windows.
Even if Windows 7 is now good technically, I still don't find it as pleasant to use as Ubuntu. For example the Start bar graphic looks pixelated and ugly even on a high res screen at native resolution, and so do the fonts. Compared to Mint and Android devices that I've been using every day for years, it just isn't pleasant to even look at. Could definitely do with better anti-aliasing. Then there's the obvious ease of customisation in Linux distros. I've got my desktop set up exactly how I want it, with an OSX style dock, Quake style drop-down console with tabs (love it), keyboard shortcuts for anything I want, nice notifications (no fscking bubbles), beautifully designed theme, etc..
If it weren't for its market lock-in of commercial apps and games, I don't see what would attract anyone to Windows. OSX and modern Linux distros look better, and just feel nicer to use. The feeling thing is kind of wishy-washy, but anyone who's used an iPad or Android tablet will know just how much the interface can make everything feel more "fun".
If I lived in the US I'd consider doing it just for funsies. Though first I'd need money for a team of lawyers (money which would hopefully be recovered if they won, which they probably wouldn't because they'd presumably be bribed or otherwise silenced by the government).
I'm not sure if suing would even be the right word, but I'm not a lawyer so I'm not sure what the appropriate way to challenge an illegal law is.
There is no requirement to make anything you create public. You still technically have copyright on it even if nobody else knows it exists.
does that not imply that the copyrighted information is available from the source that copyrighted the information in the first place
There are cases such as old computer games that are still in copyright, but no longer on sale, where it's not possible to get the originals without breaking copyright. And again, nobody has to register for copyright anything, it's implicitly granted when you create a work. It's not like a patent.
What about Steve Jobs? That would be hilarious. And scary.
hey make good PC software (I know, that's not a popular opinion around here, but I said it, so there)
It's not that it's not popular opinion, it's that it's a retarded opinion for anyone who has ever had access to any of the alternatives at any point in MS's lifetime. Their dominance has generally been due to sheer momentum from their success in the 90s, not because anything they do is especially good. Their success in the 90s wasn't anything to do with being technically good either. Microsoft is good at business and marketing. They have the occasional product that could be called "good" (Xbox Live is looking pretty peachy compared to PSN recently for example), but overall.. not so much.