Didn't you or at least one of your friends go through that 'Nobody likes me, how come I'm not popular' phase? Well, in case you didn't, here is the lesson to learn:
You don't become popular by whining that you are not popular.
This thread reminds me of all the stupid web site surveys I've put up for clients. They ask dumb questions like 'Do you think this site is cool?', 'Would you recommend it to a friend?', 'Do you plan on coming back to this site, if so how often?'.
Nothing says 'I AM A LAMO' like these types of questions.
I agree that building a community is hard. But like others have said so far, it is a social/marketing problem, not a technical one. I think communities are made by leaders, not by good ideas.
You need at least 5 programmers for every individual who can authorize changes to the project.
Anything less and you into problems like 'But, sir, if I am still in the middle of changing all the graphics to be 'more interesting', I can't work on the new online questionnaire until next week'.
I was the programmer elected to serve on a tax compliance comittee for an online retailer. Here are some things most people don't realize about taxes and the internet.
There are 2 kinds of tax that can apply to a sale. They are sales tax and excise tax. Both of these taxes are paid to the juristiction where the goods were sold (not where they were received).
In a face to face transaction, the SELLER is responsible for collected the tax due to the jurisdiction where the sale is taking place. This is called a sales tax.
In a non-face to face transaction, the BUYER is responsible for paying all applicable taxes to the proper jurisdiction (as well as any taxes that could be incurred from the transport of the goods). This is called an EXCISE tax.
Sellers are required to collect SALES tax to facilitate commerce (imagine if you had to file paperwork for every purchase you ever made).
The internet ban restricts states from requiring the companies in their jurisdiction to collect sales taxes on internet sales. There aren't any proposals in congress that deal with some kind of special 'internet' tax. They are talking about they ways that sales and excise taxes are handled.
What does it all mean? When you buy $1000 worth of hardware online, you actually owe taxes on it. The deal is that states can't afford to come track you down to collect it.
I may very well owe my geekdom to Wizardry (I). It was the first game I ever played on my friend's Apple IIc. I can remember plenty of floppy disk switching, and punching holes to make single sided disks double sided.
I just got to play "Day of Defeat" last night. Man how things have changed!
I forgot to mention the problem of noncooperation from other departments or your own management.
Many times you will submit documents for approval or ask for input on a subject and they (managers/other departments) will grind your project to halt. I've been in the position where I had 5 projects (a couple major efforts, and the rest smaller projects) yet I wasn't able to actually code anything for about a week and a half because nobody would approve anything.
Come to think of it, thats why I have so much time to troll around/. right now. I have just one project, and nobody wants to commit to anything.
As a software developer, I would have to say that a majority of the development that I have been involved in or been aware of is of the manufacturing variety. Most business sofware is a DIDO job. Data in, Data Out. Make some fancy forms and reports and you have turned a database into a 'billing' system or what have you. There aren't really any new algorithms needed. Of course, there are a ton of them in use in the database server, the network protocols, etc. But you aren't developing those, just using them.
The reason that estimates are always wrong are *1* unclear requirements, *2* changing requirements, *3* complicated user interfaces, *4* weak focus on testing.
I find *1* to be the biggest difficulty. The prinicipals of a software project like to say things like "Automate timeclock operations" but as a developer, you need *A LOT* of information to do that. When you ask questions like "I understand that you do not want to allow any changes to a pay period after the checks have been cut, but then what are we going to do when travelling workers report their hours late?" Management thinks you are being a pain in the ass, but if you don't get it right, your project will fail.
I agree with taking a realistic estimate and doubling the both the developement and the testing estimates.
I have a question for you. I read that when going full speed, the Insight uses both its electric motor and its gas engine. Obviously, this could be a problem on a long trip, because the batteries would eventually peter out. How fast can you cruise w/o the help of the electric motor? What is the top speed? How long do you think you could run at top speed?
Also, how long is the warranty?
I wrote a letter to VW (because I love VW's), and they told me that they have no plans to release a hybrid. I was very dissapointed. Anyways, I'm considering a hybrid for my next vehicle.
Its funny to see how much MicroSpeak made it into a court ruling:
Middleware, Start Button, Shortcut, Icons (specifically desktop icons in this instance), Service Pack, XP.......
And here are some seemingly contradictory definitions:
J. "Microsoft Middleware" means software code that
Microsoft distributes separately from a Windows Operating System Product to update that Windows Operating System Product;
is Trademarked;
provides the same or substantially similar functionality as a Microsoft Middleware Product; and
includes at least the software code that controls most or all of the user interface elements of that Microsoft Middleware.
Software code described as part of, and distributed separately to update, a Microsoft Middleware Product shall not be deemed Microsoft Middleware unless identified as a new major version of that Microsoft Middleware Product. A major version shall be identified by a whole number or by a number with just a single digit to the right of the decimal point.
K. "Microsoft Middleware Product" means
1. the functionality provided by Internet Explorer, Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine, Windows Media Player, Windows Messenger, Outlook Express and their successors in a Windows Operating System Product, and
2. for any functionality that is first licensed, distributed or sold by Microsoft after the entry of this Final Judgment and that is part of any Windows Operating System Product
a. Internet browsers, email client software, networked audio/video client software, instant messaging software or
b. functionality provided by Microsoft software that --
i. is, or in the year preceding the commercial release of any new Windows Operating System Product was, distributed separately by Microsoft (or by an entity acquired by Microsoft) from a Windows Operating System Product;
ii. is similar to the functionality provided by a Non-Microsoft Middleware Product; and
iii. is Trademarked.
Functionality that Microsoft describes or markets as being part of a Microsoft Middleware Product (such as a service pack, upgrade, or bug fix for Internet Explorer), or that is a version of a Microsoft Middleware Product (such as Internet Explorer 5.5), shall be considered to be part of that Microsoft Middleware Product.
So middleware is something doesn't actually come on the windows CD, but a m$ middleware product is the JavaVM,IE,Windows Media player,etc. Don't those all come on the CD?
So.....I tried out nethack just in response to this story. Reminds me of Moria, but it looks pretty cool. I even tried the graphical version, which was nice.
I'm curious to ask you experienced nethackers, what fun things occurred because of the halloween/full moon stuff?
I always heard that the russians were always trying to build ternary machines. Based on positive, neutral, and negative charges. The problem is that (pos and pos and neg) is neg (i.e. false) logically, but pos (i.e. true) electricly.
Because of this, you always have to put in charge reducers all over the place.
Isn't the main problem that everyone wants the web to be 'cool', not just deliver information. When the internet was invented, it was a way to share information without requiring seperate programs to access information from seperate sources.
As a web developer, managers mostly care about how it looks, not how it works. They care about what their managers think, not what site visitors think. Everywhere I've worked sees between 90% to 98% M$ browsers, so the managers wisely decide not to spend time/money on developing for other browsers.
As for Microsoft's claims that other browsers don't work as closely to the standards as theirs does, thats obviously hogwash. Embrace and Extend is their true scam.
I have a business account at First Union. Every time I try to go do some banking, they have to use this automated fax service, which faxes them a copy of my signature. They hardly spend any time comparing my signature with the one on the fax. Plus, the one on the fax is blown up to like 4x its actual size.
If I'm not mistaken, even handwriting experts barely hold up in court? It just seems so funny how much work people will do for so little true security.
Slashdot Mirror
Wow.....you are right! I wrote some little apps in hypercard in middle school (circa 1990).
Didn't you or at least one of your friends go through that 'Nobody likes me, how come I'm not popular' phase? Well, in case you didn't, here is the lesson to learn:
You don't become popular by whining that you are not popular.
This thread reminds me of all the stupid web site surveys I've put up for clients. They ask dumb questions like 'Do you think this site is cool?', 'Would you recommend it to a friend?', 'Do you plan on coming back to this site, if so how often?'.
Nothing says 'I AM A LAMO' like these types of questions.
I agree that building a community is hard. But like others have said so far, it is a social/marketing problem, not a technical one. I think communities are made by leaders, not by good ideas.
You need at least 5 programmers for every individual who can authorize changes to the project.
Anything less and you into problems like 'But, sir, if I am still in the middle of changing all the graphics to be 'more interesting', I can't work on the new online questionnaire until next week'.
I'm just +1'ing for the above comment. I've always had to end up faxing verisign/nsi to get anything done.
Yeah, no request is so simple that an admin can't make a real mess out of it.
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/03/135020 2&mode=thread
Been there done that.
If you take that laptop, you are just as bad as the guy who took yours!!
Yeah, thats funny. You know, i think I would get more enjoyment from playing Wizardry (1) again then from trying out this new one......
I may very well owe my geekdom to Wizardry (I). It was the first game I ever played on my friend's Apple IIc. I can remember plenty of floppy disk switching, and punching holes to make single sided disks double sided.
I just got to play "Day of Defeat" last night. Man how things have changed!
I'd say its worth a shot at this point. And I want to know how it turns out!!
Now what if they used one of those funny visual plugin things for WinAMP so that the logo danced to the music?
That would be cool....
I forgot to mention the problem of noncooperation from other departments or your own management.
/. right now. I have just one project, and nobody wants to commit to anything.
Many times you will submit documents for approval or ask for input on a subject and they (managers/other departments) will grind your project to halt. I've been in the position where I had 5 projects (a couple major efforts, and the rest smaller projects) yet I wasn't able to actually code anything for about a week and a half because nobody would approve anything.
Come to think of it, thats why I have so much time to troll around
As a software developer, I would have to say that a majority of the development that I have been involved in or been aware of is of the manufacturing variety. Most business sofware is a DIDO job. Data in, Data Out. Make some fancy forms and reports and you have turned a database into a 'billing' system or what have you. There aren't really any new algorithms needed. Of course, there are a ton of them in use in the database server, the network protocols, etc. But you aren't developing those, just using them.
The reason that estimates are always wrong are *1* unclear requirements, *2* changing requirements, *3* complicated user interfaces, *4* weak focus on testing.
I find *1* to be the biggest difficulty. The prinicipals of a software project like to say things like "Automate timeclock operations" but as a developer, you need *A LOT* of information to do that. When you ask questions like "I understand that you do not want to allow any changes to a pay period after the checks have been cut, but then what are we going to do when travelling workers report their hours late?" Management thinks you are being a pain in the ass, but if you don't get it right, your project will fail.
I agree with taking a realistic estimate and doubling the both the developement and the testing estimates.
I have a question for you. I read that when going full speed, the Insight uses both its electric motor and its gas engine. Obviously, this could be a problem on a long trip, because the batteries would eventually peter out. How fast can you cruise w/o the help of the electric motor? What is the top speed? How long do you think you could run at top speed?
Also, how long is the warranty?
I wrote a letter to VW (because I love VW's), and they told me that they have no plans to release a hybrid. I was very dissapointed. Anyways, I'm considering a hybrid for my next vehicle.
What does it all mean?
Middleware, Start Button, Shortcut, Icons (specifically desktop icons in this instance), Service Pack, XP.......
And here are some seemingly contradictory definitions:
So middleware is something doesn't actually come on the windows CD, but a m$ middleware product is the JavaVM,IE,Windows Media player,etc. Don't those all come on the CD?
Don't click it...its very bad.
So.....I tried out nethack just in response to this story. Reminds me of Moria, but it looks pretty cool. I even tried the graphical version, which was nice.
I'm curious to ask you experienced nethackers, what fun things occurred because of the halloween/full moon stuff?
Don't some people like yourself feel that magnets are good for your 'energy pattern'?
Does it automatically stand to reason that cell phones are bad?
Might it be fair to say that there is some good and some bad, like alcohol or caffiene?
I always heard that the russians were always trying to build ternary machines. Based on positive, neutral, and negative charges. The problem is that (pos and pos and neg) is neg (i.e. false) logically, but pos (i.e. true) electricly.
Because of this, you always have to put in charge reducers all over the place.
Agreed. I once had a manager tell me that all of the parameters to my functions had to be strings of XML. Even private functions.....can you imagine?
The horror....the horror......
Isn't the main problem that everyone wants the web to be 'cool', not just deliver information. When the internet was invented, it was a way to share information without requiring seperate programs to access information from seperate sources.
As a web developer, managers mostly care about how it looks, not how it works. They care about what their managers think, not what site visitors think. Everywhere I've worked sees between 90% to 98% M$ browsers, so the managers wisely decide not to spend time/money on developing for other browsers.
As for Microsoft's claims that other browsers don't work as closely to the standards as theirs does, thats obviously hogwash. Embrace and Extend is their true scam.
I would recommend getting 2GB of RAM and just running the whole thing in memory. That way your reads are measured in ns instead of ms.
just my $2,312,312,123,121.02 of advice.
PS-Also consider offsite storage of backups for disaster recovery.
Funny Stuff.....
I have a business account at First Union. Every time I try to go do some banking, they have to use this automated fax service, which faxes them a copy of my signature. They hardly spend any time comparing my signature with the one on the fax. Plus, the one on the fax is blown up to like 4x its actual size.
If I'm not mistaken, even handwriting experts barely hold up in court? It just seems so funny how much work people will do for so little true security.