A few years ago, no one imagined that we'd have accomplished what we did here on Wikipedia. Compared to the entrenched encyclopedia companies, we were far behind, and we always knew the climb would be steep. But in record numbers of entries, we came out and wrote so many articles. And with these articles and discussions, it was made clear that at this moment - in this fight for intellectual freedom - there is something happening on the Web.
There is something happening when men and men pretending to be women in Des Moines and Davenport; in Lebanon and Concord come out of their basements to write and rewrite and edit and correct because they believe in what this medium can be. We can be the new majority who can lead this world out of a long intellectual property darkness - Communists, Free-marketeers, and Furries who are tired of the high prices of Britannica and the inadequacy of Funk and Wagnalls; who know that we can disagree without being disagreeable; who understand that if we mobilize our voices to challenge the money and influence that's stood in our way to knowledge and challenge ourselves to reach for something better, there's no obscure minutia we can't illuminate - no minor character we cannot flesh out.
Our new Web encyclopedia can end the outrage of unaffordable, unavailable encyclopedias in our time. We can bring doctors and patients; workers and businesses, Democrats and Republicans together for discussion and consultation; and we can tell the big name encyclopedia players that while they'll get a seat at the table, they don't get to buy every chair. Not this time. Not now.
All of the inclusionists and the deletists on this site share these goals. All have good ideas. And all are valuable contributors who serve this website honorably. But the reason Wikipedia has always been different is because it's not just about what I or they will do, it's also about what you, the people who love knowledge, can do to increase it.
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the years to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of the world false hope and bad information. But in the unlikely story that is Wikipedia, there has never been anything false about participation. For when we have faced down increasing attacks on our credibility; when we've been told that we're not a valid source, or that we shouldn't even try to be the be all and end all, or that we can't, thousands upon thousands of Wikipedia authors have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a free and liberated people.
I can't wait to see these things in the store! Graphics cards are so cool. You can of course play graphics on them, but you can also do cool stuff like encryption and supercomputer type of stuff.
Man, I can't get enough of these graphics cards stories! Oh yeah!
On the one hand, such legislation would definitely be welcome in this current environment of information free-for-all. We could finally have some benchmark against which we could judge whether companies (and governments!) were properly addressing security and privacy concerns.
On the other hand, it puts an enormous burden on businesses, especially in the still nascent online business sector where we are far from seeing market maturity. Laws like this put a massive damper on technology improvement and force a huge financial penalty against all competitors in this field.
I would give this industry another 5 years before trying to enact a stringent privacy/security statute. That would give the industry enough time to settle down and allow clear leaders to emerge who would then be in a better position to actually implement such measures.
The moral of the story is that by saving that money, Google is able to hire more people to produce more products and make more profit. Those people in turn pay more taxes which, in toto, is greater than the supposed evaded amount.
It's sometimes counterintuitive how economics works.
American women have large, pendulous breasts. Chinese women have small, pert breasts. Japanese women also have small, pert breasts. The difference is that Americans and Chinese have no cultural aversion to getting tattoos.
Therefore, when the tit comes to tat, the Japanese with their small, pert breasts will remain unadorned.
Americans will continue with their behemoth breasts.
Chinese will continue with their ink-filled breasts.
What is cool about software and what makes it conducive to openness is the fact that anyone with a PC can write it, run it, and change it.
Hardware makers suffer no such weakness. The barrier to entry is the high cost of manufacturing, so there is really no significant benefit to release an unrestricted device. Something like the iPod has already proved this.
The FSF's role is complete. It should fade away quietly while people still think highly of the wackjob membership.
Maybe we should all take our shoes off for inspection before we get online. Or make us wait in an unguarded corral area for half an hour before we can enter the secured area. Or randomly pull users aside for full system scans. Or force users to their own drink breast milk before logging in.
I sure as hell don't want them "attacking" computers online.
I'm not asking any engineer to do sales. My only requirement is that they be able to communicate effectively, look presentable, and understand the business on a broad scale as well as in the minutiae.
Gee, is that all?
No, I also expect them to do a good job.
But is it hard to communicate effectively? For some people, I suppose so. We don't hire them. They usually don't make it past the first telephone contact. Is it hard to look presentable? If you're visiting a customer, you only need a nice shirt ($18 at JCPenney), slacks ($20 JCPenney), and leather shoes. In addition, you should also shower, shave or have a neatly trimmed beard/mustache, and your hair should be neatly arranged. How hard is it to understand the business? Who is the customer? What are we selling them? What is their immediate problem that we are helping them with? If need be, I brief the engineer on these things and expect feedback regarding what they expect are the most likely risks, possible opportunities, and necessary on-site set-up.
This business requires some on-site work. Those engineers represent the company.
That isn't about separation of roles, it's all about understanding business and acting as an agent of the company, not just being a code monkey.
It's all about separation of roles, or the lack thereof. You expect your engineers to have business skills and people skills as well as technical skills.
I expect the engineers to have the ability to be professionals. I do not ask them to establish contacts, manage relationships, research the buying structure of customers, make proposals, negotiate and close deals, or remain the focal point for customer contact for the length of the customer relationship. I don't ask them to prepare sales material, determine company strategy, find new markets and prospects, or provide dollar amount goals for the upcoming quarters.
I only require that they be well-spoken, present themselves well, and prepare adequately whenever they need to meet a customer. These aren't "sales skills" or "business skills", this is the basic level of professionalism that anyone in a white collar position should have.
Let's face it, if all I needed was some programmer to sit in a cube all day, I can hire a team in India or China for cheap. If you think that all you need is "technical skills", your job will be the next one sent to those places.
Our engineers make 150K on average with additional bonuses for performance. There is an employee stock option program (still pre-IPO). Medical insurance is fully covered for all family members including domestic partners. Engineers typically work 4 days a week, have the option of working remotely, and are assigned a small expense account to pursue their own inventive interests. We are not hurting for resumes.
We have high standards (now. the previous CEO was somewhat of a spendthrift). We aren't the only game in town, but we are also incredibly profitable, challenging, and exciting. The pay is commensurate with our demands, and we have no qualms to reevaluate an employee's salary if she feels there is a discrepancy between her output and her pay.
If not meeting customers is your priority, that is your choice. We can't afford to have you here.
Sorry, if you can't meet a customer, you have no place here. I'm not asking any engineer to do sales. My only requirement is that they be able to communicate effectively, look presentable, and understand the business on a broad scale as well as in the minutiae.
If an engineer is going to meet a customer, I always make sure they are briefed about the situation before going in and provide them my expectations for what I need from them and ask them what they need from the customer so I can prepare that beforehand. I don't want any surprises when we meet, especially on the customer's side.
While no one expects me to troubleshoot or write code, I do stay with the on-site engineer as long as I can to understand his issues and relay them to the customer as well as I can. Any lack of communication skill, any inability to act appropriately, or any unexpected issues damage my business, my company, my customer, and the engineer's reputation in the company. That isn't about separation of roles, it's all about understanding business and acting as an agent of the company, not just being a code monkey.
What's surprising? My sales for the last 3 years running have exceeded my annual reach goals and has brought in over 102 million dollars over that period. If there is any reason my employer keeps me, it is because I produce.
When we had to cut costs, it wasn't a purely mathematical decision. We had some people with salaries that weren't in line with their production, but we also looked for personal factors such as eagerness to work, ability to mentor, and the ability to meet with customers without making us look like amateurs. Believe me, there are a lot of people employed as engineers who should *never* be allowed to meet customers. We don't want them here, so we sent them packing.
Your posts reeks of bitterness and a "blame someone else" attitude. You think you deserve a job, but you don't realize that you are the one who must prove your worth to a company.
my brain just exploded with the IRONY there and where this was posted
I actually recommend this choice to people whom I have had to let go. It was pretty clear they didn't possess the wherewithal to continue growing and contributing in this industry.
One guy went out and started a consulting business. He advises people on drainage plans for their new homes. As a programmer, he stumbled through the code and introduced as many bugs as he fixed. I think we picked him up as a resource sometime in the late 90s when we were hiring like crazy. 10 years of experience, and the only real thing I think we figured out was that he was a pretty mediocre programmer. But now he is doing very well as a drainage consultant.
You shouldn't stay in a job you suck at. And your manager shouldn't keep you once you've shown no particular aptitude for the work. Go do something you're good at. You'll feel much better about yourself and you won't have the sword of Damocles always hanging above you.
Slashdot Mirror
It's hard to believe he gave this speech *after* he lost.
A few years ago, no one imagined that we'd have accomplished what we did here on Wikipedia. Compared to the entrenched encyclopedia companies, we were far behind, and we always knew the climb would be steep. But in record numbers of entries, we came out and wrote so many articles. And with these articles and discussions, it was made clear that at this moment - in this fight for intellectual freedom - there is something happening on the Web.
There is something happening when men and men pretending to be women in Des Moines and Davenport; in Lebanon and Concord come out of their basements to write and rewrite and edit and correct because they believe in what this medium can be. We can be the new majority who can lead this world out of a long intellectual property darkness - Communists, Free-marketeers, and Furries who are tired of the high prices of Britannica and the inadequacy of Funk and Wagnalls; who know that we can disagree without being disagreeable; who understand that if we mobilize our voices to challenge the money and influence that's stood in our way to knowledge and challenge ourselves to reach for something better, there's no obscure minutia we can't illuminate - no minor character we cannot flesh out.
Our new Web encyclopedia can end the outrage of unaffordable, unavailable encyclopedias in our time. We can bring doctors and patients; workers and businesses, Democrats and Republicans together for discussion and consultation; and we can tell the big name encyclopedia players that while they'll get a seat at the table, they don't get to buy every chair. Not this time. Not now.
All of the inclusionists and the deletists on this site share these goals. All have good ideas. And all are valuable contributors who serve this website honorably. But the reason Wikipedia has always been different is because it's not just about what I or they will do, it's also about what you, the people who love knowledge, can do to increase it.
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the years to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of the world false hope and bad information. But in the unlikely story that is Wikipedia, there has never been anything false about participation. For when we have faced down increasing attacks on our credibility; when we've been told that we're not a valid source, or that we shouldn't even try to be the be all and end all, or that we can't, thousands upon thousands of Wikipedia authors have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a free and liberated people.
Yes we can.
I can't wait to see these things in the store! Graphics cards are so cool. You can of course play graphics on them, but you can also do cool stuff like encryption and supercomputer type of stuff.
Man, I can't get enough of these graphics cards stories! Oh yeah!
I don't want to hamstring American businesses while the industry is still in its infancy.
On the one hand, such legislation would definitely be welcome in this current environment of information free-for-all. We could finally have some benchmark against which we could judge whether companies (and governments!) were properly addressing security and privacy concerns.
On the other hand, it puts an enormous burden on businesses, especially in the still nascent online business sector where we are far from seeing market maturity. Laws like this put a massive damper on technology improvement and force a huge financial penalty against all competitors in this field.
I would give this industry another 5 years before trying to enact a stringent privacy/security statute. That would give the industry enough time to settle down and allow clear leaders to emerge who would then be in a better position to actually implement such measures.
Taxes on wealth destroy small businesses. But I'm sure you already knew that.
It must piss him off to no end when people add broken features like this to his operating system.
Which are taxed at the appropriate rate.
"Paying the maximum tax is a morally superior to paying the minimum required tax" is hardly a widely accepted axiom.
The moral of the story is that by saving that money, Google is able to hire more people to produce more products and make more profit. Those people in turn pay more taxes which, in toto, is greater than the supposed evaded amount.
It's sometimes counterintuitive how economics works.
American women have large, pendulous breasts. Chinese women have small, pert breasts. Japanese women also have small, pert breasts. The difference is that Americans and Chinese have no cultural aversion to getting tattoos.
Therefore, when the tit comes to tat, the Japanese with their small, pert breasts will remain unadorned.
Americans will continue with their behemoth breasts.
Chinese will continue with their ink-filled breasts.
And everyone will be the poorer for it.
Sending pizzas and cardboard boxes is apparently the best Anonymous can do. DDOS isn't even their big gun.
What I love most about Netflix is the ability to watch movies online as well as have them send me DVDs in the mail.
Yes. Duh. The summary implies that there is.
people don't understand...how "data" is different from "executable code"
What's the difference?
What is cool about software and what makes it conducive to openness is the fact that anyone with a PC can write it, run it, and change it.
Hardware makers suffer no such weakness. The barrier to entry is the high cost of manufacturing, so there is really no significant benefit to release an unrestricted device. Something like the iPod has already proved this.
The FSF's role is complete. It should fade away quietly while people still think highly of the wackjob membership.
He compared his company to "Craigslist", not "iTunes".
I'm not sure that's the image you'd want to project for your company, but I'm not that guy.
FYI
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/nsb/tsc/tsc_faqs
The best way is to set up a nonpartisan, unbiased website that releases such documents without the ridiculous commentary and shifty editing.
Assange has done a severe disservice to WL with his emphasis on injecting over the top editorial into the stories on the site.
Maybe we should all take our shoes off for inspection before we get online. Or make us wait in an unguarded corral area for half an hour before we can enter the secured area. Or randomly pull users aside for full system scans. Or force users to their own drink breast milk before logging in.
I sure as hell don't want them "attacking" computers online.
No, I also expect them to do a good job.
But is it hard to communicate effectively? For some people, I suppose so. We don't hire them. They usually don't make it past the first telephone contact.
Is it hard to look presentable? If you're visiting a customer, you only need a nice shirt ($18 at JCPenney), slacks ($20 JCPenney), and leather shoes. In addition, you should also shower, shave or have a neatly trimmed beard/mustache, and your hair should be neatly arranged.
How hard is it to understand the business? Who is the customer? What are we selling them? What is their immediate problem that we are helping them with? If need be, I brief the engineer on these things and expect feedback regarding what they expect are the most likely risks, possible opportunities, and necessary on-site set-up.
This business requires some on-site work. Those engineers represent the company.
I expect the engineers to have the ability to be professionals. I do not ask them to establish contacts, manage relationships, research the buying structure of customers, make proposals, negotiate and close deals, or remain the focal point for customer contact for the length of the customer relationship. I don't ask them to prepare sales material, determine company strategy, find new markets and prospects, or provide dollar amount goals for the upcoming quarters.
I only require that they be well-spoken, present themselves well, and prepare adequately whenever they need to meet a customer. These aren't "sales skills" or "business skills", this is the basic level of professionalism that anyone in a white collar position should have.
Let's face it, if all I needed was some programmer to sit in a cube all day, I can hire a team in India or China for cheap. If you think that all you need is "technical skills", your job will be the next one sent to those places.
Our engineers make 150K on average with additional bonuses for performance. There is an employee stock option program (still pre-IPO). Medical insurance is fully covered for all family members including domestic partners. Engineers typically work 4 days a week, have the option of working remotely, and are assigned a small expense account to pursue their own inventive interests. We are not hurting for resumes.
We have high standards (now. the previous CEO was somewhat of a spendthrift). We aren't the only game in town, but we are also incredibly profitable, challenging, and exciting. The pay is commensurate with our demands, and we have no qualms to reevaluate an employee's salary if she feels there is a discrepancy between her output and her pay.
If not meeting customers is your priority, that is your choice. We can't afford to have you here.
Sorry, if you can't meet a customer, you have no place here. I'm not asking any engineer to do sales. My only requirement is that they be able to communicate effectively, look presentable, and understand the business on a broad scale as well as in the minutiae.
If an engineer is going to meet a customer, I always make sure they are briefed about the situation before going in and provide them my expectations for what I need from them and ask them what they need from the customer so I can prepare that beforehand. I don't want any surprises when we meet, especially on the customer's side.
While no one expects me to troubleshoot or write code, I do stay with the on-site engineer as long as I can to understand his issues and relay them to the customer as well as I can. Any lack of communication skill, any inability to act appropriately, or any unexpected issues damage my business, my company, my customer, and the engineer's reputation in the company. That isn't about separation of roles, it's all about understanding business and acting as an agent of the company, not just being a code monkey.
What's surprising? My sales for the last 3 years running have exceeded my annual reach goals and has brought in over 102 million dollars over that period. If there is any reason my employer keeps me, it is because I produce.
When we had to cut costs, it wasn't a purely mathematical decision. We had some people with salaries that weren't in line with their production, but we also looked for personal factors such as eagerness to work, ability to mentor, and the ability to meet with customers without making us look like amateurs. Believe me, there are a lot of people employed as engineers who should *never* be allowed to meet customers. We don't want them here, so we sent them packing.
Your posts reeks of bitterness and a "blame someone else" attitude. You think you deserve a job, but you don't realize that you are the one who must prove your worth to a company.
my brain just exploded with the IRONY there and where this was posted
What better place to say it than to your face?
I actually recommend this choice to people whom I have had to let go. It was pretty clear they didn't possess the wherewithal to continue growing and contributing in this industry.
One guy went out and started a consulting business. He advises people on drainage plans for their new homes. As a programmer, he stumbled through the code and introduced as many bugs as he fixed. I think we picked him up as a resource sometime in the late 90s when we were hiring like crazy. 10 years of experience, and the only real thing I think we figured out was that he was a pretty mediocre programmer. But now he is doing very well as a drainage consultant.
You shouldn't stay in a job you suck at. And your manager shouldn't keep you once you've shown no particular aptitude for the work. Go do something you're good at. You'll feel much better about yourself and you won't have the sword of Damocles always hanging above you.