Information Technology's ("IT") progressive evolution, which is due to the advancement of computers and communication technology, continues to have a profound impact on our lives. The need is rising for technically competent individuals who can provide appropriate computer solutions. IT is an academic discipline that affects nearly every business and industry.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer and data processing services will add over 1.3 million jobs from 1996-2006, representing a 108 percent increase. These jobs will require employees with technical skills in areas such as multimedia, web design, programming and computer network systems. This increase in the number of these types of jobs is due primarily to technological advancements and the need for higher skilled workers. This is projected to be the fastest growing industry during this period.
The need for information technology workers in many industries has become apparent. An article in the September 22, 1998 issue of Occupations Outlook Quarterly magazine said opportunities abound in the field of information technology. The job market for computer-related skills is booming, and demand for computer professionals is projected to remain strong through the year 2006. According to the article, "A degree in computer science or a related technical field is perhaps the easiest ticket into the field."
Groups, such as the Information Technology Association of America ("ITAA") and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy, have issued reports that identify what they consider to be strong evidence of the Unites States' inability to keep up with the high demand for information technology workers. This "skills anemia" is a result of the technological success of today's economy. According to the January 19, 1998 edition of Computer Reseller News, "we have the ability to release new technology faster than we can build the skilled work force to implement and maintain the new products."
Firms need skilled computer professionals to maintain a competitive edge and cost-efficient operations. Yeah, right...
Let re-route asteroids so that they rain down out of the sky on our enemies, and then when people look at us suspicious, act nonchalant and say "hey, it wasn't us, it was an act of God!" The best weapon is one that can't be traced back to it's source for retribution!
China can do it, India can do it, Russia can do it, Europe can do it. Russia has done it, and China is doing it... hence the perceived need for US concern.
That may be, but I missed the part where that is a problem where you should be involved. This would cut off the US's supply of cheap cars, televisions, and cell phones the currently come from South Korea. Here in the good ol' USA, we really, really,really like our cheap consumer electronics, and we'll bomb the crap out of anybody that tries to come between us and our Hyundais!
make sure you've been to the Arctic circle first Been there, done that, couldn't get any sleep (Circle Hot Springs -- on the summer solstice, the sun is visible all night)
Care to cite the specific laws that this violates? Touch Communications Inc. did exactly that, and nobody was prosecuted that I know of... good thing I wasn't one of the people that worked for free for them for over a year in exchange for now worthless stock.
As much as we may hate to admit it, there are a lot of smart people working at Microsoft. No argument from me there. I've personally known some excellent people that went on to work for M$. (Although now that you can no longer get rich off of M$ stock options, they are losing a lot of good people.) That's why I'm looking for other explanations for their poor performance. My M$ experience is rather dated, but I've personally fixed bugs by rolling back to the previous version of MFC -- that's right, the Microsoftie thought he was fixing a problem, but instead he created a much worse problem! Since I could read the source and see the mistake, it's obvious it wasn't subject to any review. Procedures in others areas (e.g. the OS itself) are probably more stringent. I don't envy Microsoft the task of trying to be backwards compatible with every previous version of software and every possible permutation of hardware out there, but let's face it: their results suck. Whether this is due to failure to follow best practices or due to being driven entirely by Marketing instead of Engineering is beyond my abililties to answer.
Find some people that are out of work and willing to work for a share of the eventual profits. Have them develop the code, then when it's working, file chapter 11, and sell the assets off to another company (also owned by you) at firesale prices. Bingo, you get your software development done cheap! Think it's funny? You'd be suprised how many times this has actually been done!
The more experience I have dealing with 3-year olds, the easier it is to deal with engineers... there's really not much difference. Ask nicely, don't demand. Make them think they're getting their own way. Don't play favorites. Praise them, even for doing something as fundamental as crapping in the potty chair. Take them all out for ice cream once in a while. Give them the best new toys to play with, and they'll be occupied for days. Let go, and trust them to learn how to handle things themselves, or ask you for help when they can't. Protect them from the bullies.
What kind of crap C compiler would allocate function-local const arrays auto by default? diab. Hey, it must be better than gcc, 'cause you sure pay a lot more for it, right?
Let's start a software company based on an algorithm that promises to compress any string of bits into a 1 bit smaller string of bits, and thus by multiple invocations can compress any string of bits into a single bit... Then let's see if we can get Cringely to recommend this technology!
Information theory would imply that billions of paths take 1000 times more bits to encode than millions of paths. Either this obfuscation makes the code much, much bigger, or this explanation is bullshit. I suspect the latter.
Actually, even stepping through the execution of your own code can give you insights into how the compiler operates, and allow you to write more efficient code. For example, I knew a C programmer who used to declare const strings and arrays local to each of his functions. I had to point out to him that these get copied onto the stack every time the function is entered, severely slowing program execution -- and he might want to consider making these static! Of course, I wouldn't have noticed this if I hadn't been stepping through his code in the first place.
It makes reverse engineering more difficult because you can't disassemble the whole program at once, only the currently running portion. And you don't know what the boundaries between the currently running portion and the obfuscated byte codes are. However, if you just TRACE the running code, you should get a pretty good idea of how it executes under normal operation -- it's not like the actual algorithm changes every iteration. Granted, you probably won't know how it handles most exceptions and boundary conditions, but who cares?
I'm convinced that Microsoft must not practice peer review, so most of their code has only been seen by one pair of eyes. Any Microsofties lurking out their care to correct me on this?
Self-modifying code will be much more reliable, and easier to debug! Cringely may not own PreEmptive stock, but I don't beleive for one second that he isn't getting some sort of renumeration from them. Here's an idea -- why doesn't the EFF or FSF patent security through obscurity, thus forcing all software vendors to implement REAL security?
I agree with you. I was just pointing out that police forces have ALWAYS looked out for special interests. Remember, rich and poor alike are forbidden from sleeping under bridges or begging in the streets... that's equal justice, isn't it?
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He sounds over-qualified to me.
Information Technology's ("IT") progressive evolution, which is due to the advancement of computers and communication technology, continues to have a profound impact on our lives. The need is rising for technically competent individuals who can provide appropriate computer solutions. IT is an academic discipline that affects nearly every business and industry.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer and data processing services will add over 1.3 million jobs from 1996-2006, representing a 108 percent increase. These jobs will require employees with technical skills in areas such as multimedia, web design, programming and computer network systems. This increase in the number of these types of jobs is due primarily to technological advancements and the need for higher skilled workers. This is projected to be the fastest growing industry during this period.
The need for information technology workers in many industries has become apparent. An article in the September 22, 1998 issue of Occupations Outlook Quarterly magazine said opportunities abound in the field of information technology. The job market for computer-related skills is booming, and demand for computer professionals is projected to remain strong through the year 2006. According to the article, "A degree in computer science or a related technical field is perhaps the easiest ticket into the field."
Groups, such as the Information Technology Association of America ("ITAA") and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy, have issued reports that identify what they consider to be strong evidence of the Unites States' inability to keep up with the high demand for information technology workers. This "skills anemia" is a result of the technological success of today's economy. According to the January 19, 1998 edition of Computer Reseller News, "we have the ability to release new technology faster than we can build the skilled work force to implement and maintain the new products."
Firms need skilled computer professionals to maintain a competitive edge and cost-efficient operations. Yeah, right...
At the point where you start using satellite data, doesn't it really cease to be a "traditional" Inuit Ice Trek?
Funny, that doesn't seem to stop them from running ads that say "40,000 new IT jobs are opening up every year! Train now for a rewarding career!"
Let re-route asteroids so that they rain down out of the sky on our enemies, and then when people look at us suspicious, act nonchalant and say "hey, it wasn't us, it was an act of God!" The best weapon is one that can't be traced back to it's source for retribution!
China can do it, India can do it, Russia can do it, Europe can do it. Russia has done it, and China is doing it... hence the perceived need for US concern.
That may be, but I missed the part where that is a problem where you should be involved. This would cut off the US's supply of cheap cars, televisions, and cell phones the currently come from South Korea. Here in the good ol' USA, we really, really,really like our cheap consumer electronics, and we'll bomb the crap out of anybody that tries to come between us and our Hyundais!
In fact, they didn't even scare it's neighbors. 30,000 dead Iranians might disagree with you on this one...
make sure you've been to the Arctic circle first Been there, done that, couldn't get any sleep (Circle Hot Springs -- on the summer solstice, the sun is visible all night)
I'll never forget it, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was called, or who did it. "Nanook of the North"... sorry ;-)
So, am I better off using a battery-powered razor that vibrates at about 1000Hz?
Care to cite the specific laws that this violates? Touch Communications Inc. did exactly that, and nobody was prosecuted that I know of... good thing I wasn't one of the people that worked for free for them for over a year in exchange for now worthless stock.
As much as we may hate to admit it, there are a lot of smart people working at Microsoft. No argument from me there. I've personally known some excellent people that went on to work for M$. (Although now that you can no longer get rich off of M$ stock options, they are losing a lot of good people.) That's why I'm looking for other explanations for their poor performance. My M$ experience is rather dated, but I've personally fixed bugs by rolling back to the previous version of MFC -- that's right, the Microsoftie thought he was fixing a problem, but instead he created a much worse problem! Since I could read the source and see the mistake, it's obvious it wasn't subject to any review. Procedures in others areas (e.g. the OS itself) are probably more stringent. I don't envy Microsoft the task of trying to be backwards compatible with every previous version of software and every possible permutation of hardware out there, but let's face it: their results suck. Whether this is due to failure to follow best practices or due to being driven entirely by Marketing instead of Engineering is beyond my abililties to answer.
Find some people that are out of work and willing to work for a share of the eventual profits. Have them develop the code, then when it's working, file chapter 11, and sell the assets off to another company (also owned by you) at firesale prices. Bingo, you get your software development done cheap! Think it's funny? You'd be suprised how many times this has actually been done!
Excuse me, but yes, I do shave my whole head everday with an electric razor... and I haven't noticed any... uh, what were we talking about?
The more experience I have dealing with 3-year olds, the easier it is to deal with engineers... there's really not much difference. Ask nicely, don't demand. Make them think they're getting their own way. Don't play favorites. Praise them, even for doing something as fundamental as crapping in the potty chair. Take them all out for ice cream once in a while. Give them the best new toys to play with, and they'll be occupied for days. Let go, and trust them to learn how to handle things themselves, or ask you for help when they can't. Protect them from the bullies.
What kind of crap C compiler would allocate function-local const arrays auto by default? diab. Hey, it must be better than gcc, 'cause you sure pay a lot more for it, right?
Let's start a software company based on an algorithm that promises to compress any string of bits into a 1 bit smaller string of bits, and thus by multiple invocations can compress any string of bits into a single bit... Then let's see if we can get Cringely to recommend this technology!
Information theory would imply that billions of paths take 1000 times more bits to encode than millions of paths. Either this obfuscation makes the code much, much bigger, or this explanation is bullshit. I suspect the latter.
Actually, even stepping through the execution of your own code can give you insights into how the compiler operates, and allow you to write more efficient code. For example, I knew a C programmer who used to declare const strings and arrays local to each of his functions. I had to point out to him that these get copied onto the stack every time the function is entered, severely slowing program execution -- and he might want to consider making these static! Of course, I wouldn't have noticed this if I hadn't been stepping through his code in the first place.
It makes reverse engineering more difficult because you can't disassemble the whole program at once, only the currently running portion. And you don't know what the boundaries between the currently running portion and the obfuscated byte codes are. However, if you just TRACE the running code, you should get a pretty good idea of how it executes under normal operation -- it's not like the actual algorithm changes every iteration. Granted, you probably won't know how it handles most exceptions and boundary conditions, but who cares?
I'm convinced that Microsoft must not practice peer review, so most of their code has only been seen by one pair of eyes. Any Microsofties lurking out their care to correct me on this?
Self-modifying code will be much more reliable, and easier to debug! Cringely may not own PreEmptive stock, but I don't beleive for one second that he isn't getting some sort of renumeration from them. Here's an idea -- why doesn't the EFF or FSF patent security through obscurity, thus forcing all software vendors to implement REAL security?
Sniff, sniff... smells like spam!
I agree with you. I was just pointing out that police forces have ALWAYS looked out for special interests. Remember, rich and poor alike are forbidden from sleeping under bridges or begging in the streets... that's equal justice, isn't it?