When I was job-searching last year, it wasn't enough to know a language or API. With all the free tools available, most of us can teach ourselves pretty much anything necessary in a matter of weeks. But most of the abusive job ads had specific requirements for years of paid experience.
I recall going through one ad, getting excited because I really did have the experience they wanted (Unix, C++, etc.). But then I came to the deal-killer, in all caps: "APPLICANT MUST HAVE THIS EXPERIENCE WORKING FOR A MEDICAL EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER."
Funny how our 'conservative' president, in one of his first acts, messed with the free market by imposing import duties, while our previous 'liberal' president was fairly consistent in supporting free trade.
Also funny how a lot more people had jobs back then.
The first thing I tried to do after getting an Nvidia Nforce2 MB was install Windows98 on it. That went smoothly enough, but it only gave me generic SVGA, and no audio or network support. Fortunately, the MB came with a CD with Windows drivers.
Unfortunately, the CD's installation program broke down in the middle, complaining that it couldn't find certain Windows files, and left me with a barely bootable system, still with no audio or network.
So for this particular desktop, Windows definitely is NOT ready. Linux, on the other hand, set up with network and audio support without my having to do much of anything.
The US competition with China is quite different than that with the Soviets. The Communists clearly stated that their goal was to spread throughout the world, and the US was willing to risk nuclear war to stop them. The space race wasn't just for pride, but an attempt by each side to show the neutral parts of the world whose system was better. We all know that many people like to side with winners.
Our relationship with China is a lot more normal. They're not imperialist (less than we are), and they're a huge trading partner.
Just want to point out that Velcro was invented by a Swiss citizen in the early 1940's. Perhaps you meant to say 'Teflon'?
Re:Not free - not interested
on
Kylix in Limbo
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· Score: 1
I agree completely. It's funny how some people claim that your attitude is "zealotry" or that free software is a religion. Those of us who have been burnt time and again by software vendors, or disappointed once too often by Microsoft's promises of "the best Windows yet", have rational reasons for our desire to avoid those things.
I'd just be happy to see one that uses a standard toolkit like GTK or QT. The keyboard shortcuts in Blender are great once you know what you're doing, but I hate trying to figure out the home-grown (and totally nonstandard) GUI.
What really frustrated me was the 'file' dialog, where the only way to accept your choice was to click the middle mouse button. The "Enter" key did nothing, and there were no "Save" or "OK" buttons. I believe they improved this a while ago, but I've always wondered what genius designed that in the first place.
True, and I had a similar experience with my USB scanner. In Windows, I plug it in, follow the steps of a "Wizard", and it works. In Linux, I read a bunch of stuff, fiddle around with settings (which I enjoy), and then it works.
There is a difference, though. In Windows, using the scanner crashes the system about 1/3 of the time. Also, it sometimes starts scanning even when I'm not using it. And the scanning program seems to have no way of saving its settings. Every time I use it, I have to click through a couple dialogs to tell it that I want it to scan in black-and-white.
I think this is typical of user experiences with Windows: Easy installation, but poor performance. All Linux needs to win is easier installation. And this has already happened for the OS itself.
Are you sure? Maybe this is true for the Windows version, but I know you can download QT for Linux and start developing for free. When you're 'done', you get to choose: Release as Free software, or pay them for a license and release commercially.
Yes, I remember that. They took out lots of expensive ads in the L.A. Times. I worked on word-processors at the time, and imagined how such a tool might put me out of a job: "Oh Last One, create a word-processor for me. It must support footnotes and have a spell-checker. And don't forget support for right-to-left languages like Arabic!"
My experience last year was that yes, agencies always want resumes in MS formats. My experience also was that agencies were completely useless in a bad job market.
Employers, though, varied quite a bit, with many web-based systems requiring a pure text resume. Ironically, this was the case with Microsoft itself.
Slashdot Mirror
My experience last year was exactly the same and I have a degree. The only two interviews I got were through personal references.
... but then I realized that it was "Simba", not "Samba". OTOH, I did see "Lion King".
When I was job-searching last year, it wasn't enough to know a language or API. With all the free tools available, most of us can teach ourselves pretty much anything necessary in a matter of weeks. But most of the abusive job ads had specific requirements for years of paid experience.
I recall going through one ad, getting excited because I really did have the experience they wanted (Unix, C++, etc.). But then I came to the deal-killer, in all caps: "APPLICANT MUST HAVE THIS EXPERIENCE WORKING FOR A MEDICAL EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER."
Those that irked me the most were the ones with explicit version requirements, like:
3 years with Java V1.31a7c
2 years Swing V2.93xL
Must have this experience on a Sun station running Solaris 5.839.
The above is an exaggeration, but only slightly.
Those lawyers are pretty sharp, but I have a lot of confidence in Linus:
Lawyer: So, Mr. Torvald, when DID you stop beating your wife?
Linus: My wife is a world karate champion.
Lawyer: Um, er,...uh, let's take a break.
Funny how our 'conservative' president, in one of his first acts, messed with the free market by imposing import duties, while our previous 'liberal' president was fairly consistent in supporting free trade.
Also funny how a lot more people had jobs back then.
If a burglar cut through the fence around your pool, then drowned in it, I'd doubt that you could be sued.
Then don't read them. I'm tired of MS's dirty tricks, empty promises, and shoddy software over the same decade when they made billions of dollars.
The first thing I tried to do after getting an Nvidia Nforce2 MB was install Windows98 on it. That went smoothly enough, but it only gave me generic SVGA, and no audio or network support. Fortunately, the MB came with a CD with Windows drivers.
Unfortunately, the CD's installation program broke down in the middle, complaining that it couldn't find certain Windows files, and left me with a barely bootable system, still with no audio or network.
So for this particular desktop, Windows definitely is NOT ready. Linux, on the other hand, set up with network and audio support without my having to do much of anything.
The US competition with China is quite different than that with the Soviets. The Communists clearly stated that their goal was to spread throughout the world, and the US was willing to risk nuclear war to stop them. The space race wasn't just for pride, but an attempt by each side to show the neutral parts of the world whose system was better. We all know that many people like to side with winners.
Our relationship with China is a lot more normal. They're not imperialist (less than we are), and they're a huge trading partner.
Just want to point out that Velcro was invented by a Swiss citizen in the early 1940's. Perhaps you meant to say 'Teflon'?
I agree completely. It's funny how some people claim that your attitude is "zealotry" or that free software is a religion. Those of us who have been burnt time and again by software vendors, or disappointed once too often by Microsoft's promises of "the best Windows yet", have rational reasons for our desire to avoid those things.
I'd just be happy to see one that uses a standard toolkit like GTK or QT. The keyboard shortcuts in Blender are great once you know what you're doing, but I hate trying to figure out the home-grown (and totally nonstandard) GUI.
What really frustrated me was the 'file' dialog, where the only way to accept your choice was to click the middle mouse button. The "Enter" key did nothing, and there were no "Save" or "OK" buttons. I believe they improved this a while ago, but I've always wondered what genius designed that in the first place.
...that he refers to me as a 'teenager'. It's been a few decades since anyone's done that.
True, and I had a similar experience with my USB scanner. In Windows, I plug it in, follow the steps of a "Wizard", and it works. In Linux, I read a bunch of stuff, fiddle around with settings (which I enjoy), and then it works.
There is a difference, though. In Windows, using the scanner crashes the system about 1/3 of the time. Also, it sometimes starts scanning even when I'm not using it. And the scanning program seems to have no way of saving its settings. Every time I use it, I have to click through a couple dialogs to tell it that I want it to scan in black-and-white.
I think this is typical of user experiences with Windows: Easy installation, but poor performance. All Linux needs to win is easier installation. And this has already happened for the OS itself.
Are you sure? Maybe this is true for the Windows version, but I know you can download QT for Linux and start developing for free. When you're 'done', you get to choose: Release as Free software, or pay them for a license and release commercially.
Waaaaaay back in the last millenium, when I was young, you could turn to MTV any time of day and see music videos. Ah, those were the good ol' days.
Will it be Linux? OS X? How about OS/2?
Sure, go ahead and develop your app. When it looks like you can get some sales, the cost of a QT license will be trivial.
Yes, I remember that. They took out lots of expensive ads in the L.A. Times. I worked on word-processors at the time, and imagined how such a tool might put me out of a job: "Oh Last One, create a word-processor for me. It must support footnotes and have a spell-checker. And don't forget support for right-to-left languages like Arabic!"
Sure, it looks nice, and I'd be willing to buy a copy for $100, as soon as a version comes out for my Athlon system.
My experience last year was that yes, agencies always want resumes in MS formats. My experience also was that agencies were completely useless in a bad job market.
Employers, though, varied quite a bit, with many web-based systems requiring a pure text resume. Ironically, this was the case with Microsoft itself.
At work, I use Linux and OpenOffice, like most everyone else here.
I think your first assertion implies the second.