Man, I hope that Staples will still give me $3 off when I bring in my empty ink cartridge - I'm not looking forward to paying a few thousand to refill my Semiconductor printer!
I am simply amazed by the Oracle sales force. These guys must tell an amazing story when they make the final presentation to big wigs, because they land multi-million dollar contracts and promise the world...always to fall very short of the intended outcome.
Every single company I've worked for or interacted with that chose to go with Oracle has been driven into the ground during the roll-out and for months, sometime years after the fact with system failures. I've actually seen a few go completely out of business and many employees who were let go cite Oracle implementation as the beginning of the end.
I've lovingly adopted a new name for Oracle. I call it "Fish-eye". It focuses on one thing and everything else is blurry - That one thing? Ruining successful companies.
Jeez - You would've thought they were selling Bags Of Crap with the way that server went down...
On a serious note. They knew this was coming. It was marketed heavily and they should be ashamed for not being prepared to handle the onslaught of refreshers.
I wonder if Cowboy Bill's under-45, game-loving, Ipod carrying, PS3 Camping IT 'nerd' reads Slashdot. If so, perhaps a little payback is in order. Wouldn't it be funny if a few System32 files suddenly disappeared right before his broadcast?
Word of advice, Bill. Don't piss off the people you need. They can make your job really difficult and the most inopportune moment.
How many guys do you know that can recite PI to the 100th place and swoon at the thought of the Pythagorean Theorem proven geometrically are going to turn on that red hot number at the end of the bar?
Gee? Ya think she drank the Kool-aid or something! I'm willing to bet Ms. Reiff was sitting on the edge of her seat during GWB's "going to mars by 2020" speech, biting her lip. When he said it, she threw her arms up in the air, danced around and sang "Guess who's going to Mars! Guess who's going to Mars!"
The rest of this article is interesting and a great technological advancement, but to drop crap like that in there is ridiculous. I don't believe it will be likely we'll go to Mars by 2020, considering the terrestrial BS we're contending with right now and will be for many years to come.
"It validates the technique so we can use something similar to that instrument when we go to Mars," said Patricia Reiff, director of the Rice Space Institute.
Such GPR systems had been used in the past to locate smaller meteorites in Antarctica where ice allows easier penetration of the sonar. But until the Kansas dig, the technology had not been successfully used for ground detection in heavy soils -- like on Mars -- to find meteorites or water there.
The sad part is, the field staff (myself included) realized it early on and tried to report this problem to management. Management refused to listen to the cries for help from the field and chalked it off as incompetence on the field staff's part.
Finally, VARs began to push back, refusing to sell the product, which finally woke them up. Not to mention, there was ONE person who was tasked with the job of recoding dongles and working with Aladdin through widespread technical issues found. This was in addition to normal duties this person had. Needless to say, his time was consumed by dongle issues and none of his other (more important) duties were attended to.
Another poster mentioned a product that still has marketshare in Japan but lost its footing in the US. Funny, I work for a Japanese company. There is definitely a cultural difference there, as our parent company struggled to understand why there were so many problems with the licensing and the pushback that they received from the US. It only added to the US subsidiary's frustrations of trying to explain its needs to Japan. Granted, this software suite is not our core product, however it was considered the gateway into my company's future plans to change its business drastically. Due to this debacle, we are now way behind the times and having to work double time to change the market's attitudes about how we do software...
My company invested in the Aladdin dongle technology for one of our main software suites. It created a major support nightmare when the dongle failed, didn't release the proper license, didn't read the dongle during application launch, etc etc etc.
It lasted about a year, when our marketshare shrank to the point of near death did they finally realize that people liked the software, but couldn't overcome the licensing problems that came with it. In my opinion, we haven't recovered from it since...
I didn't realize this. Thank you for pointing that out. It shifts my thinking a little about big corporation crying foul, but I still believe in choices.
I see both sides of the argument and both have valid points. My complaint is MS' methodology rarely offers choice. It assumes it knows what's best for me and my computer and until I spend the time learning how to bypass it, I have to deal with crap like forced reboots immediately after an update, etc.
That being said, no matter how hard they try to be secure, there will always be the foes who find a way around the security measures in place - and once that happens, the floodgates are open. When you're number #1 in the marketplace, everyone is nicking at your heels and will do whatever it takes to tarnish your name.
I prefer to have a choice in security vendors, as their whole reputation is propped up on getting updates done quickly. We've all heard how MS hasn't patched this, or refuses to acknowledge that - third parties don't enjoy the same marketshare of MS, and thus are out to prove something. That ultimately creates a win for the consumer.
I'm not a programmer, but I do know that creating an OS is no easy task. I just think that MS has other fish to fry and should find ways to partner up with people who eat, drink and sleep the security stuff and work closely to solve the problem. Then everyone makes money and provides strong solutions to their customers.
It's not likely we'll see this very soon. As soon as Ma Bell gets their hands on this, they'll blunder it as usual and blame everyone else for their problems...
If they are successful, you can bet that you'll get high download speeds, but will be locked up with that lovely 256k uplink. Oh, you want more? That's a 'business line', you get to pay triple!
I've been one of these so called root-less workers for six years now and I can tell you it's not what it's cracked up to be.
#1: My company provided me with a cellular 'broadband' card as my primary connection. It works great in city centers, but is horrible if it works at all outside of major metro areas. I love it when it goes into idle mode as well - drops my VPN login, web pages time out on load, etc etc etc.
#2: My company insists it's important to load bloated corporate spyware that forces updates at inopportune moments and suddenly reboots when it's done - many times in the middle of a large email response. No warning, no choice.
#3: They insist on loading Novell services as they do for internal office workers when everything I need is strictly IP based. I got my hand slapped for backing it out, since that also reports back to the mothership daily.
#4: Many cafes that offer WiFi have minimal electrical outlets, so if you don't vulture other laptop users, you don't get to plug in. Not to mention, these environments are not conducive to making business calls with the grinders and blenders singing their harmonious tune - not to mention the vocals: "DECAF VENTI NON FAT SUGARFREE VANILLA LATTE!"
#5: Recipients of my calls complain of noisy backgrounds, so I have to go out side and talk. Winter sucks for this.
There is some luxury to the practice of being a rootless worker - the scenery does change frequently, I avoid bad coffee/snacks and the people working at these places get to know you and eventually hook you up with a freebie once in awhile.
Shame on companies who try to get off cheap and don't provide proper resources or financial compensation for lack of a decent working environment!
I had heard T-mobile was test marketing this in the US to address holes in coverage in residential and rural areas. I've been a long time customer with them, and my move to a new house has made their service unbearable. An inside source told me to hold on a little longer, as they're planning the Wifi phones for US market soon.
My biggest concern would be the handhelds we get. Are we going back to brick phones to support the battery requirements? Or will we just suffer with 30 minutes of battery life?
It seem the cell phone manufacturers have been all about putting bling into the phone rather than making the phone itself better - this progression of technology makes me fear that they still haven't addressed battery concerns...
The only way the attitudes will change is if impeachment is successful and heads roll along the line. Til then, the mouth-breathers will continue to support this administration and their crimes.
Blowjobs & hiding it from your wife (and the public) or raping civil liberties, massive debt, illegal wars and profiteering - Which do you think is more of an impeachable offense?
An FTP account all dolled up and made easy for mouth-breathers! Hooray!
I wonder if Unca Bush helped prop up this technology to make it easier to wiretap all those 'terrorists' sharing their battle plans to topple his regime!
Oh nos! The calendar lied - the Y2K = 2012, the end of the earth!
I need to go buy gallons of water, a generator, canned food and some fresh soil to bury my head in!!
Sure, with a screen no one under 40 can read, crappy T9 text entry (or if you prefer the 332288553228842288999 method), and a dialpad that is a struggle to use. Let's not forget that every time you change phones, you have to buy all new accessories!!!!
PDA's still have space in the marketplace for a while longer.
Slashdot Mirror
Man, I hope that Staples will still give me $3 off when I bring in my empty ink cartridge - I'm not looking forward to paying a few thousand to refill my Semiconductor printer!
Run Diebold Run! Dissolve the division and destroy the paper-trail before the Dems figure out what the real story was for the past couple elections!
I am simply amazed by the Oracle sales force. These guys must tell an amazing story when they make the final presentation to big wigs, because they land multi-million dollar contracts and promise the world...always to fall very short of the intended outcome.
Every single company I've worked for or interacted with that chose to go with Oracle has been driven into the ground during the roll-out and for months, sometime years after the fact with system failures. I've actually seen a few go completely out of business and many employees who were let go cite Oracle implementation as the beginning of the end.
I've lovingly adopted a new name for Oracle. I call it "Fish-eye". It focuses on one thing and everything else is blurry - That one thing? Ruining successful companies.
Jeez - You would've thought they were selling Bags Of Crap with the way that server went down...
On a serious note. They knew this was coming. It was marketed heavily and they should be ashamed for not being prepared to handle the onslaught of refreshers.
I wonder if Cowboy Bill's under-45, game-loving, Ipod carrying, PS3 Camping IT 'nerd' reads Slashdot. If so, perhaps a little payback is in order. Wouldn't it be funny if a few System32 files suddenly disappeared right before his broadcast?
Word of advice, Bill. Don't piss off the people you need. They can make your job really difficult and the most inopportune moment.
How many guys do you know that can recite PI to the 100th place and swoon at the thought of the Pythagorean Theorem proven geometrically are going to turn on that red hot number at the end of the bar?
The rest of this article is interesting and a great technological advancement, but to drop crap like that in there is ridiculous. I don't believe it will be likely we'll go to Mars by 2020, considering the terrestrial BS we're contending with right now and will be for many years to come.
The sad part is, the field staff (myself included) realized it early on and tried to report this problem to management. Management refused to listen to the cries for help from the field and chalked it off as incompetence on the field staff's part.
Finally, VARs began to push back, refusing to sell the product, which finally woke them up. Not to mention, there was ONE person who was tasked with the job of recoding dongles and working with Aladdin through widespread technical issues found. This was in addition to normal duties this person had. Needless to say, his time was consumed by dongle issues and none of his other (more important) duties were attended to.
Another poster mentioned a product that still has marketshare in Japan but lost its footing in the US. Funny, I work for a Japanese company. There is definitely a cultural difference there, as our parent company struggled to understand why there were so many problems with the licensing and the pushback that they received from the US. It only added to the US subsidiary's frustrations of trying to explain its needs to Japan. Granted, this software suite is not our core product, however it was considered the gateway into my company's future plans to change its business drastically. Due to this debacle, we are now way behind the times and having to work double time to change the market's attitudes about how we do software...
My company invested in the Aladdin dongle technology for one of our main software suites. It created a major support nightmare when the dongle failed, didn't release the proper license, didn't read the dongle during application launch, etc etc etc.
It lasted about a year, when our marketshare shrank to the point of near death did they finally realize that people liked the software, but couldn't overcome the licensing problems that came with it. In my opinion, we haven't recovered from it since...
I didn't realize this. Thank you for pointing that out. It shifts my thinking a little about big corporation crying foul, but I still believe in choices.
I see both sides of the argument and both have valid points. My complaint is MS' methodology rarely offers choice. It assumes it knows what's best for me and my computer and until I spend the time learning how to bypass it, I have to deal with crap like forced reboots immediately after an update, etc.
That being said, no matter how hard they try to be secure, there will always be the foes who find a way around the security measures in place - and once that happens, the floodgates are open. When you're number #1 in the marketplace, everyone is nicking at your heels and will do whatever it takes to tarnish your name.
I prefer to have a choice in security vendors, as their whole reputation is propped up on getting updates done quickly. We've all heard how MS hasn't patched this, or refuses to acknowledge that - third parties don't enjoy the same marketshare of MS, and thus are out to prove something. That ultimately creates a win for the consumer.
I'm not a programmer, but I do know that creating an OS is no easy task. I just think that MS has other fish to fry and should find ways to partner up with people who eat, drink and sleep the security stuff and work closely to solve the problem. Then everyone makes money and provides strong solutions to their customers.
Mailto: boss@bigevilcorporation.com
Forwarded message attached
See boss? If you get me a bigger screen, the 18 hours a day I put in will get even MORE mundane tasks completed! This 9" green screen is KILLING ME!
It's not likely we'll see this very soon. As soon as Ma Bell gets their hands on this, they'll blunder it as usual and blame everyone else for their problems... If they are successful, you can bet that you'll get high download speeds, but will be locked up with that lovely 256k uplink. Oh, you want more? That's a 'business line', you get to pay triple!
I've been one of these so called root-less workers for six years now and I can tell you it's not what it's cracked up to be.
#1: My company provided me with a cellular 'broadband' card as my primary connection. It works great in city centers, but is horrible if it works at all outside of major metro areas. I love it when it goes into idle mode as well - drops my VPN login, web pages time out on load, etc etc etc.
#2: My company insists it's important to load bloated corporate spyware that forces updates at inopportune moments and suddenly reboots when it's done - many times in the middle of a large email response. No warning, no choice.
#3: They insist on loading Novell services as they do for internal office workers when everything I need is strictly IP based. I got my hand slapped for backing it out, since that also reports back to the mothership daily.
#4: Many cafes that offer WiFi have minimal electrical outlets, so if you don't vulture other laptop users, you don't get to plug in. Not to mention, these environments are not conducive to making business calls with the grinders and blenders singing their harmonious tune - not to mention the vocals: "DECAF VENTI NON FAT SUGARFREE VANILLA LATTE!"
#5: Recipients of my calls complain of noisy backgrounds, so I have to go out side and talk. Winter sucks for this.
There is some luxury to the practice of being a rootless worker - the scenery does change frequently, I avoid bad coffee/snacks and the people working at these places get to know you and eventually hook you up with a freebie once in awhile.
Shame on companies who try to get off cheap and don't provide proper resources or financial compensation for lack of a decent working environment!
I had heard T-mobile was test marketing this in the US to address holes in coverage in residential and rural areas. I've been a long time customer with them, and my move to a new house has made their service unbearable. An inside source told me to hold on a little longer, as they're planning the Wifi phones for US market soon. My biggest concern would be the handhelds we get. Are we going back to brick phones to support the battery requirements? Or will we just suffer with 30 minutes of battery life? It seem the cell phone manufacturers have been all about putting bling into the phone rather than making the phone itself better - this progression of technology makes me fear that they still haven't addressed battery concerns...
I can see it now. In order to subsidize my prescription drug benefits, I'll have to wear one of these that says: "Another happy Viagra customer!"
Using this MacBookPro in bed is the only way I can warm up that cold hearted bitch!
I thought the largest pyramid in the world was in Ada, Michigan
The only way the attitudes will change is if impeachment is successful and heads roll along the line. Til then, the mouth-breathers will continue to support this administration and their crimes.
Blowjobs & hiding it from your wife (and the public) or raping civil liberties, massive debt, illegal wars and profiteering - Which do you think is more of an impeachable offense?
Free pr0n? Free laptop? Free Ipod? Yes!! *clikc*click*click*! 97% of internet users think free truly means free.
An FTP account all dolled up and made easy for mouth-breathers! Hooray!
I wonder if Unca Bush helped prop up this technology to make it easier to wiretap all those 'terrorists' sharing their battle plans to topple his regime!
I thought I TOLD her to get back in the kitchen!
*duck*
I wish my wife were more of a gamer, then I wouldn't get chewed out for the months-long blocks of time lost when I find a new addiction.
Oh nos! The calendar lied - the Y2K = 2012, the end of the earth! I need to go buy gallons of water, a generator, canned food and some fresh soil to bury my head in!!
Make that OVER 40.. I got a bit excited there...
Sure, with a screen no one under 40 can read, crappy T9 text entry (or if you prefer the 332288553228842288999 method), and a dialpad that is a struggle to use. Let's not forget that every time you change phones, you have to buy all new accessories!!!! PDA's still have space in the marketplace for a while longer.