But the trend in general to blow up dams is a very troubling one. We need more power plants, not less.
I agree with you that we need more power plants, but there are good reasons to remove dams.
I find it interesting that you criticize Greens for a black-and-white worldview, and yet you offer a blanket statement "we need more power plants, not less[sic]" for why we shouldn't remove dams. Some dams are dangerous (including the Elwha dams you mentioned earlier, which by the way, hardly produce any electricity). $300M a big price tag, but the Teton Dam failure cost $2B 1976 dollars.
I disagree with your #3 above. The Elwha Dam is hardly producing any electricity, and it poses a potential danger to downstream communities due to its slipshod construction.
Like you said, there are pros and cons to removal, but on the whole, I think removing the dams is a good idea.
I definitely agree with your #1, above. We have the power generation and storage technology to make relics of gasoline-powered automobiles. Do we have the will?
I found iPhone 3Gs to be sluggish and painful to use, as compared side-by-side with the Nexus One on the same network. Once iPhone gets multitasking, it'll be a lot better.
No doubt Android needs more polish to get to where iPhone OS and WebOS are, but I'd take a small learning curve over lacking functionality, any day.
Droid is a nice device, but I don't like the keyboard. I have a personal preference for the Pre Plus.
It'll be nice to have some choices when the Incredible and the Evo 4G come out.
I'm sure he'll do just fine. After this kerfuffle, any hiring manager can be reasonably certain that this was a mistake that is unlikely to be repeated.
I'm a little surprised that Debian didn't release 0.95 as a security update into stable. Ubuntu did.
But I agree, the long-term solution is to boot clamav out of stable and into volatile. There is no point in running a virus-scanner that hasn't seen an update in 2 years. From the discussion on the bug tracker, it looks like that may be the plan.
Debian Volatile is meant specifically for this kind of thing.
And indeed I'm running stable-volatile for my mail server, so I never would have found out about this, had it not been posted to slashdot.
But it is truly shocking to me that Debian lenny hasn't been updated via security.debian.org. I know they're under a freeze and all, but there are about a half dozen bugs filed against clamav that warned this was going to happen. Not sure what the logic was in refusing to upgrade, despite this being a well-known to the maintainer issue.
If they don't want to keep clamav stable in stable, they need to kick it out.
From now on, my recommended course of action is that all mail administrators running clamav should REMOVE or DISABLE any automatic updates of ClamAV rules, make sure to comment out any crontab entries for freshclam.
If you're not going to keep the virus signatures up to date, what's the point of even running it?
It's a little shocking to me that anyone was caught by surprise on this. Ubuntu and Debian volatile are running 0.95+. I assume the other distros are, as well.
If you don't intend to apply the security fixes to your server, do not run a server. Pay somebody else to do it for you.
This is why you rely on package management software. There are actual maintainers out there who keep up-to-date on issues like this, that affect their packages.
For instance, if you're running any version of Ubuntu, you are on v0.95.3 or v0.96 right now, so you would not have even known about this EOL had it not been on slashdot. Every time you log into Ubuntu, it will warn you if you need to do some updates.
If you are not a professional system administrator (neither am I, by the way, so I feel for you), you should not bother trying to subscribe to all of the mailing lists for all of the packages you use. You should instead rely on the hard, thankless work put in by the package maintainers to keep you out of trouble.
Make sure you do the security updates for your distro of choice. Choose a stable release of your distro if you don't enjoy constant upgrades.
As someone who is 90% Java, 10% C++, with a CS degree but somewhere between junior and mid level in my career, I would say:
C gives you structs, but C++ gives true objects and all the OO glory that they entail
I assume that I failed your test
The beauty of an open-ended question like that is that there isn't really a right or wrong answer, and there is no test to pass or fail in any given question.
If you gave me that answer, I'd assume you had a passing familiarity with C and/or C++, as opposed to a deep knowledge and understanding. Not that there's anything wrong with that--you're not trying to pass yourself off as experienced in C++. Where we went from there would depend on the requirements of the position.
If it was a C++ position, we'd go right into the areas of C++ that are required and you'd either sink or swim.
If it was for a Java position, I'd probably segue into Java by seeing if you could tell me a few differences between Java and C++, before getting into the specific areas of Java that the position required.
I left out the other key thing: "C++ has string, vector, and map classes so I don't have to re-invent those, or constantly worry about buffer sizes." That's actually pretty important, though I ask about that more explicity in an interview instead of fishing for that answer with vague questions.
Yeah, I don't really care if the candidate brought up my favorite pet difference or not when I ask an open-ended question. You can learn a lot about a candidate based on what pops into his head first, nevermind if the answer is even correct.
For instance, if the candidate started going off on the C vs. C++ standard library, I'd start to think that this is going to be a heads-down coder, and not someone who is architecting systems. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just trying to see where the person is.
And don't get me wrong, it's definitely a good answer. I don't want a junior programmer reimplementing standard library data structures.
I'm not a C or C++ career programmer, but wouldn't the appropriate response be that C++ is object oriented, that if not writing with C++ classes then you're using the C subset of C++?
If I were interviewing for a C++ position, I'd want to hear about memory management as well, at the very least. If constructors/destructors/new/delete didn't strike you as a huge improvement over malloc/free, then I'd be a little concerned.:)
But if it were for a position in an unrelated area of expertise, I wouldn't hold it against you.
That question has me scratching my head a bit. As to its purpose, I mean.
If I were in your shoes, I probably would have said something like, "A computer system that accepts data for later retrieval. Naturally, the topic of databases is broad. Would you like for me to discuss any specific aspect of databases with you?"
If it were me conducting the interview, and it was some type of DBA position, perhaps I would have asked something like, "What are some basic tuning considerations for OLTP vs. OLAP data stores?"
I'll come right out and say I have no clue what the answer to that question is. On the other hand, I've been working with computer systems for about 30 years, so if I get an answer that sounds like something other than "OLTP is optimized for inserts and quick retrievals of discrete amounts of data, whereas OLAP is tuned for querying data and things that look more like analysis and a constantly-growing dataset", I can look it up after the fact to see if my candidate is a crackpot or if I'm the crackpot.:)
To keep it from spiraling into a ridiculously long answer, what would be the most appropriate response?
That's the beauty of open-ended questions. I get to see how the candidate thinks.
There's no single right or "most appropriate" response, but there are plenty of wrong responses. My expected response is what you describe as:
Or try to give a high-level overview listing some of the major additions by C++ to C (such as classes and more type safety)?
But think about what some of your other answers would tell me.
If you gave me your first few answers and just left it at that, I'd understand that you had hands-on experience with both languages, but pointing out the differences in comment style would make me want to probe your soft skills a bit. So I'd ask for one or two high-level differences that might make me choose one solution over the other (just to be sure), and then I'd switch to soft-skill questions.
In other words, giving an answer other than what I expect isn't going to doom the interview, but it will definitely help determine its course.:)
You want a good coder? Look at their code. Make them take some written tests and an oral exam. Have them write you something small for free.
Maybe that is specific to rent-a-coder. I do a lot of interviewing for technical positions, and I don't give code challenges. Anything beyond CS101 fodder is too time-consuming, and asking CS101 questions doesn't really tell me anything.
I'm a big fan of "what's the difference?" questions. I'll take two similar technologies from their resume and ask what's the difference between them. It tests both the candidate's level of experience, as well as the candidate's ability to think and articulate an answer.
I have to say, I've gotten some pretty (ahem) creative responses, too. And for all you job hunters out there, if you put "C/C++" on your resume, I guarantee my first technical question is going to be, "What's the difference between C and C++?" All the while knowing that there is a >50% chance I'm about to get a "creative" answer.
Higher demand (5K+ job postings) would typically suggest a higher price (compensation), not a lower price. However, we cannot know price without knowing both supply and demand.
Around here, demand outstrips supply. If you know of a source of experienced Java developers who will work for $50k/yr, please let me know.
My current client switched fairly recently to RHEL from Solaris, and we haven't had any hiccups at the OS level. Performance is much better under RHEL on the same hardware.
Their EMC storage solution, on the other hand, is a source of constant headaches for the admins.
Obviously I have no idea what was causing your issues, but I doubt it was RH. You do allude to using consumer-grade hardware, so it's possible that maybe you should have increased your hardware budget a smidge.
I'd say the folks who should really take note are GlassFish users.
It was always a gamble whether or not Oracle was going to let GlassFish compete with Weblogic. I think the Solaris announcement makes it pretty clear that the writing is on the wall for GlassFish.
This objection comes up in every discussion of cheques/checks with Americans. Let's make this clear - the issue you're discussing is a solved problem. All over the rest of the world, you can just transfer money between bank accounts for free.
That's great, but we don't have this set up here. It sucks, but we just don't.
Slashdot Mirror
But the trend in general to blow up dams is a very troubling one. We need more power plants, not less.
I agree with you that we need more power plants, but there are good reasons to remove dams.
I find it interesting that you criticize Greens for a black-and-white worldview, and yet you offer a blanket statement "we need more power plants, not less[sic]" for why we shouldn't remove dams. Some dams are dangerous (including the Elwha dams you mentioned earlier, which by the way, hardly produce any electricity). $300M a big price tag, but the Teton Dam failure cost $2B 1976 dollars.
I disagree with your #3 above. The Elwha Dam is hardly producing any electricity, and it poses a potential danger to downstream communities due to its slipshod construction.
Like you said, there are pros and cons to removal, but on the whole, I think removing the dams is a good idea.
I definitely agree with your #1, above. We have the power generation and storage technology to make relics of gasoline-powered automobiles. Do we have the will?
I found iPhone 3Gs to be sluggish and painful to use, as compared side-by-side with the Nexus One on the same network. Once iPhone gets multitasking, it'll be a lot better.
No doubt Android needs more polish to get to where iPhone OS and WebOS are, but I'd take a small learning curve over lacking functionality, any day.
Droid is a nice device, but I don't like the keyboard. I have a personal preference for the Pre Plus.
It'll be nice to have some choices when the Incredible and the Evo 4G come out.
So anyone with an iPad would be very interested to know that Israel was stealing these computers at the borders.
FWIW, the iPads were not being stolen. The rightful owners could reclaim their property when they exited the country.
Are you suggesting that there is a torrent of porn on the Internet? Could you give me a bit of a clue where to find it?
Slashdotters don't usually publicly admit their sex lives depend on Cox.
My sex life does not, in the strictest sense, depend on Cox.
FiOS is also available in my area.
Oh, great. There goes my sex life.
If the story is accurate, then what's the point of exposing the poor sod's name?
You mean Gray Powell?
I'm sure he'll do just fine. After this kerfuffle, any hiring manager can be reasonably certain that this was a mistake that is unlikely to be repeated.
I'm a little surprised that Debian didn't release 0.95 as a security update into stable. Ubuntu did.
But I agree, the long-term solution is to boot clamav out of stable and into volatile. There is no point in running a virus-scanner that hasn't seen an update in 2 years. From the discussion on the bug tracker, it looks like that may be the plan.
It appears debian repositories also need to be updated. :(
Follow the instructions here and then do the update. You'll be up and running in a jiffy.
Debian Volatile is meant specifically for this kind of thing.
And indeed I'm running stable-volatile for my mail server, so I never would have found out about this, had it not been posted to slashdot.
But it is truly shocking to me that Debian lenny hasn't been updated via security.debian.org. I know they're under a freeze and all, but there are about a half dozen bugs filed against clamav that warned this was going to happen. Not sure what the logic was in refusing to upgrade, despite this being a well-known to the maintainer issue.
If they don't want to keep clamav stable in stable, they need to kick it out.
From now on, my recommended course of action is that all mail administrators running clamav should REMOVE or DISABLE any automatic updates of ClamAV rules, make sure to comment out any crontab entries for freshclam.
If you're not going to keep the virus signatures up to date, what's the point of even running it?
It's a little shocking to me that anyone was caught by surprise on this. Ubuntu and Debian volatile are running 0.95+. I assume the other distros are, as well.
If you don't intend to apply the security fixes to your server, do not run a server. Pay somebody else to do it for you.
This is why you rely on package management software. There are actual maintainers out there who keep up-to-date on issues like this, that affect their packages.
For instance, if you're running any version of Ubuntu, you are on v0.95.3 or v0.96 right now, so you would not have even known about this EOL had it not been on slashdot. Every time you log into Ubuntu, it will warn you if you need to do some updates.
If you are not a professional system administrator (neither am I, by the way, so I feel for you), you should not bother trying to subscribe to all of the mailing lists for all of the packages you use. You should instead rely on the hard, thankless work put in by the package maintainers to keep you out of trouble.
Make sure you do the security updates for your distro of choice. Choose a stable release of your distro if you don't enjoy constant upgrades.
As someone who is 90% Java, 10% C++, with a CS degree but somewhere between junior and mid level in my career, I would say:
C gives you structs, but C++ gives true objects and all the OO glory that they entail
I assume that I failed your test
The beauty of an open-ended question like that is that there isn't really a right or wrong answer, and there is no test to pass or fail in any given question.
If you gave me that answer, I'd assume you had a passing familiarity with C and/or C++, as opposed to a deep knowledge and understanding. Not that there's anything wrong with that--you're not trying to pass yourself off as experienced in C++. Where we went from there would depend on the requirements of the position.
If it was a C++ position, we'd go right into the areas of C++ that are required and you'd either sink or swim.
If it was for a Java position, I'd probably segue into Java by seeing if you could tell me a few differences between Java and C++, before getting into the specific areas of Java that the position required.
I left out the other key thing: "C++ has string, vector, and map classes so I don't have to re-invent those, or constantly worry about buffer sizes." That's actually pretty important, though I ask about that more explicity in an interview instead of fishing for that answer with vague questions.
Yeah, I don't really care if the candidate brought up my favorite pet difference or not when I ask an open-ended question. You can learn a lot about a candidate based on what pops into his head first, nevermind if the answer is even correct.
For instance, if the candidate started going off on the C vs. C++ standard library, I'd start to think that this is going to be a heads-down coder, and not someone who is architecting systems. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just trying to see where the person is.
And don't get me wrong, it's definitely a good answer. I don't want a junior programmer reimplementing standard library data structures.
But that answer is definitely trees, not forest.
I'm not a C or C++ career programmer, but wouldn't the appropriate response be that C++ is object oriented, that if not writing with C++ classes then you're using the C subset of C++?
If I were interviewing for a C++ position, I'd want to hear about memory management as well, at the very least. If constructors/destructors/new/delete didn't strike you as a huge improvement over malloc/free, then I'd be a little concerned. :)
But if it were for a position in an unrelated area of expertise, I wouldn't hold it against you.
"What is a Database?"
That question has me scratching my head a bit. As to its purpose, I mean.
If I were in your shoes, I probably would have said something like, "A computer system that accepts data for later retrieval. Naturally, the topic of databases is broad. Would you like for me to discuss any specific aspect of databases with you?"
If it were me conducting the interview, and it was some type of DBA position, perhaps I would have asked something like, "What are some basic tuning considerations for OLTP vs. OLAP data stores?"
I'll come right out and say I have no clue what the answer to that question is. On the other hand, I've been working with computer systems for about 30 years, so if I get an answer that sounds like something other than "OLTP is optimized for inserts and quick retrievals of discrete amounts of data, whereas OLAP is tuned for querying data and things that look more like analysis and a constantly-growing dataset", I can look it up after the fact to see if my candidate is a crackpot or if I'm the crackpot. :)
What do I win?
A malloc to the head.
To keep it from spiraling into a ridiculously long answer, what would be the most appropriate response?
That's the beauty of open-ended questions. I get to see how the candidate thinks.
There's no single right or "most appropriate" response, but there are plenty of wrong responses. My expected response is what you describe as:
Or try to give a high-level overview listing some of the major additions by C++ to C (such as classes and more type safety)?
But think about what some of your other answers would tell me.
If you gave me your first few answers and just left it at that, I'd understand that you had hands-on experience with both languages, but pointing out the differences in comment style would make me want to probe your soft skills a bit. So I'd ask for one or two high-level differences that might make me choose one solution over the other (just to be sure), and then I'd switch to soft-skill questions.
In other words, giving an answer other than what I expect isn't going to doom the interview, but it will definitely help determine its course. :)
You want a good coder? Look at their code. Make them take some written tests and an oral exam. Have them write you something small for free.
Maybe that is specific to rent-a-coder. I do a lot of interviewing for technical positions, and I don't give code challenges. Anything beyond CS101 fodder is too time-consuming, and asking CS101 questions doesn't really tell me anything.
I'm a big fan of "what's the difference?" questions. I'll take two similar technologies from their resume and ask what's the difference between them. It tests both the candidate's level of experience, as well as the candidate's ability to think and articulate an answer.
I have to say, I've gotten some pretty (ahem) creative responses, too. And for all you job hunters out there, if you put "C/C++" on your resume, I guarantee my first technical question is going to be, "What's the difference between C and C++?" All the while knowing that there is a >50% chance I'm about to get a "creative" answer.
Higher demand (5K+ job postings) would typically suggest a higher price (compensation), not a lower price. However, we cannot know price without knowing both supply and demand.
Around here, demand outstrips supply. If you know of a source of experienced Java developers who will work for $50k/yr, please let me know.
We could swap anecdotes all day long.
My current client switched fairly recently to RHEL from Solaris, and we haven't had any hiccups at the OS level. Performance is much better under RHEL on the same hardware.
Their EMC storage solution, on the other hand, is a source of constant headaches for the admins.
Obviously I have no idea what was causing your issues, but I doubt it was RH. You do allude to using consumer-grade hardware, so it's possible that maybe you should have increased your hardware budget a smidge.
For the person that this affects.
I'd say the folks who should really take note are GlassFish users.
It was always a gamble whether or not Oracle was going to let GlassFish compete with Weblogic. I think the Solaris announcement makes it pretty clear that the writing is on the wall for GlassFish.
Cool service. Looks like it launched about 6 months ago. Hopefully they'll sign up more banks.
The US badly needs a free way to send money to people. Checks blow goats.
This objection comes up in every discussion of cheques/checks with Americans. Let's make this clear - the issue you're discussing is a solved problem. All over the rest of the world, you can just transfer money between bank accounts for free.
That's great, but we don't have this set up here. It sucks, but we just don't.
If we did, we wouldn't use checks, either.