19209524
submission
jammag writes:
A project manager talks about hiring young developers in the Age of Google. He points out that, for many of them, "I can just Google it" is a substitute for a larger knowledge base. He concedes that, okay, he himself used to rely (heavily) on reference books, but he wonders if it hasn't gone too far. Oh, and by the way, they wear flip-flops to job interviews. What's up with their young whipper snappers?
19209370
submission
virtualkingster writes:
With developers being able to tap into Google and the internet, does it really matter how smart they are? Can you create sufficient code by Googling? If so, does it make you a smarter (or dumber) developer?
18677058
submission
jammag writes:
A project manager describes facing an upset senior developer who learned that a new hire — a fresh college grad — would be making 30 percent more than him. The reason: the new grad knew a hot emerging technology that a client wanted. Yes, the senior coder was majorly pissed off. But with the constant upheaval in new technology, this situation is almost unavoidable — or is it? And at any rate, is it fair?
17066266
submission
jammag writes:
A longtime developer talks about getting introduced to the "mental health day" by a veteran coder. Clearly, after days of looking at snaking lines of code, everyone needs one. However, while one of the top developers on his team knew how to get away with it — he called in sick for a undisclosed personal reasons — a younger developer tried the same tactic and failed, because he didn't know how to properly set it up with management. Either way, shouldn't a "mental health day" (or several) be part of every developer's contract?
16660140
submission
storagedude writes:
Like something out of the Steven Spielberg movie Minority Report, a startup called Social Intelligence is mining social media to weed out job applicants based on their potential for violence, drug abuse or just plain bad judgment. The startup also combs sites like Facebook and Twitter to monitor current employees, presumably to monitor compliance with company social media policy, but as the criteria are company-defined, anything's possible. Just one more reason to watch what you post, folks.
16146188
submission
jammag writes:
Most developers have worked with "the difficult developer," the coder who nobody wants work with. A veteran development manager talks about developer hot potato — the process by which that person bounces from team to team, making no one happy. Headaches galore happen while everyone waits for the inevitable semi-meltdown, the pissed-off clients, the cubicle clashes. The problem is that, short of actually firing the developer, how do you deal with them? Maybe more important, how do you keep them off your team?
15041382
submission
jammag writes:
Two developers are sitting in a bar, having an argument. One is really happy he just landed a full-time coding gig with a Fortune 500 firm. His fellow programmer Sam just rolls his eyes. "You know I've been contracting for a couple years — I love it! Being an employee is usually a false path, especially for techies." But the newly hired dev doesn't want to hear it: "While I'm collecting a paycheck with group health insurance and a matching 401k, all you get is a check for your work." Sam rains on his parade: "Wow, no wonder they hired you," he said. "You actually believe the crap management brainwashes every employee with." So who's right?
14774956
submission
jammag writes:
The dispute about whether Ubuntu contributes its fair share to free software projects attracts heated comment from partisans on both sides of the issue. But while the exact percentage of Ubuntu's participation can be viewed negatively or positively — depending on who's parsing — Bruce Byfield points out the larger issue. "The two sides in this argument represent two very different views about what constitutes good citizenship among free software developers," he writes. On one hand, many feel that responsible free software developers must make their modifications available for everyone to share. In contrast, "Canonical has pushed ahead with its changes while keeping them within the Ubuntu distribution." Who's right?
14512388
submission
jammag writes:
Raising a debate that some might feel ended ten years ago, Linux pundit Bruce Byfield talks about his deep-seated preference for the Linux desktop's command line over its graphical user interface. Sure, all those obscure commands will mystify and terrify newbies, but Byfield lovingly ticks off instances where the command line smokes the GUI. You have to admire someone who really sticks to their religion. Go Bruce!
14428120
submission
jammag writes:
A longtime developer recounts the time his fellow developers called him a brown-noser, sucking up to the management shamelessly. For him, that was "maybe even worse than being called an idiot." Yet while he admits his colleagues weren't totally off-base, he recommends all developer break out of their coding shell and make their ideas known — even if it is self-serving in a career sense. Hmmm...is this just a justification for elbowing out your fellow programmers? And Isn't naked ladder climbing a bit unseemly?
