Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:Fujitsu ScanSnap or similar (Score 1) 311

I second the above post. I also have an S1500 and like jrkotrla says, it's magic. I open the unit, load the docs, press the blue button and the PDF is stored in the correct folder. Load more docs, press the blue button, etc. I rename the files and remove unneeded pages before moving the PDF to its final location but that's all the effort I expend.

Comment What's your current job? (Score 4, Insightful) 506

Are you a janitor? Programmer? DBA? SA? Middle manager?

And what is "an open source job"? Is that a job where anyone can come by and do your work for you?

Your knee-jerk reaction makes no sense. You didn't say what you do or how the change will affect you, only "OMG M$!!!!!". In the end your company will be better off without you.

Comment Are you a shut-in? (Score 1) 332

If you're able to leave the house on occasion then look for local work instead. It took my wife a while but she found part-time work that she can do partly from home. Granted, it took a lot of wading through scams on Craigslist. My job is more flexible than hers so I can cover things at home if she needs to be out.

You need to find a task that either can't be outsourced (personal assistant, Girl Friday) or that the employer doesn't want to outsource. Find local companies that would rather have their tech needs met by someone they've met in person, yet that don't want to have a full-time person.

The catch is you'll have to work to get those jobs. You can't just sit around surfing the web looking for work. You need to call companies, leverage your friends and neighbors, and even cold call businesses in person. You have to earn the work...it's not going to fall from the sky.

Comment Re:Please stop! (Score 1) 427

You're absolutely right. I'm a programmer and I'm forced to rely on those who can build houses and furniture and appliances. If only I'd gone into the house/furniture/appliance trade.

Oh, wait...I forgot how things work. It's a good thing someone invented money so I can exchange my labor for someone else's using a mutually agreeable medium. Now I don't have to be a furniture maker/doctor/farmer/weaver...I can do what I'm good at and allow others to do what they're good at.
Crime

Israel Says It Will Treat Online Credit Card Theft As It Would Terrorism 422

In the wake of the online theft of at least 6,000 credit card numbers belonging to Israelis, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said that "Israel has active capabilities for striking at those who are trying to harm it, and no agency or hacker will be immune from retaliatory action." Also at Reuters, with a few more details about the believed thief, known as OxOmar: "After Israeli media ran what they said were interviews conducted with OxOmar over email, the Haaretz newspaper said a blogger had tracked the hacker down and determined he was a 19-year-old citizen of the United Arab Emirates studying and working in Mexico."

Comment Re:the way to go (Score 1) 743

Wow, where did you get all that from? Did I say I wanted cheery people? Didn't I say I was rigorous in screening and interviewing? I don't need what I call "factory programmers"...the widget assemblers as you put it. I've got roadies; I need rock stars. I want people smarter than me. I never dismissed tech skills - but I don't want only tech skills. The smartest candidate isn't necessarily the best candidate.

Yesterday I conducted 2 interviews. The first was a factory programmer - there's no way she would succeed on the project I'm hiring for. I think we spent 30 minutes with her (me and two other senior developers). The programmers on our team (of which I'm one) solve problems, probably learning new skills along the way, and ship code. Ever read A Message to Garcia? I need Rowans. Rowans succeed on this project.

The second interview got to almost the 2 hour point when the project manager came in to say we've gone long enough. We covered everything his resume claimed he knew, had him rough out a design on the whiteboard, and went over the other things (i.e. attitude-related) we look for: success at and away from work, ability to collaborate, flexibility, self-motivation, drive for results, decision making. He was a Rowan. Hopefully HR can put together a decent enough package to seal the deal.

Smart candidates respect the rigor of our process. Very few companies ask for code and writing samples prior to the review...our team does. There are plenty of places a factory programmer can go...companies where a manager does the interview so it's easy to look smart. The large company I work for is one of those places...but the project I'm on isn't like that.

Nice misread of my post.

Comment Re:the way to go (Score 2) 743

I do the tech interviewing for our project and we are pretty rigorous in our screening and our interviews. The make or break quality, though, is attitude.

You can teach skills but you can't teach attitude. In fact, my summer intern this year wasn't even a programmer - he was a double major in math and econ - but his spirit and attitude were outstanding so I brought him on (sort of a Pygmalion test of skills vs attitude).

After his internship was up we hired him as a part-time programmer, with an eye towards full-time employment if he wants to go that route. He fits in great with our team and he's picking up programming very fast (he'd only had one Java class previously).

Remember, you're interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you.
Japan

Ask Slashdot: Radiation Detection For Tokyo Resident? 371

An anonymous reader writes "I'm an American who is living in Tokyo. Stories have started popping up about 'radiation hot spots' in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures so I have begun to worry. I live on the first floor of my apartment building and right by our washing machine there is a gutter out there that is clogged with rain water and mud, which has me especially worried because my wife and I are planning to have kids soon. Obviously no one from the government is going to come by to check our gutter so I feel the need to take matters into my own hands. I have absolutely no idea so I'm asking you guys. What kind of radiation detector should I get? A Geiger Counter? If it measures Gamma rays is that enough? Are alpha and beta dangerous too? I know no one has all the answers regarding radiation but any advice you guys could give me would be great."
Transportation

Submission + - 175 MPH Student-Built EV Smashes Speed Record (byu.edu) 1

An anonymous reader writes: A team of Brigham Young University students recently smashed the world land speed record for electric vehicles by hitting a top speed of 175 miles per hour in their self-built electric car. The car, named “Electric Blue,” reached high speeds thanks to lithium iron phosphate batteries and its streamlined design, which is capped by a tail fin for speed and agility.

Slashdot Top Deals

BLISS is ignorance.

Working...