But I would argue that the type of person who would try recreational drugs is also the type of person that might get into programming. Curious, risk taking and someone who doesn't want to be told what to do or fit into a mold? Yeah sounds about right.
Appfog is also offering free accounts, with 2 gig of RAM to use as long as you want. This seems like a great way to build your app and get it started, then once you grow you can fund the required expansion. Very startup friendly.
Yup, back then it was faster. Now, it might be in our heads?
Yeah in the middle ages I was one of those rushing to the source and building it, but not as much anymore. I still rebuild it on my personal machine if I know I'll be using it a while, just to squeeze every last bit I can, but I'll readily admit I don't notice the difference in performance at all. I doubt I'll rebuild for this one as I don't see any features that really apply to me.
As a personal user, I see fewer reasons to spend a lot of time on kernel tweaking and building, not like it was 10 years ago.
Since when do they post craigslist ads on the front page of slashdot?
I was thinking the same thing, as a current volunteer firefighter and techie I've thought about firefighting robots for years.
There are some huge obstacles aside from the most obvious which is heat.
- Terrain, as you said is a big one. I have been in a house with 2 feet of trash and laundry through the whole house. We could not see the floor while we were there. For humans it was a challenge, but for a robot it could make it impossible.
- Strength - As you know shagging hose takes strength, and that comes at a price for robots (weight and power usage).
- Victim Removal - While it's not an everyday occurrence its definitely a factor. What if someone is in the house and needs to be removed? Can a robot do this without further injuring the person? Does it have the dexterity to maneuver out of there towing someone?
- Deployment time has always been a big one. Can a robot do a scene size up? Not really. Can it do a 360 across any type of terrain that the house might be on?
I have no doubts that someday robots will be fighting fire, but we're such a long ways away from it still.
Just the company developing the most products.
So what's the point of all these "blackouts"? Most sites, like Reddit and Slash are full of people already aware of SOPA. Do you honestly think a group of congressmen are going to be like "wow, reddit went down today, we better clean up our act"?
Just like with Netflix, I understand there is a cost of doing business. The costs for these companies to pay for content is rising, and the means to deliver it is getting more expensive. I am willing to pay for it until it reaches a price I feel is too high, then I'm free to cancel. Why get angry?
It's a luxury item, if you can't afford it don't do it. That simple.
Step 1: Raise ATM Fees on customers
Step 2: Hire lobbyists to pass laws like this
Step 3: Profit
It's a crazy conspiracy theory, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be true.
The biggest problem with MMM is that software developers and architects are the only people who read it. Managers, especially "non technical" project managers have never heard of it, and won't bother to read it and they are the ones who would benefit from it the most.
I agree with your view on Design Patterns completely, but never really saw it put into words like that. For a giant project that's going to evolve and have lots of people working on it over time, it only makes sense to use patterns and practices based on others who have solved that same problem. However the tendency to over complicate more simple projects to fit in with a set of patterns can end up being counterproductive and a huge waste of time. Sometimes an application really is so simple that just breaking something into a couple of classes and documenting it good is all you'll ever need to do with it.
I was just having this conversation with some colleagues the other day. Without a doubt, Code Complete tops the list for me, though admittedly I have not read it cover to cover, nor do understand or even implement everything in it. But it's great.
Also:
TAOCP - I'm one of the few programmers out there who will sacrifice my ego and admit there is a lot of it I don't understand completely. But it really is a timeless and valuable book.
Code Complete - Can be applied to programming in many different languages and offers a fresh way of looking at problems.
The Mythical Man Month - Ok, so not as technical but amazingly accurate in discussing software projects and how they progress in real life.
Object Oriented Thought Process (Matt Weisfeld) - This isnt as well known, but was my first introduction to true OOP programming, and offers a clear, concise explanation of it.
K&R - A little dated, but the concepts are still great. Not exactly a beginner book and focused on C, but could be applied to just about any language to make you solve problems better.
Newer Stuff
Anything Deitel - These books are expensive but incredibly detailed and packed with great information.
Head First Design Patterns - I already had a good understanding of them previous to reading the book, but had I read it first I would have much smarter, much earlier.
"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love." -- Albert Einstein
