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Java

Submission + - Should I learn Java or stay with mainframes? 1

Submitted by
JCOTTON
JCOTTON writes: "CIOs of major corporations are agreed . They trust their mainframe systems more than they trust their distributed systems. But a "perfect storm" may be brewing. Many of the the mainframe Baby Boomer generation programmers will retire in the next decade. Deborah Perelman writes that CIOs should plan for this "problem".
I am a long time mainframe programmer, and I am now learning Java, JavaBeans, JDBC, and Swing, in order to switch to a more modern technology. My mainframe shop CIO says that we are moving to Java, but that our mainframe system will still be around in 10 years. Do Slashdot readers agree with my choice to learn Java? Or should I remain forever a mainframer? Do I trust my CIO?"
United States

Submission + - Working in a very remote area

Submitted by leeet
leeet writes: My family and I are faced with a big dilemma. I'm from a small town where the only thing IT-related is the local mom and pop computer shop and I'm barely being sarcastic. There is no innovation and most medium to large companies fulfill their IT needs from head office (i.e. if something breaks, they basically sent consultants for 1 or 2 days). Since I work in a semi-specialized field (IT Security), I had to move to a large city in order to make a "nice" living. Turns out that we're not sure if we're living a "nice living" after all: long commute time, away from our family, expensive housing and so on. I think everyone knows what I'm talking about.

So I'm faced with two choices:

1. Work in a large city, pay a high mortgage, commute forever and have no life whatsoever with my family. Not the best for my family.

2. Move to a nice remote area, work in some factory and struggle to make a decent living while never knowing when the factory will close (I'm also being barely sarcastic here). Not really better for my family.

So the best is of course a mixture of both options. I have some ideas in mind but they are very limited (like starting my own physical/Internet business, telecommuting for an IT company or simply re-orienting my career although this would be hard — like opening a restaurant, owning a bed & breakfast inn or something entirely different of what I do)

As far as telecommuting, I'm curious to know about real-life examples. What do you telecommuter people do? Sure some people telecommute, but is this "real"? Do some people really telecommute 365 days a year? Every single company that I worked for had a telecommute policy and we couldn't do it year round. We had perhaps 1 or 2 days per week at the maximum. My current company actually completely forbids telecommuting. So are there fields that are more open to telecommuters (perhaps fields where decentralization is well accepted — like insurance)?

Anyone willing to tell their own success story? How are you making enough money to support your family in a remote area? And perhaps more important, what are you doing exactly? I'm not looking for obvious ideas (i.e. do freelance programming — I already know about this) but rather for "think out of the box" ideas. Is anyone working from Hoot Owl, Oklahoma and is happy about it?
Biotech

Submission + - Self-Centered Cultures Narrow Your Viewpoint (eurekalert.org)

Submitted by
InvisblePinkUnicorn
InvisblePinkUnicorn writes: "NewScientist reports on research indicating that people from Western cultures such as the US are particularly challenged in their ability to understand someone else's point of view because they are part of a culture that encourages individualism. In the experiment, Chinese students outperformed their US counterparts when ask to infer another person's perspective. Volunteers had to follow the instructions of a director and move named objects from one compartment to another. But sometimes the researchers placed two objects of the same kind (eg, "wooden block") in the grid. 95% of Chinese students would immediately understand which object to move — the one visible to both them and the director. Their US counterparts, however, did not always catch on — only 35% understood what to do."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Banks Make More on Overdraft Fees than Loans (jeremyduffy.com)

Submitted by
JeremyDuffy
JeremyDuffy writes: "Research shows that banks are making far more on fees than actual loans. Worse yet, they specifically engineered their systems and policies to maximize the fees charged. For example, holding deposits long enough for your account to go negative so they can charge overdraft fees. New laws are in the works and if they pass, this kind of predation could end. In the meantime, you can use their nasty policies against them to get free loans for the cost of a single fee (see the article for details)"

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