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.

I'm typing this from a G4 laptop I threw Debian on. It has everything I need for a "modern" OS and I do web development on it. Paid $200 bucks and couldn't be happier. Well I could, but for the price you can't beat it. If people really want to get the best hardware for cheap, hit up craigslist and put Linux on something, it's the best bang for your buck.

Agreed. Java GUIs always have a certain "look" to them you can spot right away.

but other than that I fail to see the outrage. I also don't see a lot of value in learning things you won't likely need to use. Whats the cost/benefit to learning and mastering assembly if you aren't going to need it? Building software as if you have low resources is fine, so long as you aren't compromising quality to make sure it will run on an archaic hardware. Making things as lean and fast as you can is always plus... if you have the time. Which is another thing today's programmers deal with more: insane deadlines. Expectations are growing and deadlines are getting shorter, and today's programmers (unfortunately) cut a lot of corners and don't get the chance to truly optimize something, just so they can get it out the door.

These types of places make a lot of sense. Google also has a datacenter in The Dalles, Oregon. This is because of great access to electricity, bandwidth and local labor. Not to mention these towns often welcome these companies with open arms by giving them tax breaks and allowing them to build with minimal interference. Not to mention cheap land prices. If they tried to build this same facility in Hillsboro, Oregon (where the majority of Intel campuses are located as well as other tech companies) they would be paying a much higher price for land, fighting for electricity and bandwidth, and battling the local government every step of the way. This move should surprise nobody.

I agree 100%. All the academic background in the world doesn't prepare you for what the school of hard knocks does. 2-3 years on the job programming taught me more than any school could. We all know the academic solutions, but do we ever use them?

In all seriousness, I started out in middle school tooling around with BASIC, but my real programming career started out with functional C. It's very basic, and simple enough to learn, and I have found that even to this day every new language I learn always seems familiar... like C. I definitely see the value in Java, mostly for teaching OOP, and I think its a great second step. If they start out with C and get their feet wet with it and move on to OOP, it seems like a solid foundation to build on.