As a senior in a software engineering major, I tend to agree. While there are any number of methods, design tools/patterns, and whatnot to help me do my job, in the end it is my own ideas and styles that define the product. There's certainly an element of artistry to it - a small block of recursion that accomplishes something horribly complex is just... beautiful.

Another thing that contributes to its non-rigor is the domain knowledge requirement. I can't effectively build a system unless I understand (at least at a high level) how it works. Each industry has its own specialties and levels of difficulty, and you can't teach all of that in school, so they teach us how to think and learn instead. They give us ways of understanding the problems we need to solve, and that's really what we do - solve problems.

HOO BABY WATCH THAT KARMA FLY

The title! They fixed it! Bastards!

Change in technology breeds change in record keeping, and the trend has shifted away from durability since the dawn of time. Electronic storage is less durable than paper is less durable than chiseled rocks.

Of course, losing records in today's world could mean complete societal meltdown (in the worst case)

Sometimes, I want something to actually be MINE.

It's times like this that I wish there was a +1 Awesome modifier...

/thread

That's it folks, game over.

Sure there is. Which would you rather do?

alt+f2
xterm
sudo apt-get install [package]
password
done!

OR

alt+f2
gksu
synaptic
password
search for package name
click several little boxes
click through a few more windows
done!

P.S. - You can do the first bit without moving your hands more than a few inches, and is several times faster.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find the fact of the game based on the movie launching two days BEFORE THE ACTUAL FILM a little irritating? IIRC, this was the case with Quantum of Solace as well.

I don't think I like this trend...

Yeah, 1080p would be okay, but still can't beat full-scene AA. If I had a home theater type setup, I'd consider it, but my computer desk pretty much serves that purpose...

I've found that the "PC gaming is dead!" chants are just FUD. There are many excellent titles for both PC and consoles, some exclusive to one or the other, and that's the way it'll continue. Each has advantages and disadvantages. The PC is a much more versatile platform than a console, yet more unpredictable in terms of hardware. Consoles are much more locked down than a PC. Cost of entry into the PC market is much lower, but competition is much higher. PC is capable of better graphics, but now we're back to hardware variance again.

Heck, the PC can completely replace most consoles (via emulation), all the way from the 2600 to the PS2. Sometimes, it can be even better than playing on the original console. FFX at 1600x1200 with 16xAA? Yes, please! I'll be damned if I'll go back to playing that game on a TV...

Stringent security training, eh? I have some serious doubts that 390,000 child care professionals can be stringently trained in data security, not to mention that fact that very few of them should be trusted with this kind of data in the first place.

Well, there was that one time

I agree completely about Hollywood quality. However, you're missing the obvious workaround: animation studios! It's almost universally original work, and always good. Literally everything that Pixar has produced has been excellent (though I don't see a way to top WALL-E, I'm sure they can do it). Dreamworks has been a bit disappointing since Shrek, but I'm sure they'll pull out of the slump.

Honestly, Coraline has been the best movie this year and most of last, in my not-so-humble opinion. If you haven't seen it yet, go do it. Though I guess it's still a Hollywood production, Henry Selick isn't exactly a typical guy.

Or, you could just watch indie films. Hell, Slumdog Millionaire took most of last year's awards, and there are plenty of awesome releases lately, like Let the Right One In (dubs suck, watch it with subs).

I see what you did there.