Comment Re:Witless stenographers? (Score 1) 664
Maybe you should do a bit of research before you try calling other people's comments bullshit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysgraphia
Comment Re:Are they worth it? (Score 1) 345
You sound like a absolutely terrible person to work for.
1. Hiring a fresh grad for 40-50k (especially one who is quick to learn) over someone with 10 years of experience for 80-90k+ will often come out ahead for those positions that do not absolutely need that 10 years. Even if it takes them a few months to get the hang of what youre doing, if they end up 75% as productive as your senior coders, you come out way ahead
2. I would take a less experienced programmer on my payroll over an outside vendor any day of the week for non-complicated tasks, and twice on monday. Anyone whos had to deal with a bad vendor will agree.
3. A new programmer will grow and learn far faster than an experienced one(especially if it is their first real job.) a new programmer could be 2 or 3 times as productive 6 months in as they were at 1 month in
Of course, since youve reduced all your employees to a number, things like these probably never cross your mind.
(PS. if all your inexperienced people miss every deadline, youre picking the wrong hires. Not only that, but dont ever assume that experience = no mistakes or failures. Or maybe the environment youve created is that detrimental to work flow.. Hiring someone with every expectation of their failure never did anyone any good)
Originality Vs. Established IP In Games 71
Ten Ton Hammer has an article about the differences between developing a game based upon existing intellectual property and the creation of an entirely new story and setting. They make the point that while doing the former may result in an easier time building a fan base, those same fans will often be the hardest to please.
"By creating a game based on a popular IP, the company in question has a huge responsibility to 'do it right.' Unfortunately, not everyone realizes the reality of one little secret — every single fan out there has a different idea of what 'right' is. ... Lord of the Rings is a perfect example. For a person that may be familiar with the movies and little else, it's a great game with an impressive amount of depth and attention to detail. For the mass of fanatical fans that have spent more time poring over every book Tolkien ever wrote than even Tolkien himself, any deviation from the lore of his world is paramount to sacrilege on the most horrific scale."
Google Straightens Out Its Stance On Paid Apps 55
Julie188 writes "When the Android Market began offering paid apps last month, developers with the unlocked version of Google's Android phone quickly learned that they couldn't access them. The policy, which threatened to alienate the small developer base that Google needs to nurture at all costs, didn't make much sense. And now, with the release of Version 1.1 of Android for the developer phone, developers can access paid apps — as long as they aren't copy-protected. But in a weird way, that's good news. Very few developers currently copy-protect their Android apps simply because Android's copy-protection scheme is notoriously weak."
Comment Re:Jail? (Score 1) 171
hate to rain on your sony crusade, but the person who would end up in jail is the person who was responsible for running the check. that may be a salesman, or a manager, or whoever. when it comes to this kind of fine/jail time, there is a lot of finger pointing and assigning blame, and companies will go to great lengths to make sure the blame is placed right. granted, this is more likely to be applied to larger purchases than your 20$ book purchase off amazon.
Alienware Planning Android iPhone Killer? 152
meteorit found a story about
rumors of an Alienware phone based on Google's Android phone OS. As Dell has a history of bombing with handhelds, it would be interesting to try the Alienware brand instead. And I'm not exactly sure where they get off claiming that their drawings are the first pictures of the thing. Cheesy renderings designed explicitly for your website are not quite pictures of a product... they are artists impressions.
Jack Thompson Claiming Games Industry in Collusion with DoD 289
mytrip brings us a Wired blog about Jack Thompson's recent press release, which claims an "unholy alliance" exists between the gaming industry and the U.S. Department of Defense. Game Politics also has a discussion of Thompson's main points. From Wired:
"Jim Blank, the head of the modeling and simulation division of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, says that commercial games don't meet the demand of the military, adding, 'first-person shooter games really don't apply in this environment.' Blank's point is that game-like simulations are a valuable tool for training soldiers in situations that would be too expensive to simulate in reality."
Telecom Immunity Showdown in the Senate Today 221
CPeanutG writes "A make-or-break moment for telecom immunity has arrived — after months of back-room committee-meetings, the FISA bill will finally reach the Senate floor on Monday! Unfortunately, a previously-reported version of the bill that grants telecom immunity will be presented to the Senate on Monday morning. The clock is ticking. Write your Senators now."
Comment A "safer" method? (Score 1) 534
I have heard of running keyboards through the dishwasher. I read something on it several years ago. From what I read though, it seems much safer to do it this way:
1. Disassemble the keyboard, and set the pcb(s) aside.
2. Put all the keys in the silverware basket
3. Put all the plastic panels on the top rack
4. Run normally, but skip the heated drying stage
5. Air dry until completely dry.
6. Reassemble.
It's quite a bit more work, but it sounds like it would be lower risk. I'm almost tempted to try it without disassembly though (but I'd likely break down and just disassemble it anyways).
1. Disassemble the keyboard, and set the pcb(s) aside.
2. Put all the keys in the silverware basket
3. Put all the plastic panels on the top rack
4. Run normally, but skip the heated drying stage
5. Air dry until completely dry.
6. Reassemble.
It's quite a bit more work, but it sounds like it would be lower risk. I'm almost tempted to try it without disassembly though (but I'd likely break down and just disassemble it anyways).
BlackFrog to Take up BlueFrog's Flag 178
Runefox writes "ZDNet UK has a story about a new SPAM defense mechanism called BlackFrog, a response to the demise of Blue Security's BlueFrog. According to the article, the new service is based on a P2P network of clients, called the 'Frognet', which allows the opt-out service to continue functioning even after a server has gone down, making a DDoS attack like that which crippled BlueFrog ineffective against the new service."
Dell Installs Google Software at Factory 242
simonjp writes "BBC News are reporting that Dell will be installing Google software onto their new machines as part of the software build. Details appear sketchy, but this signifies the first step for Google from being just something you can download to an almost 'essential' software provider. They report that both sides are to benefit from the deal, and that 'more is to come.'"
Journal Journal: Me.
my site is http://paluminum.net/Paluminum.net Go there, read, enjoy.
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