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Comment Postscript. COBOL. Farming. (Score 3, Informative) 52

How long ago was it that anyone coded in raw Postscript? Modelling languages like PS are not the same as coded programs, but maybe the idea is that "programs made of code" will become more like "program models". A lot of the GUI frameworks used in making nearly all modern web apps are little more than models now. Nobody cares about the underlying code, they just want the app to work end-to-end, and codemonkeys can turn out reasonably good (and reasonably secure) web apps in the same way a puppy mill cranks out pedigree dogs.

I wrote UI code, optimized JS, and full-stack web apps for 25 years. Seriously, from Day One (maybe Day Two) of the Interwebs. I used every platform you can remember, and created a few platform-ish things for my own uses. The work always paid well, was fascinating, and I eventually retired comfortably in the Bay Area. But I would never encourage anyone to take up web app development today. Because I expect those jobs -- and everything allied to them -- to become completely dominated by AI "any day now".

Oh, BTW, the last thing I did before I retired was evaluate and then turn down a startup that was going to fully automate DevOps using ML. I wasn't optimistic, but I'm certain it will happen eventually.

It's over, guys. Get into AI or ML development -- until the AI takes that over too -- or get just completely out. Apply your logical chops to making farming a fully automated, hands-free, play. Feed the world. Or maybe get deep into FORTRAN or COBOL, maintaining critical legacy systems that need to last another 50 years. I doubt there will be any AI tools pointed those directions. Heh, I could be completely wrong about that.

But I'm serious about the farming thing. Think about it.

Comment Personal experience (Score 2) 86

I do senior-level technology work (tho now retired). I've been in three companies owned or managed by Indians. One (from a couple of decades ago now) was much like described here. Top-down pressures all the time, Stoackhold Syndrome, all of it. I swore I'd never do that again. But I did, and the later experiences were a little more balanced. I think the Indian employees were more adjusted to the over-bearing, classist management style than I was (I'm Anglo-American) and it was cringe-worthy to watch. Never liked it, but the money was good, and these days most of the technology employment is under Indian bosses, part of the reason I left. There are serious cultural issues on display here. It doesn't work for everyone. Some of the time, it just doesn't work at all.

Submission + - Slashdot Alum Samzenpus's Fractured Veil Hits Kickstarter

CmdrTaco writes: Long time Slashdot readers remember Samzenpus,who posted over 17,000 stories here, sadly crushing my record in the process! What you might NOT know is that he was frequently the Dungeon Master for D&D campaigns played by the original Slashdot crew, and for the last few years he has been applying these skills with fellow Slashdot editorial alum Chris DiBona to a Survival game called Fractured Veil. It's set in a post apocalyptic Hawaii with a huge world based on real map data to explore, as well as careful balance between PVP & PVE. I figured a lot of our old friends would love to help them meet their kickstarter goal and then help us build bases and murder monsters! The game is turning into something pretty great and I'm excited to see it in the wild!

Comment Cops. Again. (Score 2) 20

Oh man, are cops going to get all over this one, same as they did with Ring cameras. I give it 12 months and then /. has an entry on how cops suddenly have to go through some imaginary process to gain access to your AirTags account information. Apple will claim not to log information, you know like how VPN-as-a-service always claims, but it will turn out they really do and then they share logs with LEOs with a simple request, or no request at all just give them a backdoor admin account.

That's the trend behind all this. I don't see it ending ever. Autonomous cars will be handled exactly the same, same as ride-share is handled now, same as Ring, same as smartphone, same as smarthome. Every use of technology will become a way to monitor users 24/7.

Will anyone care? I doubt it. It's all about fighting terrorism. Or something. Whatever. It's already impossible to unplug and survive. Next year it will likely be illegal, too. Unplug -- escape the Panopticon prison -- and you must be up to something criminal, so go to jail or Gitmo.

*sigh*

Comment Cops. Again (Score 0) 41

Yes of course they need to ask, in a public forum. What's to stop a pedophile cop from just watching some family come and go whenever he wants to. Or what's to stop a cop from stalking his ex? What's to stop a bad cop from waiting until a family is out of the house and then breaking in to ransack the place. Nothing whatever, is what. And you think they don't do this? You honestly think that? And what about all the other cameras and sensors people have installed, how long before the police have on-demand access to the inside of your own home? How long means, last week already.

Comment Cops. Again. (Score 2, Informative) 79

So because it was a cop, it's fine. Because I'm pretty sure if it was an insurance adjuster using a different computer system (and their authorized account) to do something underhanded, it would be 18 months in the slammer and the SCOTUS wouldn't hear the case. The insurance industry would demand it, because trust is a big part of the product offering. Cops, not so much. Nobody trusts cops, and cops (and their union) neither want nor need our trust. They have a state-sponsored license to do whatever-the-fuk and they use that license all the time, with full immunity, sometimes for personal profit. Welcome to your corrupt police state, have a nice century.

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