Having read Paul's treatise yesterday on the importance of improving our on-line dialectic, this story also reminds me that it may also be acceptable, if not appropriate, to occasionally refer to people as simply 'assholes'. A much better word in this case than 'hackers'.
these people aren't merely assholes. They are terrorists (I do not throw this term around lightly). I generally abhor black hat's (grey hats and security researcher's breaking the law to prove a point aside) but this is beyond attacking a network, cracking a web site or even stealing someones Identity. This is as bad as taking an old womans walker and proceeding to beat her with it.
Facebook may be like the Macintosh computer before desktop publishing. You may be not old enough to remember when the Macintosh was really just a toy, but it was. Don't count Facebook out yet, a killer application may just change the entire story. In fact, I am trying to build a killer application for it myself, one that takes it out of being just a game and provides a real reason for real people to use it every day. I've been working on my program for a long time, and if successful, it could change how some people perceive facebook No, it is not a 'Bit by a Vampire' applet! Even more interesting,there are probably 100s of other people just like me trying to do the same thing, find a way to leverage what is cool about facebook and make it a productive environment. Sure Facebook is Doomed, just like Apple has been doomed almost every year it has ever been around. :-) At least, that is what I hope.
"No, it is not a 'Bit by a Vampire' applet!"
Oh, god, that's a relief. Facebook has enough of those. :)
Anyway, that's pretty much what I meant with my Emacs-ish response. It's a powerful platform, but people haven't really figured out what to do with it beyond small games and hundreds of friend invites.
Good luck with your app - I'd love to see it when/if you release it.
Indeed, to really address someone's arguments well enough to try to change their opinion takes a lot of time and effort. The question is, what is the benefit to you of doing that? If it is a real live friend that you are going to spend a lot of time with it may be worth the effort as they become perhaps a more enjoyable friend to spend time with (e.g. a friend who keeps telling you what a Great job George Bush is doing may begin to grate on the nerves). However, a stranger on the Internet you only know by a fake name, if you refute their arguments and win them over, it is not clear that you gain much. They go away. So, in casual conversation such as in these responses here or in Reddit, where everything is anonymous and long term relationship is not likely, it is easier and perhaps more satisfying just to call them an ass. Perhaps this would change in a reddit embedded withing a facebook where there is more relationship context for the conversation and where perhaps, there is more to be clearly gained by changing someones mind about something.
No, Emmett is not right because there is no definition of qualified. It is a meaningless statement. The problem with the statement is that it implies that you are not funded you are somehow not qualified. What does that mean?
I've worked on professional Blackjack teams. It looks much more glamorous in the movies than it is in real life. Still, potentially making 35k in one night has its appeal.
I was wondering when someone would finally make a comment about Lisp. In fact, this could very easily be a story about Lisp. Using Lisp to create grammars to read and execute specification files. This developer was forced by the client to write entirely in Java, but would probably have used Lex and Yacc, plus Java, if given a choice. I suspect, folks around here could get the exact same results in Lisp. The key is, Lisp programmers have likely been taught to think about the problem in a similar manner. The key is how you think about the problem, not the specific tools you use.
Indeed. All of the Detroit automobile companies are now off shoring to India and China to try to reduce costs. Open sourcing factor floor control and monitoring systems is simply another way to achieve the same results.
Agreed. The problem is, hackers don't tend to even have access to this type of problem because you need access to the very real environment of a large factory floor. And, even if you did build a better solution, there are relatively few customers, so selling is really about selling into large corporate bureaucracies, not getting someone to download a cool new plug-in. This type of selling is very expensive, and they will not buy from a couple of hackers in a spare beadroom
Right. Now, change "billion" to "million". Find a little work in one of the thousands of small businesses in your neighborhood, and within 2 weeks you'll find yourself screaming one of two things, either, "Who wrote this &^#$^#&!" or "I can do way better than this."
Congratulations. You just found the basis for a viable start-up.
Those 4 words still send chills up my spine, especially with the exclamation point. (I know, what a nerd.) Hate to get all Oprah on you, but sometimes I think having that attitude is half the battle.
