re: Just old and bitter
Both?
Posts by Vanir
182 publicly visible posts • joined 8 Jul 2009
Space Commanders lock missiles on Elite's Frontier Devs
Monday 22nd December 2014 16:35 GMT
A key point
One thing that bothers me with this game is that you need an internet connection to play.
Ok, say you buy the game and then you lose the ability to pay for an internet connection thus lose access to one. Can you play the game? That you paid for?
I am a backer for this game (from the start) and I have to admit to be annoyed and disappointed that there will no sandboxed offline version. I have always played the single player versions of games, not the online multiplayer ones; I just prefer it this way. Play when/ where I want whether I have a connection or not.
I will play solo in this game. Going against another 'real' player does not hold that much of an attraction for me, especially since I've never played it yet except to try and undock a ship. And seeing the likes of
Isinona (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-dHqX5cFB0) at work, well I'm screwed.
But the again, I'll give it a try.
If I have an internet connection.
Torvalds CONFESSES: 'I'm pretty good at alienating devs'
Every billionaire needs a PANZER TANK, right? STOP THERE, Paul Allen
Scottish independence: Will it really TEAR the HEART from IT firms?
Thursday 11th September 2014 20:02 GMT 
Half-Life
Unforeseen consequences.
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Sarajevo, June 28, 1914.
Stalin appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1922
Hitler becomes a German citizen on 25 February 1932.
January 1958, Mao launches a plan, the Great Leap Forward.
You smoke.
You drink alcohol.
We know what we're doing don't we?
Why has the web gone to hell? Market chaos and HUMAN NATURE
Banking apps: Handy, can grab all your money... and RIDDLED with coding flaws
Wednesday 27th August 2014 18:26 GMT
Re: Too big not to fail?
"Grandma Hargrove was right: You don't want all your eggs in one basket"
Yeah, but Grandma had only one basket, so it was well cared for, maintained, and cleaned regularly.
It was valued. Still, Grandma was wise enough to be aware of risk.
Some people, on the other hand, have had created quickly quite a few baskets, of dubious quality, thinking that this is minimising the chances of breaking their or more probably others' precious eggs. These baskets are not valued, so they are not cared for. Eggs will be broken; that their rickety baskets carry other peoples eggs does not seem to be of concern.
The baskets are now beginning to break up, one by one.
Brit IT workers are so stressed that 'TWO-THIRDS' want to quit
Oxfam, you're full of FAIL. Leave economics to sensible bods
Thursday 20th March 2014 13:19 GMT
Re: Alternatives, please.
For the human animal have a look at:
Médecins Sans Frontières,
RNLI.
These people put their life on the line for others.
As for wildlife, there are plenty of people who run very small centres that help wildlife in trouble. You should search for one local to you and if possible visit them. They are dedicated souls.
Eight hour cleansing to get all the 'faggots' and 'bitches' OUT of Github
Wednesday 19th March 2014 13:35 GMT
@ElReg!comments!Pierre outed
I up-voted you. But then you would be poorer as I would fire you for putting such comments in a public code base: public in the sense that any other person / developer uses the code base. Even if it is the case that those comments you present as examples are the effect of code you have written yourself.
If you have the urge to 'vent out' then summon up some professional pride and integrity and do it in private.
Women! You too can be 'cool' and 'fun' if you work in tech!
Friday 7th March 2014 20:01 GMT
Re: Last thing you want to do...
You forgot the:
bad health; sitting on your arse for those 'shit hours', staring at screens for those 'shit hours', commuting hours each day to do these 'shit hours'.
crap family life.
crap social life.
I have no excuse of being a teenager to going in to programming; I was 37, I was under the delusion that programming was a very professional and rigorous arena of employment.
Software engineering? Yeah, right. Like 'free markets' in which a shortage of something means the price of that some something goes down. Go figure and explain both to anyone thinking of taking up a career in programming.
'No, I CAN'T write code myself,' admits woman in charge of teaching our kids to code
Tuesday 11th February 2014 20:39 GMT
Re: Few CIOs or VP ITs can code
@h4rm0ny
I down voted you purely on your use of the oxymoron "reliable estimate". Just as good as saying "reliable guess".
Let's say we use the phrase 'well founded' as a synonym for 'reliable' then we can ask: what is the estimate founded upon?
Another note: In all my years of professional software development I only once booked / entered my time spent on a project on a system to collect this information and that was on a defence project which was a sub-contract. Even this time was not specific to any requirement or set of functionality.
When was the last time you did this sort of activity?
I also note that most developers are on salary and in due course, often do more hours effort than what are their 'nominal contract hours'. When was the last time this extra effort was collected and collated by your management?
The trouble with software development is that the balls of string we have to look at hide an untold number of knots and these balls can be very tightly attached to one another.
If you want an IT job you'll need more than a degree, say top techies
Monday 9th December 2013 19:24 GMT
Re: A time machine helps, too.
So you've been taught: did you learn?
The real skill to learn is to teach oneself how to learn.
'Learning is acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing, existing knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information.' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning.
I'm still learning new bad habits. And still trying to unlearn old ones.
Sysadmin job ad: 'If you don’t mind really bad work-life balance, this is for you'
What's wrong with Britain's computer scientists?
Monday 25th November 2013 22:11 GMT
Computer Scientists are not required ..
but Software Engineers are.
A lot of people have job titles of 'Software Engineer'. I wonder how many of them do 'software engineering'.
In an imaginary court of law you, having the job title of 'Software Engineer', are accused of NOT being a software engineer and therefore of being a fraud. Please present documentary evidence from your daily job activities that support your claim to that job title and that you 'do' software engineering. Please stand up and give an account of the software engineering principles that you commonly employ in the execution of your software engineering duties and responsibilities, preferably with references to one or more code bases that you have had a significant part in writing.
Monday 25th November 2013 21:46 GMT
Re: Comp Sci degrees were sold to many kids looking for a well paid job....
"...can't actually write an object skeleton for any set of requirements"
Blimey, if I were so lucky! To have a set of requirements, that is.
The only requirement is - get the code out!
Rome Total War 2, X Rebirth, et al, anyone?
Windows 8?
Why? Because sales people rule programmers.
Tell that to enthusiastic young coders!
Will a professional pride be nurtured too?
'Best known female architect' angrily defends gigantic vagina
Coding: 'suitable for exceptionally dull weirdos'
Saturday 26th October 2013 10:38 GMT
Re: Don't teach it, just let it be available
<There are ever so many college graduates with a big fancy degree who can't write good code!!>
And...
There are ever so many coders with-out a big fancy degree who can't write good code!!
Nor write good documentation either.
Nor produce good specifications from requirements documents.
Nor produce good designs from those specs.
Good code - a rigorous, logical platitude is that.
Half-Life 3: CONFIRMED?
Chrome and Firefox are planet-wreckers, IE cuddles dolphins
Microsoft: All RIGHT, you can have your Start button back
CIOs: Don't listen to tech vendors on ICT skills, listen to US
Monday 14th January 2013 12:46 GMT
Re: Skills Shortage
No.
Just today - North Sea Oil jobs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-21003704
"Kevin Forbes, from Oilandgaspeople.com, said: "Our forecast shows that with increased investment in North Sea Oil, demand for qualified staff is set to reach an all time high, which will exacerbate an already serious skills shortage, a problem that is being further exacerbated as UK candidates head abroad to earn even higher wages with a huge demand for qualified expats globally."
It seems market forces and classical economics do not apply to the British region - that skill shortages leads to increased pay. Why is is this?
'SHUT THE F**K UP!' The moment Linus Torvalds ruined a dev's year
Monday 7th January 2013 12:28 GMT
Re: WOW!...
You sound surprised.
Seems you agree with this article:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/21/financial_software_disasters/
I always think my code is crap - never satisfied with it - it could always be better.
But, then again, when I have seen, and had to deal with, commercial code bases my belief in the existence of professionalism in software development is somewhat challenged.
Governments block YouTube over that video
Wednesday 19th September 2012 11:27 GMT 
The religion of free speech
I wonder if the people who 'believe' in free speech are prepared to defend their belief with their lives, the lives of their loved ones and that they are also prepared to kill to defend it and their way of life.
Muslims are quite prepared to do so. They would quite gladly use nuclear weapons; an act of martyrdom, the will of Allah. After all , one will go to 'heaven'.
If believers in free speech are not so prepared, then there will be no free speech.
Humanity facing GLOBAL BACON SHORTAGE
CIOs' most likely job move is a sideways shift
Thursday 6th September 2012 09:44 GMT
Re: isn't that your job
<If the CIO just thinks of IT in isolation from the business then what's stop them loosing track of the whole purpose of the IT dept.?>
OK. But, these apply too:
If the CEO just thinks of IT in isolation from the business, a cost, then what's to stop them loosing track of the whole purpose of the IT dept.?
If the CFO just thinks of IT in isolation from the business, a cost, then what's to stop them loosing track of the whole purpose of the IT dept.?
And just what is the 'whole' purpose of an IT department?
Woz: Cloud computing trend is 'horrendous'
So, that vast IT disaster you may have caused? Come in, sit down
Antarctic ice shelves not melting at all, new field data show
Monday 25th June 2012 18:56 GMT 
Will belief save us from extinction?
There seems to be a lot of 'believing' in the comments.
I now know that the human race is fucked. It will not survive the mass extinction event now going on.
Or may be this 'belief' will comfort you all!
http://www.olivet-discourse-revelation.com/sequential_order_of_events_in_the_book_of_revelation.html
Python wraps its coils around the enterprise
Monday 18th June 2012 14:33 GMT
Re: All use of C++ eventually ends in anger
Well, Linus did say 'a lot of substandard programmers use it'.
They do create a lot of anger I asume.
Hang on, I know they create a lot of anger.
C++, VB, or any other coding language is not immune from this charge. They are everywhere and being created everywhere.
I would just like to know what 'standard' he had in mind when he said this.
SpaceX Dragon, first private ship to the ISS, launched successfully
Microsoft to devs: Don't ruin Win 8 launch with crap code
Watchdog tells Greenpeace to stop 'encouraging anti-social behaviour'
Thursday 17th May 2012 16:01 GMT
Honest jobs - means honest people?
> Give me a dozen random 40 to 50 year old people who have an honest job (politicians and lawyers need not apply)
Police people? Journalists? http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/27/sun-culture-illegal-payments-leveson
Marketing er, people?
And, you would include those people that plan and (g)estimate IT projects?
I am so happy not to be in that range!
Only global poverty can save the planet, insists WWF - and the ESA!
Java jury finds Google guilty of infringement: Now what?
Wednesday 9th May 2012 14:09 GMT 
Totally confused!!!! Am I doing wrong?
I am a C/C++ programmer.
Assume APIs are copyrightable.
I am writing an application in C/C++ and I use a 3rd party's binary and C/C++ header file which has some function and class definitions that do not include function bodies. This header file is copyrighted, it says so at the top. If I copy this file am I infringing the copyright? Is the API copyright a separate copyright? Does the copyright include class definitions? Can I create another header file for my own function body code that has the same function signatures as the 3rd party's one? Can I use them in private unseen code files?
In C/C++ the signature of a function does not include the return type, so what then?
So what is meant by a function signature?
Is
long foo( long val)
the same as
Public Function foo( Long val) As Long
for if API's are copyrightable? Admittedly you will not see the latter in a C/C header file - I hope.
What about all the language libraries all ready out there? Are the copyrighted?
The C++ standard specifies APIs - are they copyrighted? The implementations are under the current system - look at the includes for Microsoft's VS C/C++.
A coder sits down to write code to fullfil someone's requirement, how the hell does the poor soul know they're infringing a copyrighted API?
I give up!
US economy not eager to create jobs in April
Saturday 5th May 2012 12:01 GMT
Fundamentalism
As a British man I'm fundamentally baffled by American politics. But I am protectionist about British politics.
I cannot see democracy surviving in Britain or America. America looks like ancient Rome - they had a democratic system in theory: but in practice?
Europe? People seem to think you can vote austerity away.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
