I know that Microsoft Engineers have pulled off a large number of complex technical feats over the decades, and this is admirable.
Unfortunately, all this doesn’t translate into a smooth day-to-day experience for the end user, which is why all the hate builds up. People contrast this with the relatively smooth and fluid experience on say, Apple products. They then conclude Microsoft is garbage. I understand that in some (note, some) cases, MS isn’t even directly responsible for the issues. For example, Enterprise IT departments tend to cram massive amounts of software into boxes with moderate specs, leading to a slowdown in performance.
I can’t think of any practical solution for all this. Some radical re-engineering without regard for backwards compatibility, accompanied by strict specifications for minimum hardware requirements maybe? Will take too much of Management willpower to fly. So I’m sorry to say, Microsoft and its employees will continue to be ridiculed for some more time to come.
You'll find the first two in some Indian cities. At least Bangalore, since I saw them on shelves in some of the bigger stores. Not sure about root beer.
I have seen Indian non-IITians who are way better than their IIT counterparts at similar tasks. I also feel that good non-IITians are easier to work with and get the job done because they don't come with the baggage of some sort of entitlement.
But having said that, I do observe that an undergrad degree from an IIT serves as a reasonably reliable indicator of Engineering strength.
>Can the paranoid not just put a piece of tape over the lens,or point it at a wall?
- Yes one could tape it. Don't apply the tape directly since repeated application and removal of tape can impair camera functionality due to residual adhesive accumulation and the depositing of dust etc on the residual adhesive. Use Microfiber based cloth material between the tape and camera.
- But having said that, I find it painful to even think of repeatedly taping and 'untaping' cameras. Having to remember to point them the other way too is not good - one can forget to do so at times. And then lose sleep over it after having say, watched a romantic movie with one's girlfriend. And so on.
Physically connect when required is a more comfortable model, at least for me. I've seen some unbelievable shit being pulled by hackers, including changing camera firmware to achieve their objective. So making it easier for users to feel absolutely comfortable with their devices is important.
I agree with the central message in this article. Think of the pleasure and certainty associated with the small, well written UNIX tools. Apply that to products.
Sunil Tripathi (or his parents) would do well to take legal action against Reddit for facilitating this garbage, if the final legal reports support the assessment that Sunil was not involved.
I see a clear trend, on HN and elsewhere, of technologically clued-in people who simply do not share what we wrongfully assumed were common values amongst techies.
This includes the notion that services should be punished for things their users do, something that we used to attribute to people who simply didn't understand what something like Reddit is, or how the internet works.
I would suggest that assumption was based on underestimating how much of those values were not just informed by technological insight but Western cultural values, but I'm probably on thin ice there.
I'd file a suit against the people who libelous comments, such as asserting that he factually was the bomber, and ask reddit to disclose such information about the posters as they possess as part of disclosure.
The internet does not give you the right to spread untrue statements about people which you were negligent in discovering the truth of before repeating - such as that they committed a specific act of terrorism.
> and ask reddit to disclose such information about the posters as they possess as part of disclosure.
Too bad Reddit will surely be too busy not collecting such information just in case the evil government happens to ask for it, eh? You can never be too cautious about that government, you know.
Funny how this stops being true as soon as it involves people you don't like. (Not accusing you personally. Just tired of "it's okay if they're politicians on the other side!")
It might be libel in the U.K., but the standard for such is a bit higher in the U.S. Which is probably a good thing, on the whole, as otherwise we'd have had to destroy the Internet ten years ago based on its usage as a libel-launching platform.
Is releasing photos of someone and accusing them of murder really not considered libel in the US? It seems like quite an extreme case of libel to me (although IANAL).
Freedom of speech is kind of a big thing around here, yes.
You have to remember the context: Some nearly anonymous asshole points a finger and says that so-and-so is the bomber, with no real concrete evidence. It's practically a farce at that stage, only idiots could fall for that.
Unfortunately for Sunil, there are a lot of idiots online (and in the media, apparently).
On the other hand, entities like the NY Post should have known better. They presumably pay "journalists" to fact-check (so there's a higher standard of quality expected), and they understand that it imparts a higher expectation on what they do print, which means it's more likely that people would believe such an accusation.
So Sunil might even have a case against professional outfits like these, especially since he wasn't previously a public figure. But against random people from the Internet there's not really any hope of a libel charge sticking.
Maybe some states would have "cyber-bullying" legislation that would apply though (assuming it's not struck down as unconstitutional).
> Is releasing photos of someone and accusing them of murder really not considered libel in the US?
It depends on the particulars of the accusation, but probably not.
Saying "I think you killed her" is a statement of opinion. If that is an opinion the speaker legitimately holds, then it would probably not be considered libel. Generally libel needs to be both false and malicious.
Proving malice is hard, so libel/slander is usually a difficult case to win. That's one of the things that makes it different than other venues, where intent (and sometimes even falsity) are not required.
Giving someone a medium for free speech is NOT the same as committing the act of libel. If they did want to sue it should be against the OP/commentors, not the site.
I was wrong in my opinion. If legal reports show Tripathi wasn't involved, the family should take legal action against the Reddit users who participated in this garbage, AND Reddit itself. The former for libel, and the latter for having failed to apply effective moderation. Freedom of speech is very important, but this was a public lynching. Granted that it is difficult for a website to moderate each and every thing, but an honest effort should be made. This can be achieved by steps such as having traffic based or user flagging based triggers leading to an informed policy driven review. And the policy can definitely be good enough to help recognize damaging accusations of this kind.
Any organisation, be a website, news organization, or Government, should be punished if it tolerates a Kangaroo court culture. Else we risk exposing just about any innocent person (us and our families included) to permanent damage.
So by your same logic then we should expect large file hosts such as Dropbox and MegaUpload to take active moderation measures to ensure that they are not used as springboards for minor crimes... such as copyright infringement?
The law is capable of taking into account both intent and predictability of outcomes. Dropbox does not intend their site to be used for copyright infringement, whereas MegaUpload encouraged it.
I've always thought Facebook has been awesome. In my experience of the web, they were one of the first websites I used daily that pushed that much ajax.. and I loved it.
What do you think is wrong with the xbox core engineering (the division he is going into), and why do you think it's despised? Or is this just blind MS hate?
The xbox hardware is notoriously flaky - both the console and the controllers break regularly and have to be replaced. Unlike the PC, it is not easy to open up and fix - you need a veritable constellation of star keys and various other tools and special training. If the xbox hardware was as robust as the casing there would be no problem at all.
>The actual hard working technical guys(programmers, hackers
>or whatever you may call them) are treated like commodity,
>worst like a foot ball tossed around by 'business guys',
True. However, more and more product based companies are setting up shop in India. Many of these have vigorous and interesting interview processes that identify truly capable technical people. And believe it or not, they offer very high pay packages that sometimes exceed that of Executives.
I agree that the number of such opportunities is still small compared to openings in Service-based companies. But the trend has started to catch on. Recently, Infosys announced an increasing focus on products because they realize that the services business ‘provides revenue that scales only linearly with headcount’. As more and more product work happens in India, core techies will gain greater value. Also, as the years pass: a) more Engineering students will graduate, the total number of really strong engineers (vs. the let-me-please-mom-n-dad types) will increase leading to the creation of great techie environments in more companies. b) more well experienced Engineers will stay in hands-on roles leading to proper mentoring that enhances the techie environments.
The Business guys will still be more important as anywhere in the world. But the treatment of programmers as commodities that worries you will decrease, IMHO.
Much as I appreciate people using simple means to exploit technology in these situations, sharing mobile phone numbers and other such details in a publicly visible document is not a good idea.
Unfortunately, all this doesn’t translate into a smooth day-to-day experience for the end user, which is why all the hate builds up. People contrast this with the relatively smooth and fluid experience on say, Apple products. They then conclude Microsoft is garbage. I understand that in some (note, some) cases, MS isn’t even directly responsible for the issues. For example, Enterprise IT departments tend to cram massive amounts of software into boxes with moderate specs, leading to a slowdown in performance.
I can’t think of any practical solution for all this. Some radical re-engineering without regard for backwards compatibility, accompanied by strict specifications for minimum hardware requirements maybe? Will take too much of Management willpower to fly. So I’m sorry to say, Microsoft and its employees will continue to be ridiculed for some more time to come.