Search Results

Search found 8369 results on 335 pages for 'company'.

Page 139/335 | < Previous Page | 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146  | Next Page >

• thin client solutions: x2go or LTSP

  - by guettli

  We want to use a thin client solution in our small company: about 20 PCs. But connecting from home is needed, too. Ubuntu seems to favor LTSP, but on the x2go FAQ says that LTSP is not well suited for WAN connections: LTSP requires a high bandwidth on your network. It can efficiently be used in Local Area Networks (LANs) only. We tested the x2go client and it works very well even if you connect from home (2k DSL) over OpenVPN tunnel (fat client) Why should you use LTSP and why x2go?

  Read the article

• Is Oracle WebCenter 11g a big SharePoint ?

  - by Guilherme J Santos

  Hi there. I have some experience with SharePoint. Now my company will use Oracle WebCenter to create a internal portal. Nobody of IT team have experience with Oracle WebCenter, and I think we could use SharePoint, as we did until now. So, what are the advantages to use Oracle WebCenter? Wich are your experiences with Oracle WebCenter 11g? And how much it is different from SharePoint. What can I do with Oracle WebCenter that I cannot do with Microsoft SharePoint?

  Read the article

• Where I&rsquo;ve Been

  - by Lee Brandt

  Hey all. I am still here. Still kickin’. I’ve been swamped with work and community stuff. But I wanted to post about some of the things going on. Just finished up Twin Cities Code Camp 8, and had a blast! Always good to see these guys. First of all, up-coming speaking engagements: Iowa Code Camp – May 1st in Iowa City, IA [more info] DevLink – August 5-7 in Nashville, TN [more info]   Plus I am organizing a second developer’s conference in Kansas City. Kansas City Developer’s Conference (KCDC) – June 19th in Kansas City [more info]   I will also be doing Lunch & Learns for my company in April and May at JCCC: April 29th, May 12th and May 27th at Johnson County Community College in Kansas City.   So May, June and August are covered. I may just take July off, I could use a break after KCDC is over.

  Read the article

• Exitus Acta Probat: The Post-Processing Module

  - by Phil Factor

  Sometimes, one has to make certain ethical compromises to ensure the success of a corporate IT project. Exitus Acta Probat (literally 'the result validates the deeds' meaning that the ends justify the means)It was a while back, whilst working as a Technical Architect for a well-known international company, that I was given the task of designing the architecture of a rather specialized accounting system. We'd tried an off-the-shelf (OTS) Windows-based solution which crashed with dispiriting regularity, and didn't quite do what the business required. After a great deal of research and planning, we commissioned a Unux-based system that used X-terminals for the desktops of  the participating staff. X terminals are now obsolete, but were then hot stuff; stripped-down Unix workstations that provided client GUIs for networked applications long before the days of AJAX, Flash, Air and DHTML. I've never known a project go so smoothly: I'd been initially rather nervous about going the Unix route, believing then that  Unix programmers were excitable creatures who were prone to  indulge in role-play enactments of elves and wizards at the weekend, but the programmers I met from the company that did the work seemed to be rather donnish, earnest, people who quickly grasped our requirements and were faultlessly professional in their work.After thinking lofty thoughts for a while, there was considerable pummeling of keyboards by our suppliers, and a beautiful robust application was delivered to us ahead of dates.Soon, the department who had commissioned the work received shiny new X Terminals to replace their rather depressing lavatory-beige PCs. I modestly hung around as the application was commissioned and deployed to the department in order to receive the plaudits. They didn't come. Something was very wrong with the project. I couldn't put my finger on the problem, and the users weren't doing any more than desperately and futilely searching the application to find a fault with it.Many times in my life, I've come up against a predicament like this: The roll-out of an application goes wrong and you are hearing nothing that helps you to discern the cause but nit-*** noise. There is a limit to the emotional heat you can pack into a complaint about text being in the wrong font, or an input form being slightly cramped, but they tried their best. The answer is, of course, one that every IT executive should have tattooed prominently where they can read it in emergencies: In Vino Veritas (literally, 'in wine the truth', alcohol loosens the tongue. A roman proverb) It was time to slap the wallet and get the department down the pub with the tab in my name. It was an eye-watering investment, but hedged with an over-confident IT director who relished my discomfort. To cut a long story short, The real reason gushed out with the third round. We had deprived them of their PCs, which had been good for very little from the pure business perspective, but had provided them with many hours of happiness playing computer-based minesweeper and solitaire. There is no more agreeable way of passing away the interminable hours of wage-slavery than minesweeper or solitaire, and the employees had applauded the munificence of their employer who had provided them with the means to play it. I had, unthinkingly, deprived them of it.I held an emergency meeting with our suppliers the following day. I came over big with the notion that it was in their interests to provide a solution. They played it cool, probably knowing that it was my head on the block, not theirs. In the end, they came up with a compromise. they would temporarily descend from their lofty, cerebral stamping grounds  in order to write a server-based Minesweeper and Solitaire game for X Terminals, and install it in a concealed place within the system. We'd have to pay for it, though. I groaned. How could we do that? "Could we call it a 'post-processing module?" suggested their account executive.And so it came to pass. The application was a resounding success. Every now and then, the staff were able to indulge in some 'post-processing', with what turned out to be a very fine implementation of both minesweeper and solitaire. There were several refinements: A single click in a 'boss' button turned the games into what looked just like a financial spreadsheet.  They even threw in a multi-user version of Battleships. The extra payment for the post-processing module went through the change-control process without anyone untoward noticing, and peace once more descended. Only one thing niggles. Those games were good. Do they still survive, somewhere in a Linux library? If so, I'd like to claim a small part in their production.

  Read the article

• New Exadata Book Available Soon

  - by Rob Reynolds

  Oracle Press is set to released the first book on data warehouse performance and Exadata on March 14th. Achieving Extreme Performance with Oracle Exadata , by my colleagues Rick Greenwald, Robert Stackowiak, Maqsood Alam, and Mans Bhuller will be available at your favorite booksellers next week. I've seen a sneak peak of the content in this book and its a great way to fully grasp the power of Exadata and how to best apply it to achieve extreme data warehouse performance. From the publisher's description: Achieving Extreme Performance with Oracle Exadata and the Sun Oracle Database Machine is filled with best practices for deployments, hardware sizing, architecting the database machine environments for maximum availability, and backup and recovery. Oracle Database 11gR2 features used within these offerings, as well as migration options and paths for Oracle and non-Oracle databases to Oracle Exadata are covered. This Oracle Press guide also discusses architecture, administration, maintenance, monitoring, and tuning of Oracle Exadata Storage Servers and the Sun Oracle Database Machine. If your company is considering Exadata, or if you need more horsepower out of your data warehouse, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of this book next week.

  Read the article

• how important is usability to your workplace/employer?

  - by Dana

  If asked, I would bet that every manager would agree that software usability is important. Unfortunately, when it comes time to put their money where there mouths are, they shy away and tell the programmer to just make it usable. What is everyone's experience with usability in the workplace? Is there a usability team? How many people have usability as their primary job role? What is the ratio of usability experts to programmers? Is the usability team taken seriously? If there is no usability team, what does your company do to address usability of software? Does it work?

  Read the article

• Friends, Food, and Fun at the My Oracle Support Community Meetup

  - by Oracle OpenWorld Blog Team

  By Leslie McNeillJoin us at the third annual My Oracle Support Community Meetup for food and drink, fun and conversation After a long day at Oracle OpenWorld, take time to relax and meet your peers in the My Oracle Support Community and some of the Oracle employees who moderate the community. The Meetup event is a great place to get together before dinner, or spend the evening getting to know other Community members and Oracle Support Moderators in person. Not a My Oracle Support Community member yet? Joining is easy - Oracle Premier Support customers can log in with the same account they use to access My Oracle Support to begin taking advantage of the resources the Community offers. If you're an Oracle Premier Support customer but don’t yet have a login, talk to the Customer User Administrator (CUA) at your company now to get access to the Oracle proactive portfolio, including My Oracle Support Community. Oracle Premier Support Customers need to register to receive their invitation to the Meetup and find out the details. Visit the Customer Support Services Oracle OpenWorld Website to discover how you can take advantage of all Oracle OpenWorld has to offer.

  Read the article

• How do you decide site availability requirements?

  - by Nathan Long

  I work on a web application to file a specific kind of county taxes. Our company wants our state to mandate that counties must accept electronic filings (as opposed to paper) from any system that meets some sensible requirements for uptime, security, data validation, etc. (Yes, this would help us as a business, but it would also force county governments to be more efficient.) We're creating a draft of those requirements to be reviewed and tweaked with the state. One of the sections is "availability." We want to specify something reasonably high, but not so high that any unexpected problem will get us (or a competitor) penalized. How do we decide what's reasonable for availability requirements?

  Read the article

• A Simple Online Document Management System Using Asp.net MVC 3

  - by RazanPaul

  Nowadays we have a number of online file management systems (e.g. DropBox, SkyDrive and Google Drive). People can use them to manage different types of documents. However, one might need a system to manage documents when they do not want to publish the company documents to the cloud. In that case, they need to build an online document management system. This project is intended to meet this purpose. However, it is in the early stage. All the functionalities seem working. A lot of work is needed in the UI. Besides this, code needs refactoring. Please find the project at the following link: https://documentmanagementsystem.codeplex.com/

  Read the article

• Determine web page draw time via a program

  - by Kevin Burke

  Google Chrome has a nice tool to determine the time the page begins drawing, in the Network tab in Developer Tools. Similarly sites like webpagetest.org can tell you the draw time and give you the whole waterfall of page loads for a given web page. I was wondering if I could automate the process of finding the time it took to the first page draw, for all of the pages on my site, so I can share this data within my company. Obviously the page draw time will depend on the latency and throughput of your connection, but I'm more concerned with the relative data about pages on our site. Can I get this data from Selenium or another tool? Thanks, Kevin

  Read the article

• Problem with DNS

  - by dotNET

  Hey, I bought a new website, and the company gived me another free domain name, so when I asked for the socond they created it and they told me to change the DNS to look like the first one. It's been a week waiting for it to propagate, today when I type the url I got this error message : If you are the web site owner, it is possible you have reached this page because: * The IP address has changed. * There has been a server misconfiguration. * The site may have been moved to a different server. If you are the owner of this website and were not expecting to see this page, please contact your hosting provider. When I try to add the second domain to my cpanel (Addon domain) I get also another error : The addon domain “abcdef.com” has been created. An account with that login already exists. Do you have any ideas about this problem. Thanks. EDIT I tried to flush the DNS with ipconfig /flushdns, but It's not changing anything.

  Read the article

• Meet our 2009 Oracle Graduates in South Africa

  - by anca.rosu

  Focusing on the broader Oracle community, Oracle South Africa initiated its first skills development programme in May 1988. Since its inception the programme has developed and improved and every year more graduates are taken on board. The Oracle Graduate Programme is made up of specific learning paths designed around customer, partner and Oracle specifications and is structured to meet the urgent skills requirements in the Oracle “economy”. The training programmes have a specific duration and incorporate both theoretical and practical application of Oracle product sets. It is aimed at creating: Meaningful employment for graduates; Learning opportunities for individuals within the organization so that career growth opportunities are exploited to the fullest; Capacity building for small enterprises which is aligned to Oracle’s Enterprise Development Programme Meet our five graduates who joined us in December 2008 and have spent over a year with us! Let’s get their initial feedback on the graduate programme and on their assignment to Jordan. Lector   On the Oracle Graduate Programme: “The Oracle Graduate Programme is an experience of a life time. I would not trade it for anything. It’s challenging and rewarding. I am proud and happy to be in an organization like Oracle” On the assignment in Jordan: "Friendly, welcoming people, world class instructors always willing to go the extra mile. What more can you ask for?"   Lungile On the Oracle Graduate Programme: “I joined Oracle as part of the graduate intake for pre-sales in order to develop my skills and knowledge. Working at Oracle has been an overwhelmingly positive experience as it has encouraged me to progress with my personal development. I am hugely grateful. It has been a great challenge and an awesome opportunity.” On the assignment to Jordan: “Going to Jordan was a great opportunity and the experience of a lifetime. The people were very welcoming and friendly. The culture was totally different from ours - the food, the clothes and the weather. It was an amazingly different experience to work from Sunday to Thursday with Friday and Saturday as the weekend.” Thabo On the Oracle Graduate Programme: “Life is an infinite learning path. I truly value growth. I believe for one to grow, one needs to be challenged to your full potential. The Oracle Graduate Programme offers real growth – and so much more.” On the assignment to Jordan: “I was amazed by the cultural differences. I now understood that to be part of the global community, I must embrace our similarities and understand our differences.”   Albeauty On the Oracle Graduate Programme: “Responsibility, dedication, focus and taking initiative … these are the key points I learned from Oracle. It is such an honour to finally be part of the Oracle family. The graduate programme itself was a great experience as I managed to learn how Oracle operates – it has been the highlight of my year. I believe that my hard work will assist in the growth of the company.” On the Jordan assignment: “A memory worth embracing. Going to Jordan was a great opportunity as I learned a lot with respect to integration between different cultures and getting to adapt to all things different. I, along with almost every other graduate, discovered that Oracle is far more than a database company. Now I know there is far more to the ‘Big Red’ name.” Emmanuel On the Oracle Graduate Programme: “The programme gave me invaluable exposure to the ICT sector and also provided an opportunity to travel, network and exchange ideas with others. The formal training helped me to improve my presentation skills and gave me a better understanding of business etiquette and communication.” On the assignment to Jordan: “It was my first trip abroad. It was a great chance to get to know each other. I had the opportunity to share ideas, share personal stuff as a team. We met experts who gave us superb training in Oracle Technologies. It was great.”   If you have any questions related to this article feel free to contact  [email protected].  You can find our job opportunities via http://campus.oracle.com.   Technorati Tags: Oracle community,South Africa,Graduate Programme,Jordan,Technologies

  Read the article

• What Contents in a Young Programmer's Personal Website

  - by DotNetStudent

  I recently stumbled upon this question in which the contents a professional programmer's website should have were discussed and I agree with most of the answers there. However, I am by no means a professional programmer (just came out from university) and so I am a bit lost in what concerns the contents I should provide in the personal website I am designing for myself now. I do have a pretty nice job at a fast-growing software company but I would really like to present myself to the outside world in a nice but humble manner since my curriculum is by no means a long one. Any ideas?

  Read the article

• My Message to the Software Craftsmanship Group

  - by Liam McLennan

  This is a message I posted to the software craftsmanship group, looking for a week-long, pairing / skill sharing opportunity in the USA. I am a journeyman software craftsman, currenlty living and working in Brisbane Australia. In April I am going to travel to the US to attend Alt.Net Seattle and Seattle codecamp. In between the two conferences I have five days in which I would like to undertake a craftsmanship mini-apprenticeship, pairing and skill sharing with your company. I do not require any compensation other than the opportunity to assist you and learn from you. Although my conferences are in Seattle I am happy to travel anywhere in the USA and Canada (excluding Hawaii :) ). Things I am good at: .NET web development, javascript, creating software that solves problems Things I am learning: Ruby, Rails, javascript If you are interested in having me as visiting craftsman from the 12th to the 16th of April please reply on this mailing list or contact me directly. Liam McLennan Now I wait…

  Read the article

• Bare minimum on the Joel Test

  - by Fung

  From the Joel Test, of the 12, which do you think are the absolute must-haves to at least have a decently running software department/company? I realise there is no absolutely right answer. I'm just trying to get opinions of others out there. My own organization only manages a measly 5 of 12. If you check listings on Careers 2.0, most companies don't score a full 12 either but I'm sure they're doing fine. Does SO publish the stats for those anywhere? Or has anyone tried scrapping the results? Would be interesting to know which are practised the most. And whether because they are easier to implement or whether they actually have the most impact. Thanks.

  Read the article

• What are the legal risks if any of using a GPL or AGPL Web Application Framework/CMS?

  - by Seth Spearman

  Tried to ask this on SO but was referred here... Am I correct in saying that using a GPL'ed web application framework such as Composite C1 would NOT obligate a company to share the source code we write against said framework? That is the purpose of the AGPL, am I correct? Does this also apply to Javascript frameworks like KendoUI? The GPL would require any changes that we make to the framework be made available to others if we were to offer it for download. In other words, merely loading a web sites content into my browser is not "conveying" or "distributing" that software. I have been arguing that we should avoid GPL web frameworks and now after researching I am pretty sure I am wrong but wanted to get other opinions? Seth

  Read the article

• What are the legal risks if any of using a GPL'ed Web Application Framework/CMS?

  - by Seth Spearman

  Tried to ask this on SO but was referred here... Am I correct in saying that using a GPL'ed web application framework such as Composite C1 would NOT obligate a company to share the source code we write against said framework? That is the purpose of the AGPL, am I correct? Does this also apply to Javascript frameworks like KendoUI? The GPL would require any changes that we make to the framework be made available to others if we were to offer it for download. In other words, merely loading a web sites content into my browser is not "conveying" or "distributing" that software. I have been arguing that we should avoid GPL web frameworks and now after researching I am pretty sure I am wrong but wanted to get other opinions? Seth

  Read the article

• What skills should a developer/tester learn in order to move into a permanent Systems Analysis role?

  - by shenaz

  I have been with a software services firm for 5 years and have fallen into a "jack of all trades" role, which I am looking to move out of. I've spent about 1 year each in programming (VB/VB.NET), application support, systems analysis, and most recently, software testing, which in my current position is all manual. I've really lost interest in the programming and testing roles; I would prefer a position where I get to work more with people, such as systems analysis. I even got a chance to be a trainer at the same company for a few months, a temporary position which I enjoyed very much. Given that most of my real experience is with software, support, and testing, what knowledge areas and skills should I focus on learning and mastering in order to make myself an attractive candidate for a permanent position as a business/systems analyst?

  Read the article

• Utilities Worldwide Succeed with Oracle Utilities Applications

  - by caroline.yu

  More than 50 utilities worldwide have selected or implemented Oracle Utilities applications in the current fiscal year to date to respond to environmental imperatives, adapt to changing business conditions, meet and exceed customer expectations, implement smart grid components and address operational issues. Customers who have recently selected or implemented Oracle Utilities applications include: Acea Distribuzione, California Water Service Company, City of Winnipeg, Denver Water, Enersource Hydro, GasTerra, Modesto Irrigation District, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Western Power. "Around the world, utilities are under pressure to address customer demands, improve environmental quality and comply with regulatory requirements. Oracle Utilities provides a choice of mission-critical applications to deliver tangible business results. Our recent traction in the industry illustrates the solid value we bring to our customers," said Stephan Scholl, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities.

  Read the article

• What principles does your software engineering or development organization follow?

  - by user11347

  What principles does your software engineering or development organization follow? I am very interested in seeing a list of principles from someone who works at a company where these principles are discussed, published, followed, etc. The closest I have seen to a principles-based engineering organization are companies which are agile and follow the agile principles. Here is a list of Marick's values/challenges: http://www.agilejourneyman.com/2010/02/4-challenges-and-5-guiding-values-of.html I am looking for pointers to more stuff like this. Ideally, I'd like to hear from people who have actually implemented a principles-based approach in their organization.

  Read the article

• IFS Achieves Oracle Exadata Optimized and Oracle Exalogic Optimized Status

  - by Javier Puerta

  IFS, the global enterprise applications company, announces that it has earned Oracle Exadata Optimized and Oracle Exalogic Optimized status through Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), demonstrating that IFS Applications Release 8 has been tested and tuned on Oracle Exadata Database Machine and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud to deliver speed, scalability and reliability to customers. By combining IFS Applications with the Oracle Exadata Database Machine and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud, IFS customers will be able to leverage benefits such as faster time to implementation, increased performance, as well as reduced energy and hardware footprint. IFS is a Platinum level member in Oracle PartnerNetwork. Initial test results showed that IFS Applications Release 8 material resource planning (MRP) batch jobs achieved a 2.5x performance improvement and a 2.2x increase in user transactions on Oracle Exadata Database Machine and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud. Additionally, IFS Applications 8 achieved a 37x higher compression ratio, resulting in significantly shorter time for daily backup routines and lowering storage costs. Read full press release here

  Read the article

• Design a T-shirt for .NET Reflector Pro

  - by Laila

  Win a .NET Reflector Pro license, a box of Red Gate goodies, and a t-shirt printed with your design! Red Gate likes t-shirts. Each of our teams has one. In fact, each individual person has one, numbered according to when they joined the company: Red Gate's 1st, 2nd, and so on right up to Red Gate's 170th, with the slogan "More than just a number". Those t-shirts are important, chiefly because they remind the people wearing them that they are important. But that isn't enough. What really makes us great are the people who choose to use our tools. So we'd like to extend our tradition of t-shirts to include you and put the design of our next shirt entirely in your hands. We'd like you to come up with a witty slogan or create an inventive or simply beautiful t-shirt design for .NET Reflector Pro, our add-in for Visual Studio, which allows you to step into decompiled assemblies whilst debugging in Visual Studio. When you're done, post your masterpiece to Twitter with the hash tag #reflectortees, and @redgate will take a look! We'll pick the best design, and the winner will get a licensed copy of .NET Reflector Pro and a box of Red Gate goodies - not to mention a copy of their t-shirt. The winning design will go into production and be worn and given out at tradeshows, conferences, and user group events across the world, proudly bearing the name of their designer. We'll also pick three runners-up who will receive licenses for .NET Reflector Pro. Red Gate goodie box Interested? If you're up for the challenge, then we've got some resources to get you started. Inside the .zip file you'll find high-quality versions of the following: T-shirt templates: don't forget to design the front and the back! Different versions of the .NET Reflector Pro logo and Red Gate logo. Colour sheets to give you an easy reference to the Red Gate colours, including hex and RGB values. You can create and send us as many designs as you like, and each of them will be considered for the prize. To submit your designs, simply tweet including the competition hash tag, #reflectortees, and a link to somewhere we can see your design: either an image hosting site such as Twitpic, Flickr or Picasa, or a personal blog. You will need to create a Twitter account (which is free), if you don't already have one. You only have three limits: The background colour of the t-shirt should be one of our brand colours (red, light/dark grey or black), though you're welcome to use other colours in the rest of the design. You need to make use of either the .NET Reflector Pro logo OR the Red Gate logo (please keep them as they are) If you include any text or slogan, stick with just one or two colors for it. Apart from that, go wild. Go and do whatever it is you do when you get creative: whether you walk barefoot on the grass with a pencil and paper, sit cross-legged on a pile of cushions with a laptop, or simply close your eyes and float through a mist of ideas, now is your chance. Make sure you enjoy it. We're looking forward to seeing your creations. Terms and conditions 1. The closing date for entries is June 11th, 2010 (4 p.m. UK time). Red Gate Software Ltd reserves the right to extend the competition deadline at its discretion. If there is a revision, the revised date will be published on this blog and the date for announcing the results will be postponed accordingly. 2. The winning designer will be notified on June 14th, 2010 through Twitter. The winner must claim his/her prize by sending us a high-resolution image of their design via email (i.e. Illustrator EPS files or appropriate format, ideally at 300dpi). If the winner does not come forward within 3 days of the announcement, they will forfeit their prize and another winner will be selected from the runners-up. The names of the winner and runners-up will be posted on this blog by June 18th.  3. Entry is completed on the designer posting a link to their entry in a tweet with the correct hash tag, #reflectortees. 4. Red Gate Software needs to hold the rights to using the winning design in order to put the t-shirt into production. We will make sure that this is fine with the winner before we do so, but if you do not want us holding the rights to your design, please do not submit your designs. We reserve the right to slightly alter or adjust any artwork we decide to use (mainly to make it easier to print), but we will make sure we contact the winner for approval first. The winner will also need to allow us the use of his/her name for purposes of promoting your design. 5. Entries must be entirely your own original work and must not breach any copyright or third party rights. Red Gate Software Ltd will not be made partially or fully liable for any non-original work submitted by you. 6. This competition is free: you do not need to buy anything or be an existing customer to enter. 7. This competition is not open to employees of Red Gate Software Ltd, their families, or any other company directly connected with the administration of this promotion.

  Read the article

• What is meant by "Repeat Business" ?

  - by vinoth

  Repeat Business obviously happens because the company has a great product or a great service. In the software industry, do companies make the code base complex enough so that the maintenance comes back to them? I have heard of cases where companies say "ya this code base has minor errors, let's ship them anyway, and let the customers come back for another change request on these". Then they would sometimes charge the customer for that. This question is specific to the software services industry. Do these things happen in the real world? I am trying to understand the business process.

  Read the article

• Backpacks and Booth Paint: TechEd 2012

  - by The Un-T Guy

  Arriving in the parking lot of the Orange County Convention Center, I immediately knew I was in the right place. As far as the eye could see, the acres of asphalt were awash in backpacks, quirky (to be kind) outfits, and bad haircuts. This was the place. This was Microsoft Mecca v2012 for geeks and nerds, the Central Florida event of the year, a gathering of high tech professionals whose skills I both greatly respect and, frankly, fear a little. I was wholly and completely out of element, a dork in a vast sea of geek jumbo. It like was wearing dockers and a golf shirt walking into a RenFaire, but one with really crappy costumes and no turkey legs...save those attached to some of the attendees. Of course the corporate whores...errrr, vendors were in place, ready to parlay the convention's fre-nerd-ic energy into millions of dollars by convincing the big-brained and under-sexed in the crowd (i.e., virtually all of them...present company excluded, of course) that their product or service was the only thing standing between them and professional success, industry fame, and clear skin. "With KramTech 2012," they seemed to scream, "you will be THE ROCK STAR of your company's IT department!" As car shows and tattoo parlors learned long ago, Tech companies seem to believe that the best way to attract the attention of this crowd is through the hint of the promise of sex. They recruit and deploy an army of "sales reps" whose primary qualifications appear to be long hair, short skirts, high heels, and a vagina. Unlike their distant cousins in the car and body art industries, however, this sub-species of booth paint (semi-gloss decoration that adds nothing to the substance of the product) seems torn between committing to being all-out sex objects and recognition that they are in the presence of intelligent, discerning people. People who are smart enough to know exactly what these vendors are doing. Also unlike their distant car show and tattoo shop cousins, these young women (what…are there no gay tech professionals who could use some eye candy?) seem to realize that while IT remains a male-dominated field, there are ever-increasing numbers of intelligent, capable, strong professional women – women who’ve battled to make it in this field through hard work and work performance rather than a hard body and performing after work. This is not to say that all of the young female sales reps are there only because of their physical attributes. Many are competent, intelligent, and driven -- not to mention attractive. They're working hard on the front lines of delivering the next generation of technology. The distinction is pretty clear, however, between these young professionals and the booth paint. The former enthusiastically deliver credible information about the products they’re hawking. The latter are positioned in the aisles, uncomfortably avoiding eye contact as they struggle to operate the badge readers. Surprisingly, not all of the women in attendance seemed to object to the objectification of their younger sisters. One IT professional woman who came of age in the industry (mostly in IT marketing) said, “I have no problem with it. I was a ‘booth babe’ for years and it doesn’t bother me at all.” Others, however, weren’t quite so gracious. One woman I spoke with, an IT manager from Cheyenne, Wyoming, said it was demeaning and frankly, as more and more women grow into IT management positions, not a great marketing idea. “Using these young women is, to me, no different than vendors giving out t-shirts to attract attention. It’s sad because it’s still hard for a woman to be respected in the IT field and this just perpetuates the outdated notion that IT is a male-dominated field.” She went on to say that decisions by vendors to employ these young women in this “inappropriate way” could impact her purchasing decisions. “I might be swayed toward a vendor who has women on staff who are intelligent and dynamic rather than the vendors who use the ‘decoration’ girls.” So in many ways, the IT industry is no different than most other industries as it struggles to maximize performance by finding and developing talent – all of the talent, not just the 50% with a penis. Women in IT, like their brethren, struggle to find their niche in the field, to grow professionally, and reach for the brass ring, struggling to overcome obstacles as they climb the mountain of professional success in a never-ending cycle of economic uncertainty. But as (generally) well-educated and highly-trained professionals, they are probably better positioned than those in many other industries. Beside, they’ve got one other advantage over their non-IT counterparts as they attempt their ascent to the summit: They’ve already got the backpacks.

  Read the article

• Career choice, job offer advice

  - by ivan

  Hi, beginner developer here (around 1-1.5 years of experience). I've recently got an iOs development offer and also an opportunity to start career at embedded development (at another company). I'd be grateful for general thoughts on mobile and embedded development perspectives in a few years, just general advices, or may be links to good articles and discussions on the topic. Both choices have personal pros and cons in terms of interest, salary and what's not and I'm stuck with this atm. Also, I live in a almost purely outsorcing country (Ukraine), this probably matters too. Thank you for any help.

  Read the article

< Previous Page | 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146  | Next Page >