__/ [ mike ] on Tuesday 06 March 2007 02:44 \__
> in addition to the outsourcing of jobs, let's not forget the considerable
> number of people (outside of microsoft) who left the computer field
> because they found it too much of an insult to their intelligence to be
> spending all their time supporting that which is always and by far the
> weakest link in any computer infrastructure -- microsoft.
My partner (as in co-editors) at BoycottNovell.com seems to fall under this
category.
> i've watched
> over two decades the inverse relationship between prestigious jobs in the
> computer field vs. the growth of microsoft such that computer science now
> ranks near the bottom of the academic desires of college students.
Indeed. Bill Gates keeps whining about the lack of decent candidates, having
poisoned the entire industry. I advised my brother not to study CS, but he
made this choice nonetheless. Concentrating on hardware is what I advised
him. Free software is not the real issue here. Au contraire. Free software
innovates. It gives control to the programmer and the user/client while the
typical software house mimics, reinvents the wheel, and tests endlessly. If
marketing does a good job and some money flows in, then the Microsoft radar
gets the 'scent'. Sooner or later it steals your 'food' (never mind IP) by
prebundling, 'extending' protocols, making use of hidden APIs, technical
sabotage, FUD tactics...
> and
> who can blame them, working in computers has become synonymous with
> supporting microsoft and one can find a more rewarding and respectable
> career as janitor at the local sewage & wastewater treatment plant.
The competition in the computing sector (they call it "IT" here) has led to
mistreatment and pressure. IT is said to be one of the most (if not /the
most/) stressful jobs one can embard on. There are a few exceptions of
course, but 90% (or maybe it was 99%) of the people who work in IT over here
dread going to work. I have an interview with Google tomorrow, but even jobs
at the #1 company for worker satisfaction (and Linux everywhere), according
to an American survey, doesn't seem rewarding. At least I'm honest when I
speak to them. They actually tried to take credit for Google Earth (Keyhole
acquisition).
--
~~ Best wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder"
http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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