http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/?joel Joel on Software]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:18:55 GMT Fog Creek Software FogBugz 6.1.41 http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.796668 John Dough (Not real obviously): Anyone been in a situation like this?  I am paid by a company, let's call them Initrode, but I actually do work for Initech and Acme, and very little work for Initrode.  The same person (aka "my boss") owns all three companies (in fact, the same group of people own all three companies; every company my boss has involves this same clique, and they freely share resources among all three businesses).  Initrode has VC funding, so this is why it is paying my salary.

I asked a friend who said it was perfectly legit, and that Initrode is simply offering a consulting service (namely, me) to Initech and Acme only.  This seems a little like exploitation and I can't help but feel I am getting screwed. 

Is this kind of scenario a common thing?  I've never encountered it before in around 4 years of being in IT. ]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:15:05 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.796567 Fred Burbing: I know Joel has written at least one article on the impossible-to-work-with, prima-donna, no-social-skills lead developer.  I can't seem to find it via google searches. Can anyone suggest a useful keyword or provide a link?  I need to forward it to someone.  Thanks. ]]> Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:09:11 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.796563 ChrisS: Some members of my development group want to track "reasons" for the bugs logged against the products we're developing.  These might be "bad requirements", "missing requirements", "incorrect coding", "incomplete coding" etc...  This, to me, sounds like a bad idea. 

Statistic tracking on software development projects is risky business and can lead to undesired behaviors (you remember the old Dilbert cartoon where Wally decided to code himself a mini-van).  I know Joel has posted on the subject in the past, but I cannot find the article.  Also are you aware of any other well written articles on the subject (pro or con).  I've been re-assured the results are not going to be used to measure performance, but even if that were true I'm not sure what value we're actually going to get out of this exercise.

Thanks ]]> Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:34:14 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.796413 Mr. Smith: Hi,

It's been a long time since I have had to overhaul my resume. I am considering applying to a couple of places. I recently found an article on hotjobs for new resume style and so was reading it. The other is a sample resume for Software Engineer  from monster.

Hotjobs new resume rules:
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-the_new_resume_rules_what_s_in_and_what_s_out-1056

Monster sample resume:
http://media.monster.com/mm/usen/content/pdf/software-engineer-resume-sample.pdf

I'd appreciate your comments on the resume style and anything that might be helpful.

Thanks a lot. ]]> Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:26:08 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.796207 mtt: A former employer of mine recently did a layoff of about 10% of the work force.  My contacts said they could tell now rhyme or reason to who was laid off; the worst stayed while a solid performers were let go.

So, how do companies decide who fire? ]]> Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:11:57 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.796111 Ezani: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit

1. So is there any point in bragging about having 8GB or 16GB memory when 64-bit systems can effectively address 16 terrabytes and there isn't a single practical working 64 bit solution currently (hardware and software and OS all working optimally on 64 bit registers and pipelines) nor a memory stick of this memory size available in the market right now nor a single vendor willing to make a properly functioning 64-bit addressing address or integer register - forget about supporting registers?

2. How will apps be made more efficient in 64 bit systems now that direct disk to memory mapping can be made due to the vast memory space available? Eg. read each stream of data into a memory array of a predetermined size.

3. How will C/C++ programmers convert existing normally functioning 32-bit programs to 64-bit programs which should function normally, given the new memory size (thus giving rise to new data types) and also pointer inconsistencies (the "everyone thinks the world's a VAX syndrome") ? How differently will C/C++ programmers develop new 64-bit programs on the new OS ?

4. How will the lack of 64-bit drivers affect migration to 64-bit Windows 7 ?

5. Will my VB6 programs run normally on 64-bit Vista or Windows 7 ?

6. How will 64-bit systems affect the recompiling of Linux/Unix OS with 64 bit compilers, including recompiling of the pre-included drivers?

(Note- if any of you have 32-bit Vistas and Windows 7, don't bother to install more than 4gigs of RAM as that is the maximum a 32-bit system can address) ]]> Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:18:50 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.795982 Architecture Astronaut: only I can't find the Joel article on it...

Is there anything meaningful in it? ]]> Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:29:35 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.795966 Scorpio: Does anyone know if it will be possible to tether the iPad to an iPhone?

I wouldn't want to pay for a 3G data service for the iPad, as well as the 3G data and voice service for my iPhone. ]]> Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:36:32 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.795862 Anon-a-Guy: I'm working in LA at a job I actually enjoy.  My one-year anniversary is coming up. 

I took this job after being laid off and two months of unemployment during one of the worst recessions in recent history.  I settled for a paycut when I came here.

I have finally had it with living in a crap-hole apartment and would like to move to a state where I can afford to buy a house, or get a raise (not likely) or find a better-paying development job here (which would go towards renting a nicer place). 

I'm thinking of moving on after one year to 18 months.  We delivered our first version of the product already, and we'll be putting out some additional releases in the near future.  Is that a respectable amount of time to stay in a job?  It seems job-hopping is frowned upon these days and when I was interviewing, my short stints always raised some questions.

Maybe I will transition to freelancing so the length of my employment is not an issue. ]]> Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:58:38 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.795707 Ted Graham: I'm an experienced developer, but have never done any significant server administration. I can use vi and navigate the filesystem, but that is about it.

We are considering moving our low latency trading application from Windows to linux. I'm not becoming a server admin, but we're a small company, and I'll likely be managing the performance lab machines.

I'm looking for book recommendations given the following:
+ We're going to use RH or SUSE (not yet decided)
+ We may end up running a realtime version: RH/MRG or SLERT
+ We have ~50 servers
+ We're interesting in tuning network performance to improve latency and may want to adjust process priorities.
+ We won't be running a window manager
+ Our servers are not connected to the internet: we aren't handling email or web traffic

Thanks! ]]> Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:45:13 GMT http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.795646 Website Photo Gallery Guy: At first I had my doubts about Kindle and now the iPad. I mean they already tried something like this in the form of a notepad device years ago and it failed.

But now, Im convinced this makes a serious case for the eventual demise of desktop computing and software as we know it. If everything we do is now accessed wirelessly via a tiny portable touch screen, what else is there? Towers, monitors, routers, keyboards, mouses, desktop software, and any wired network system is pretty much a dinosaur now. Not to say the wealth of iPhone apps isnt big. But if I have all my tools online on the Web or the Cloud, game over. That device is my whole life and pretty much simplifies things and distills them to whats basically a slick compact communication device. My iPhone already is halfway there. Brilliant and powerful move by Apple, if you ask me! (If I was Microsoft, I might be a little worried for the future thats now clearly evolving with these Apple devices. ..)

That leads me to my question...anyone doing ASP.NET development using Macs/iPhone software? If so, can you give me a link? I think I might make the move back to Mac after all these years... ]]> Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:22:35 GMT