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Oct 14
2006
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Hey, it`s been a while.....Posted by archived_user in Untagged |
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I haven`t blogged in a while, so let`s start about discussing issues from my previous blogs:
Open Source:
Sello Lehong sent me a longish comment about this issue, going into TCO, support, and code portability. Sello, I hear you, brother. I`m not trying to sell OpenSource, I was pointing out some of the selling strategies. Of course, true code portability is to use a methodology that is a layer above the OS, such as Java. Any compiler-based code is CPU/architecture bound. TCO is perhaps the only true measure, and in this case, while LINUX/OpenSource looks good on paper, I`d like to see how government and large corporates latch onto something WITHOUT a nice, safe maintenance and support contract.....Eish, sorry we can`t print the Eskom bills, we`re waiting from a response from anybody in the Linux community to fix our show-stopper bug in our laser printer driver....
I`m not going to get into code portability with regards to databases, that would take too much time and space <grin>.
Telkom and outsourcing:
By now, everybody will have seen that Telkom almost has the BCX deal in the bag. Samantha Perry had a comment about holistic telecommunications. I assumed you mean the whole convergence conundrum? Telkom can`t even roll out ADSL properly, my dear, let alone VoIP, TV over cable, and so on. NeoTel and the cellular service providers are going to munch away at Telkom`s profits, and unless somebody at Telkom starts talking a real strategy, expect their share price to drop off to R80 within a year. Enough about SpermCount (gettit?)...
As for OWGs (Old White Guys, or GOFs as they call some us: Grumpy Old Farts), the government, the opposition, and even the Institute for Race Relations, to mention a few, are starting to realise that without us, there will be no growth over the next 5 years. So Bolenang, go blow it out your ears....
My blog subject this month (quarter?) is about What does an employer want?.
Now, I`ve heard some sources mention they would rather have a mediocre worker that has a nice attitude, than a genius with a difficult social style. The reasoning here is that an organisation will achieve more with people that are nice, but potentially not top notch, than with a bunch of nerds who should stay in the back office.
I`ve seen them all.
Here are some questions:
- if everybody is being social and chatting around the water-cooler, who`s doing the work?
- is everybody just focused on providing customer-facing staff these days? Is there no place for the nerdy guy without social graces, but who develops and sustains your technical edge?
- are we already too far down the path of mediocrity and pursuit of the average to be able to recognize genius?
Bill Gates, in his youth, and almost no social skills. Hmmm....imagine if you had a choice now, IBM, would you employ another Bill Gates this time?
Tot later.......
Open Source:
Sello Lehong sent me a longish comment about this issue, going into TCO, support, and code portability. Sello, I hear you, brother. I`m not trying to sell OpenSource, I was pointing out some of the selling strategies. Of course, true code portability is to use a methodology that is a layer above the OS, such as Java. Any compiler-based code is CPU/architecture bound. TCO is perhaps the only true measure, and in this case, while LINUX/OpenSource looks good on paper, I`d like to see how government and large corporates latch onto something WITHOUT a nice, safe maintenance and support contract.....Eish, sorry we can`t print the Eskom bills, we`re waiting from a response from anybody in the Linux community to fix our show-stopper bug in our laser printer driver....
I`m not going to get into code portability with regards to databases, that would take too much time and space <grin>.
Telkom and outsourcing:
By now, everybody will have seen that Telkom almost has the BCX deal in the bag. Samantha Perry had a comment about holistic telecommunications. I assumed you mean the whole convergence conundrum? Telkom can`t even roll out ADSL properly, my dear, let alone VoIP, TV over cable, and so on. NeoTel and the cellular service providers are going to munch away at Telkom`s profits, and unless somebody at Telkom starts talking a real strategy, expect their share price to drop off to R80 within a year. Enough about SpermCount (gettit?)...
As for OWGs (Old White Guys, or GOFs as they call some us: Grumpy Old Farts), the government, the opposition, and even the Institute for Race Relations, to mention a few, are starting to realise that without us, there will be no growth over the next 5 years. So Bolenang, go blow it out your ears....
My blog subject this month (quarter?) is about What does an employer want?.
Now, I`ve heard some sources mention they would rather have a mediocre worker that has a nice attitude, than a genius with a difficult social style. The reasoning here is that an organisation will achieve more with people that are nice, but potentially not top notch, than with a bunch of nerds who should stay in the back office.
I`ve seen them all.
Here are some questions:
- if everybody is being social and chatting around the water-cooler, who`s doing the work?
- is everybody just focused on providing customer-facing staff these days? Is there no place for the nerdy guy without social graces, but who develops and sustains your technical edge?
- are we already too far down the path of mediocrity and pursuit of the average to be able to recognize genius?
Bill Gates, in his youth, and almost no social skills. Hmmm....imagine if you had a choice now, IBM, would you employ another Bill Gates this time?
Tot later.......