Just found on Oracle website that they have placed a message for Sun customers about their objectives and their focus on Solaris and SPARC. And more interestingly you can find Larry Elison (CEO of Oracle) challenging IBM to compete in hardware business. A marketing tactic.
Picture reference: oracle.com/features/suncustomers.html
CS graduates come up with superb knowledge of computer, networks and other IT skills. If they are programmer they write sharp logic and design and code software well. These skills helps them to advancing them in their technical career. But being a technical practitioner a CS junkie should know some non-CS skills and abilities. Because in job they have to communicate and interact with many other people who don’t the CS background. And these skills can help them in more advance positions.
So to reach that level one should know these skills to prove better in other areas too. I consider following skills that a programmer or a CS graduate must have. You can add your comments to enhance this article*.
1. Business communication
A fresh CS graduate must have a very good verbal and writing skills. To present well his idea to managers. He should know the art to put things on white board what he has in his mind. I found CS people are lacking very much in it.
2. Inter-personal skills
It can be merged with above. But being better in inter-personally means to be a good listener, behaving effectively on different situations. Convincing power compliance with logical arguments. Interacting well with different niche of people like client, colleagues and managers.
3. Knowledge of business, economics & international affairs
For me this is the thing which put leadership in computer science people. When they started thinking globally. They know whats going in international and local markets. What are the causes of global economic recession. They know what are the means to earn money if they start their own business. How they can market their ideas. Thinking in this way cause them to be entrepreneurs. And hence they start taking risks and giving jobs rather waiting for a job in a cube.
* Note: My this post is a response to the research that Mr. Nadeem Ghafoor from COMSATS IIT is doing on “Non-CS Aspects of Undergrad CS Education in Pakistan“.
Google has announced its annual programming competition for year 2009.
According to Google blog
Registration is now open, so you can find out more about the contest, and practice on some sample problems. Practice hard! If you make it to the top 500, you’ll travel to a nearby Google office for our semifinal round. If you’re in the top 100, we’ll fly you to our Mountain View headquarters to compete with the world’s very best.
Google is taking this competition as a fine grained recruiting process. Because while registering with Code Jam they will ask what Google office location suits you. Well fair enough, they are giving money to winners and an offer to work in Google. I hope this time I will be able to solve problems in qualification round. Last time I able to solve only one problem which works fine by given test cases but Google didn’t accept 
. That fairly means I need more practice.
Information Technology has completely changed our lives. No matter who you are, you can’t escape to be affected by it. It has a divining force on our lives. I have drawn some tips that I have come up by discussions with friends, colleagues and students directly or indirectly attached with IT fields. These tips can apply equally for those people who are in other professions other than IT.
Recognize Yourself
That comes first. Ask yourself whether you want to be an IT enabled professional. I have seen people who take their decision by just taking influence from other people. Later they came to know the direction they choose didn’t suit them. We should be on our own. The earlier you identify yourself, less time you are likely to waste in a wrong direction.
Identify Your Key Technology Areas
Information Technology is an abstract term. Whenever you think of it there it comes with all sort of stuff bundled under one umbrella. You can consider a divide between programmer and networking expert. If you are a best problem solver, writing a lot of code is a fun for you, riddles attract you then you can choose to excel in programming and software development. If you are new into IT education then its ok to get a mix and more diversified technology diet otherwise you must need to decide for your career prospects.
Always Remember the Basics
As people who are pursuing career in IT and software they must keep sharpening the knowledge of basic foundations and principles of their skills. A lot of jargons and buzzword are trailing in the market in the form of libraries, APIs and frameworks. By keeping a strong eye on basics and how stuff is working can cause you to develop such things. More usable and more useful.
Make Smart Use of Internet
Making smart use of Internet doesn’t mean less use. But smart mean productive and meaningful. I know it sounds trivial a trivial idea but if we give it a thought than people who are addicted to use it in a smart ways knows when they see their colleagues stuck up – and remain there – with issues answers to which are just a few click away. Making smart use of internet require force and practice. Every time you face an issue ask yourself how to narrate it so that others can give you solution or can guide in right direction. I got pinched when any of fellow developer used to say that he never found solution on forums and mailing lists. Internet is full of information; we just need to know how to use it rather re-inventing the wheel.
Socialize yourself
Make your communication as a super power. Be a voice on table. Attract people. Engage with them, give arguments, make your point of view clear and leave a solid impact behind you. There is a general perception that technical people lack communication skills and they remain introvert. But I disagree with it. Being as a developer me never found myself falls back in discussion and socializing. And it really can put you out of the crowd.
Develop a ‘Financial Sense’
People pursuing an IT career pose a general risk of being labeled as a ‘purely technical’ entity. Usually we end up marking limits around that force us to remain a techy for the rest of our life. And it is not just about perceptions alone. A technical person who does not have a good financial sense would face problem sooner or later. Whether job requires it or not, we need to try to develop a financial sense that relates directly to our technology area.
That’s all I have scratched my mind to write on this topic. Well things never stop. Make your comments and let others know what you feel to be a successful IT professional and a very good human being.
Sun Microsystems has unleashed Java Store at store.java.com. The purpose of this store is to give opportunities to developers to make money by showcasing their Java applications. Which they care about and develop in their own time. Currently store is in beta and available for US residents only.
Sun chief executive Jonathan Schwartz and Java creator James Gosling introduced the concept at the JavaOne conference.
“The objective is very simple: to give Java developers access to a billion consumers,” said Schwartz. “It solves the problem of how you get access to every customer in the world.”
Currently Sun is looking feedback on payment process. This store will be a great oppertunity to give financial benefits to developers and return for their efforts in developing Java apps.
It’s half past 8 in the office. but the lights are still on…
PCs still running,
Coffee machines still buzzing…
And who’s at work?
Most of them??? take a closer look…
All or most specimens are ??-something male species of the human race…
Look closer… again all or most of them are bachelors…and why are they sitting late? Working hard?
No way!!!
Any guesses???
Let’s ask one of them…
Here’s what he says… “What’s there to do after going home… here we get to surf, AC, phone, food, tea, coffee.. that is why I am working late… importantly no bossssssss!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the scene in most research centers and software companies and other off-shore offices.
Bachelors “time-passing” during late hours in the office just because they say they’ve nothing else to do…
Now what are the consequences… read on…
“Working” (for the record only) late hours soon becomes part of the institute or company culture.
With bosses more than eager to provide support to those “working” late in the form of bus fair, food vouchers and of course good feedback, (oh, he’s a hard worker… goes home only to change..!!).
They aren’t helping things too… To hell with bosses who don’t understand the difference between “sitting” late and “working” late!!!
Very soon, the boss start expecting all employees to put in extra working hours.
So, My dear Bachelors let me tell you, life changes when u get married and start having a family… office is no longer a priority, family is… and that’s when the problem starts… because you start having commitments at home too.
For your boss, the earlier “hardworking” guy suddenly seems to become a “early leaver” even if u leave an hour after regular time. .. after doing the same amount of work.
People leaving on time after doing their tasks for the day are labeled as work-shirkers…
Girls who thankfully always (its changing nowadays…though) leave on time. The later is not applicable to them. All the while, the male bachelors pat their own backs and carry on working not realizing that they are spoiling the work culture at their own place and never realize that they would have to regret at one point of time.
So what’s the moral of the story??
Take a tip from the Smirnoff ad:
*”Life’s calling, where are you??”*
Lets see, how many of us act upon it. Hope for the best 
Its real?
First, there were the Seven Wonders of the World. Then there was a New Seven Wonders list, voted on Internet-style. That got us thinking: What are the seven wonders of the IT world? Here’s a look at seven of the biggest, most extreme and most unusual computers and projects.
By the way, do you have a vote for an eighth wonder?
20 replies by programmers, when their programs do not work.
If you like this, then you should check programmer’s life too.
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