Re: tlug: parallel-port IDE

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <turnbull@example.com>]

>>>>> "Karl-Max" == Karl-Max Wagner <karlmax@example.com> writes:

    >> There's a guy in my church who is constantly saying that good
    >> UNIX people are impossible to find in this country, Japanese,
    >> gaijin, or otherwise.

    Karl-Max> They sure tell the truth. I know a guy in Fukui who's
    Karl-Max> quite a good electronics /computer engineer but two
    Karl-Max> years ago he actually was totally unaware of the
    Karl-Max> existence of Linux. I was really shocked.

Good UNIX do exist.  But they aren't well-networked (outside of their
employing organizations), and are difficult to find.  They mostly live
in corporate and university labs, and are generally pretty happy with
their lives and do not respond to requests for system programmers on
the TLUG list.

As for gaijin, I don't see why a gaijin guru would come to Japan,
except for the food.

    >> Is this true?  Maybe that's why PHT Japan had to import me :)

    Karl-Max> Exactly.

Japanese of that quality in Japan don't work for startups or foreign
companies.  But they exist.  They also don't work for university
computer centers; the professors and bureaucrats have too much power
over hiring, and don't hire good people.

    Jim Scheizer wrote:

    >> At the two universities where I teach, the computer labs are
    >> *locked* unless a teacher is in the room. At one of them the
    >> lead sys-admin wouldn't talk to me for weeks because I had the
    >> temerity to suggest that bash was a better shell than c.

    Karl-Max> No problem. Why do you want to talk with such an idiot
    Karl-Max> anyway ?  It's waste of time.

Because he's got the keys to the machine room.  Sheesh.

    >> The problem is there is almost no PC instruction in the jr. and
    >> sr. high schools (let alone UN*X) and the penetration of PCs
    >> into the household is only now showing some life.

    Karl-Max> How should that work ? Those in charge don't have even
    Karl-Max> the foggiest ideas, so they can't train other people who
    Karl-Max> can't train other people and so forth.

    Karl-Max> There are lots of technical fields in Japan where a
    Karl-Max> sound know how base is totally lacking. The only way to
    Karl-Max> get that fixed would be to hire foreign experts with
    Karl-Max> some REAL know how ( NOT academics ! ) and leave them

Believe that if you like, Karl-Max.  You'd be surprised what
academically-trained people can do once freed from the supervision of
the professoriate, though.

    Karl-Max> If Japan wants to tackle the 21st century with such
    Karl-Max> inappropriate prerequisites, the term "serious trouble"
    Karl-Max> sure is a gross understatement for what's really gonna
    Karl-Max> happen....

Believe that if you like, Karl-Max.  That's what the president of GM
said circa 1970, and we all know what happened to the Western auto
industry.

I don't deny it's a danger, but you underrate the human capacity to
catch up to other humans.

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