Web Software

A blogger has posted his best Web 2.0 Software Picks. [via Digg].

An updated list of my top apps would be (not all would qualify as "Web 2.0"), or even as web apps, but they do make my life easier (see also previous entry):

• Gmail.


• Mozilla Firefox


• Sharpreader
- an RSS aggregator

• VMware
- allows users to run virtual machines with different operating systems

• Wikipedia - still a useful resource despite the threats made by attention seekers and by people who just don't get it [via]


• Google


• eMule

American right-wing blog watching: Sydney race riots

I will be watching the blog-world's reactions to the race riots in Australia with a lot of interest, especially in the more conservative precincts of the internet.

Update 12/12/2005: At least one of the links above didn't disappoint. The more I read of the thread, the more I felt that SA whites are extremely fortunate. It appears that tolerance towards minorities is skin deep in much of the first world.

See also

Update 2: Some of the people who try to justify the race riots claim that activities by Lebanese gangs justify the attacks on "wogs". If that is the case, then I wonder how they would react if, hypothetically, black mobs in South Africa decided to go on a racist rampage when, say, a white farmer throws a black farm worker into a lion enclosure?

Random thought: Shoprite Checkers and branding confusion

I don't keep up with marketing issues, but I find the whole Shoprite/Checkers/OK business very confusing.

Two wheeled morons

Cyclists and motorcyclists are often militant about their "right" to use our roads. But, as any Gauteng motorist will tell you, they often are a danger, both to themselves and to other road users.

Driving on a busy freeway, I always check my mirrors and ensure that I have a clear space around my car. But, more than once, I have been shocked to hear a loud roar as a motorcyclist slips past my vehicle, in the same lane, without me even realizing that he was there. A friend recently had his car badly damaged by a kamikaze on a motorbike.

Bicycle riders, too, are often a danger to themselves, and others. While I have sympathy for those who need bicycles to get to work, recreational cyclists, who are often inconsiderate morons who train during rush hour on busy roads at twilight, need to be fined and taken off the road. Companies that sponsor cycle events should also be exposed to negative publicity whenever someone training for their events gets creamed.

Of course, it is politically correct to blame motorists for cycling accidents:

Most accidents on bikes, except in our rural areas, occur in cyclists between the ages of 7 and 17. Statistics improve once they reach their mid-teens by which time they have learned some road sense. Unfortunately the same is often not true of those driving cars, mini-bus taxis and large commercial vehicles. Since generally motorists in this country are not trained to take notice of cyclists, cyclists must learn to take notice of them!

Anyone who has done their driver's licence in the last decade or so will know that the idea that they are not trained to look for cyclists is rubbish .

Perhaps the time has come for drivers to become militant about our right to use the road and to push for cycles to be banned from major routes, and for motorcycles to be taken off our freeways.

If you thought our public transport sucked...

...read this first hand account from India.

Trouble at government propaganda organ?

According to an article in the Sunday Independent, top reporters are fleeing the SABC in droves.

More here and here.

Durban - South Africa's next IT hub?

The Sunday Times has an article about Durban's prospects as the "Sillicon Valley of Africa". Like many Sunday Times articles, it seems a little less than objective, and the emphasis on "public-private partnerships" and call-centres does ring a few alarm bells.

That said, I have a soft spot for Durban, and I hope that the city does become a hi tech hub. Something I often hear from Durbanites is that their city lacks opportunities for skilled professionals, and anything to solve that problem should be welcomed.

If the Durban project succeeds, it will be an interesting case study for us in Gauteng where we have a similar project the - Innovation Hub.

Hiring IT graduates

I work for a company that believes in giving job opportunities to new graduates (in particular, those with IT-related degrees), and to technical support staff who want to transition to software development. They are hired at very low salaries, and, as they prove themselves, they earn more. The system seems to work, and my employer has a very low staff turnover.

The job market is -or was two years ago- tough for young South African graduates to break into. Companies seem to want to avoid the risks inherent in taking someone green and training them. Their scepticism is probably warranted, given the number of low-value certificates that are produced at IT colleges. But university graduates with good records are often tarred with the same brush as graduates from fly-by-night colleges.

Recruitment agencies also seem to dislike graduates, probably because they get lower commissions¹.

Interestingly, the only developer who left my company since I started there, was hired on the basis of previous experience (he has no formal IT qualifications). He turned out to be, quite frankly, a professional liability. There was a secret sense of relief when he left us for a better paying position.

On the other hand, the smartest, strongest developers, who are driving the company forward (and earning it lots of cash), and who were hired straight out of university, remain at the company. They could probably have been snapped up by any company at a salary of R6 000,00 p/m after graduating. Today they are unlikely to change jobs, even if offered four times that amount.

Of course, there will be duds if one hires junior people (it's depressingly easy to cheat and coast one's way through university), but the risk is reduced if you pay them less.

Joel on Software has a good point:

In fact, one thing I have noticed is that the people who I consider to be good software developers barely ever apply for jobs at all. I know lots of great people who took a summer internship on a whim and then got permanent offers. They only ever applied for one or two jobs in their lives.

...

By the way, it's because of this phenomenon-—the fact that many of the great people are never on the job market-—that we are so aggressive about hiring summer interns. This may be the last time these kids ever show up on the open market. In fact we hunt down the smart CS students and individually beg them to apply for an internship with us, because if you wait around to see who sends you a resume, you're already missing out. [Read the rest]

I think that Joel, and my own boss, are on to something.

Notes:
¹ If you are heavily reliant on employment agencies for IT recruitment, then you are asking for trouble, since most are ignorant.

Are opportunists infiltrating the ANC at local level?

Over the last few years, the ANC branch in the area where I live has slowly changed its composition. Crooks and assorted power-hungry scumbags have managed to climb to the top.

Over the last few weeks, I have heard that another unqualified individual has started angling for a nomination. If he gets it, he will probably be elected to the metro council.

Although I don't condone the rioting that seems to have become a common occurrence in South Africa, I do understand the frustration of people who have no practical alternatives to an ANC which has been infiltrated by careerists who don't care about their constituents' welfare.

Gautrain: a white elephant?

With the increasing costs of the Gautrain project, questions are being asked about its viability.