A sit-down discussion with another group of “ancient” programmers reveals I am not imagining things. In my day, a good programmer wrote tight code, these days the emphasis is on scam hits (based on my theory that every business that relies on hits is a scam, prove me wrong). The Internet was not always so commercialized, you know. During that said meeting, a number of other facts surfaced. First observation was the lack of quoted sources. Nobody who does things on the Internet will tell you where they learned it or where the knowledge comes from. This sounds familiar. When I pointed out the facts, it was generally agreed the people working the Internet would have to be trained by unbelievably young teachers. Sorry if that gets sticky to follow, but I’m saying there must be some kind of shortcut these thousands of people are taking. I don’t buy any theory that an entire generation of 20-somethings instantly appeared that is any smarter than in my day. My question is where are they learning this material? It is not like there is some school offering a course “Using the Internet to scam millions without actually doing anything illegal and here is how.”
Turning to my completely legitimate, if digitally outdated, business plan, I was able to view the basic security camera system I’ve proposed to sell from the shop. The entire model would not pass my own criteria because it is a four-man operation. If I did not have a successful history of coordinating groups around that size, I’d be leery of starting. The reason to overlook a few issues is that in this instance, the work to be done is so defined as to be exclusive to the person doing it. Keep checking in over the next few weeks for possible examples of this amazing technology.
[Author's note 2015-10-07: the above is not clear, it is a transcript of my scribbles. I'm saying we have a bunch of cheap cameras and a guy came in with a programmable recorder. But he does not know how to program. His plan is to have four people installing these cameras and he wants us to coordinate it. I forget what I meant by "exclusive to the person", but I have a built-in rule that work be defined and not be dependent on the worker. That type of job is outdated. In the end, these guys disappeared.]
The cameras are cheap and the results are, and this is an important qualification, amazing compared to television camera surveillance. The arrangement I am using is completely different and digital from the ground up. It was assembled from spare parts and ordinary computer components lying around. We are talking a $20 camera from the computer show at the Ft. Lauderdale Armory and a $150 computer, nothing like the initial outlay required for the most basic analog setup.
The two guys who
I am not denigrating the others in any fashion, I’m pointing out that they seem to, like most people, use the product right out of the box. After a few conversations, it seems clear I may have an inestimable lead in software experience. The priority is to get my hands on the operator’s manual and memorize it, child’s play for me. During the same meeting I acquired a list of the components needed to build a solid working 4-camera system and we have all those parts stored in boxes. My mission is to build a home system without more than $40 in purchases. Can it be done? (Yes, and at half that price by the Chinese.)
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