My big news
So I realize that I've been really bad at keeping the content rate of this blog anywhere close to reasonable. Still, there seem to be a couple dozen hardy souls who took my advise and subscribed to my feed. As a reward for your patience I have some big news that will break here first!!!
In two weeks I start my new job, at Google!!!
Cool, eh?
I just got my offer last week, and I officially accepted it a couple of days ago. There's a ton of paperwork to fill out, ranging from background checks to immigration documents. But the most interesting two are those I received today.
First, they want me to pick my username. I've never had a choice before. In high school I was berkana which I wasn't very fond of. Since then I've mostly been aberkan, with the occasional adamb or just plain berkan. I think I've grown accustomed to aberkan so I'll probably stick with that. Any thoughts? (Remember the name should probably have something to do with me and shouldn't be rude!!!)
Second was a document asking me what kind of computers I would like. Notice the 's'! I get a desktop and a laptop, with any of Windows, Linux, or Mac OS on them. I've certainly never worked anywhere that lets you pick your development environment. So here's the dilemma I'm facing: I've mostly been a windows based developer my whole life, and the thought of not having MS Visual Studio for debugging is kinda scary. Also, my time at Microsoft made me a bit of a Windows guru, and I'd hate to throw all of that away. But... Don't real hackers use Linux? I developed on Linux (and Unix) in University so I'm sure I'd manage. I'm a vi freak so I know I don't need the pretty interfaces from Windows. Is this the right time to switch? Finally, I've been seriously considering buying a Mac for around the house. Apple is the hot shit in Silicon Valley right now, and all the hippest engineers are using Macs for their web development. Hmmm... I could even conceivably get a different OS on my two machines. But which two? And on what machines? Linux laptops are not an option, and I'm not really interested in a Mac desktop. That leaves:
Windows PC, Windows Laptop
Windows PC, Mac Laptop
Linux PC, Windows Laptop
Linux PC, Mac Laptop
I really don't know what to pick. I'm leaning towards the 3rd option, but they all have something to offer. Any suggestions?
I promise to keep mt loyal readers well informed about how things at Google are going, and that means you'll be seeing a lot more posts in the near future. So enjoy, and let me know what machines I should ask for...
In two weeks I start my new job, at Google!!!
Cool, eh?
I just got my offer last week, and I officially accepted it a couple of days ago. There's a ton of paperwork to fill out, ranging from background checks to immigration documents. But the most interesting two are those I received today.
First, they want me to pick my username. I've never had a choice before. In high school I was berkana which I wasn't very fond of. Since then I've mostly been aberkan, with the occasional adamb or just plain berkan. I think I've grown accustomed to aberkan so I'll probably stick with that. Any thoughts? (Remember the name should probably have something to do with me and shouldn't be rude!!!)
Second was a document asking me what kind of computers I would like. Notice the 's'! I get a desktop and a laptop, with any of Windows, Linux, or Mac OS on them. I've certainly never worked anywhere that lets you pick your development environment. So here's the dilemma I'm facing: I've mostly been a windows based developer my whole life, and the thought of not having MS Visual Studio for debugging is kinda scary. Also, my time at Microsoft made me a bit of a Windows guru, and I'd hate to throw all of that away. But... Don't real hackers use Linux? I developed on Linux (and Unix) in University so I'm sure I'd manage. I'm a vi freak so I know I don't need the pretty interfaces from Windows. Is this the right time to switch? Finally, I've been seriously considering buying a Mac for around the house. Apple is the hot shit in Silicon Valley right now, and all the hippest engineers are using Macs for their web development. Hmmm... I could even conceivably get a different OS on my two machines. But which two? And on what machines? Linux laptops are not an option, and I'm not really interested in a Mac desktop. That leaves:
Windows PC, Windows Laptop
Windows PC, Mac Laptop
Linux PC, Windows Laptop
Linux PC, Mac Laptop
I really don't know what to pick. I'm leaning towards the 3rd option, but they all have something to offer. Any suggestions?
I promise to keep mt loyal readers well informed about how things at Google are going, and that means you'll be seeing a lot more posts in the near future. So enjoy, and let me know what machines I should ask for...
posted by Ze Ace at
9:22 PM
4 Comments:
Congratulations on the new jobl
I have both my machines (desktop at work and laptop) dual-booting Linux and Windows. Strangely, I almost always use Linux on the desktop and Windows on the laptop. Is it possible to get both on both for dual-booting? Or two different environments so you can pick for however you're feeling at that moment?
I've also heard great things about macs these days, but have yet to be totally converted.
By
Anonymous, at 9/03/2007 3:15 PM
Wow. Congratulations on the job! Google is supposed to be one of the best companies to work for in the whole country! I am jealous.
I am not a developer - in fact, I hate programming with a deep passion - but I am a bit of a comptuer nerd.
I'd probably go Linux PC, Mac laptop. I know how you feel with the "real hackers use Linux." I really want to install Linux at home but then I would have to teach my husband how to use it *shudder*.
Best of luck at your new job. I hope things are awesome for you there!
By
Anonymous, at 9/04/2007 1:23 PM
Congrats man! I want to know everything about your new job!!
As for your computer quandry: I'd go with Windows running CoLinux - a Linux kernel running right alongside Windows. No need to reboot, and way more efficient than a virtual machine. Best of both worlds, that! (I'm getting into this setup to run a cross-compilation toolchain that's only avail for Linux).
By
Wallageeks, at 9/06/2007 9:18 AM
Gratz Berkan,
I personally would take the Mac book. Though I hate people who try to tell me it is the be all end all, for what you are going into, it will open up a lot of possibilities.
By
scotthof, at 9/09/2007 1:46 PM
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