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... well that's the "plan". I'm technically, between contracts - but, more realistically, probably at the end of the road of a forty year career in software development. So of course, I thought... I'll write a novel - a fiction novel, in fact. Doesn't everyone?
Well it's not all fun and games trying to be an author. I started on a new chapter... five lines in and I'm thinking:
1. Does that look right?
2. Is this how it should start?
3. What happens next.
4. Is this really a chapter?
Just like programming, I guess! 
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Are you a plotter or a planner?
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I'm a plotter/planner - not a 'pantser'. Although that's not going exactly as I expected either. I had it all mapped out - down to the chapter level. And actually wrote the final chapter - so knew exactly where I was headed. And then...
A few weeks back, someone asked: "How's the book going?" I replied: "Two more chapters to go." Since then, I've written four more chapters, (and revised some of the earlier ones), and I still have two more chapters to go! 
Again, very much like software development.
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As you know, we in software development call that refactoring.
I think most successful authors would tell you need to write, then re-write over and over again. It doesn't matter how detailed you plan is even before you start writing a single line.
So, just like software development.
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dandy72 wrote: As you know, we in software development call that refactoring Scope Creep
FTFY
If you can't find time to do it right the first time, how are you going to find time to do it again?
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Mike Hankey wrote: dandy72 wrote: As you know, we in software development call that refactoring Scope Creep
FTFY
When I write "novels", scope creep it the very purpose of it.
I don't write for anyone but myself; I will never try to have my texts published (or even show them to others). I started out writing about 25+ years ago, in frustration over my inability to fix my own car; I am completely dependent on car mechanics for everything; I know nothing about cars. My brain started churning on this: I know nothing about how soap is made. How to smoke meat and fish. How to use a chainsaw. ...
So in my mind I created a scenario with noone around to help me (almost). A post-apocalyptic world where I would have to solve all problems on my own. I attacked one are at a time - and also asking myself: Do I really need to solve this problem - is is an essential one?
To begin with, the specific problems and solutions were in focus. Then came the scope creep: With limited resources, what do I really want to give priority? What it truly valuable to me? In my imaginary post-apocalyptic world, I wasn't all alone: A group of kids had survived as well. So I had to justify my choices to them, and we had to organize a new society. How would I build and organize a society from a tabula rasa, when noone else restricts my choices? (The reason why I let a group of kids survive was to give myself more freedom: They would have few very firm ideas about what a society should be, but they would all the time be questioning my, and gradually their own, choices.)
So the scope crept outward, to thoughts about society in general, how to relate to life and death, which morals can be justified for yourself and which can you impose on others, and so on.
As the work progressed, I was surprised to learn how may questions I had never before given a single thought. Also, thinking them thoroughly over made me, in several areas, change my deepest convictions. It changed me as a human.
Later, I have written a number of texts, as novels or (long) short stories, essentially by creating a scenario that I do not know how to handle. In order to make a trustworthy story, with people behaving and arguing in a way that makes sense, I have to do a lot of background studies. Almost always, it starts out with some very practical problem, like this group that gets involved in a new mining project: How do you get minerals out of the stone? I didn't have a clue. Now I have at least slight clue, especially about the variation in techniques both for finding the minerals and extracting them. But it also brings me into how multinational (and for that sake, national) mining companies behave: How mine workers are treated, how the pollution they generate is treated, how much respect they have for wildlife and nature, and so on.
And how do mining companies differ from other huge corporations? Can we at all imagine a society with both mining and other large-scale activities that does not have the same negative effects on everything around them? Could we have a society that allows the activity without giving the leaders the power tools to destroy everything else in their hunt for profit?
Often, issues like these makes me end up in a very non-PC corner. That is the main reason why I don't show my texts to others. I did show the first novel to a few, and that had some very negative consequences for me personally. If I have to adjust my thoughts to what is acceptable to people around me, then I don't have the freedom to decide for myself what I think would be the right answer.
To give an example: I honestly think that internet protocols is a can of worms. Or rather: A pail of garbage. So I create a scenario where the entire network (well, limited to the USA and their international connections) is completely destroyed and must be rebuilt from the ground up. You have the freedom to build a completely new network from scratch, unhampered by any old solutions - but you have the knowledge of all alternative technologies that had to yield to IP.
I don't care much for shouting matches with TCP/IP affectionadas, nor for (even polite) discussions about how internet could possibly be developed in the direction I suggest. I do not care to reshape a garbage can! I want to analyze how a completely different network could be designed, see if it could be made workable at all. (And yes, it could!) But I can hardly mention such thoughts of something to replace IP, throw IP on the garbage heap where it belongs, with anyone who knows the difference between TCP and IP. That is like pointing out to Christians that the two histories of the childhood of Jesus has practically no overlap, and must refer to two different boy children - they do not want to hear of it, and the run as fast as they can to fetch my coat.
To give a somewhat more specific advice to SteveH: Do not underestimate the importance of background research!
One thing my writing has made me realize in full: My competence, my knowledge is very limited. I can hardly write a novel based solely on what I've already got inside my head. The story always run into corners where an expert shakes his head: That author is writing about things he doesn't have a clue about. I know it from my own reading: Frequently, I see authors (even well known ones) giving descriptions and solutions that are far away from any reality, and it makes me p***ed. I stop trusting that author even in areas where I am not and expert. You don't have to become an expert in every area you refer to, but learn enough about it to make sure that you do not make any big blunders - in particular if your story in any way depends on the details you mention.
Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.
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The ideas and thoughts in your writings are yours, that's the whole point of writing and reading. I already know what I'm thinking (most of the time  ) so I want to read what others think and write. (I'm an avid reader (about 2 hours a day).
If I don't like or agree with what someone writes I simply don't read it. If you don't like something I say or write about, ignore it. It's a pretty simple philosophy.
As an aside, I have learned many professions over the years, mainly because I'm too poor to pay someone else to do it.
If you can't find time to do it right the first time, how are you going to find time to do it again?
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Mike Hankey wrote: I already know what I'm thinking (most of the time )
Until you have had to (fiercely) defend your thoughts, you do not know for sure what you are thinking.
In my student days, we were a group of 8-10 students meeting every weekend for all sorts of discussions - almost as if the very purpose was to disagree. Whatever one of us suggested, it was met by some counter arguments. That was extremely stimulating, and made us dig really deep to see if we could truly defend our opinions. We were truly disagreeing: A newborn Christian, a jew, a couple traditional protestants, most were non-believers, but we could discuss religious questions through the night. One wore a Mao Tse Tung button on his jacket sleeve at all times, another one would definitely support an alternate president if he was in the US now, some were green, some wanted more or less a theocracy: The morals of the Christian churches should control all aspects of society; this of course led to fierce debates. Yet, we were all close friends when all arrived at my little apartment, and equally close friends when the left at night.
After we graduated, the group naturally dissolved. When I write, the main character(s) always have antagonist(s) opposing their ideas and thoughts. For me as an author, one of the most challenging tasks is to dig up all the counter arguments against the ideas held by the protagonists, which are 'obviously' the good, right ideas. No, that is not at all obvious. Then there would be no conflict around them. So I have to understand what makes the antagonists think the way they do. Therefore,
If I don't like or agree with what someone writes I simply don't read it. This is very much contrary to my line of thought. I must know the counter arguments, the arguments for a completely different taste or judgement. First, it can strengthen my ability to defend my own opinions. Second: What if they are right? What if I really should change my opinions? I am open to that alternative!
Finally: If you don't read what "someone" writes because you don't like it or disagree with it, how do you know that you don't like it or disagree with it? Is it due to a label that you or someone else has attached to the author, rather than the writings?
Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.
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I liked the News Feed novels (reporters during zombie apocalypse). The author had their text reviewed by experts in guns, biology, etc. to make sure all of it was at least plausible.
Bond
Keep all things as simple as possible, but no simpler. -said someone, somewhere
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In these AI days ...
One reason why James P. Hogan: The Two Faces of Tomorrow (1979) still holds up fairly well may be related to the Acknowledgement prefacing the novel, where he thanks the help and advice received from Prof. Marvin Minsky, Artificial Intelligence Unit, MIT. (If "Marvin Minsky" is unknown to you, look it up in Wikipedia!)
Having experts review your manuscript is absolutely essential, for verifying anything that is not your own field of expertise.
You might run into problems with an expert completely rejecting something you wrote, "It couldn't possibly have been like that, you have to completely rewrite that part of the story", the expert tearing down major part of your plot. I have read a few books like that. One author of 25 mystery novels, translated to 40 languages (according to Wikipedia) makes such grave mistakes, basing his plots on impossible assumptions, that I have come to reject his books completely. Fair enough: Some novels are declared to be counterfactual, but that is different from counterfactual physics and the workings of engineered mechanisms that in all ways are presented as factual.
Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.
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5teveH wrote: and I still have two more chapters to go!
Probably time for a sequel.
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Well, I came here for a MS rant but found I'm at the back of the queue...
So I run Win10 on a laptop. I very rarely reboot (because when I start the PC up, it's cos I want to use it, not have it sit there for 4 hours doing a reboot). So I just "sleep" by closing the lid.
Until a few days ago, I "woke up" by opening the lid, waiting about 5 seconds, and hitting any key (or clicking the mouse) would give me the login prompt for my password. Then one day it didn't. Just the standard windows background. I hit various keys, gave the mouse a good workout, waited... and waited. Eventually I gave up and hit Ctrl-Alt-Del in case; and that brought up the login screen. Since then, I've had to hit Ctrl-Alt-Del every time. And, as far as I'm aware, there's been no updates applied.
This is particularly galling as, due to a dodgy keyboard on the laptop, I usually have the numeric keypad in "numeric" mode (as the zero on my main keyboard rarely works). But as there's no "NumLock" light (thanks, Dell!) I have to try twice a lot of the time. And I can't do it single-handed (I often have a cup of coffee in the other hand).
I wonder, has anyone actually told MS that their software is a pile of doo-doo?
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DerekT-P wrote: Well, I came here for a MS rant
No, this is "abuse". You want 12A[^], next door. 
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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I have Win11 & Win10 machines and use them both for different things, I also use(d) Office XP (with an update to open docx & xlsx). I got into the habit of using them (also my Mum, not very technical!) could use it fine. One day Win11 updates and bang splat it stops working, it will open and you can view the document touch any key, click any mouse button and it closes. Why? So I have to conned into an Orfice365 subscription (I did try OpenOffice but had issues).
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At first I thought you were describing exactly the scenario my neighbor had come across, but not quite it.
In his case, one morning, his Windows 10 lock screen randomly decided he needed to swipe from bottom to top before the login textbox would show up, which is a thing MS introduced, I believe, starting with Windows 8.
Worse, his laptop didn't have a touch screen, so I had to teach him how to do the swipe motion by dragging the mouse, with the left button depressed, from the bottom up.
He had never seen this before, nor has he ever since.
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switch to linux and (if you really need it) install winblows in a vm
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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yes sir, what he said, he is quite correct.
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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But doesn't that mean you go from Win11 quirks to Win11 + VM manager quirks + Ubuntu quirks?
No OS is perfect (...waits until the clamour dies down) so I'm always a fan of minimising your Quirk Surface Area.
cheers
Chris Maunder
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Exactly what I did a few months after Windows 8.0 was introduced. Linux for all my general computing needs and a Windows VM for games that won't work under Linux and the occasional photo editing session (I really dislike Gimp!!).
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In two long periods (6+ months each), I have had a machine sitting there with Linux read for use, with replacements for my essential Windows tools installed. But every time I tried to use the Linux tools, I was getting frustrated like h*ll. These "free and open" tools are made by people who never worked with them.
They have no idea about how you work when editing music; they have just worked their way down a checklist of functions they must implement to claim that nothing is missing in their tool. Except real usability.
Same with CD/DVD authoring (which was relevant at the time I tried to go Linux): The number of moves to do the familiar operations were much higher, and did not "feel right". But it had all the check marks in the list.
Document editing also had all the check marks. But it didn't have the operations where they felt natural. The help function was a (poor) joke. And it was more insistent on it being The Right Answer than Microsoft Edge is about being The Right Browser. (Well, that applies to the entire Linux crowd, although with varying intensity.)
At work, I have been required to use Linux based development environments. Coming home to VS has been felt as a relief.
All my major tools have much better implementations on the Windows side. With two machines side by side for long periods of time, I never "voluntarily" chose the Linux alternative. (I had to learn the Linux tools to judge them against the Windows ones; that does not count as "voluntary".) The Linux machine did have some tools that were not available on the Windows machine (to a large degree, today they are), so there were things I would have to do on Linux - if I had to do them at all. I did not.
I will give Linux a third opportunity the day that I find myself in need of some tool that is not available on Windows. Experience has taught me not to hold my breath. My guess is that I will be getting an ARM-based Windows machine before I get a Linux machine. At the time, there are no ARM alternatives suiting my needs, but lots will happen in that market in the next year or two.
Maybe, the day I get myself a desktop Windows ARM, I will also set up a file server common to my old machine and the new ARM. Chances are that the file server would be running Linux, which is perfectly fine. Linux is great for lots of backend server uses. As long as I can use tools on the Windows front ends created by people who have (at least) as much expertise in the application domain as in the latest C++ extensions.
Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.
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yes MS kind of sucks.
What Jsop said.
Has anyone ever been able to get thru and talk to MS? I mean in all seriousness.
Other comments in queue. For those that use Linux and find LibreOffice missing some things. Try WPS office. It solved many of the issues that I had with some microsoft integration for excel spreadsheets. WPS worked better than excel.
Seriously though. Linux is the way to go. If you are slight scared linux mint just works and seems like Windows alot.
Last point. IF you are going to run windows. You have to reboot your computer at least once a week or soo. Just has to be done.
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
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rnbergren wrote: Has anyone ever been able to get thru and talk to MS? I mean in all seriousness
Sometime in the late 80's I talked to someone that said he used to call up Microsoft to try to convince them to give him a copy of their Basic Compiler.
Sometimes (always?) he would talk to Bill Gates.
Does that count?
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Windows having all kinds of bugs and Microsoft not caring about them because too busy researching new ways to annoy users with ads - I can live with.
But Dell not installing lights for the NumLock and CapsLock keys is a crime against humanity.
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