Advogato blog for Akira

9 May 2008

Fri, 9 May 2008 11:14:25 GMT

"He who can look into the future and discern conditions that are not manifest, will never make a blunder and therefore invariably win".

--Chang Yu

13 Feb 2008

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:22:51 GMT

Trip to 3GSM / Barcelona

To save one night of hotel, my company granted me only one day in 3GSM Barcelona : departure the morning from Paris, return in the evening. With a sized handicap : a strike of the Paris' Air Controllers.

Obviously : a late meeting in Barcelona. Direct impact : modification of the initial plan : rent a car for Girona Airport (100 km from Barcelona) in the evening, hotel at Girona central town for the night, takeoff the next day at noon for Beauvais Airport (70 km from Paris), another car rent to return to the company. Added a 3 hours delay - thanks to RyanAir plane blocked by fog in Germany (official statment ...).

Conclusion: to avoid a Hotel (my initial request), my company paid a Hotel, two rented cars and a working day passed visiting the town of Girona :-(

Next time, I will get my two days in Barcelona ...

2 Feb 2008

Sat, 2 Feb 2008 07:11:53 GMT

the phone will be the new advertising media

Micro$soft + Yahoo! = Yahoo Phone using Windows Mobile

soon or later ...

29 Jan 2008

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:59:22 GMT

An interesting link about the true cost of sms messages compare to ISP data or hand-written message. Also a little reference to the marginal cost of the SMS for the carrier (-> 0 because the carrier is using the control channel !).

20 Jan 2008

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:49:16 GMT

Pétition populaire pour l'égalité audiovisuelle : http://www.egalite-audiovisuelle.fr/

26 Dec 2007

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 09:17:38 GMT

Missing my Mouse Gestures

Mouse Gestures 1.5.2 (the latest official known release) is not installing with Firefox 3.0 Beta 2 (firefox 3b2).

There is an easy way to fix this issue :

addon (https://addons.mozilla.org/fr/firefox/addon/39)

- on the Installer button, right-click and "Save Link As ..." to save the .xpi file on your desktop

- change the file extension to .zip

- open the zip file and edit the install.rdf file

- change the Firefox <targetApplication> em:maxVersion from 2.0.0.* to 3.0.*

- save the zip and change the extension back to .xpi

- drop the .xpi file into firefox

- the installation should proceed :-)

31 Oct 2007

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:51:51 GMT

Thought for bottom France

That is not expensive to go to work, that pays the gasoline

16 Oct 2007

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:17:49 GMT

Recruiting the Best

The problem number one many recruiters encounter is how to make sign the best candidate. It is an established fact : “the candidate with huge potential” is on the way to become a protected species.

The error made by many recruiters in this situation consists in simply treating these “exceptional candidates” like “lambda” individuals. But the best candidate feels, thinks, acts and makes their decisions differently than others people. Consequently, if you want to make them sign for your proposal, you must learn how to think like them.

In my point of view, here the list of the 10 key points the best candidate will check to consider your offers :

1- The good fit between the job and the interests of the candidate

It is without any doubt the key factor of a successful recruitment! The job you have to propose to the candidate must fit with its interests and its personal motivations. it is not a question to know if your candidate “is well motivated” but rather of knowing “by what” it is really motivated.

2 - A “job stretch”

The “job stretch”, it is the difference between the position which occupies today your candidate and the position which you are proposing to him.

An exceptional candidate will not sign to make the same thing it currently makes with the only reason that you propose to him to do it “on your premise”, except if you are Google…

Thus insist on the gap that you are able to create between the current situation of the candidate and what you propose to him : new technologies to work with, bigger team, more ambitious or strategic projects…

3 - Evolution

To remain motivated in the long term, everyone needs to know that he will evolve, the best even more than the others! When you present the position to your best candidates, do not forget to underline the evolution in the medium and long term.

4 - Making a true difference

The best candidate does not want only a job, he has often in heart to write part of the History (with a big H)! Many candidates with exceptional profiles are able to lower their claims if they have conviction that they will be able to have a role really impacting within your company.

5 - Quality of the Chief

This factor is often the first which determine the decision of best candidate to accept an offer.

The best knows that contacts with the best will help him at the same time for personal and professional growth.

If the Chief has real qualities of leadership, put them ahead as a true advantage. Moreover, for more chances of success, it is often judicious to imply this last in the process of recruitment.

6 - Quality of the Team

The staff is the place in which are tied personal and professional affinities.

7 - Vision of the Company

The companies which know where they go and which have real ambitions are those which attract all the favours of the most determined individuals.

Ensure you to have perfect description of the mission and the vision of your company. And do not forget, a vision, it is made to sell, inspire, gather and to make dream, then put the package!

8 - Culture of company

All that is original in your manner of doing the work, all that indicates what is usually done by your most talented collaborators, all that makes your company a little special place even straightforwardly shifted… all that must absolutely be proposed at the time of the presentation of your company.

9 - Balance between Professional and Private life

More and more high potentials do not agree any more to ruin their health, nor the quality of their family life or social in exchange of a remuneration at the end of the month.

If you implemented a program of “Work/Life Balance”, make the push on these arguments! Otherwise, think about this kind of initiatives…

10 - Package of remuneration

If you are not sufficiently supporting the 9 preceding points, remuneration package will not be enough to attract the best candidate.

On the other hand, if you are able to propose a truly gravitational offer on at least 5 to 7 of the 9 points evoked above, you have no need to overpay your collaborators.

4 Oct 2007

Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:26:50 GMT

Free Burma

21 Sep 2007

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 11:43:20 GMT

One of my most productive days was throwing away 1000 lines of code.
--
Ken Thompson