What IT topic are you most interested in?
Displaying poll results.9749 total votes.
Most Votes
- By the end of 2026, how useful do you think agentic/multi-agent AI systems will actually be in your daily work or personal projects? Posted on March 11th, 2026 | 9865 votes
Most Comments
- By the end of 2026, how useful do you think agentic/multi-agent AI systems will actually be in your daily work or personal projects? Posted on March 11th, 2026 | 40 comments
Re: Cmon (Score:2)
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And no "All of the above".
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An internet-centric world isn't appealing to everyone, true. The 'cloud' works for many businesses because we don't all have the resources to have our own airport, pilot, and private jet. Some people may even want to own all three of these things, but that doesn't make it a good business decision.
Sure there's always considerations and risks to outsourcing, so choose your partners well.... airport, (datacenter), pilot (MSP?), and jet (SaaS).
Re: Cmon (Score:2)
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None at all (Score:1)
Cloud = someone else's computer.
Storage = we've had high quality storage systems for decades.
Hardware = nowhere near the same pace as one or two decades ago.
Network Security = can't keep up with all the crap, just assume everything is insecure, especially if it's from Microsoft.
Software Development = can't keep up with fad-language-of-the-month, C and C++ are still king. You're not going to write in Java or whatever for an ATtiny13A.
3D Printers = Interesting but still not quite there yet, or commercial is m
Re: None at all (Score:1)
The question was which topic. Imagine headline "breakthrough in x development" which topic would you read first. Are you interested in news about AI or 3D printing?
Re: None at all (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm interested in funny comments.
"Funny" is not an IT topic? (Score:2)
Actually, I probably would have given that comment an insightful mod if I ever got a mod point to give. As regards "funny" comments, don't hold your breath. It seems like one of the forms of moderation abuse is funny mods in lieu of more obvious expressions of "I, the moderator, am a tiny-minded troll." Per my Subject:, I don't even see this topic as a juicy one for potential humor.
FWLIIW, I voted for network security. It's the fear of my own computers that makes the topic interesting? It didn't have to be
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Tech Dude: with a suitably designed test instrument.
Re: None at all (Score:5, Insightful)
To blink an LED.
A blinking LED is required on a control panel to indicate a warning condition.
Hardware engineer:
Easy, I'll use a 555 chip, a few resistors and a capacitor.
Done. Did I win a prize?
DIY Maker:
Easy. I'll use an Arduino with the blink sketch and a resistor.
Done. I have more billable hours than the first guy.
Senior Software Engineer:
You guys have it all wrong.
Such a system would never be flexible enough for a real application where a blinking LED indicator is required.
Consider the inflexibility of the 555 approach.
What if the marketing people change the requirements from a simple on/off blink to a different blink pattern.
The simplest example would be the double blink.
Blink, Blink, long pause, Blink, Blink, etc.
Then consider the lack of sophistication that the Arduino has.
With a simple microcontroller you can't have a web interface to configure the LED's blink rate.
You would have to re flash the firmware.
With a more sophisticated controller, like a Raspberry PI, or even better, a Beagle Bone, the system could automatically check on the internet for software updates; and automatically download and apply them.
For security, downloads could be signed with 4096 bit keys using private certificates from the manufacturer.
(This also ensures ongoing contracts since no other vendor would have the private certificates.)
Higher end boards provide more flexibility.
The LED controller could have it's own WiFI connection to not burden the rest of the system to provide its internet access.
And even better . .
(lightning bolt strikes in mid sentence)
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Task: To blink an LED.
Senior Software Engineer: You guys have it all wrong. Such a system would never be flexible enough for a real application where a blinking LED indicator is required.Then consider the lack of sophistication that the Arduino has. With a simple microcontroller you can't have a web interface to configure the LED's blink rate.
Wanna bet? I give you:
http://lights.climagic.com/ [climagic.com]
You can control it from anywhere (including the command line which was the point) and yes, the Arduino listens for the changes.
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Senior hardware engineer:
Digikey lists 30 discrete blinking LEDs.
https://www.digikey.com/produc... [digikey.com]
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And then the web monkey: puts in a touch screen that can run a web browser, and use the <blink> tag.
And sticks the readout in a <marquee> tag so you can have an on-screen crawler to show all your blinking tags.
And some javascript to control the speed of the crawler and adjust the blink rate and color.
And a screen saver that comes on at pre-defined intervals to enforce breaks to keep OSHA at bay and shows messages about how FUN it is to work here.
<big_foot_out_of_the_sky_a_la_bambi_vs_god
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Wow, there's a blast from the past. I haven't heard anyone talk about the blink tag in a very long time. Is there even a browser that still supports it? Wasn't that a Netscape only thing?
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For example, in Arizona, it is illegal to have more than two dildos per household.
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3D printing may not be IT related. But it is related to freedom and people's rights to own certain objects without the state knowing about them. For example, in Arizona, it is illegal to have more than two dildos per household.
Ideal number of dildos in the house: 4
One to work and pay for things
One to have mind-blowing sex with
One to do the dishes, etc
One to keep the other three from finding about each other.
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I disagree sir sir.
Today to blink an LED you use a 555 or an LM3909. Some people use an Arduino. In 2030, if you want to blink an LED, it will take terabytes of code, including an Arduino emulator in interpreted python on Linux in another emulator written in Javascript. It will be the only option on the market for blinking an LED. But hey, it will be in a SOT-23 package, draw nanoamps, and cost five cents
Storage! (Score:1)
Got to keep the 25TB porn collection safe. After the hassle of dealing with more than a dozen drives in a PC case and the nightmare of cabling to all of them, I'm about ready to spend in the money on a real SAN.
Marketing Surveys? (Score:2)
Marketing Surveys?
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[_] Pink
[_] Fuscia
[x] Lavender
[_] Snot green
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No Cowboy Neal? (Score:4)
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CowboyNeal has been replaced with an AI.
That's why the last option is there.
--sf
Sex Robots (Score:5, Insightful)
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A. ???
(profit)
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Where's the social justice option?!
I presume Artificial Intelligence... (Score:2)
... is the Cowboy Neal answer.
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Good point and I'd probably give you the funny mod if I ever saw a mod point to give.
I think they retired Cowboy Neal because they got tired of the protest votes against poorly considered polls. The last one was a true flop, and I think this one may flop even harder. An alternative interpretation is that poll-based humor died on Slashdot because the surviving membership is too close-minded towards new ideas?
You'd think they could do better if they looked over the data that they have regarding old poll topic
Gaming (Score:2)
As per title. All gaming-related.
Cloud? Really? (Score:2)
People that use that term should be shot. People in I.T. that use that term should be tortured and shot.
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People that use that term should be shot. People in I.T. that use that term should be tortured and shot.
You've long since lost that battle.
Re:Cloud? Really? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Cloud service and storage providers will find it cheaper to outsource their operations into the cloud.
Storage? (Score:2)
The data retentionistas are doing well to get this topic on the list. Be sure you don't wrong them. They have long memories.
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Unless their memory is intentionally short. But they won't be able to recall if that's the case in any court of law...
Stock Options :) (Score:3)
No seriously. It used to be that to write software you needed a higher education degree in Maths, Psychics, Science or in later year Computer Science, Electronics.
However I'd dissuade my own sons from following my foot steps into IT if they got a good place at University.
In all other higher education seeded professions (doctor, lawyer, accountant etc) the older you get the better paid and more in demand you are.
It's the complete opposite with IT, software in particular. The older you are the more "out of date", and "expensive" you are perceived to be.
Why hire a guy who went to Uni 20/30 years ago, and learned stuff that now obsolete, when you can get a, cheap, fresh faced grad who'll put in 16 hour days for 1/3 of the price. Or even hire someone, for a bowl of rice, in India/China/etc....
Would you get a graduate lawyer to handle your divorce or court case? A grad accountant to do your tax return. No.
The only upside of IT is (or rather "was") the wonderful world of start up stock options.
I got some in the 90's, about 4 years after graduating from Uni, and the money I made then set me up for the next 20 years.
It's the only thing that makes me feel good about the career path I took, if I could re-live my life again would I have still gone into IT?
Probably but only because of start ups and stock options.
You just took the Amazon Echo and broke it down (Score:2)
You buy an INTERNET OF THINGS device with 3D PRINTED components, limited HARDWARE, and built-in STORAGE with questionable INTERNET SECURITY that must remain connected to the CLOUD for the ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE to work because SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS are too lazy to focus on an API-free desktop application. The excuse is always the same: "We all have web browser." Yes, but most developers also have fingers too, so get to typing some C. You got a few months, so learn. But for the love of god, stop using Visual
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Wow. It's like you tried to fit a curve between many points in your post but used too little features and ended up significantly underfitting it.
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Dependencies... (Score:2)
It's hard to see how we can get any measure of AI before we learn how to do software development properly. Unless someone does an end-run with neural nets or the like - in which case we will be confronted in full measure with the problem of how to trust advice when you don't know how it was arrived at.
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Software Development (Score:1)
... but I like ALL of those topics! (Score:1)
More Pay (Score:2)
Screw your customers (Score:2)
I'm most interested in how IT companies screw their customers. But I couldn't choose that so I didn't vote.
The first you list... (Score:2)
Define "interested in" (Score:2)
Tough choice, because Network Security is what I *do*, and I love doing it, so I'm very "interested in" it at a deep technical level. I am *fascinated* by AI, and love to hear about it at a very high abstract level. 3D printing is pretty cool, but I find it hard to consider it an "IT topic". I mean, sure, 3D printing instructions and designs are technically "information", but so are weaving patterns and cookie recipes, yet I don't consider baking to be an IT topic. And of course, IoT is just good clean
Obligatory... (Score:1)
I'm here for the politics, you insensitive clod!
Digital Forensics (Score:2)
Computer crime investigations