What is Digg?84 Comments
- Videlicet, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23Please don't digg me down just for asking this question; I really want some real answers, since I want a new media player for Christmas.
What exactly is so horrible about the Zune? Does everyone say it sucks just because it's a Microsoft product and not an Apple product, or am I missing something? - XopherMV, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19God, these questions remind me of how much I hate the interview process. Asking riddles during an interview is only good for finding people who are good at riddles. Riddles tell you nothing about how a candidate will perform in a job.
The programming questions are better, but not much so. Good programming does not involve coming up with the first solution to come to mind. - Videlicet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18How is the Zune's DRM different from an iPod's DRM? Aren't both vertical with their paid stores, but still play all unlicensed content as well? I could be wrong, but they seemed pretty much the same to me. Does anyone know what the difference is?
- tooslickvan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Manhole covers are round because manholes are round.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhole_cover - MEbuDDy6, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Pssh.... they are called peopleholes, get with the times...
- vtsquire, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11"There is a room with a door (closed) and three light bulbs. Outside the room there are three switches, connected to the bulbs. You may manipulate the switches as you wish, but once you open the door you can't change them. Identify each switch with its bulb."
Flip the first one, wait five minutes. Flip it off and flip the second one. Open the door. The light that is on belongs to the second switch, the bulb that is warm belongs to the first. - tooslickvan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11You'd be surprised at how many people get this question wrong. It's a good first question. If they get the answer wrong then you can end the interview and save yourself some time.
- dziban303, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10So it can't be accidentally dropped into the manhole.
I suck at riddles. I just happened to know that one. Someone give more answers. - junk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Or this one: "How would you implement copy-protection on a control which can be embedded in a document and duplicated readily via the Internet?"
- Silencer7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Just ask richard feynman:
http://www.sellsbrothers.com/fun/msiview/#Feynman - ojk007, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Why is a manhole cover round?
- rritterson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Huh? Google's founders are Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Do I get a cookie for solving the hidden puzzle?
- estvir, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6@Videlicet and whoever
The only real difference in regards to DRM is a limit imposed via software (As in, not per file) when a file is sent wirelessly to another Zune despite the FUD spread by people (Most notably on Digg) where DRM is attached to every file sent to the Zune and on files sent via wireless. Also, in some ways Zune DRM is better than iPod/iTunes like in regards to how many times you can [re]download a file and so on.
No other player has this function (I may be wrong..) and if they allowed complete freedom they'd have the RIAA and friends breathing down their neck in a heartbeat but lemmings like to downplay every advantage of the Zune, for example, it has a bigger screen which makes a massive difference when on such a small device but they try to downplay it by talking about resolution, etc but there are devices with bigger screens and the same res (PSP for one, I think) which don't have the 'possible' problems the Zune has.
Another example would be colour choice, you see, there is black, white and brown but the morons act as if the only choice available is brown and that the choice of brown is somehow a massive reason for not buying a Zune (Honestly, there are people dumb enough to try and to convince people to not buy a Zune because brown is a possible choice). Oh, and for the record it seems a lot of people are liking the brown Zune when viewed in person.
Bottom line is, there is nothing drastically wrong with the Zune and in many ways, it's ahead (GUI, screen size, WiFi, etc) of a comparable iPod and in other ways the iPod is ahead (Extras like games, address book, battery life, etc).
/end digg hijack - wilsoniya, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I'm a CS student at UW (Wisconsin, not Wash), and I've interviewed w/ MS. My experience with MS recruiters left me with newfound respect for their technical prestige. I *was* asked basic technical questions such as "explain the implementation of a doubly linked list" and "outline an algorithm for classifying a triangle given the lengths of three sides". The interview placed much more weight on critical problem solving than technical knowledge however. For instance, I was asked, "Microsoft has decided to move its entire operational staff from its Redmond campus to downtown Seattle. Outline the implementation". This question caught me off guard and forced me to think outside the box (pardon the stupid cliche buzzterm). But this level of abstraction is EXACTLY what an effective software engineer must be able to confront and conquer. I think of the mundane technical questions as 'standard procedure', whereas the abstract topics prove who has the potential to accomplish.
I think people get a very poor impression of MS due in no small part to their public exterior. Microsoft is still a CS oriented shop designing some (not all) quality products. I am not a staunch supporter of MS, and I generally disagree with their consumer software, but I do believe they provide a fulfilling environment for dedicated programmers. - TheMatt92, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I had to write an essay on that. It's mostly because of the lower cost and because it's impossible for it to fall through.
- zeabrid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I've seen these under "Interview questions for [blank]" Company so many times it's getting really annoying. Google, MS, Adobe, etc.
- blapierre, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I say, "Want to bet?"
- nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"The first part's easy. The modulus here is 6 which has divisors 2 and 3, so prime numbers must be 1 (mod 6) or 5 (mod 6). This means that if two prime integers have only one intervening integer that one prime must be congruent to 5 (mod 6), the intervening number must be 0 (mod 6), and other prime is 1 (mod 6)."
More simply put (I think): The intervening number must be even (or both of the adjacent numbers would be even, hence not prime), and the intervening number must be divisible by 3 (or one of the adjacent numbers would be divisible by 3, hence not prime). If it's both even and divisible by 3, it must be divisible by 6. - natmaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3They don't actually ask the riddles anymore. At least, that's what they told me after I received none in my fly-out interview and asked about it.
- TheOther1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It would be red after I jammed it into his eye...
- Stonedonkey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Actually, only some of those on that page have answers :(
- Stonedonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Answers: http://www.softwareinterview.com/questions/list?tag=microsoft
Check the box at the top, and the answers will load in italics after a few moments. - mumblingmynah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Interviewer hands you a black pen and says nothing but 'This pen is red.'"
That's some zen koan ***** right there. - tamarind, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Imagine a disk spinning like a record player turn table. Half of the disk is black and the other is white. Assume you have an unlimited number of color sensors. How many sensors would you have to place around the disk to determine the direction the disk is spinning? Where would they be placed?"
I'm curious about this one. Is it really a riddle? It seems to me that you'd only need two, and they could be anywhere over the disk relative to each other except directly opposite the axis.
"Pairs of primes separated by a single number are called prime pairs. Examples are 17 and 19. Prove that the number between a prime pair is always divisible by 6 (assuming both numbers in the pair are greater than 6). Now prove that there are no 'prime triples.'"
The first part's easy. The modulus here is 6 which has divisors 2 and 3, so prime numbers must be 1 (mod 6) or 5 (mod 6). This means that if two prime integers have only one intervening integer that one prime must be congruent to 5 (mod 6), the intervening number must be 0 (mod 6), and other prime is 1 (mod 6). Building on this, you can see that the next two integers are 2 (mod 6) and 3 (mod 6), neither of which can be prime.
"Implement an algorithm to sort a linked list. Why did you pick the method you did? Now do it in O(n) time."
Please, someone show how to sort in O(n) time! I'm tired of the slow O(n lg n) sorting algorithms.
Actually, more exotic hardware-based algorithms like Bead Sort and Pancake Sort can accomplish this, but the former requires input to be nonnegative integers and the latter some kind of scalar quantity. Maybe the interviewers want you to know about pancake sort: "The problem can be considered notable in cultural trivia, as the only well-known paper ever published by Microsoft Chairman and billionaire Bill Gates (as William Gates), entitled "Bounds for Sorting by Prefix Reversal", describes an efficient algorithm for pancake sorting." ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake_sorting ) - foxymcfox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Way to overcomplicate how a mirror works. A mirror does not invert anything, it simply reflects light. When you stand in front of it, it reflects the light bouncing off of you directly back out towards the world. While our human perceptions may tell us that the "reflected" person is raising their right hand when we raise our left, it is still on our left. A reflection is an inanimate thing, and when we speak of it using it's right or left hand, we are applying our constructs of humanity onto it, which leads you down all sorts of crazy notions. So, when we tilt our head, the mirror does exactly what it does when it reflects the image of me raising my left hand. Bounces the light back out. It it not capable of interpolation, or modification, it simply reflects.
No need for anything Greek. - tarball, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It wouldn't be a wise business move if you only hired people based on questions limited to your own intellect.
- headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I was going to guess it's because there is no wrong way to place it, but "A round manhole cover cannot fall through its circular opening" is a pretty good argument too.
- thep1mp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2yes, i saw this on Mr. Wizard.
- nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It really depends on what you're looking for. I think these are a good indicator of general problem solving ability. Obviously, it would be foolish to depend on these sort of quizzes alone.
- Eeqmcsq, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I couldn't get the gold bar one because if you split the gold bar with two breaks, you will get three pieces of gold. You must give your worker a piece every day, but since there are only three pieces, how can you last seven days?
I looked up the answer online, and it involves breaking up the gold into 1, 2, 4 segment pieces. So the answer goes like this:
Day 1: Give him the 1 segment piece.
Day 2: Take back the 1 segment piece, give him the 2 segment piece.
Day 3: Give him the 1 segment piece again, so the worker has 3 segments.
etc etc
But this implies asking my worker for his gold bar back on day 2. And if I was the worker, I'd have deposited my gold segment from day 1 at some bank already, instead of bringing it back to work. - blago, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Many of these problems are so poorly defined, that they scream for the interviewees to use some sarcasm in their answers.
- Ariss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have some answers for a few of these.
1) "There are 4 women who want to cross a bridge. They all begin on the same side. You have 17 minutes to get all of them across to the other side. It is night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them. The flashlight must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each woman walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower woman's pace.
Woman 1: 1 minute to cross; Woman 2: 2 minutes to cross; Woman 3: 5 minutes to cross; Woman 4: 10 minutes to cross" ...
"What is the order required to get all women across in 17 minutes? Now, what's the other way? "
I'll put the total running time in () so it's easier to keep track.
1& 2 go across first (2 min). 1 returns (3 min). 5 & 10 go across (13 min). 2 returns (15 min). 1& 2 go across (17min).
It's the same both ways.
2) "If you had an infinite supply of water and a 5 quart and 3 quart pail, how would you measure exactly 4 quarts?"
Fill the 5 quart pail. Pour as much as u can (3 quarts) into the 3 quart pail. There is now 2 quarts in the 5 quart pail. Empty the 3 quart pail. Pour all the water (2 quarts) from the 5 quart pail into the 3 quart pail. The 5 quart pail in now empty and the 3 quart pail has 2 quarts of water. Fill the 5 quart pail. Pour as much as u can (1 quart) into the 3 quart pail. There is now 3 quarts in the 3 quart pail and 4 quarts in the 5 quart pail. This is, of course, assuming that u didn't spill any water while pouring and that the containers can measure as accurately as is desired.
3) "Imagine you are standing in front of a mirror, facing it. Raise your left hand. Raise your right hand. Look at your reflection. When you raise your left hand your reflection raises what appears to be his right hand. But when you tilt your head up, your reflection does too, and does not appear to tilt his/her head down. Why is it that the mirror appears to reverse left and right, but not up and down?"
Ok, this one I don't have an exact answer for but it has to do with how objects are arranged in space. What they are talking about is called chirality [say: ki-ral-it-e] (Greek for 'handyness' or something). It's like how your hands are mirror images of each other but they don't match up when u put one on top of another (they are non-superimposable). I learned about this in O-chem and it's really important for biology because 2 molecules can be composed exactly the same but one atom on the first molecule goes 'out' (beta) and the same atom on the second molecule goes 'in' (alpha) and they can do very different things. One could cure you and the other could kill you (yes it can be that extreme). Sry, that was a bit of a tanget, but I did say that I didn't have an exact answer... - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You do realize, don't you, that even on Digg, the juvenile $ gets you buried every time now, right?
- ohcoaster, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5manholes are connected by a series of tubes
- ilitirit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"The only way Microsoft has managed to hire so many people has been by lowering their hiring standards significantly..."
That is probably correct, but it's something that doesn't affect Microsoft only. In fact, Google themselves have admitted that in order for them to expand they would need to "adjust" their standards.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116156296729900433-aeEgtHI7MrZ3q88KUVmFhXIkFs8_20071022.html?mod=blogs
"Google has long attributed much of its success to its ability to attract bright minds and to build a culture where those hires can excel. But in February 2005, Google co-founder Sergey Brin acknowledged to analysts that the company's high bar for hiring was holding back its expansion." - Haohmaru, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@tamarind
The question is, how do you pay your worker?
In gold. - headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Well maybe Ballmer could pass. Just took a look through his wikipedia article, and he actually sounds like a pretty smart man. I just can't figure out why he acts like such a goon.
- hoopers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1In the office we have two additional questions:
1. Ask the potential candidate to make microwave popcorn. If they burn it they don't get the job. A corollary to the question is to ask folks who are already employed to do the same. If they fail, they're fired. Yeah, laugh, but think about what it's worth to you to not have to smell burnt popcorn again or have to watch a security guard rush a burning microwave out the door...and yes this has happened where I work.
2. Ask the potential candidate to make coffee with the communal coffee pot. They can't be hired until they figure it out. Same goes for present employees. You see, that way there's never an excuse for a coffee pot to be empty except for laziness. - Eeqmcsq, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I know I'm going to get dugg down, but I love questions like these because they are excellent problem solving exercises for the brain.
- elvis314, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1bury for inaccuracy. Microsoft does not do these riddles any more. In interview training the instruct you not to do them.
- Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I think that empirically these stupid quiz-type interview techniques have been proven to not work.
- nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Some of these are kinda neat - some look like they might be hard at first, but then you realize it's very simple. Like: "Pairs of primes separated by a single number are called prime pairs. Examples are 17 and 19. Prove that the number between a prime pair is always divisible by 6 (assuming both numbers in the pair are greater than 6). Now prove that there are no 'prime triples.'" Sounds like there might be some heavy math involved, but there isn't.
And the one with the gold bar (seven segments, two splits) ... no self-respecting programmer can get that wrong.
(haven't gone through them all yet) - Supadude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Uhhh...you forgot to mill the the wheat.
- justplainan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Actually you only need 1 sensor to detect the direction.
Even though it says one half of the disc is black, it doesn't mean it's a solid 50% of the disc. It can be segmented into different sizes.
So you have 10 units of black, then 10 units of white, 20 units of black, 20 units of white, 30 units of black and so forth. (Units, degrees, whatever - just a measurement of size on the disc as long as they pair up to form exactly 50%)
Then by simply detecting black on the outer edge of the disc (due to the different size when measured at nearer the center) : the sizes are either counting downward or upward. Thus knowing which direction the disc would be rotating. - headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Sergey and Brin have PhD degrees in Computer Science my friend."
My mistake. I meant Page and Brin. Either way, I'm talking about the interview questions from Google. Questions like ""You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and your mass is proportionally reduced so as to maintain your original density. You are then thrown into an empty glass blender. The blades will start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?"" don't have much to do with CS. They are just tests of creativity. - Supadude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This gives me yet another reason why I dont want to work for Microsoft.
"Interviewer hands you a black pen and says nothing but 'This pen is red.'"
NO, the pen is BLUE damnit! - WiZZLa, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4"beotch...no. Bush passed based on his grades.
You realize his IQ is higher than Kerry, and Clinton, don't you?"
Sorry broomett but judging from his speeches over the years, I couldn't tell. - Karmavs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@broomet
No, they haven't. They had a hiher percentage of sales compared to iPods in their first six weeks than the Macs market share - but there's two huge problems with comparing the two:
1: the iPod-Zune comparison only compares the iPod & zune, while the mac-everything else includes other OSs as well.
2: More importantly - the iPod-Zune only compares sales in the last six weeks - which apple does not fully disclose (meaning the Zune would seem to have more) - and the Mac-other comparison compares the user base of each. These are completely different - everyone with a Zune has bought it in the last six weeks (minus a few exceptions) whereas the vast majority of iPods were bought before then. - Jasdar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Maybe it is red? I'd say trust him. If he lied, you'd find out as soon as you'd use it and it would be simple enough to replace. With a comparable programming function it would be easy enough to replace quickly and you would assume it was tested anyway.
- tamarind, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What about the gold bar question? I'm a programmer--dunno about self-respecting--but I can't see how to do it. If I break my Hershey's bar into six segments, I need to make five breaks. I could sell the gold, but gold futures are up according to this brochure and I need to do what's best for my employee!
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